Advanced weight responsive supplemental restraint computer system

• US 20040066023A1
• Filed: 10/18/2001
• Published: 04/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/20/2000
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Tabe Joseph
• Original Assignee: Tabe Joseph
• Inventors: Joseph, Tabe
• Application Number:
  US09/959,502
• Publication Number:
  US 20040066023A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/735
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01211 Expansion of air bags
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01225 control of expansion volume
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01516 using force or pressure sensing means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01526 using piezoelectric elements
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/017 including arrangements for providing electric power to safety arrangements or their actuating means, e.g. to pyrotechnic fuses or electro-mechanic valves

Abstract

A supplemental passenger restraint system including a load cell (15) mounted between the seat-mounting surface and the floor of the vehicle for sensing the weight of a siting occupant (110). A controller (25) controls an air bag (1, 2) such that the air bag (1, 2) is deployed at a rate corresponding to the weight of the occupant (110). A controller (75) for said supplemental restraint system wherein the controller is dependent on an occupant'"'"'s presence for measuring the crash severity and the speed of the vehicle to enable single or plurality of airbag deployments. Such that, when a collision is sensed at the collision sensor (75), the collision sensor (75) will enable the control module (25), which will then enable the amplifier (20) to amplify the accelerometer microprocessor (150), the release gas control processor (130), and the current igniter (55) to ignite the released igniting gas (65) inside the combustion chamber (101). Such that, the force created during the gas ignition inside the combustion chamber correspond to the deployment force of the air bag (1,2) during collision, whereby said force is precisely controlled by the weight of the occupant (110) and the speed of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A supplemental restraint system comprising:

means for sensing weight, generating weight signal corresponding to a weight of an occupant (110) on the seat (10);

a central processing unit (26), responsive to a digital signal, which has been amplified and converted from said weight signal, generating a mass value;

an accelerometer (40), responsive to said mass value, generating electrical energy corresponding to said mass value;

a gas canister (60), defining a combustion chamber (101), responsive to said accelerometer (40), releasing a gas (65), into said combustion chamber (101) at a rate corresponding to said mass value,

a gas current igniter (55), generating igniting electrical energy, said electrical energy igniting a volume of discharge gas (55) with electrical energy equivalent to the volume of said discharged gas (65), and empowering deployment of an airbag (1,2) at a rate corresponding to said mass value.

3. A supplemental restraint system according to either of claims 1 or 2, wherein said controlled energy is responsive to enabling an accelerometer operation and the controlled release of igniting gas (65).

5. A supplemental restraint system according to either of claims 3 or 4, including a sliding outlet port (61), controlled by said accelerometer (40) or a controlled energy source, and releasing gas (65) into said combustion chamber (101), at a rate corresponding to said mass value.

7. A supplemental restraint system according to either of claims 1 or 6, further comprising a CPU (26) for calculating said occupant'"'"'s body mass value and being in communication with signal processing means, said signal processing means not excluding any of microprocessors, for processing digital and analog data for the control of airbag deployment force.

2. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 1, wherein said generated weight signal defines a mechanism for transforming said generated weight into a controlled energy for controlling deployment of an airbag (1, 2).

4. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 3, wherein said accelerometer operation or a controlled energy from at least a sensor, coordinates and controls the gas opening (67) and the igniter (55), for enabling a proportionate airbag deployment force.

6. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 1, further comprising a device for processing said body weight into calculated mass value, said mass value responsive to, but not limited to enabling a second device, for generating a second electrical energy, said second energy corresponding to the first generated by the load cell (15).

8. A supplemental restraint system according to either of claims 6 or 7, further comprising a device for enabling said second electrical energy on a spring (21), such that said spring reaction enabled by the electrical energy, motions a mass body (52), such that each distance traveled by said mass body (52) enable a variable acceleration, corresponding to a variable deployment force.

9. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 8, further comprising an amplifying device (20) for amplifying signal processing devices when a collision is eminent.

10. A supplemental restraint system comprising:

an air bag (1,2);

means for sensing weight, generating a weight signal corresponding to a weight of an occupant (110) on the seat (10);

a decoder, responsive for analog to digital signals which has been amplified and converted from said weight signal, generating a mass value;

an accelerometer (40), responsive to said mass value, generating electrical energy corresponding to said mass value; and

means for controlling a force exerted by said air bag (1,2) upon expansion so that said force is

Proportionate to said mass of said occupant (110);

Wherein said means for controlling said force of said air bag (1, 2) is infinitely variable between an upper and lower threshold.

12. A supplemental restraint system according to either of claims 10 or 11, further comprising plurality load cell (15), interposed between plurality seat mounting frame and the floor (100) of the vehicle, generating a second weight signal corresponding to plurality weight of a second occupant (110) on the second seat (10).

11. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 10, further comprising:

an internal layer (3);

an external layer (4), having extremely foamy characteristics between said external layer (4) and the internal layer (3), for cushioning upon deployment of airbag (1, 2), corresponding to the weight of the occupant (110).

13. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 10, further comprising a controller (25) of type thyristor, but not limited to said type of class silicon control module, electrically connected to said load cell (15) and said second load cell (15), said load cell being plurality of load cells for distinguishing between said weight and said second weight;

wherein said controller (25) enables the airbag responsive to said weight signal, and said controller (25) enables a second airbag responsive to said weight signal.

14. A supplemental restraint system as claimed in 10, wherein said accelerometer including a mass body (52), selectively engaged with a crystal (45) with a force corresponding to said mass value, said crystal (45) generates a voltage across a surface thereof corresponding to said mass value.

15. Means for controlling the reaction force of an occupant safety restraint system for a seated occupant, said means comprising;

a weight sensor (15) for determining the weight of a seating occupant (110) and generating an output signal indicative thereof;

the weight sensor (15), including a device (11), for transforming said body weight signal into electrical energy, corresponding to the weight of said occupant (110), sampling input and output signals to plurality of sensors such that the occupant applied force on the surfaces of the seat (10) and the floor (100) of the vehicle are measured to enable the body mass calculation.

17. Means for controlling deployment force of a safety restraint system according to either of claims 15 or 16, further includes, but not limited to capacitance pressure sensor.

18. A controlling means according to claim 15, including a radar unit (70), said radar unit not excluding sensors, responsive to rear end collision, triggering deployment of said airbag (1,2).

20. Means, according to either of claims 15 to 19, further comprising a sensor with incorporated software program inside housing, for calculating occupant'"'"'s weight to mass transformation.

16. Means for controlling the deployment force of a safety restraint system as claimed in 15, comprising an airbag deployment controller wherein at least one of the plurality sensors is either of resistance pressure sensor or inductance pressure sensor.

19. Means as claimed in 15, further comprising a load cell (15) with strain gages (11) bonded inside, and generating electrical energy when strained and or under load.

21. Means, as claimed in 20, further comprising a sensing device that houses electrical resistance device for transforming body weight into electrical energy, for coordinating electromechanical reaction devices, mounted between the mounting surface of the occupant'"'"'s seat (10) and the floor (100).

22. A controller for a supplemental restraint system wherein said controller comprising;

means, such that said means is dependent on an occupant'"'"'s presence, for measuring the crash severity and the speed of the vehicle to enable a single or plurality of airbag deployments.

23. A controller for a supplemental restraint system as claimed in 22, wherein said controller enables airbag deployment forces indicative of the speed of the vehicle and the severity of the crash.

24. A supplemental restraint system comprising;

means for precisely monitoring the initial weight of a seated occupant (110) and the weight of a changing occupant, for controlling the deployment force of an airbag (1,2), comprising;

(a). an address line (33), being a reference storage memory or medium for storing actual weight at initial sitting, said memory not limited to either RAM (32) or ROM (59);

(b). an EPROM, for controlling data about a changing occupant (110) at the address line (33);

{circle over (c)}. A microprocessor means, for communicating with plurality of signal sensors, said sensors being in circuit communication with plurality of other signal processors, and transistorize switches (04), through which an airbag deployment or any restraint is enabled.

25. A supplemental restraint system according to claim 24, including an impact collision sensor (75) adapted to initiate response of said supplemental restraint system, for enabling deployment force of airbag (1,2), wherein said deployment force is dependent on said collision force and said speed of the vehicle.

26. A supplemental restraint system including sensor (7), mounted on a seatbelt provided for the seat and a sensor (8) mounted on the airbag, cooperatively influencing deployment direction of the airbag.

27. A supplemental restraint system for an airbag comprising a voltage suppressor (200) for filtering out transient phenomenon, said phenomenon is excluded and unwanted from adoption into the airbag circuitry.

28. A supplemental restraint system comprising

a load cell (15) embedded within structural mounting surface of a vehicle seat (10) and the vehicle floor, for measuring weights of occupants (110) on said vehicle seats, wherein said load cell (15) generates electrical signals or pulses corresponding only to the weight of said occupant (110) on the seat (10);

a CPU (26), responsive to said weight signal, generating a mass value;

memory means for storing current value of said CPU (26), said memory is updated each time said CPU generates a new value;

an accelerometer (40) responsive for converting said unit of mass stored in said memory into electrical energy proportionate to a force generated by said occupant (110) on said seat;

an air bag (1,2) and gas canister defining a combustion chamber, responsive to said accelerometer (40), wherein said accelerometer (40) generates a controlled energy to control said canister sliding pot, releasing a controlled and variable amount of gas into said combustion chamber, wherein said controlled energy is converted into an igniting current, said igniting current igniting said gas and deploying at least an air bag (1,2) at a rate corresponding to said mass value;

an impact collision sensor (75) initiates a response of said supplemental restraint system, enabling signal communication so that a force generated by an expansion of said air bag (1,2) is correlatively matched to said force generated by said occupant (110) and the said impact force.

29. A supplemental restraint system of claim 28, further including;

a digital to analog converter, for converting said amplified signal to digital signal communication.

30. A supplemental restraint system of claim 28, further including;

said load cell (15) being formed from machined steel beam having multiple strain gauges (11) bonded in an interior of said load cell (15).

31. A supplemental restraint system according to claim 28, further comprising;

said accelerometer having a mass which is selectively engaged with a crystal, wherein a force generated on the surface of said crystal by said mass is proportionate to said force of said occupant in said seat;

said crystal develops said control energy across the said surface as a result of said force generated by said mass.

32. A supplemental restraint system according to claim 28, further including;

said means for determining said mass of said occupant (110) being adapted to measure a weight of a seat as well as of said occupant (110), wherein said weight of said seat (10) forms a threshold;

means for analyzing said threshold so that said air bag (1,2) is only deployed when said threshold is exceeded.

33. A supplemental restraint system according to claim 28, wherein the air bag (1,2) comprises;

An internal layer (3), and an external layer (4), having extremely foamy characteristics, mounted on said internal layer, defining a cushioning there between.