Vehicle side impact crash detection for deployment of curtain and side airbags
First Claim
1. A system of sensors installed in an automotive vehicle door to detect vehicle side impact for deployment of side impact restraints comprising:
- a first sensor generating a first signal corresponding to a first crash characteristic;
a second sensor generating a second signal corresponding to a second crash characteristic different than the first crash characteristic;
a restraint device; and
a controller having a memory with tables categorizing vehicle crash severity levels resident therein;
said controller coupled to said first sensor, said second sensor and said restraint device, said controller compares said first and second signals to a vehicle crash severity level in said memory and deploys said restraint device in accordance with said vehicle crash severity level stored in memory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A restraint control system (40) for an automotive vehicle (10) is illustrated with a first sensor such as a door cavity pressure sensor (28) and a second sensor such as an accelerometer (30). A restraint device (54) is coupled to a controller (52) that controls the operation of the restraint device in response to the first sensor (28) and the second sensor (30). When either the signal from the first sensor or the signal from the second sensor is above a first or second threshold, respectively, the two signals are compared. In response to the comparison, the restraint device (54) is deployed.
29 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system of sensors installed in an automotive vehicle door to detect vehicle side impact for deployment of side impact restraints comprising:
- a first sensor generating a first signal corresponding to a first crash characteristic;
a second sensor generating a second signal corresponding to a second crash characteristic different than the first crash characteristic;
a restraint device; and
a controller having a memory with tables categorizing vehicle crash severity levels resident therein;
said controller coupled to said first sensor, said second sensor and said restraint device, said controller compares said first and second signals to a vehicle crash severity level in said memory and deploys said restraint device in accordance with said vehicle crash severity level stored in memory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
- a first sensor generating a first signal corresponding to a first crash characteristic;
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9. A system to deploy vehicle occupant restraint devices in vehicle side impact events, comprising:
- a first door pressure cavity sensor generating a first pressure signal corresponding to a pressure within the door;
a first accelerometer generating a first acceleration signal corresponding to lateral acceleration of a vehicle;
a second accelerometer sensor for generating a second acceleration signal corresponding to lateral and longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle;
a restraint device; and
a controller coupled to said first door pressure cavity sensor, said first accelerometer, said second accelerator sensor and said restraint device, when the pressure signal and the acceleration signal is received by said controller and compared to crash severity levels stored within a memory in said controller, and deploying a restraint device in response to comparing. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20)
- a first door pressure cavity sensor generating a first pressure signal corresponding to a pressure within the door;
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18. A method of operating a restraint device comprising:
- generating a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure within a door;
generating an acceleration signal corresponding to lateral acceleration of a vehicle;
transmitting said signals to a controller with a memory having crash severity levels resident therein;
computing the crash severity levels;
comparing the computed crash severity level against the crash severity levels in memory; and
deploying a restraint device in response to comparing. - View Dependent Claims (19)
- generating a pressure signal corresponding to a pressure within a door;
Specification