Sensor Arrangement, Particularly for a Passenger Protection System of a Motor Vehicle

• US 20110066333A1
• Filed: 02/03/2009
• Published: 03/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/26/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Arriver Software AB (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Autoliv AB (Autoliv Incorporated)
• Inventors: Willerton, Mark, Achatz, Klaus, Muhr, Stephan, Baur, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 8,527,074 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0018 Roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01184 Fault detection or diagnostic circuits in power circuits B60R2021/01129
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value

Abstract

A sensor arrangement, particularly for a passenger protection system of a motor vehicle, comprising a first group of sensors (10, 12) by means of which a first group of state parameters jointly usable by a first decision making unit connected downstream for detecting a first event can be detected, a first digital unit (20) coupled on the input side to at least one sensor (12) of the first sensor group. The arrangement processes the sensor output signals fed thereto and providing the same for forwarding to the first decision making unit as digital values. A second group of sensors (14, 16, 18), by means of which a second group of state parameters jointly useable by a second decision making unit is connected downstream for detecting a second event can be detected with a second digital unit coupled on the input side to at least one sensor (16, 18) of the second sensor group. The arrangement processes the sensor output signals fed thereto and providing the same for forwarding to the second decision making unit as digital values wherein at least one sensor (10) of the first sensor group is coupled to the second digital unit (22) and at least one sensor (14) of the second sensor group is coupled to the second digital unit (22) and at least one sensor (14) of the second sensor group is coupled to the first digital unit (20). The digital units (20, 22) are coupled on their output sides to a first and a second node (28, 30) combining the digital values.

Claims

1. A sensor arrangement, particularly for a passenger protection system of a motor vehicle, comprising,

a first group of sensors by means of which a first group of state parameters jointly usable by a first decision-making unit connected downstream of the first group of sensors for detecting a first event, having a first digital unit (20) coupled on an input side thereof to at least a first sensor (12) of the first group of sensors, which processes sensor output signals fed thereto and provides digital values to be forwarded to the first decision-making unit

a second group of sensors (14,16, 18) by means of which a second group of state parameters jointly usable by a second decision-making unit connected downstream of the second group of sensors for detecting a second event, a second digital unit (22) coupled on an input side thereof to at least a first sensor (16, 18) of the second group of sensors, which processes sensor output signals fed thereto and provides digital values to be forwarded to the second decision-making unit, wherein at least a second sensor (10) of the first sensor group is coupled to the second digital unit (22) and at least a second sensor (14) of the second sensor group is coupled to the first digital unit (20), and

the first and second digital units (20, 22) are coupled on output sides thereof to a first and a second node (28, 30) combining the digital values respectively fed into a first and a second output line (32, 34) such that the first node (28) combines the digital values corresponding to the first and second sensor (10, 12) of the first sensor group on the first output line (32) and the second node (30) combines the digital values corresponding to the first and second sensors (14, 16, 18) of the second sensor group on the second output line (34).

2. A sensor arrangement according to claim 1 further comprising in that the first sensor group comprises a longitudinal acceleration sensor (12) for high acceleration components along the longitudinal axis of the motor vehicle (HgX) as well as a transverse acceleration sensor (10) for high acceleration components along the transverse axis of the motor vehicle (HgY).

3. A sensor arrangement according to claim 2 further comprising in that the second sensor group comprises a transverse acceleration sensor (16) for low acceleration components along the transverse axis of the motor vehicle (Lgy), a vertical acceleration sensor (18) for low acceleration components along the vertical axis of the motor vehicle (Lgy) and a rotation rate sensor (14) for rotations of the motor vehicle about an axis that is perpendicular to its vertical axis (G).

4. A sensor arrangement according to claim 3, further comprising in that the second sensor of the second sensor group coupled to the digital unit (20) is a rotation rate (G) sensor (14).

5. A sensor arrangement according to claim 4, further comprising in that the second sensor of the first sensor group coupled to the second digital unit (22) is a transverse acceleration (HgY) sensor (10).

6. A sensor arrangement according to claim 1 further comprising in that encoding on the first and second output lines is accomplished as a periodic sequence of the digital values fed into each of the first and second nodes.

7. A sensor arrangement according to claim 5, further comprising in that the digital values corresponding to the transverse acceleration sensor and to the vertical acceleration sensor of the second sensor group are positioned within the periodic sequence in the same time slot and are encoded alternately in successive periods.

8. A sensor arrangement according claim 1 further comprising in that the processing of signals of at least one of the sensors by at least one one of the digital units (20, 22) comprises digitization of analog sensor output signals.

9. A sensor arrangement according to claim 1 further comprising in that the processing of at signals of at least one of the sensors in at least one of the digital units (20, 22) comprises a comparison to a predefined threshold value and the generation of a corresponding 1-bit digital value.