METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING AN ACTUATABLE SAFETY DEVICE
First Claim
1. A method for determining a crash condition of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
- sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first crash acceleration signal indicative thereof;
sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and providing a second crash acceleration signal indicative thereof;
determining a crash metric value functionally related to the sensed crash acceleration based on the second acceleration signal;
comparing the determined crash metric value as a function of the sensed first crash acceleration signal against an associated threshold; and
determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for determining a crash condition of a vehicle comprises the step of sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first crash acceleration signal indicative thereof. The method also comprises the step of sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and providing a second crash acceleration signal indicative thereof. The method further comprises the steps of determining a crash metric value functionally related to the sensed crash acceleration based on the second acceleration signal and comparing the determined crash metric value as a function of the sensed first crash acceleration signal against an associated threshold. The method still further comprises the step of determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for determining a crash condition of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
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sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first crash acceleration signal indicative thereof; sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and providing a second crash acceleration signal indicative thereof; determining a crash metric value functionally related to the sensed crash acceleration based on the second acceleration signal; comparing the determined crash metric value as a function of the sensed first crash acceleration signal against an associated threshold; and determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus for determining a crash condition of a vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
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a first accelerometer for sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first crash acceleration signal indicative thereof; a second accelerometer for sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and providing a second crash acceleration signal indicative thereof; and a controller for determining a crash metric value functionally related to the sensed crash acceleration based on the second crash acceleration signal, the controller also comparing the crash metric value as a function of the sensed first crash acceleration signal against an associated threshold, the controller further determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first crash acceleration signal. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification