A vehicle seat includes a seat bottom adapted to slide along a floor, a seat back coupled to the seat bottom, and powered means for rearranging the vehicle seat by sliding the seat bottom along the floor and/or pivoting the seat back relative to the seat bottom.

Arrangement for controlling a component having multiple states includes a device that generates a signal at a frequency that enables it to be conducted through a human body, and a conductive surface coupled to the device, situated in a position accessible by a part of the human, and which enables proximity or contact of the part of the human to the conductive surface to develop a reactive coupling between the human and the conductive surface. The component has multiple, different states and is controlled by the human to change from a first state to a second state upon completion of an electrical circuit including the component, the conductive surface and the device upon developing reactive coupling between the human and the conductive surface when the device is generating the signal conducted through the human. The component may be a vehicular component such as a door or window.

A vehicle includes a vehicle seat comprising a seat base structure and a seat back structure pivotally connected to the seat base structure. The seat back structure includes a central adjustable region, an inboard side adjustable region adjacent the central adjustable region and a outboard side adjustable region located adjacent the central adjustable region. The seat back structure includes a central proximity sensor located at the central adjustable region, an inboard side proximity sensor located at the inboard side adjustable region and an outboard side proximity sensor located at the outboard side adjustable region. A seat back structure adjustment apparatus includes a central region adjustable member that adjusts a configuration of the central adjustable region, an inboard side adjustable member that adjusts a configuration of the inboard side adjustable region and an outboard side adjustable member that adjusts a configuration of the outboard adjustable region.

The specification and drawings present a new apparatus and method for providing an accurate and convenient weighing of a vehicle occupant using a relocatable/replaceable multi-purpose on-board vehicle occupant weighing (REMBOW) methodology including a REMBOW pad mounted on a REMBOW seat frame in a vehicle to improve safe engagement of an air bag as well as raising and monitoring possible health related issues of the vehicle occupant(s). The occupant weighing can be performed, using, as a non-limiting example, a kemoder elimination of a separate occupant's feet weighing (KEF) technology, where kemoder is a key element for moderating of an accuracy and convenience of an occupant weighing (i.e., a weighing moderator) and for starting a measuring process.

Disclosed are active vehicle seat assemblies, methods for making and using such seat assemblies, and vehicles with active seat assemblies for counteracting unwanted inertial forces. An active vehicle seat assembly is disclosed that includes an occupant chair with interconnected seat and backrest portions. A motion sensor detects motion of the occupant chair and outputs signals indicative thereof. An automated platform movably mounts the occupant chair to the vehicle body. The platform includes: a pitch plate that pivots about two lateral axes; a pitch actuator that selectively pivots the pitch plate; a roll plate that pivots about two longitudinal axes; and a roll actuator that selectively pivots the roll plate. An on-board controller responds to signals from the motion sensor indicative of inertial motion disturbances to the chair by transmitting control signals to the pitch and/or roll actuators to pivot the pitch and/or roll plates to thereby counteract the inertial disturbances.

A vehicle passenger detection apparatus is configured to monitor an occurrence of a passenger entering into a vehicle from a vacant seat state or an occurrence of the vacant seat state due to the passenger exiting from the vehicle, and to determine by calculations whether a detection value of a load sensor is stable before the passenger entered the vehicle or after the passenger exited the vehicle. Updating of a passenger determination result is executed even in a state in which a determination result from a vibration change amount judgment section indicates a disturbance has occurred, when the vehicle entry and exit determination section determines that the detection value of the load sensor is stable before the passenger entered the vehicle or after the passenger exited the vehicle.

A method of delivering haptic feedback to a vehicle occupant comprising: measuring capacitance with a capacitive sensor having a known natural capacitance oriented within a vehicle to provide a measured capacitance value; determining, as a function of the measured capacitance value, an intensity level of haptic feedback to be provided by a haptic feedback generator oriented within the vehicle; and generating haptic feedback at the intensity level to a vehicle occupant.

A seating structure includes a base, a seat, a backrest connected to the seat, and an electronic circuit supported by the base. The seat or the backrest includes a carrier and a suspension material secured to the carrier and spanning across an opening formed by the carrier. The suspension material includes a plurality of electrostatic discharge fibers. The electronic circuit is coupled to the electrostatic discharge fibers. The electronic circuit includes an electronic processor and a sensor. The sensor is configured to generate an output signal indicative of an electrical parameter of one of the electrostatic discharge fibers. The electronic processor is configured to apply a drive signal to one of the plurality of electrostatic discharge fibers, receive the output signal from the sensor, and determine a state of the seating structure based on the output signal from the sensor.

A system for adjusting one or more vehicle settings includes one or more processors, one or more occupant recognition sensors communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to output an occupant recognition signal indicative of an identity of one or more vehicle occupants, and one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more memory modules store logic that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: recognize a first vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants, determine a first vehicle zone in which the first vehicle occupant is present, automatically adjust the one or more vehicle settings based on one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle occupant and the first vehicle zone.

A handle assembly of a door of a vehicle comprises an auxiliary handle disposed on an inner surface of the door, and moveable between a deployed position and a normal position; a driving device to move the auxiliary handle; and a control device configured to instruct the driving device to move the auxiliary handle based on a door condition.