JP2003072439A - Vehicle occupant weight measuring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for measuring weight of a person seated on a seat of a vehicle by arranging a strain gage type load sensor at a lower part of the seat while reducing bad effects on the comfortableness of the seated occupant and dimension of height direction of the seat in respect to the floor. SOLUTION: A plate member 16, for connecting upper rails 3a and 3b, fixed in the vertical direction at the center between the upper rails 3a and 3b and slidably supported in the longitudinal direction and a strain gage type load sensor constituted by a strain gage 17 provided on the plate member 16 are arranged in a slide rail comprising upper rails 3a and 3b and a lower rail 4 for storing the upper rails 3a and 3b.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupant sitting on a vehicle seat, and particularly, while suppressing an adverse effect on the sitting comfort of the occupant and suppressing the size of the entire seat in the height direction. The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant weight measuring device provided with a load sensor for measuring the weight of an occupant sitting on a seat.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, many automobiles are equipped with airbags and seat belts to ensure the safety of passengers in the event of a collision. Among them, as a technology to improve the safety of passengers more than ever before. What are called smart airbags and smart seat belts are drawing attention.
For example, a smart airbag detects the condition of the occupant at the time of a collision and controls the air bag deployment gas amount and deployment speed to reduce the impact on the occupant due to the deployment of the airbag while ensuring the safety of the occupant during a vehicle collision. It is what

For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-258233, the presence or absence of an occupant and the weight of the occupant are accurately measured to control the operation of the airbag and seat belt. The box-shaped load sensor 100 that is long in the direction is attached to the seat pan 11 that covers the bottom of the seat 105.
0, the lower surface of a seat rail 130 that is slidable forward and backward and that receives the seat frame 120 and is long in the vehicle front-rear direction, and a seat bracket that is fixed to the floor 140 and fixes the seat at a position higher than the floor. It is disclosed to be provided between 150 and 150.

[0004]

However, in the structure of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-258233, there is a problem that the height of the seat with respect to the floor becomes high and the seating comfort of the occupant becomes poor accordingly. It was The present invention has been made in view of this problem, and a vehicle occupant weight measuring device that measures the weight of an occupant sitting on a seat while suppressing adverse effects on the comfort of the occupant and the size of the entire seat in the height direction. The purpose is to provide.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a vehicle occupant weight measuring apparatus according to a first configuration of the present invention is a seat on which an occupant sits and a seat fixed to the lower part of the seat. A bracket, a upper rail fixed to the seat bracket and divided in the front-rear direction, and a lower rail for housing the upper rail, and a slide rail for sliding the seat in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, In the slide rail, an elastic plate member that connects the upper rails divided in the front-rear direction, a shaft portion fixed to the center of the elastic plate member, and the lower rail are provided, and the shaft portion is inserted therethrough. Then, the shaft portion is fixed to the groove portion for vertically positioning the shaft portion so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction and the elastic plate member, and the strain in the longitudinal direction of the elastic plate member is prevented. And has a strain gauge load sensor unit for measuring an occupant's weight that is composed of a strain gauge for measuring.

According to the first configuration of the present invention, since the strain gauge type load sensor unit is arranged in the slide rail, the seat height position is maintained even if the strain gauge type load sensor is provided. An elastic plate member that does not become higher and the riding comfort does not deteriorate and that connects the upper rails divided in the front-rear direction and is provided with a strain gauge, and a shaft portion fixed to the center of the elastic plate member. Since it is slidable in the front-rear direction along the groove provided on the lower rail, the seat can be slid back and forth while detecting the amount of strain according to the weight of the occupant sitting on the seat.

The vehicle seat weight measuring apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is the vehicle seat weight measuring apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the upper rail is fixed to the lower portion of the seat and is divided in the front-rear direction. And a lower rail to store
A roller disposed below the upper rail, a plate member that receives the roller on an upper surface, and a support member that is between the plate member and the lower rail and that supports the upper rail so as to be capable of minute displacement in the vertical direction. It is a thing.

According to the second structure of the present invention, the seat can be smoothly slid back and forth regardless of where the occupant is seated, while utilizing the limited space in the slide rail. In addition, it is possible to provide a vehicle occupant weight measuring device in which sitting comfort does not deteriorate.

The vehicle occupant weight measuring apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention is a seat on which an occupant sits, is fixed to the floor below the seat, and the upper rail and the upper rail are slidable in the front-rear direction. A slide rail composed of a lower rail to be housed in such a manner, one end being fixed to the upper rail upper end and being bent in a crank shape, and the other end being at a height position substantially equal to the bottom surface of the lower rail in the vehicle width direction. Between the crank-shaped bracket, the seat bracket having one end fixed to the seat pan and extending downward, the other end of the seat bracket, and the other end of the crank-shaped bracket extending in the vehicle width direction. An elastic plate member which is provided on the elastic plate member and which is bent by a load of an occupant, and which is fixed to the elastic plate member and measures strain in the longitudinal direction of the elastic plate member. And it has a strain gauge load sensor unit for measuring an occupant's weight that is composed of a gauge.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the crank-shaped bracket extending downward from the upper end surface of the upper rail is provided to fix the strain gauge type load sensor at a low position, the height direction Even when a thick strain gauge type load sensor is used, the seat can be installed without raising the seat height position.

Further, the vehicle occupant weight measuring apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention includes a seat on which an occupant sits, an upper rail fixed to the floor below the seat, and an upper rail.
A slide rail composed of a lower rail that houses the upper rail so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction,
A recess provided in the lower surface of the seat, a channel member that is disposed in the recess and is fixed to the upper portion of the upper rail, and extends in the vehicle width direction, and a center of the channel member in the vehicle width direction. A fixed shaft member,
An elastic plate member having one end fixed to the shaft member and extending in the vehicle width direction, and an elastic plate member connected to the other end of the elastic plate member and fixed to the seat, and the seat is finely moved in the vertical direction with respect to the channel member. A displaceable support member, an elastic member having one end fixed to the channel member and the other end fixed to the support member, and a elastic member provided on the elastic plate member to measure strain of the elastic member. And a strain gauge type load sensor section for measuring the weight of an occupant, which is composed of a strain gauge.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the channel member is fixed in the recess provided in the lower portion of the seat, and the strain gauge type load sensor portion is further provided in the channel member. The load sensor can be arranged by effectively utilizing the space below.

[0013]

As described above, the present invention provides an apparatus for measuring the weight of an occupant sitting on a vehicle seat,
By effectively utilizing the limited space between the seat and the floor, it is possible to prevent the seat position from becoming higher than the floor, and solve the problem that the passengers feel uncomfortable with it. You can

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire seat.
The relationship between the seat on which the occupant sits and the upper rail and the lower rail that configure the slide rail will be described using.
In the first embodiment of the present invention, a seat bracket 5 is fixed to a seat pan 2 that supports a bottom surface of a seat 1, and two seat brackets 5 of the same shape divided in the front-rear direction are provided under the seat bracket 5. An upper rail, that is, an upper rail 3a located on the front side of the seat and an upper rail 3b located on the rear side of the same are connected to each other, and a lower rail 4 is formed which accommodates these upper rails 3a and 3b so as to be slidable back and forth. It has been done.

Next, the connecting portion between the seat bracket 5 and the upper rails 1a, 1b will be described. A long hole 6 having a long axis in the seat front-rear direction is formed in a horizontal surface 5a of the seat bracket 5, and a screw member 7 fixed to the upper surfaces of the upper rails 3a, 3b is inserted therein. Further, in order to prevent the seat from unintentionally moving back and forth and deteriorating the sitting comfort, the elongated hole 6 and the screw member 7 are connected by a spring member 8. Here, the long hole 6 is related to a mechanism for measuring the weight of the occupant by allowing the upper rails 3a, 3b to sink below the load when a person sits on the seat 1. Will be explained in detail later.

Further, the structure of the slide rail and the slide mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. First,
2, which is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG.
The upper rail 3a is a plate-shaped member, and hangs downward from a surface of the seat bracket 5 facing the horizontal surface 5a, then extends horizontally in the vehicle width direction, and its tip is bent upward. The lower rail 4 includes two plate-shaped members having a symmetrical shape in the upper rails 3a, 3b,
And, after accommodating a plate member including a strain gauge described later,
The bottom surface is butt welded. In particular,
After the upper and lower horizontal planes of the hollow quadrangular member are cut in the longitudinal direction, the upper horizontal plane is bent downward at a right angle so that the upper bent front ends of the upper rails 3a and 3b can be accommodated with a slight gap.

Further, in these assembled bodies, the roller 1 housed in the spherical recess 10 provided on the bottom surface of the surface of the upper rails 3a, 3b extending in the vehicle width horizontal direction.
1, a roller positioning plate 12 for preventing the rollers 11 from moving in the left-right direction, and a roller receiving plate below the roller 11 and having a groove portion 13 formed in the front-rear direction to accommodate the roller 11. 14 and the upper rail 3a in response to the weight of the occupant sitting on the seat,
A plurality of springs 15 are provided between the roller receiving plate 14 and the lower rail 4 as a supporting member that supports the 3b so that it can be slightly displaced in the vertical direction. By adopting the structure using such a roller in the slide rail, the slide mechanism of the strain gauge type load sensor section described below can be made smoother.

The slide mechanism of the strain gauge type load sensor unit will be described with reference to FIG. 3 which is a perspective view of the strain gauge type load sensor unit or FIG. 4 which is an elevation view seen from the direction B in FIG. First, the front upper rail 3 a and the rear upper rail 3 b connected to the seat bracket 5 are connected and fixed by a plate member 16. A strain gauge 17 (for example, a uniaxial strain gauge generally used in the field of measurement technology) is attached to the plate member 16, and
It is welded and fixed to the columnar member 18 at the center between the upper rails 3a and 3b. As a specific structure, the columnar member 18 is provided with a slit, and one plate member 16 is fitted into the slit so that the columnar member 18 is positioned at the center of the plate member 16 in the longitudinal direction. It is fixed. Then, needle bearings 19 are attached to both ends of the columnar member 18 so that the lower rail 4
Since it is inserted into the long hole 9 provided in the
8 is positioned vertically, and with the above structure, the front and rear two upper rails 3a and 3b fixed to the seat bracket 5, and the upper and lower rails 3a and 3b and the strain gauge A strain gauge type load sensor section composed of a plate member 16 provided with 17 and a columnar member 18 for fixing the plate member 14 is slidable in the lower rail 4 in the front-rear direction.

Here, the mechanism for measuring the weight of the occupant will be described. As described above, the screw members are fixed to the upper surfaces of the upper rails 3a and 3b in the upright state, and the seat bracket 5 is fitted with the washer and the double nut (not shown) through the long hole 6 provided in the horizontal surface 5a of the seat bracket 5. And the upper rails 3a and 3b are loosely fixed. On the other hand, the plate members 16 are connected to the upper rails 3a and 3b, and a columnar member 18 positioned in the vertical direction is fixed to the center position thereof. The seat bracket 5 and the upper rails 3a and 3b are loosely fixed so that when the occupant is seated on the seat, the upper rails 3a and 3b are sunk downward due to the load thereof. In order to allow the position of the screw member 7 to be slightly displaced in the front-rear direction, the plate member 16 connected to the upper rails 3a and 3b is the column member 1 from the gist of the present invention.
This is for allowing downward bending with 8 as a fulcrum.

With the above structure, the strain for determining the weight of the occupant sitting on the seat is measured as follows. That is, the columnar member 18 that fixes the plate member 16 to which the strain gauge 17 is attached is positioned in the height direction by the elongated hole 9, while the weight of the occupant sitting on the seat passes through the seat bracket 5. Push the upper rails 3a, 3b downward. Therefore, the cylindrical member 1
The plate member 16 fixed to the plate 8 is gently bent downward on the upper rails 3a, 3b centering on the columnar member 18, and as a result, strain corresponding to the amount of bending of the plate member 16 is generated in the strain gauge 17. However, the load, that is, the weight of the occupant sitting on the seat can be calculated in response to the resistance change in the Wheatstone bridge circuit.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, description will be made with reference to FIG. 5, which is a sectional view similar to FIG. In the present invention, a seat pan 22 fixed to the seat 21, a seat bracket 23 fastened to the seat pan 22 and extending in the seat front-rear direction, a strain gauge type load sensor assembly portion 24, an upper rail 25, and a lower rail 26 are provided. The strain gauge type load sensor assembly portion 24 is composed of a rigid member 28 that connects the lower portion of the strain gauge type load sensor assembly portion 24 and the upper surface of the upper rail 25.

The above construction will be described in more detail. First, the vertical surface of the seat bracket 23 is fastened to the seat pan 22, and the horizontal surface of the seat bracket 23 receives the weight of the occupant in the strain gauge type load sensor assembly portion 24. It is connected and fixed to the upper surface of 31. Further, the concave base member 29 for accommodating the strain gauge and the like in the strain gauge type load sensor assembly portion 24 is adjacent to the slide rail 27 including the upper rail 25 and the lower rail 26 in parallel in the vehicle width direction. Furthermore, the concave base member 29
The lower surface of the upper rail 25 and the upper surface of the upper rail 25 are connected by a rigid member 28 bent in a crank shape, so that the strain gauge type load sensor assembly portion 24 and the slide rail 27 are at substantially the same height position with respect to the floor. The layout is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

Here, the structure of the strain gauge type load sensor assembling portion 24 in the second embodiment of the present invention will be explained. This is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-258233.
The structure of the load sensor unit disclosed in 1) can be adopted. That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,
Concave base member 29 connected on the rigid plate member 28
And a pin 30a passed through a long hole having a long axis in the longitudinal direction formed in the left and right vertical wall portions of the concave base member 29, and the concave base member 29 located inside the pin 30a in the seat front-rear direction. The pin 30b is inserted into a round hole formed in the left and right vertical wall portions, and the pin 30a is inserted so as to face the concave base member 29, and the seat bracket 23 is inserted.
Pin bracket 31 fixed to the concave base member 2
The arm 32 housed in the groove 9 and the strain gauge 36a,
The strain gauge mounting plate 34 including 36b, the connecting member 33 that couples the arm 32 and the strain gauge mounting plate 34, and the strain gauge mounting plate 3 at an intermediate position between the front and rear pins 30a.
4 and supports the concave base member 29 and the rigid member 2.
The strain gauge type load sensor assembling portion 24 is configured by the fixing member 35 connected to 8.

Next, regarding the mechanism for measuring the weight of the occupant in the strain gauge type load sensor assembling portion 24, a side view 6 and a plan view of the strain gauge type load sensor assembling portion 24 are shown.
Described in. When the occupant sits on the seat 21, a load (downward arrow in FIG. 6) is applied to the pin 30a via the pin bracket 31 fixed to the seat bracket 23. At this time, the pin 30a is inserted into the long holes 30z formed in the left and right vertical wall portions of the concave base member 29 and having a long axis in the vertical direction, and thus descends within the range of the long holes 30z. Pin 30
When “a” descends, the seat center side of the arm 32 tries to move upward with the pin 30b, which is inserted into the right and left vertical wall portions of the concave base member 29 and does not move vertically, as a fulcrum. However, the seat center side of the arm 32 is connected to the strain gauge mounting plate 34 via the connecting member 33, and the center portion of the strain gauge mounting plate 34 is fixed to the fixing member 3.
Since the movement in the vertical direction is stopped by 5, the strain gauge mounting plate bends in a convex shape (upward arrow in FIG. 6) with the portion twisted in the left and right direction as a ridge (broken line in FIG. 7).
The strain gauge 36a and the strain gauge 36b are respectively provided at positions displaced forward and backward from this edge so that the strain gauge 36a can detect the strain amount in the tensile direction and the strain gauge 36b can detect the strain amount in the compression direction. ing. The strain gauge 36d provided on the opposite side of the fixing member 35 detects the strain amount in the tension direction, and the strain gauge 36c detects the strain amount in the compression direction. Then, a bridge circuit is configured using these four strain gauges, and a resistance change occurs from the strain amount according to the weight of the occupant.

In the second embodiment of the present invention as described above, since the strain gauge type load sensor assembling portion 24 is located at substantially the same height position as the slide rail 27 with respect to the floor, the occupant's sitting comfort is high. It is possible to provide a seat weight measuring device in which a load sensor for measuring the weight of an occupant sitting on the seat is disposed while suppressing the adverse effect on the seat and the size of the entire seat in the height direction.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. First, in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a side view of the seat showing the relationship among the seat, the slide rail, and the channel member. As shown here, in the third embodiment of the present invention, two left and right slide rails 44, which are composed of an upper rail 42 and a lower rail 43 and slide the seat 41 back and forth,
It is composed of channel members 45a and 45b which are located in the front and rear portions of the lower surface of the seat and have a strain gauge type load sensor therein. These channel members 45a, 45
b has a concave cross section, is fixed on the upper rail 42 of the slide rail 44 and extends in the vehicle width direction,
It is provided in a recess 46 provided in the vehicle width direction on the bottom surface of the front and rear portions of the seat.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG. 8 and shows the structure of the strain gauge type load sensor section provided in the channel member 45a. Channel member 4
A fixed pin 52 that does not move vertically and does not rotate is joined to a round hole provided on a vertical wall surface of the center of the vehicle 5a in the vehicle width direction, and the elastic plate member 4 having a strain gauge 47 is attached to the fixed pin 52.
8 is fixed and is extended left and right. Small-diameter rotating pins 49 are fixed to the left and right extending end portions of these plate members. The small diameter rotation pin 49 is rotatably inserted into a pin hole provided on a vertical surface of the hollow square member 50 to which a load is applied from above when an occupant sits on a seat. A spring 51 is provided between the lower surface of the hollow square member 50 and the lower surface of the channel member 45 to prevent an excessive amount of displacement when the hollow square member 50 is lowered when an occupant is seated on a seat. It has become.

In the third embodiment of the present invention, the mechanism for measuring the weight of the occupant is as follows. That is,
When the occupant sits on the seat, the hollow quadrangular member 50 receives the weight of the occupant (downward arrow in FIG. 9) and descends while receiving the reaction force of the spring 51. A small-diameter rotating pin 49 to which an elastic plate member 48 having a strain gauge 47 is fixed is inserted into the hollow square member 50. On the other hand, the other end of the elastic plate member 48 is inserted into a round hole provided in the vertical wall surface of the channel member 45a and fixed to a fixed pin 52 that does not move vertically and rotate. Therefore, the elastic plate member 48 gradually bends from the joint with the fixing pin 52 in the vehicle width direction. A strain gauge 47 provided on the elastic plate member 48 detects this bending.

From the above, the third embodiment of the present invention is
Although the channel member 45 is installed on the upper rail 42 that constitutes the slide rail 44, the strain gauge type load sensor unit 47 is provided inside the channel member 45, and the channel member 45 itself is a seat. Since it is installed in the recessed portion 46 provided on the bottom surface, it is possible to suppress the height of the seat position with respect to the floor as a whole from increasing, and it is possible to provide a seat with a load sensor that does not deteriorate the sitting comfort.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a strain gauge type load sensor arrangement portion.

4 is an elevation view seen from the direction B in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 2, showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a side view of the strain gauge type load sensor unit in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a strain gauge type load sensor unit in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 21, 41 ... Sheets 3a, 3b, 25,
42 ... Upper rail 4, 26, 43 ... Lower rail 5, 23 ... Seat bracket 9 ... Lower rail elongated hole 11 ... Roller 14 ... Roller receiving plate 15 ... Spring 16 ... Plate member 17, 34a, 34
b, 45 ... Strain gauge 18 ... Cylindrical member 22 ... Seat pan 28 ... Rigid member 45a, 45b ... Channel member 46 ... Recessed portion 48 ... Plate member 50 ... Hollow square member 51 ... Spring 100 ... Load sensor 105 ... Sheet 110 ... Sheet Pan 120 ... Seat frame 130 ... Seat rail 140 ... Floor 150 ... Seat bracket

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kenji Muramatsu             3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture Mazda             Within the corporation F-term (reference) 3B087 BA02 BB02 DE08                 3D054 EE10

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A seat on which an occupant sits, a seat bracket fixed to a lower portion of the seat, an upper rail fixed to the seat bracket and divided in the front-rear direction, and a lower rail for housing the upper rail. A slide rail for sliding the seat in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, an elastic plate member connecting the upper rail divided in the front-rear direction in the slide rail, and a center of the elastic plate member. A fixed shaft portion, a groove portion provided in the lower rail, through which the shaft portion is inserted, and which vertically positions the shaft portion so as to be slidable in the front-back direction, and fixed to the elastic plate member. A vehicle occupant having a strain gauge type load sensor section for measuring the weight of the occupant, the strain gauge being configured by a strain gauge for measuring a longitudinal strain of the elastic plate member. Weight measurement device. 2. The slide rail includes an upper rail fixed to a lower portion of a seat and divided in a front-rear direction, a lower rail for housing the upper rail, a roller arranged under the upper rail, and the roller. 2. The vehicle occupant weight measuring device according to claim 1, further comprising: a plate member that receives the upper surface of the vehicle, and a support member that is located between the plate member and the lower rail and that supports the upper rail so that the upper rail can be finely displaced vertically. 3. A seat on which an occupant sits, a slide rail which is fixed to the floor below the seat, and which is composed of an upper rail and a lower rail which accommodates the upper rail so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. A crank bracket, one end of which is fixed to the upper end of the upper rail and bent in a crank shape, and the other end of which extends in the vehicle width direction at a height position substantially equal to the bottom surface of the lower rail, and one end of which is fixed to the seat pan. A seat bracket extending downward, and the other end side of the seat bracket,
An elastic plate member that is provided between the crank-shaped bracket and the other end side extending in the vehicle width direction and that is bent by the load of an occupant, and is fixed to the elastic plate member, and measures the strain in the longitudinal direction of the elastic plate member. Vehicle occupant weight measuring device having a strain gauge type load sensor unit configured to measure the weight of an occupant, which is configured by a strain gauge. 4. A seat on which an occupant is seated, a slide rail fixed to the floor below the seat, the slide rail including an upper rail and a lower rail for accommodating the upper rail so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. A recessed portion provided on the lower surface of the seat, and while being arranged in the recessed portion, fixed to the upper rail upper portion,
A channel member extending in the vehicle width direction, a shaft member fixed at the center of the channel member in the vehicle width direction, an elastic plate member having one end fixed to the shaft member and extending in the vehicle width direction,
A support member that is connected to the other end of the elastic plate member and is fixed to the sheet, and supports the sheet so that the sheet can be slightly displaced in the vertical direction with respect to the channel member, and one end is fixed to the channel member. A strain gauge type load sensor unit for measuring the weight of an occupant, the elastic member having the other end fixed to the support member and a strain gauge provided on the elastic plate member for measuring the strain of the elastic member. A vehicle occupant weight measuring device having: