Patent ID: 9440608
Filing Date: 2016-09-13
CPC Classification: B60R

Claim Text:
1. A seat passenger determination apparatus configured to determine whether a mode is a passenger-seated recognition mode in which a passenger is seated on a vehicle seat, or a not-seated recognition mode in which no passenger is seated on the vehicle seat, comprising: a seatbelt fastening detector configured to detect whether a seatbelt is in a fastened state or in a non-fastened state; a load detection apparatus including two load sensors arranged on one of a left side and a right side on a front and a rear on a lower side of the vehicle seat and configured to detect a load acting on the vehicle seat; a state change determination unit configured to determine a fact that the seatbelt is changed from the fastened state to the non-fastened state by using the seatbelt fastening detector; a first determination processing unit configured to determine a first determination that the passenger is not seated on the vehicle seat by having gotten out of the vehicle and transfer the mode to the not-seated recognition mode when a variation width of the load detected by the load detection apparatus in a state in which the non-fastened state of the seatbelt is detected by the seatbelt fastening detector in the passenger-seated recognition mode falls within a first threshold value of load variation width; and a second determination processing unit configured to determine a second determination that the passenger is not seated on the vehicle seat by having gotten out of the vehicle and transfer the mode to the not-seated recognition mode when the load variation width of the load detected by the load detection apparatus during a predetermined time immediately after the seatbelt has changed from the fastened state to the non-fastened state as determined by the state change determination unit in the passenger-seated recognition mode falls within a second threshold value of load variation width which is larger than the first threshold value of load variation width, wherein a third determination that the passenger is not seated on the vehicle seat by having gotten out of the vehicle is performed by the first determination processing unit when the variation width of the load detected by the load detection apparatus is within the first threshold value of load variation width after the predetermined time has elapsed.