VEHICLE OCCUPANT SAFETY SYSTEM AND METHOD INCLUDING A SEAT-BACK ACCELERATION SENSOR

• US 20100324774A1
• Filed: 06/18/2010
• Published: 12/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH, Robert Bosch LLC (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Schmidt, Joachim, Bouni, Essam E.
• Application Number:
  US12/819,063
• Publication Number:
  US 20100324774A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/29
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0152 using strain gauges

Abstract

Systems and methods for determining conditions of a seat within a vehicle and modifying the operation of at least one safety system or device in response to the conditions of the seat. The system includes a sensor module located in a seat-back of the seat, a control module, and at least one safety system. The sensor module includes one or more accelerations sensors for measuring the acceleration of the seat along first, second, and third axes with respect to the vehicle (e.g., longitudinal, transverse, and vertical directions with respect to the vehicle). The signals generated by the acceleration sensor are sent to the control module, which uses the signals to determine a plurality of conditions of the first seat. The conditions of the seat include, for example, a seat-back tilt angle, a seat-shock (e.g., from a collision), vehicle dynamics (e.g., vehicle acceleration and velocity in multiple directions), and a vehicle rollover condition. Based on the seat conditions, the control module generates one or more control signals to compensate, enable, disable, or otherwise modify the safety system.

Claims

1. A system for modifying the operation of one or more safety systems, the system comprising:

a sensor module within a seat and including an acceleration sensor, the sensor module configured to generate an acceleration signal indicative of a condition of the seat;

a control module connected to the sensor module, the control module configured to receive the acceleration signal from the sensor module and generate a control signal in response to the acceleration signal; and

a safety system connected to the control module, the safety system configured to receive the control signal and modify a safety parameter based on the control signal.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the acceleration sensor is a three-axis accelerometer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the control module is further configured to determine a vehicle velocity based on the acceleration signal.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the safety parameter corresponds to at least one of an activation or deactivation of an airbag.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the condition of the seat is a seat-back tilt angle.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the control signal is an occupant classification signal which is based at least in part on the seat-back tilt angle.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the safety parameter is at least one of an airbag deployment time, an airbag deployment force, and a seat-belt pre-tensioning, the safety parameter being modified based at least in part on the occupant classification signal.

8. A method of modifying the operation of one or more safety systems, the method comprising:

generating an acceleration signal indicative of a condition of a seat;

receiving the acceleration signal at a control module;

generating a control signal in response to the acceleration signal;

receiving the control signal at a safety system; and

modifying a safety parameter based on the control signal.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the safety parameter corresponds to at least one of an activation or deactivation of an airbag.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising classifying a vehicle event based at least in part on the acceleration signal.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the vehicle event is a collision.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the condition of the seat is a seat-back tilt angle.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the control signal is an occupant classification signal which is based at least in part on the seat-back tilt angle.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the safety parameter is at least one of an airbag deployment time, an airbag deployment force, and a seat-belt pre-tensioning, the safety parameter being modified based at least in part on the occupant classification signal.

15. A system for controlling the operation of a safety device within a vehicle, the system comprising:

a acceleration sensor located within a seat-back of a vehicle seat, the acceleration sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle seat along an axis;

a control module configured to receive the signal from the acceleration sensor and generate a control signal based on the acceleration of the vehicle seat; and

a safety system configured to receive the control signal and modify a control parameter of the safety device based on the acceleration of the vehicle seat.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the control module is further configured to determine a vehicle velocity based on the acceleration signal.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the safety parameter corresponds to at least one of an activation or deactivation of an airbag.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the control module is further configured to determine a seat-back tilt angle based at least in part on the acceleration signal.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the control signal is an occupant classification signal which is based at least in part on the seat-back tilt angle.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the control parameter is at least one of an airbag deployment time, an airbag deployment force, and a seat-belt pre-tensioning, the control parameter being modified based at least in part on the occupant classification signal.