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`A scat adjustment apparatus for adjusting a seat in a passenger compamnent of a vehicle including
`wave sensors for transmitting waves into the passenger compartment toward the scat, receiving reflected
`waves from the passenger compartment and generating an output representative of the reflected waves
`received by the wave sensors, weight sensors associated with the seat for measuring the weight applied onto
`the seat and generating an output representative of the measured weight applied onto the seat and a
`processor for receiving the outputs from the wave sensors and the weight sensors and evaluating the seated-
`state ofthe scat based thereon. The processor directs a control unit to cause a portion or'the seat to move
`based on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat.
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`ATI-17ZIpp-fiml
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`Page 1 of 62
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`Hyundai Exhibit 1012
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`4ATI-172
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`APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING A VEHICLE COMPONENT
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`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
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`This application is a continuation; part of US, patent application Serial No. 08/474,783 filed
`m.
`.r. T’s-i“.
`a: 707
`June 7, l9 5~andua contiiiuatioftEIi-part 0 US. patent application Serial No, 08/970,822 filed November
`14, 1997,
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`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
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`The present invention relates to apparatus and methods for adjusting a vehicle component, system
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`or subsystem in which the occupancy of a seat, also referred to as the “seated state” herein, is evaluated
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`using sensors and the component, system or subsystem may then be adjusted based on the evaluated
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`occupancy thereof. The vehicle component, system or subsystem, hereinafter referred to simply as a
`component, may be any adjustable component of the vehicle including, but not limited to, the bottom
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`portion and backrest of the seat, the rear View and side mirrors, the brake, clutch and accelerator pedals,
`the steering wheel, the steering column, a seat armrest, a cup holder, the mounting unit for a cellular
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`telephone or another communications or computing device and the visors. Further, the component may be
`a system such an as airbag system, the deployment of which is controlled based on the seated-state of the
`seat. The component may also be an adjustable portion of a system the operation of which might be
`advantageously adjusted based on the seated-state of the seat, such as a device for regulating the inflation
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`or deflation of an airbag that is associated with an airbag system,
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`The present invention also relates to apparatus and method for automatically adjusting a vehicle
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`component to a selected or optimum position for an occupant of a seat based on two measured
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`morphological characteristics of the occupant. Morphological characteristics include the weight of the
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`occupant, the height of the occupant, the length of the oocupant’s arms, the length of the occupant’s legs,
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`the occupant’s head diameter and the inclination of the occupant’s back relative to the seat bottom, Other
`morphological characteristics are also envisioned for use in the invention,
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`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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`Automobiles equipped with airbags are well known in the prior art. In such airbag systems, the car
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`crash is sensed and the airbags rapidly inflated thereby ensuring the safety of an occupation in a car crash.
`Many lives have now been saved by such airbag systems, However, depending on the seated state of an
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`occupant, there are cases where his or her life cannot be saved even by present airbag systems. For
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`example, when a passenger is seated on the front passenger seat in a position other than a forward facing,
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`normal state, e.g., when the passenger is out of position and near the deployment door of the airbag, there
`will be cases when the occupant will be seriously injured or even killed by the deployment of the airbag
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`Also, sometimes a child seat is placed on the passenger seat in a rear facing position and there are
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`cases where a child sitting in such a seat has been seriously injured or killed by the deployment of the
`airbag.
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`Furthermore, in the case of a vacant seat, there is no need to deploy an airbag, and in such a case,
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`deploying the airbag is undesirable due to a high replacement cost and possible release of toxic gases into
`the passenger compartment. Nevertheless, most airbag systems will deploy the airbag in a vehicle crash
`even if the seat is unoccupied.
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`For these reasons, there has been proposed a seated-state detecting unit such as disclosed in the
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`following U.S. Patents and Patent applications, which are included herein by reference, assigned to the
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`current assignee of the present application: Breed et al (US. Pat. No. 5,563,462); Breed et al (U.S. Patent
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`application Serial No. 08/640,068 filed April 30, 1996); Breed et a1 (U.S. Patent application Serial No.
`08/474,783 filed June 7, 1995): Breed ct al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,320), Breed ct a1 (U.S. Pat. No.
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`5,748,473); and Varga ct a1 (U.S. Patent application Serial No. 08/798,029 filed February 6, 1997).
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`Typically, in some of these designs four sets of ultrasonic- sensors are installed at four points in a vehicle
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`passenger compartment for transmitting ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward the passenger or
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`driver's seat and receiving the reflected waves. Using appropriate hardware and software, the approximate
`configuration of the occupancy of either the passenger or driver seat can be determined thereby identifying
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`and categorizing the occupancy ofthe relevant seat.
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`However,
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`in the aforementioned literature using ultrasonics, the pattern of reflected ultrasonic
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`waves from an adult occupant who may be out of position is sometimes similar to the pattern of reflected
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`waves from a rear facing child seat. Also, it is sometimes difficult to discriminate the wave pattern of a
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`normally seated child with the seat in a rear facing position from an empty seat with the seat in a more
`forward position.
`In other cases, the reflected wave pattern from a thin slouching adult with raised knees
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`passenger seat which is in a forward position can be similar to the reflected wave pattern from a seat
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`containing a forward facing child seat or a child sitting on the passenger seat.
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`In each of these cases, the
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`prior art ultrasonic systems can suppress the deployment of an airbag when deployment is desired or,
`alternately, can enable deployment when deployment is not desired.
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`If the discrimination between these cases can be improved, then the reliability of the seated-state
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`detecting unit can be improved and more people saved from death or serious injury.
`unnecessary deployment of an airbag can be prevented.
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`In addition, the
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`With respect to the adjustment of a vehicular seat, the adjustment of an automobile seat occupied
`by a driver of the vehicle is now accomplished by the use of either electrical switches and motors or by
`mechanical levers. As a result, the driver’s seat is rarely placed at the proper driving position which is
`defined as the scat location which places the eyes of the driver in the so-called “eye ellipse” and permits
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`him or her to comfortably reach the pedals and steering wheel, The “eye ellipse” is the optimum eye
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`position relative to the windshield and rear View mirror of the vehicle.
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`The eye ellipse, which is actually an ellipsoid, is rarely achieved by the actions of the driver for a
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`variety of reasons. One specific reason is the poor design of most seat adjustment systems particularly the
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`It is known that there are three degrees of freedom of a seat bottom, namely
`so-called “4-way—seat”.
`vertical, longitudinal, and rotation about the lateral or pitch axis. The 4-way-seat provides four motions to
`control the seat: (1) raising or lowering the front of the seat, (2) raising or lowering the back of the seat, (3)
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`raising or lowering the entire seat, (4) moving the seat fore and aft. Such a seat adjustment system causes
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`confusion since there are four control motions for three degrees of freedom. As a result, vehicle occupants
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`are easily frustrated by such events as when the control to raise the seat is exercised, the seat not only is
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`raised but is also rotated. Occupants thus find it difficult to place the seat in the optimum location using
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`this system and frequently give up trying leaving the seat in an improper driving position
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`Many vehicles today are equipped with a lumbar support system that is never used by most
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`occupants One reason is that the lumbar support cannot be preset since the shape of the lumbar for
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`different occupants differs significantly,
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`i.e., a tall person has significantly different
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`lumbar support
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`requirements than a short person. Without knowledge of the size of the occupant, the lumbar support
`cannot be automatically adjusted.
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`As discussed in the above referenced ‘320 patent, in approximately 95% of the cases where an
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`occupant suffers a whiplash injury, the lieadrest is not properly located to protect him or her in a rear
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` can be similar to that from a rear facing child seat. In still other cases, the reflected pattern from a
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`impact collision Also, the stiffiiess and damping characteristics of a seat are fixed and no attempt is made
`in any production vehicle to adjust the stiffness and damping of the seat in relation to the size either or
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`weight of an occupant, or to the environmental conditions such as road roughness. All of these
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`adjustments, if they are to be done automatically, require knowledge of the morphology of the seat
`occupant,
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`Systems are now being used to attempt to identify the vehicle occupant based on a coded key or
`other object carried by the occupant This requires special sensors within the vehicle to recognize the coded
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`object. Also, the system only works if the coded object is used by the particular person for whom the
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`vehicle was programmed. If the vehicle is used by a son or daughter, for example, who use their mother’s
`key then the wrong seat adjustments are made Also, these systems preserve the choice of seat position
`without any regard for the correctness of the seat position, With the problems associated with the 4-way
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`. seats, it is unlikely that the occupant cvcr properly adjusts the seat. Therefore, the error will be repeated
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`every time the occupant uses the vehicle
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`Moreover, these coded systems are a crude attempt to identify the occupant. An improvement can
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`be made if the morphological characteristics of the occupant can be measured as described below. Such
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`measurements can be made of the height and weight, for example, and used not only to adjust a vehicular
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`component to a proper position but also to remember that position, as fine tuned by the occupant, for re-
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`positioning the component the next time the occupant occupies the seat. For the purposes herein, a
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`morphological characteristic will mean any measurable property of a human such as height, weight, leg or
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`arm length, head diameter etc.
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`As discussed more fully below, in a preferred implementation, once at least one and preferably two
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`of the morphological characteristics of a driver are determined, e.g., by measuring his or her height and
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`weight,
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`the component such as the seat can be adjusted and other features or components can be
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`incorporated into the system including, for example, the automatic adjustment of the rear View and/or side
`mirrors based on seat position and occupant height.
`In addition, a determination of an out-of-position
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`occupant can be made and based thereon, airbag deployment suppressed if the occupant is more likely to be
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`injured by the airbag than by the accident without the protection of the airbag.
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`Furthermore,
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`the
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`characteristics of the airbag including the amount of gas produced by the inflator and the size of the airbag
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`exit orifices can be adjusted to provide better protection for small lightweight occupants as well as large,
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`heavy people. Even the direction of the airbag deployment can, in some cases, be controlled.
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`ATl—172 app-final
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`Still other features or components can now be adjusted based on the measured occupant
`morphology as well as the fact that the occupant can now be identified,
`Some of those features or
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`components include the adjustment of seat armrest, cup holder, steering wheel (angle and telescoping),
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`pedals, phone location and for that matter the adjustment of all things in the vehicle which a person must
`reach or interact with. Some items that depend on personal preferences can also be automatically adjusted
`including the radio station, temperature, ride and others.
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`Most, if not all, of the problems discussed above are difficult
`conventional technology.
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`to solve or unsolvable using
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`OBJECTS OF THE INVENTIQN
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`Accordingly, it is a principal object ofthe present invention to provide new and improved vehicular
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`component adjustment apparatus and methods which evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the
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`location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the
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`component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.
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`It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and
`methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the
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`occupant and/or operation of a part of the component or the component in its entirety based on the
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`evaluated occupancy of the seat and on a measurement of the approximate height of the occupant and/or a
`measurement of the occupant’s weight.
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`It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and
`methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat by a combination of ultrasonic sensors and additional
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`sensors and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the
`component or the component in its entirety based on the evaluated occupancy of the seat.
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`It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and
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`methods that reliably discriminate between a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat,
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`between an abnormally seated passenger and a rear facing child seat, and whether or not the seat is empty
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`and adjust the location and/or orientation relative to the occupant and/or operation of a part of the
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`component or the component in its entirety based thereon.
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`It is another object of the present invention to provide new and improved adjustment apparatus and
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`methods that evaluate the occupancy of the seat without the problems mentioned above.
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`Additional objects and advantages of this invcmion include:
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`ATI-172 app-final
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`1.
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`To provide a system for passively and automatically adjusting the position of a vehicle
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`component to a near optimum location based on the size of an occupant.
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`2.
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`To provide a system for recognizing a particular occupant of a vehicle and thereafter
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`adjusting various components ofthe vehicle in accordance with the preferences of the recognized occupant.
`3.
`To provide systems for approximately locating the eyes of a vehicle driver to thereby
`permit the placement of the driver’s eyes at a particular location in the vehicle.
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`To provide a pattern recognition system to permit more accurate location of an occupant’s
`4.
`head and the parts thereof and to use this information to adjust a vehicle components
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`To provide a method of determining whether a seat is occupied and, if not, leaving the seat
`5.
`at a neutral position.
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`To provide a system for automatically adjusting the position of various components of the
`6.
`vehicle to pemrit safer and more effective operation of the vehicle including the location of the pedals and
`steering wheel.
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`7,
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`To determine whether an occupant is out-of-position relative to the airbag and if so, to
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`suppress deployment of the airbag in a situation in which the airbag would otherwise be deployed.
`8.
`To adjust the flow of gas into and out of the airbag based on the morphology and position
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`of the occupant to improve the performance ofthe airbag in reducing occupant injury.
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`To provide a system where the morphological characteristics of an occupant are measured
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`by sensors located within the seat.
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`Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following discussion of the
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`preferred embodiments of the invention.
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`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
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`A most basic embodiment of the apparatus in accordance with invention includes a first measuring
`system for measuring a first morphological characteristic of the occupyinéfdi‘fiie seat and a second
`measuring system for measuring a second morphological characteristic of the occupying item.
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`Morphological characteristic include the weight of the occupying item, the height of the occupying item
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`from the bottom portion ofthe seat and if the occupying item is a human, the arm length, head diameter and
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`leg length. The apparatus also includes processor means for receiving the output of the first and second
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`measuring systems and for processing the outputs to evaluate a seated-state based on the outputs. The
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`measuring systems described herein, as well as any other conventional measuring systems, may be used in
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`the invention to measure the morphological characteristics ofthe occupying item.
`One preferred embodiment of an adjustment system in accordance with the invention includes a
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`plurality of wave—receiving sensors for receiving waves from the seat and its contents, if any, and one or
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`more weight sensors for detecting weight of an occupant in the seat or an absence of weight applied onto
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`the seat indicative of a vacant seat. The apparatus also includes processor means for receiving the output
`ofthe wave-receiving sensors and the weight sens r(s) an for
`rocessing the outputs to evaluate a seated-
`state based on the outputs. The processor means‘ adjustxa part of the component or the component in its
`entirety based at least on the evaluation of the seated—state of the seat. The wave-receiving sensors may be
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`ultrasonic sensors, optical sensors or electromagnetic sensors. 1f the wave—receiving sensors are ultrasonic
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`or optical sensors, then they may also include transmitter means for transmitting ultrasonic or optical
`waves toward the seat.
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`If the component is a seat, the system includes power means for moving at least one portion of the
`seat relative to the passenger compartment and control means connected to the power means for controlling
`.
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`Mn, 4‘:
`the power means to move the portion(s) ofthe seat.
`In this case, the processor meanskdi‘gectAcontrol means
`to affect the power means based at least in part on the evaluation of the seated-state of the seat. With
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`respect to the direction or regulation of the control means by the processor means, this may take the form of
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`a regulation signal to the control means that no seat adjustment is needed, e g., if the seat is omupied by a
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`bag of groceries or a child seat in a rear or forward-facing position as determined by the evaluation of the
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`output from the ultrasonic or optical and weight sensors. On the other hand, if the processor means
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`detemiines that the seat is occupied by an adult or child for which adjustment of the seat is‘ beneficial or
`desired, then the processor means may direct the control means to affect the power means accordingly. For
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`example, if a child is detected on the seat, the processor means may be designed to lower the headrest.
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`In certain embodiments, the apparatus may include one or more sensors each of which measures a
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`morphological characteristic of the occupying item of the seat, e.g., the height or weight of the occupying
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`item, and the processor means are arranged to obtain the input from these sensors and adjust the component
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`accordingly. Thus, once the processor means evaluates the occupancy of the seat and determines that the
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`occupancy is by an adult or child, then the processor means may additionally use either the obtained weight
`measurement or conduct additional measurements of morphological characteristics of the adult or child
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`occupant and adjust the component accordingly. The processor means may be a single microprocessor for
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`performing all of the fitnctions described above.
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`In the alternative, one microprocessor may be used for
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`evaluating the occupancy of the seat and another for adjusting the component.
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`The processor means may comprise an evaluation circuit implemented in hardware as an electronic
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`I
`circuit or in sofiware as a computer program.
`In certain embodiments, a correlation fiinction or state between the output of the various sensors
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`and the desired result (ie , seat occupancy identification and categorization) is determined, e.g., by a neural
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`network that may be implemented in hardware as a neural computer or in software as a computer program.
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`The correlation function or state that is determined by employing this neural network may also be contained
`in a microcomputer. In this case, the microcomputer can be employed as an evaluation circuit. The word
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`circuit herein will be used to mean both an electronic circuit and the functional equivalent implemented on a
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`microcomputer using software.
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`In enhanced embodiments, a heart beat sensor may be provided for detecting the heart beat of the
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`occupant and generating an output representative thereof. The processor means additionally receive this
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`output and evaluate the seated-state of the seat based in part thereon.
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`In addition to or instead of such a
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`heart beat sensor, a capacitive sensor and/or a motion sensor may be provided. The capacitive sensor
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`detects the presence of the occupant and generates an output representative of the pnesence of the occupant,
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`The motion sensor detects movement of the occupant and generates an output representative thereof. These
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`outputs are provided to the processor means for possible use in the evaluation of the seated-state of the
`seat.
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`The portion of the apparatus which includes the ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors,
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`weight measuring means and processor mans which evaluate die occupancy of the seat based on the
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`measured weight of the seat and its contents and the returned waves from the ultrasonic, optical or
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`electromagnetic sensors may be considered to constitute a seated-state detecting unit.
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`The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a seat track position-detecting sensor. This
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`sensor determines the position of the seat on the seat track in the forward and aft direction. In this case, the
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`evaluation circuit evaluates the seated-state, based on a correlation fiinction obtain from outputs of the
`ultrasonic sensors, an output of the one or more weight sensors, and an output of the seat track position
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`detecting sensor. With this structure,
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`there is the advantage that
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`the identification between the flat
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`configuration of a detected surface in a state where a passenger is not sitting in the seat and the flat
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`configuration of a detected surface which is detected when a seat is slid backwards by the amount of the
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`thickness of a passenger, that is, of identification of whether a passenger seat is vacant or occupied by a
`passenger, can be reliably performed.
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`Furthermore, the seated-state detecting unit may also comprise a reclining angle detecting sensor,
`and the evaluation circuit may also evaluate the seated-state based on a correlation function obtained from
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`outputs of the ultrasonic, optical or electromagnetic sensors, an output of the weight sensor(s), and an
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`output of the reclining angle detecting sensor. In this case, ifthe tilted angle information of the back portion
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`of the seat is added as evaluation information for the seated-state, identification can be clearly performed
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`between the flat configuration of a surface detected when a passenger is in a slightly slouching state and the
`configuration of a surface detected when the back portion of a seat is slightly tilted forward and similar
`difficult-to—discriininate cases. This embodiment may even be combined with the output from a seat track
`position—detecting sensor to further enhance the evaluation circuit,
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`Moreover, the seated—state detecting unit may further comprise a comparison circuit for comparing
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`the output of the weight sensor(s) with a reference value. In this case, the evaluation circuit identifies an
`adult and a child based on the reference value.
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`Preferably,
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`the seated-state detecting unit comprises: a plurality of ultrasonic, optical or
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`electromagnetic sensors for transmitting ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves toward a seat and rec-citing
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`reflected waves from the scat; one or more weight sensors for detecting weight of a passenger in the seat; a
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`seat track position detecting sensor; a reclining angle detecting sensor; and a neural network circuit to
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`which outputs of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors and the weight sensor(s), an output of the seat
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`track position detecting sensor, and an output of the reclining angle detecting sensor are inputted and which
`evaluates several kinds of seated—states, based on a correlation function obtained from the outputs.
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`The kinds of seated—states that can be evaluated and categorized by the neural network include the
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`following categories, among others, (i) a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, (ii) an
`abnormally seated passenger and a rear-facing child seat, and (iii) a vacant seat
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`The seated-state detecting unit may further comprise a comparison circuit for comparing the output
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`of the weight sensor(s) with a reference value and a gate circuit to which the evaluation signal and a
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`comparison signal from the comparison circuit are input, This gate circuit, which may be implemented in
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`sofiware or hardware, outputs signals which evaluates several kinds ofseated-states. These kinds of seated-
`states can include a (i) normally seated passenger, (ii) a forward facing child seat, (iii) an abnormally
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`seated passenger,
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`(iv) a rear facing child seat, and (v) a vacant seat. With this arrangement,
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`the
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`identification between a normally seated passenger and a forward facing child seat, the identification
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`between an abnomially seated passenger and a rear facing child seat, and the identification of a vacant seat
`can be more reliably perfomted.
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`The outputs of the plurality of ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, the output of the weight
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`sensor(s), the outputs of the seat track position detecting sensor, and the outputs of the reclining angle
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`detecting sensor are inputth to the neural network or other pattern recognition circuit, and the neural
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`network circuit determines the correlation function, based on training thereof during a training phase. The
`correlation function is then typically implemented in or incorporated into a microcomputer. For the
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`purposes herein, neural network will be used to include both a single neural network, a plurality of neural
`networks, and other similar pattern recognition circuits or algorithms and combinations thereof.
`To provide the input from the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors to the neural network circuit, it
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`is preferable that an initial reflected wave portion and a last reflected wave portion are removed from each
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`of the reflected waves of the ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors and then the output data is processed.
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`The neural network circuit determines the correlation function by performing a weighting process, based on
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`output data from the plurality of ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, output data from the weight
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`sensor(s), output data from the seat track position detecting sensor if present, and/or on output data from
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`the reclining angle detecting sensor if present.
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`With this arrangement, the portions of the reflected ultrasonic or electromagnetic wave that do not
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`contain useful information are removed from the analysis and the presence and recognition of an object on
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`the passenger seat can be more accurately performed.
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`In a disclosed method for determining the occupancy of a seat in a passenger compartment of a
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`vehicle in accordance with the invention, waves such as ultrasonic or electromagnetic waves are transmitted
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`into the passenger compartment toward the seat, reflected waves from the passenger compartment are
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`received by a component which then generates an output representative thereof, the weight applied onto the
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`seat is measured and an output is generated representative thereof and then the seated-state of the seat is
`evaluated based on the outputs from the sensors and the weight measuring means.
`The evaluation the seated-state of the seat may be accomplished by generating a function
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`correlating the outputs representative of the received reflected waves and the measured weight and the
`seated-state of the seat, and incorporating the correlation fimction into a microcomputer.
`In the alternative,
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`it is possible to generate a function correlating the outputs representative of the received reflected waves
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`and the measured weight and the seated-state of the seat in a neural network ciratit, and execute the
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`function using the outputs representative of the received reflected waves and the measured weight as input
`into the neural network circuit.
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`To enhance the seated-state determination, the position of a seat track of the seat is measured and
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`an output representative thereof is generated, and then the seated-state of the seat is evaluated based on the
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`outputs representative of the received reflected waves, the measured weight and the measured seat track
`position.
`In addition to or instead of measuring the seat track position,
`it is possible to measure the
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`reclining angle of the seat, i.e., the angle between the seat portion and the back portion of the seat, and
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`generate an output representative thereof, and then evaluate the seated-state of the seat based on the outputs
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`1O
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`representative of the received reflected waves, the measured weight and the measured reclining angle of the
`seat (and seat track position, if measured).
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`Furthermore, the output representative of the measured weight may be compared with a reference
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`value, and the occupying object of the seat identified, e.g., as an adult or a child, based on the comparison
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`of the measured weight with the reference value.
`In additional embodiments,
`the present invention involves the measurement of one or more
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`morphological characteristics of a vehicle occupant and the use of these measurements to classify the
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`occupant as to size and weight, and then to use this classification to position a vehicle component, such as
`‘the seat, to a near optimum position for that class of occupant. Additional
`information ccnceming
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`occupant preferences can also be associated with the occupant class so that when a person belonging to that
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`particular class occupies the vehicle, the preferences associated with that class are implemented. These
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`preferences and associated component adjustments include the seat location after it has been manually
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`adjusted away from the position chosen initially by the system, the mirror location, temperature, radio
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`station, steering wheel and steering column positions, etc. The preferred morphological characteristics used
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`are the occupant height from the vehicle seat and weight of the occupant. The height is determined by
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`sensors, usually ultrasonic or electromagnetic, located in the headrest or another convenient location. The
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`weight is determined by one of a variety of technologies that measure either pressure on or displacement of
`the vehicle seat or the force in the seat supporting structure,
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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`The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the invention and are not meant to limit
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`the scope of the invention as encompassed by the claims.
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`f.
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`FIG.
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`I shows a seated-state detecting unit in accordance with the present invention and the
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`connections between ultrasonic or electromagnetic sensors, a weight sensor, a reclining angle detecting
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`sensor, a seat