Patent ID: 6937143

Claim:
A vehicle passenger detecting apparatus in which a load sensor is provided to detect a load acting on a vehicle seat on the basis of a distortion of a seat adjuster portion in a vehicle so that a load detection value taken when said vehicle seat is in an unoccupied state is stored as an unoccupied-seat reference value in advance and a state of a seated passenger on said vehicle seat is detected on the basis of a relative value between a load detection value from said load sensor and said unoccupied-seat reference value, said apparatus comprising reference correcting means for, in a case in which an ignition key switch and a buckle switch are in off conditions and a load detection value from said load sensor in said off conditions falls below an unoccupied-seat load value set in advance, correcting said unoccupied-seat reference value through the use of said load detection value from said load sensor.