OCCUPANT DETECTION DEVICE

A vehicle seat occupant detection device (12) configured to indicate if a seat of a vehicle is occupied based on a weight (14) of an occupant occupying the seat is provided. The device (12) includes a spring (34) and a sensor (40). The spring (34) is configured to urge the device (12) toward an unoccupied state. The sensor (40) is configured to cooperate with the spring (34) in order to determine an amount of deflection of the spring (34). In this way, the spring (34) operates both as a return spring (34) and an object that the sensor (40) can detect and thereby determine the relative proximity of the spring (34).