Patent ID: 8384530

Claim:
A seat occupant determining apparatus of a seat adapted to a vehicle, comprising: a first load detecting sensor provided at a right portion of the seat in a seat width direction and at a lower portion of the seat in a seat height direction in order to detect a part of a load acting on the seat and a second load detecting sensor provided at a left portion of the seat in the seat width direction and at a lower portion of the seat in the seat height direction in order to detect a part of the load acting on the seat, where the seat has a seat back and the seat width direction corresponds to a width direction of the seat back; a third load detecting sensor provided so as to be distant from the first and second load detecting sensors in a front or a rear direction of the seat in order to detect a part of the load acting on the seat; a right-left sum value calculating portion calculating a right-left sum value by adding a first load value detected by the first load detecting sensor and a second load value detected by the second load detecting sensor; a threshold changing portion for changing an occupant determining threshold on the basis of a third load value detected by the third load detecting sensor; and an occupant determining portion determining an occupant of the seat to be an adult when the right-left sum value is equal to or more than the occupant determining threshold and determining an occupant of the seat to be a child placed in a child seat that is fixed to the seat when the right-left sum value is less than the occupant determining threshold.