Appeal No. 2002-1911 Page 10
Application No. 09/598,087
a strain gage assembly mounted only on either a top or bottom surface of
each of said weight sensors for generating a weight signal in response to
measuring deflection of said central bendable portion;
a central processor for determining seat occupant weight based on said
weight signals; and
an airbag control module in communication with said processor wherein
deployment force of an airbag is controlled by said control module based on seat
occupant weight.
Claim 11 is readable on Verma as follows: A system for measuring the weight of
an occupant seated on a vehicle seat (Verma discloses apparatus for determining the
seated weight of a seat occupant using strain gauges on the seat structure) comprising:
a seat riser mounted to a vehicle structure (Verma's support feet 28 and tracks 26 are
bolted to the vehicle floor); a seat frame member for supporting a seat bottom (Verma's
support 14 at the bottom of seat cushion 12); a plurality of weight sensors each having
a first end mounted to said seat riser and a second end mounted to said seat frame
with a central bendable portion extending between said first and second ends (Verma's
brackets 16 have a first end mounted to the track 26 and a second end mounted to the
support 14 with intermediate beam 22 (i.e., a central bendable portion) extending
between the first and second ends); a strain gage assembly mounted only on either a
top or bottom surface of each of said weight sensors for generating a weight signal in
response to measuring deflection of said central bendable portion (Verma's full bridge
strain gages 30 are mounted to the top surfaces of the intermediate beams 22 of
brackets 16 as shown in Figure 4 for generating a weight signal in response to
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