Patent ID: 6952975

Claim:
A seat occupant sensor for a vehicle comprising: an upper member having a first and a second end, said upper member being secured at the first end thereof to a seat installed within a vehicle, said upper member experiencing movement upon application of a physical load to the first end which arises from a vehicle passenger on the seat; a lower member having a first and a second end, said lower member being secured at the first end thereof to a body of the vehicle; a sensing member having a length with a first end and a second end opposite the first end, said sensing member being joined at the first end thereof to the second end of said upper member and at the second end thereof to the second end of said lower member so as to permit said sensing member to undergo bending stress as a function of a degree of the physical load on said upper member in response to the movement of said upper member transmitted to the first end of said sensing member from the second end of said upper member, thereby sensing the vehicle passenger on the seat; and a stopper mechanism installed on one of said upper member and said lower member above the length of said sensing member, said stopper mechanism working to stop said sensing member from bending out of a predetermined range in which said sensing member is allowed to undergo a maximum bending stress within a bending stress limit of said sensing member.