Patent ID: 9731638
Date: 2017-08-15
CPC Classifications: B60N

Claim:
1. An occupant-support base for a vehicle seat, the occupant-support base comprising a seat pan and a seat pad coupled to the seat pan to move therewith and configured to provide means for varying a firmness level of the seat pad while varying a thickness of the seat pad to cause at least a first arrangement of the occupant-support base to be established in which a first firmness level is provided and a first thickness of the seat pad is established, the first thickness being defined between an upper seat-pad surface and an upper seat-pan surface of the seat pan, and at least a second arrangement of the occupant-support base to be established in which a relatively greater second firmness level is provided and a relatively lesser second thickness is established so that the seat pad is configured as desired by an occupant, and a control system including a first sensor configured to detect a presence of an occupant resting on the occupant-support base and provide a first signal indicative of the presence of the occupant resting on the occupant-support base, a second sensor configured to detect a vertical position of an occupant-reference point of an occupant supported by the occupant-support base and provide a second signal indicative of the vertical position of the occupant-reference point, and a controller coupled to the first and second sensors to receive the first and second signals and command a seat-bottom mover to change the vertical location of the seat pan to cause an optimal location of the occupant to be maintained.