The present invention involves a vehicle for passengers having a passenger
safety system. The system has a crash sensor, a vehicle seat with a
weight sensor assembly, an air bag and an air bag controller. The crash
sensor is capable of providing a signal when the vehicle experiences an
impact force of a predetermined magnitude. The vehicle seat is capable of
supporting a vehicle occupant, with a seat frame member attached to a
vehicle floor pan. The seat frame member has a rigid end and a
resiliently flexible end, the resiliently flexible end able to
resiliently deflect with respect to the vehicle floor pan upon
experiencing a force due to the weight of the vehicle occupant. The
sensor assembly has a cantilevered beam, a fulcrum, and a sensing device.
The cantilevered beam has only one point of fixed attachment for
connecting to the vehicle floor pan and the seat frame member, and is
capable of resiliently deflecting upon experiencing a load force and
capable of returning to its pre-load orientation after said load force is
removed. The fulcrum is located beneath the free end of the cantilevered
beam so as to prevent the beam from permanently deforming under extreme
loading conditions. The sensing device is located beneath the
cantilevered beam and is adapted to provide a signal when said beam is
subjected to a load force of a predetermined magnitude. The airbag is
suited to rapidly deploy and provide protection to the passengers when
the vehicle experiences an impact force of a predetermined magnitude. The
airbag controller is capable of interpreting signals from the crash
sensor and sensing device to determine whether to deploy the airbag when
the vehicle experiences an impact force of a predetermined magnitude.