Seat sensor and detection device using the same

The present invention relates to a seat sensor disposed inside the seat of a vehicle for detecting the existence of a passenger and to a detection device using the seat sensor.

Recently, as vehicles have become equipped with many kinds of high-level functions, various seat sensors have been used to control functions such as actuation of an air bag system or indication of a seatbelt sign by detecting a seated passenger and determining a weight of the passenger.

A conventional seat sensor is described with reference to FIG. 11 through FIG. 15 .

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of the conventional seat sensor. In FIG. 11, upper resistor layer 2 , which is a pressure sensitive resistor element and is made of resins with conductive particles and insulating particles dispersed therein, is formed by printing underneath top sheet 1 made of flexible insulating films like polyethylene terephthalate or polyimide.

Bottom sheet 3 made of a flexible insulating film is disposed under top sheet 1 . A pair of comb-like conductive layers 4 are formed over bottom sheet 3 . Conductive layer 4 is formed by etching a copper foil bonded to a sheet or by printing flexible resins like polyester or epoxy resin, including silver or carbon dispersed therein, over a sheet. Lower resistor layer 5 , which is a pressure sensitive resistor element and is made of resins with conductive particles and insulating particles dispersed therein, is formed by printing over conductive layer 4 so that bottom resistor layer 5 is opposed to upper resistor layer 2 formed underneath top sheet 1 .

Insulating spacer 6 is made of insulating film 6 A and adhesive 6 B and 6 C coated on both surfaces of insulating film 6 A. Opening 6 D is formed in the center of insulating spacer 6 . Top sheet 1 is bonded to bottom sheet 3 via insulating spacer 6 , and opening 6 D keeps a predetermined distance between upper resistor layer 2 and lower bottom resistor layer 5 which oppose each other. The conventional seat sensor is produced in this manner.

As shown in an enlarged cross sectional view in FIG. 12, upper resistor layer 2 and lower resistor layer 5 are made of insulating resins 2 A and 5 A, including epoxy resin, phenol resin polyester resin or the like. The resistor layers include conductive small-diameter particles 2 B and 5 B, such as carbon black particles, and insulating particles 2 C and 5 C, which have large diameters as compared with the thickness of insulating resin layers 2 A and 5 A, and these particles are dispersed in insulating resins 2 A and 5 A.

The seat sensor formed as described above is placed inside the seat of a vehicle. When a passenger sits, top sheet 1 deflects due to the weight of the passenger and top resistor layer 2 makes contact with bottom resistor layer 5 as shown in a cross sectional view in FIG. 13 . In a first stage of contact between upper resistor layer 2 and lower resistor layer 5 , insulating particles 2 C and 5 C (which partially protrude from the surfaces of insulating resin 2 A and 5 A) are in contact with insulating layer 5 A and 2 A, respectively, as shown in an enlarged cross sectional view in FIG. 14 A.

Then, as further load is applied to the seat sensor by a passenger, insulating resin 5 A including conductive particles 5 B dispersed therein makes contact with insulating resin 2 A including conductive particles 2 B dispersed therein. A contact area between insulating resins 2 A and 5 A increases as the load increases. Therefore, resistance between the two conductive layers 4 decreases. When a passenger is seated completely and the load applied to the seat sensor reaches a constant value, the contact area between upper resistor layer 2 and lower resistor layer 5 becomes a constant value. Therefore, resistance between the two conductive layers reaches a constant low value not more than a predetermined value as compared with the resistance in a first stage of contact.

Resistance of the seat sensor is a summed value of the resistance at each point where upper resistor layer 2 makes contact with lower resistor layer 5 . A vehicle electronic circuit coupled to conductive layer 4 detects resistance of the seat sensor and determines whether the seat has a passenger, and whether the weight of the seated passenger is not less than a predetermined value. The electronic circuit is constructed so that it can indicate to a seatbelt usage sign or a control air-bag system whether the weight of the seated passenger is not less than a predetermined value.

However, in the conventional seat sensor described above, when a load is repeatedly applied to the seat sensor, particles 2 C and 5 C peel away with insulating resins 2 A and 5 A at an interface, and a gap 7 is formed between them. Because not only insulating particles 2 C and 5 C but also conductive particles 2 B and 5 B are dispersed in upper resistor layers 2 and 5 , respectively, the holding strength of insulating resins 2 A and 5 A for insulating particles 2 C and 5 C is low.

Moreover, insulating particles 5 C bite into conductive layer 4 by repeated loading and the amount of insulating particles 5 C protruding from the surface of insulating resin 5 A decreases because low resistor layer S is formed over conductive layer 4 . As a result, a contact area between upper resistor layer 2 and lower resistor layer 5 changes and becomes different from the contact area at the beginning of use, and resistance reduces inversely with the applied load. In other words, a problem occurs in that resistance properties become unstable.

The present invention addresses the problem, and it provides a seat sensor having stable resistance properties and a detection device using the seat sensor.

A seat sensor of the present invention comprises a top sheet made of an insulating film, and an upper insulating layer which has insulating particles partially protruding from a surface of the upper insulating layer and which is formed underneath the top sheet. The seat sensor further comprises an upper resistor layer formed on the upper insulting layer, a bottom sheet made of insulating film disposed under the top sheet, a lower insulating layer which has insulating particles partially protruding from a surface of the lower insulating layer and which is formed on the bottom sheet, a lower resistor layer formed on the lower insulating layer, and an insulating spacer layer formed between the top seat and the bottom sheet.

The seat sensor of the present invention has a conductive layer between the insulating layer and the resistor layer, if necessary. The seat sensor also has an insulating spacer layer having ends that smoothly slope.

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the seat sensor in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the seat sensor in an operating condition in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor having a plurality of lower resistor layers in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor having upper resistor layer and lower resistor layer in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the seat sensor in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor in which a top sheet is integrated with a bottom sheet in accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor in which an integrated top sheet and bottom sheet are folded together.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a detection device in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the detection device with a plurality of contact points integrally linked to each other in accordance with the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross sectional view of a conventional seat sensor.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the conventional seat sensor.

FIG. 13 is a cross sectional view of the conventional seat sensor in operation.

FIG. 14A is an enlarged cross sectional view of the conventional seat sensor in operation in a first stage of contact.

FIG. 14B is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the conventional seat sensor in operation in a second stage of contact.

FIG. 15 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the conventional seat sensor after repeated operation.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are described hereinafter with reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 10 . The parts corresponding to the layers shown in the description of the prior art are identified with the same numeral and a detailed description is omitted.

First Embodiment

FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view of a seat sensor in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, upper insulating layer 11 made of resins with insulating particles dispersed therein is formed by printing underneath top sheet 1 made of flexible insulating films such as polyethylene terephthalate(PET) or polyimide(PI). Upper resistor layer 12 , which is a pressure sensitive resistor element and is made of resins with carbon-based conductive particles dispersed therein, is formed by printing over upper insulating layer 11 .

Lower insulating layer 13 made of resins with insulating particles therein is formed by printing over bottom sheet 3 made of flexible resins such as PET or PI. Bottom sheet 3 is disposed under top sheet 1 . A pair of comb-like conductive layers 4 made of resins with silver-based conductive particles dispersed therein and lower resistor layer 15 including carbon-based conductive particles dispersed therein are formed by printing over lower insulating layer 13 . Lower resistor layer 15 , which is a pressure sensitive resistor element, is opposed to upper resistor layer 12 .

Insulating spacer layer 16 made of flexible resins such as epoxy, phenolic or polyester resin is formed by printing, and insulating spacer layer 16 has smoothly-sloping ends and surrounds each layer formed over bottom sheet 3 as described above. A cross section of a sloping end of insulating spacer layer 16 may be a straight line, an upward arcuate line, a downward arcuate line or an arbitrary curve. Adhesive layer 17 made of resins such as polyester resin or acrylic resin is formed by printing around each layer underneath top sheet 1 . Adhesive layer 17 bonds top sheet 1 to bottom sheet 3 . Insulating spacer 16 maintains a predetermined distance between upper resistor layer 12 and lower resistor layer 15 which oppose each other. The seat sensor of the present embodiment is thus constructed.

As shown in an enlarged cross sectional view in FIG. 2, upper insulating layer 11 and lower insulating layer 13 are made of insulating resins 11 A and 13 A such as epoxy resin or urethane resin, and include insulating particles having an average diameter of 5 to 20 μm and which are made of inorganic powder such as glass beads, or insulating particles 11 B or 13 B made of phenolic resin, silicon resin or acrylic resin dispersed in upper and lower insulating layers 11 and 13 . Furthermore, insulating particles 11 B and 13 B partially protrude from the surface of insulating layer 11 A and 13 A, respectively.

Upper resistor layer 12 and lower resistor layer 15 are made of insulating resins 12 A and 15 A such as epoxy resin, phenolic resin or polyester resin, with carbon-based conductive particles 12 B and 15 B such as carbon black dispersed therein.

Conductive layers 4 are made of flexible resins such as polyester resin or epoxy resin including silver particle or carbon particle or the like dispersed therein, like the related art. Metal foil produced by other methods such as electroless plating or sputtering may be used for conductive layers 4 .

The seat sensor produced above is placed inside the vehicle seat. When a passenger sits, top sheet 1 deflects due to the weight of the passenger as shown in a cross sectional view in FIG. 3 . Then, upper resistor layer 12 makes contact with lower resistor layer 15 . FIG. 2 shows a contact state between upper resistor layer 12 and lower resistor layer 15 . Insulating particles 11 B and 13 B are in contact with the surfaces of insulating resins 15 A and 12 A, respectively. Insulating particles 11 B and 13 B are opposite to insulating resin 15 A and 12 A, respectively. Furthermore, insulating particles 11 B and 13 B are held with high adhesive strength by insulating resins 11 A and 13 A, which include no other particles.

As a load applied on the seat sensor by a passenger increases, upper resistor layer 12 makes contact with lower resistor layer 15 . Then, a contact area between two layers increases according to the increase of the load, and a resistance between the upper resistor layer 12 and the lower resistor layer 15 decreases. When the passenger is seated completely, the contact area reaches a constant value and the resistance reduces as compared with that at a begins step of seating, and the resistance becomes a constant value not more than a predetermined value.

A resistance in the seat sensor is derived from the resistance of each contact point between upper layer 12 and lower resistor layer 15 . A vehicle electronic circuit coupled to conductive layer 4 detects the resistance derived from the resistance of each contact point in the seat sensor and determines whether the seat has a passenger, or whether the seated passenger does not weigh less than a predetermined value. In the present embodiment, the seat sensor is constructed so that top sheet 1 deflects along smooth ends of insulating spacer layer 16 formed by printing over bottom sheet 3 .

According to the present embodiment, insulating particles 11 B and 13 B are securely held by insulating resins 11 A and 13 A which include no other particles. Upper insulating layer 11 and lower insulating layer 13 are directly formed over top sheet 1 and bottom sheet 3 , respectively. Therefore, even when top sheet 1 and bottom sheet 3 are loaded repeatedly, insulating particles 11 B, 13 B and insulating resins 11 A, 13 A hardly peel off at their interfaces, and also insulating particles 11 B and 13 B hardly bite into other layers. Thus, a seat sensor having stable resistance properties is produced according to the present embodiment.

Conductive layer 4 is formed between lower insulating layer 13 and lower resistor layer 15 , and lower insulating layer 12 is directly formed over bottom sheet 3 . Insulating particles 13 B does not bite into conductive layer 4 , and upper resistor layer 12 makes a secure contact with lower resistor layer 15 with high repeatability as compared with the prior art in which conductive layer 4 is formed between bottom sheet 3 and insulating layer 13 . As a result, the seat sensor of the present invention can provide stable resistance properties. Insulating spacer layer 16 formed integrally over bottom sheet 3 maintains a predetermined distance between upper resistor layer 12 and lower resistor layer 15 which oppose each other. Therefore, an inexpensive seat sensor, which has a small number of components and can be assembled easily, is provided. Moreover, in the present embodiment, as insulating spacer layer 16 has smoothly-sloping ends, when top sheet 1 is deflected and upper resistor layer 12 makes contact with lower resistor layer 15 , top sheet 1 and upper resistor layer 12 are bent smoothly along the surface of insulating spacer layer 16 . Therefore, failure of top sheet 1 or upper resistor layer 12 and the dispersion of the resistance can be prevented.

In the description above, upper insulating layer 11 and upper resistor layer 12 are formed by printing underneath top sheet 1 so that they overlap. A pair of comb-like conductive layers 4 and lower resistor layer 15 are formed by printing over lower insulating layer 13 formed over bottom sheet 3 , and the two lower resistor layers 15 are coupled to each other via upper resistor layer 12 .

As shown in a cross sectional view in FIG. 4, another laminated structure also can be used for the seat sensor. A plurality of lower resistor layers 19 A and 19 B may be formed by printing on a plurality of comb-like conductive layers 18 A and 18 b, respectively, so that they overlap.

Moreover, conductive layer 20 is formed between upper insulating layer 11 and upper resistor layer 12 , and conductive layer 21 and lower resistor layer 22 are formed by printing over lower insulating layer 13 as shown in a cross sectional view in FIG. 5 . With this construction, upper resistor layer 12 and lower resistor layer 22 contact each other, and a resistance is detected from conductive layers 20 and 21 .

Second Embodiment

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the seat sensor in a second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross sectional view of FIG. 6 . In FIG. 7, upper insulating layer 11 made of insulating resin 11 A with insulating particles 11 B dispersed therein is formed by printing underneath top sheet 1 . Upper resistor layer 12 , which is a pressure sensitive resistor element and is made of insulating resin 12 A with conductive particles dispersed therein, is formed by printing over insulating layer 11 . This laminated structure as described above is the same as the structure in the first embodiment.

On the other hand, lower insulating layer 23 made of insulating resin 23 A with insulating particles 23 B dispersed therein is formed by printing over bottom sheet 3 as in the first embodiment. However, conductive layer 24 is formed by printing and keeps a predetermined distance apart from lower insulating layer 23 over bottom sheet 3 . Moreover, lower resistor layer 25 , which is a pressure sensitive resistor element and is made of insulating resin 25 A with conductive particles 25 B dispersed therein, is formed by printing over conductive layer 24 and lower insulating layer 23 . A seat sensor is thus constructed.

The seat sensor produced as described above is disposed inside the seat of a vehicle. When a passenger sits, bottom sheet 1 is deflected by the weight of the passenger and upper resistor layer 12 over top sheet 1 makes contact with lower resistor layer 25 over bottom sheet 3 as in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, lower resistor layer 25 also is directly formed over lower insulating layer 23 . Thus, when a thickness of upper insulating resin layer 11 A is equal to that of lower insulating resin layer 23 A, and when a thickness of upper resistor resin layer 12 is equal to that of lower resistor resin layer 25 , the portion of each insulating particle 11 B protruding from the surface of insulating resin 12 A is equal to that portion of each insulating particle 23 B protruding from the surface of insulating resin 25 A. Then, insulating particles 11 B and 23 B can equally make contact with surfaces of insulating resins 25 A and 12 A, respectively. The upper and lower insulating resin layers do not necessarily need to be equal to the upper and lower resistor layers in thickness.

When a passenger sits, upper resistor layer 12 makes contact with lower resistor layer 25 . A resistance of the seat sensor vanes according to the variation of load until the passenger is seated completely. A vehicle electronic circuit coupled to conductive layer 24 detects the variation of resistance and determines whether the seat has a passenger and whether the weight of the passenger is not less than a predetermined value.

According to the present embodiment, conductive layer 24 is formed by printing a predetermined distance apart from lower insulating layer 23 over bottom sheet 3 . Lower resistor layer 25 is formed over lower insulating layer 23 with direct contact as in upper resistor layer 12 . Therefore, when a thickness of upper insulating resin layer 11 A is equal to that of lower insulating resin layer 23 A, and a thickness of upper resistor resin layer 12 is equal to that of lower resistor resin layer 25 , the portion of each insulating particle 11 B protruding from the surface of upper resistor layer 12 is equal to that portion of each insulating particle 23 B protruding from the surface of lower resistor layer 25 . The portion of each of the insulating particles 11 B or 23 B can be adjusted by varying the thickness of the upper and lower resistor layers 12 and 25 , respectively. As a result, a seat sensor with smooth and stable resistance properties can be produced.

Further, in a different structure shown in FIG. 8A, upper insulating layer 11 , upper resistor layer 12 and adhesive layer 17 are formed on a left portion of sheet 28 and lower insulating layer 23 , conductive layer 24 , lower resistor layer 25 and insulating spacer layer 16 are formed on the right portion of sheet 28 , respectively, by printing. Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, the sheet having top sheet 28 A and bottom sheet 28 B is bent at the center portion 28 C so that upper resistor layer 12 underneath top sheet 28 A is opposed to lower resistor layer 25 over bottom sheet 28 B, then top sheet 28 A is bonded to bottom sheet 28 B by adhesive layer 17 . According to the structure above, a more inexpensive seat sensor having fewer components can be produced.

In the description above, the seat sensor has insulating spacer layer 16 formed by printing over bottom sheets 3 and 28 B, adhesive layer 17 formed by printing underneath top sheet 1 and 28 A, respectively. On the contrary, a seat sensor having spacer layer 16 formed underneath top sheets 1 and 28 A and having adhesive layer 17 formed over bottom sheets 3 and 28 B may be produced. Further, an adhesive layer 17 may be formed over insulating spacer layer 16 .

Third Embodiment

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a detection device according to a third embodiment In FIG. 9, seat sensor 30 described in the first and second embodiments is placed in the backside of the seating position in the vehicle seat 31 and is coupled to detecting Circuit 32 to form a detection device.

When a passenger sits on the vehicle seat 31 and a load, such as a weight of the passenger, is applied on seat sensor 30 , the resistance of seat sensor 30 varies as described in the first and second embodiments. When the passenger is seated completely and the load reaches a constant value, a resistance of seat sensor 30 also reaches to a constant value not more than a predetermined value, which detecting circuit 32 detects.

Detecting circuit 32 determines whether the load applied on seat sensor 30 is not less than a predetermined value depending on whether the resistance is not more than a predetermined value. In other words, detecting circuit 32 determines the existence of a passenger and the weight of the passenger based on a load applied on seat sensor 30 . The detecting circuit outputs the detected data to a vehicle electronic circuit (not shown). After a confirmation of the existence of a passenger, a sign for wearing a seatbelt is indicated and actuation of an air-bag system is controlled by judging whether the weight of the passenger is not less than a predetermined value.

According to the present embodiment, thus, detecting circuit 32 with seat sensor 30 detects resistance at the time a load is applied on seat sensor 30 , judges the load applied on seat sensor 30 according to a difference in the resistance of seat sensor 30 , and makes various controls.

Namely, the detection device of the present invention has seat sensor 30 and detecting circuit 32 . The detection device detects an existence of a passenger and determines the passenger's weight based on differences of each resistance detected by seat sensor 30 . Furthermore, various functions, for example, actuation of an air-bag system or indication of a seat-belt sign, are controlled. The present invention can provide such a detection device inexpensively.

In the first and second embodiments, the seat sensor having upper resistor layer 12 and lower resistor layer 15 is described. However, for the bigger seat which requires several seat sensors, it takes time and labor to install all of the required seat sensors inside the seat and couple them to the detecting circuit one by one. Therefore, as shown in a plan view in FIG. 10, an inexpensive detection device is assembled easily by using a seat sensor with a plurality of contact portions 33 integrally linked by forming a plurality of upper resistor layers 12 and lower resistor layers 15 over the top sheet 1 and the bottom sheet 3 .

According to the present invention described above, a seat sensor having stable resistance characteristics even after repeated loading, and a detection device using the seat sensor can be provided.