AIRBAG CONTORL UNIT

• US 20140142812A1
• Filed: 11/20/2013
• Published: 05/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/22/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bosch Corporation (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Original Assignee: Bosch Corporation (Robert Bosch GmbH)
• Inventors: Arai, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 9,142,068 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0173 Diagnostic or recording means therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/085 using electronic data carriers

Abstract

An airbag ECU includes a voltage detection section that detects a voltage in a power supply supplied to other control units (for example, front passenger seat occupancy sensing ECU). In addition, the airbag ECU includes a timer that measures an elapsed time after the voltage detected by the voltage detection section falls in a preset voltage range and a recording section that records the elapsed time measured by the timer on a memory when a failure of the other control units is detected.

Claims

1. An airbag control unit that controls an operation of an airbag apparatus, the unit comprising:

a voltage detection section that detects a voltage in a power supply supplied to the airbag control unit from a vehicle battery;

a timer that measures an elapsed time after the voltage detected by the voltage detection section falls in a preset voltage range; and

a recording section that records the elapsed time measured by the timer on a memory when a failure of other control units is detected.

2. The airbag control unit according to claim 1, wherein

the timer measures elapsed times after a voltage detected by the voltage detection section falls in each of a plurality of different preset voltage ranges, and

the recording section records a plurality of elapsed times measured by the timer on the memory when a failure of the other control units is detected.

3. The airbag control unit according to claim 2, wherein

when a failure of the other control units is detected, the recording section records histories of the plurality of elapsed times until detection of the failure, which are measured by the timer, on the memory.

4. The airbag control unit according to claim 1 further comprising:

a voltage range determination section that determines whether or not a voltage detected by the voltage detection section falls in a preset voltage range, wherein

the timer measures an elapsed time after the voltage is determined to fall in the preset voltage range by the voltage range determination section.

5. The airbag control unit according to claim 4, wherein

the timer measures an elapsed time from when the voltage is determined to fall in the preset voltage range by the voltage range determination section until the voltage is determined to fall out of the preset voltage range by the voltage range determination section.

6. The airbag control unit according to claim 1, wherein

the airbag control unit is operated by use of a first power supply which is a vehicle battery or a second power supply which is a backup power supply for the first power supply,

the other control units are operated by use of the first power supply, and

the voltage detection section detects a voltage in the first power supply.

7. The airbag control unit according to claim 1, wherein

the second power supply is a capacitor that stores a voltage supplied from the first power supply.

8. The airbag control unit according to claim 1 further comprising:

a communication fault detection section that detects a fault in communication with the other control units, wherein

when a fault in communication with the other control units is detected by the communication fault detection section, the recording section considers a failure of the other control units as being detected.

9. The airbag control unit according to claim 1, wherein

the other control units are control units that detect a status of an occupant riding in a vehicle.