Patent ID: 6879261

Claim:
An operator presence sensing apparatus for a seat of a vehicle, comprising: a base member for supporting the seat; a pivot axis provided in the base member to extend in a transverse direction, the seat being pivotable about the pivot axis; a relay member disposed between the base member and the seat to extend vertically, the relay member pivotably supported at one end thereof by the pivot axis and at the other end by the base member through a cushion spring; a seat lift-up spring disposed between an underside of the seat and the base member for receiving part of the weight of the seat, the seat unoccupied by the operator being oscillated by the lift-up spring to a floating position lifted from the relay member; an operator presence sensing switch for detecting the seat occupied by the operator and oscillated from the floating position to a lowered seated position; and a restricting device for restricting upward oscillation of the relay member occurring by action of the cushion spring when the seat is unoccupied by the operator.