Seats and methods for controlling a seat are described. A position of the user's leg is sensed relative to the position of the front of the seat. A determination is made as to if the position of the user's leg from a front of the seat is greater than a gap minimum. If the gap is greater than the gap minimum, a cushion length extender portion of the seat is moved until the sensed position is less than or equal to the gap minimum. In an example, the remainder of seat base is held in a fixed position within the vehicle environment. The gap minimum can be with the cushion length extender portion in slight contact with the user's leg. The sensor can be at a front face of seat. The sensor can be on the cushion length extender portion of the seat.

An occupant support adapted for use in a vehicle includes a seat bottom, a seat back, and a sensory system. The seat bottom is coupled to a floor of the vehicle. The seat back extends upwardly away from the seat bottom. The sensor system is configured to monitor for fatigue of an occupant of the occupant support.

A seating posture is stabilized for the shoulders of a passenger seated on a vehicle seat. A vehicle seat is provided with a seat back configured to support the seated person from the rear. A shoulder support portion of the seat back configured to support a corresponding one of the shoulders of the seated passenger includes an air cell configured to expand when air is supplied. When the air cell expands, one end portion of the shoulder support portion on the outside in the width direction of the vehicle seat moves more forward than the other end portion of the shoulder support portion on the inside in the width direction.

A system capable of determining a type of a passenger sitting on a seat according to a body type is disclosed. The system includes a seat detecting means detecting a position of a seat and an angle of a seat back, a passenger detecting means detecting a passenger based on a state where a specific passenger normally sits on the seat, and a controller detecting a passenger's body part along with a seat-back area where the seat back is positioned and a passenger area where the passenger is positioned using information detected by the seat detecting means and the passenger detecting means, and learning a parameter value that is input as a relationship of detected information and a classification result for a body type of the passenger that is output by the parameter value, thus setting a body-type classification model.

An occupant support adapted for use in a vehicle includes a sensory system and a control system. The sensor system is configured to generate signals indicative of at least one of a physiological characteristic of the occupant.

A method for classifying an occupant and providing the occupant classification for a safety device in a motor vehicle. The method includes reading in a first piece of information that indirectly describes the occupant; reading in a second piece of information that directly describes the occupant; classifying the occupant, taking the indirect and direct information into account; and providing the occupant classification to an interface to the safety device for the vehicle. A corresponding device is also described.

Systems of a vehicle for sharing vehicle controls are provided. One example system includes an on-board computer that is part of the vehicle and communications circuitry of the vehicle usable by the on-board computer. The communications circuitry is configured to make connections with a wireless network for accessing a server. The on-board computer is configured to execute instructions for enabling portable devices that enter the vehicle to make a wireless connection with the vehicle. Vehicle electronics are interfaced with one or more vehicle systems and the on-board computer. The on-board computer is configured to provide access to at least one graphical user interface viewable via the portable device using the wireless connection. The at least one graphical user interface includes input options that enable control for features of said vehicle systems of the vehicle. A location for the portable device within the vehicle is identified. The location is associated with select ones of the vehicle systems for an environment zone of the location, and vehicles systems that are not for the environment zone are not provided as input options via the graphical user interface provided for the portable device. The graphical user interface provides preferences associated with a user account when the portable device transfers credentials to the vehicle when making the wireless connection with the vehicle.

A seating posture is stabilized for the shoulders of a passenger seated on a vehicle seat. A vehicle seat is provided with a seat back configured to support the seated person from the rear. A shoulder support portion of the seat back configured to support a corresponding one of the shoulders of the seated passenger includes an air cell configured to expand when air is supplied. When the air cell expands, one end portion of the shoulder support portion on the outside in the width direction of the vehicle seat moves more forward than the other end portion of the shoulder support portion on the inside in the width direction.

A system comprising: a heater located within a steering wheel and a heater located within a vehicle seat; wherein the steering wheel is a first plate and the vehicle seat is a second plate and a shift in a signal is monitored from the first plate, the second plate, or both so that a presence and absence of an occupant is detected, and wherein the heater in the steering wheel and the heater in the vehicle seat are a sensor.

Described herein is a system for setting a component of a vehicle for a driver or passenger, such as a vehicle seat or mirror, to increase driver and/or passenger safety. The system includes a vehicle component having at least one user-adjustable setting, such as a recline angle for a seat back. The system also includes a sensor, such as a camera or force sensor, configured to detect body measurement data corresponding to a physical attribute of a user. For example, the body measurement data may include a height, a weight or the like. The system also includes an electronic control unit (ECU) coupled to the vehicle component and the sensor. The ECU is designed to determine an optimal setting for the vehicle component based on the body measurement data. The ECU can also control the vehicle component to have the optimal setting.