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Patents: Weighing Yourself in the Car: "Mr. Kriger won a patent last month for a vehicle that can regularly weigh drivers, track pounds lost or gained, and warn them when they are overeating.

But watch out - the car can be brutally honest. Eat poorly or fail to exercise and the car will sound an alarm or display admonishments.

'I wanted to put in a warning and a message,' Mr. Kriger said of the alerts that the system's microcomputer can issue on its touch-screen display. ' 'You ate too much! Don't do it next time!' It will tell you in a friendly way, 'Oh, you're overweight! What happened?' '

......His invention is a microcomputer and display screen connected to a scale that weighs a vehicle's driver and front passenger seats. The patent suggests using the same automatic 'weight-responsive unit' that controls a car air bag system, but Mr. Kriger also designed it to operate with a driver's foot switch.

.....The microcomputer processes the weight of the empty seats, and weighs them again with the driver or passenger. 'It weighs you during a trip many times,' Mr. Kriger said. 'And it will check the times you become heavier.'

After the first day, the computer stores a history so it can analyze any weight changes. If it seems as if the driver has gained or lost a significant amount, the computer will ask for information about shoes and clothes in an effort to account for the weight of the attire. If heavy boots cannot be blamed, the computer will alert the dieter with a warning that he or she is eating too much."

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