US Patent 7894960 Active head restraint for a vehicle seat

An active head restraint system is disclosed with an actuator, a sensor, and a controller. The controller receives an impact signal from a triggering element, receives the position of an occupant's head, actuates the head restraint to move towards the occupant's head, and controls actuation to optimize head restraint movement as the head restraint moves proximate to the occupant's head. In another embodiment, the controller also manipulates head restraint velocity to optimize the velocity toward the occupant's head. Also presented is a method for actuating an active head restraint system for a vehicle seat. The method includes sending an impact signal to a controller, receiving the position of an occupant's head, transmitting the received position of the occupant's head to a controller, actuating the head restraint to move towards the occupant's head, and controlling head restraint actuation to optimize head restraint movement as it moves proximate to the occupant's head.