Patent ID: 7963598
Filing Date: 2011-06-21
Classification: B60N

Abstract:
1. A head rest control system in which a head rest of a seat of a vehicle is constructed to be moved back and forth by a head rest moving mechanism, comprising: a sensor detecting a distance between the head rest and a head of a passenger; a control device controllably actuating the head rest moving mechanism, and a collision prediction sensor that can detect prediction of the collision, wherein the control device is constructed to actuate the head rest moving mechanism so as to move the head rest forwardly or backwardly when the distance between the head rest and the head detected by the sensor is outside of a predetermined proper range of clearance for a back-side collision of the vehicle, thereby moving the head rest to a proper position for the back-side collision of the vehicle, wherein a period of time before the back-side collision of the vehicle is determined, and wherein the control device is constructed to actuate the head rest moving mechanism only in the period of time, thereby moving the head rest to the proper position, and wherein the control device is constructed to actuate the head rest moving mechanism in response to a signal from the collision prediction sensor, thereby moving the head rest to an optimal position where the head rest is positioned closer to the head of the passenger than in the proper position for the back-side collision of the vehicle and where a clearance is left between the head rest and the head of the passenger.