Passenger protection system

• US 20050155805A1
• Filed: 11/09/2004
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation, Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Takeuchi, Hiroyoshi, Ide, Seiya
• Granted Patent: US 7,281,599 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/282
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0133 by integrating the amplitude of the input signal

Abstract

A passenger protection system includes acceleration sensors as well as a passenger protection ECU. At least one acceleration sensor is provided on one of the width-direction sides of the vehicle and at least one accelerator sensor is provided on the other width-direction side of the vehicle. Based on signals generated by the acceleration sensors the passenger protection ECU determines occurrence of a collision, and drives passenger protection apparatus accordingly. In the event of a collision, the passenger protection ECU performs an AND operation on a signal from the acceleration sensor on the colliding one of the width-direction sides of the vehicle, and a signal from the acceleration sensor on the other width-direction side not experiencing the collision, to drive the passenger protection apparatus.

Claims

1. A passenger protection system comprising an acceleration sensor provided on each of two width-direction sides of a vehicle, and a passenger protection ECU for determining if a collision has occurred and driving a passenger protection apparatus accordingly, wherein the passenger protection ECU drives the passenger protection apparatus based on a signal from the acceleration sensor provided on a colliding one of the width-direction sides of the vehicle, and a signal from the acceleration sensor provided on the other width-direction side not experiencing the collision when the passenger protection ECU determines the collision has occurred.

2. A passenger protection system according to claim 1, wherein the passenger protection ECU drives the passenger protection apparatus based upon an AND operation performed on the signal from the acceleration sensor provided on the collision side of the width-direction sides of the vehicle, and the signal from the acceleration sensor provided on the other side of the width-direction side that does not experience the collision.

3. A passenger protection system according to claim 2, wherein the passenger protection ECU latches a signal generated in an (n-1)th side-direction collision by the acceleration sensor provided on a colliding width-direction side (where n≧

2) when consecutive side-direction collisions occur on the left and right width-direction sides and, in an nth side-direction collision, the passenger protection ECU uses the latched signal as a safe signal and a signal from the acceleration sensor provided on a colliding width-direction side as a main G signal.