METHOD AND DEVICE FOR TRIGGERING MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY MECHANISMS
First Claim
1. In a motor vehicle equipped with a safety device triggerable into a protective position in response to a trigger signal produced during an impact the motor vehicle and another object, a method for producing a triggering signal and supplying same to said safety device comprising:
- detecting the magnitude of deceleration resulting from an impact between the motor vehicle and another object at an initial stage of the impact, producing a first signal voltage substantially proportional to said magnitude of the deceleration, comparing said first signal voltage with a first set of reference voltages representing different predetermined decelerating magnitudes and producing a second signal voltage representing any of said predetermined decelerating magnitudes when said first signal voltage is higher than the reference voltage representing said any of the predetermined decelerating magnitudes, differentiating said first signal voltage with respect to time for producing a third signal voltage substantially proportional to the rate of the deceleration at said initial stage of the impact, comparing said third signal voltage with a second set of reference voltages representing different predetermined decelerating rates and related respectively to said predetermined decelerating magnitudes and producing a fourth signal voltage representing any of said predetermined decelerating rates when said third signal voltage is lower than the reference voltage representing said any of the predetermined decelerating rates, coupling said second and fourth signal voltages for producing a fifth signal voltage when the second and fourth signal voltages are produced coincidently, comparing said third signal voltage with a reference voltage lower than said second set of the reference voltages and producing a sixth signal voltage when said third signal voltage is higher than said reference voltage coupling said sixth reference voltage with said fifth signal voltage for producing a seventh signal voltage when said fifth and sixth signal voltages are produced coincidently, and supplying said seventh signal voltage as a triggering signal to said safety device for triggering said safety device into its protective position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and a device for triggering a motor vehicle safety device, such as an inflatable safety bag or a burstable safety netting when the motor vehicle collides with another object. The impact between the motor vehicle and the other object is detected and a triggering signal is supplied to the safety device in accordance with both the magnitude of deceleration resulting from the impact and the rate of the deceleration. The nature of the collision can be monitored by the grade of the linear of the magnitude of the deceleration at an initial stage of the impact so that the safety device can be actuated to its protective position in the event of any collisions such as the vehicle-tobarrier and vehicle-to-vehicle collisions.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. In a motor vehicle equipped with a safety device triggerable into a protective position in response to a trigger signal produced during an impact the motor vehicle and another object, a method for producing a triggering signal and supplying same to said safety device comprising:
- detecting the magnitude of deceleration resulting from an impact between the motor vehicle and another object at an initial stage of the impact, producing a first signal voltage substantially proportional to said magnitude of the deceleration, comparing said first signal voltage with a first set of reference voltages representing different predetermined decelerating magnitudes and producing a second signal voltage representing any of said predetermined decelerating magnitudes when said first signal voltage is higher than the reference voltage representing said any of the predetermined decelerating magnitudes, differentiating said first signal voltage with respect to time for producing a third signal voltage substantially proportional to the rate of the deceleration at said initial stage of the impact, comparing said third signal voltage with a second set of reference voltages representing different predetermined decelerating rates and related respectively to said predetermined decelerating magnitudes and producing a fourth signal voltage representing any of said predetermined decelerating rates when said third signal voltage is lower than the reference voltage representing said any of the predetermined decelerating rates, coupling said second and fourth signal voltages for producing a fifth signal voltage when the second and fourth signal voltages are produced coincidently, comparing said third signal voltage with a reference voltage lower than said second set of the reference voltages and producing a sixth signal voltage when said third signal voltage is higher than said reference voltage coupling said sixth reference voltage with said fifth signal voltage for producing a seventh signal voltage when said fifth and sixth signal voltages are produced coincidently, and supplying said seventh signal voltage as a triggering signal to said safety device for triggering said safety device into its protective position.
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2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the highest of said first and second sets of the reference voltages corresponds substantially to a magnitude and a rate, respectively, of the deceleration at an initial stage of the impact resulting from a vehicle-to-barrier collision and said reference voltage corresponds substantially to a rate of the deceleration at an initial stage of the impact resulting from a sidewise vehicle-to-vehicle collision.
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3. A method according to claim 1, further comprising removing high-frequency noises from said first signal voltage.
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4. A method for supplying a triggering signal related to specified magnitude and rate of a deceleration resulting from a mechanical impact, comprising detecting a magnitude of deceleration at an initial stage of said impact, producing a first signal voltage proportional to said magnitude of the deceleration, comparing said first signal voltage with a first set of reference voltages representing different predetermined decelerating magnitudes for producing a second signal voltage representing any of said decelerating magnitudes when said first signal is higher than any of said reference voltages, differentiating said first signal voltage for producing a third signal voltage representing the rate of said deceleration detected at said initial stage of the impact, comparing said third signal voltage with a second set of reference voltages related respectively to said deceleration magnitudes and representing different predetermined decelerating rates for producing a fourth signal voltage representing any of said decelerating rates when said third signal voltage is lower than any of said second set of the reference voltages, coupling said second and fourth signal voltages together for producing a fifth signal voltage when said second and fourth signal voltages are produced coincidently, comparing said third signal voltage with a reference voltage lower than said second set of reference voltages for producing a sixth signal voltage when said third signal voltage is higher than said reference voltage, and coupling said fifth and sixth signal voltages together for producing a seventh signal voltage when the fifth and sixth signal voltages are produced coincidently, said seventh signal voltage providing said triggering signal.
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5. In combination:
- a safety device of a motor vehicle triggerable into a protective position in response to a trigger signal produced as a result of an impact between the motor vehicle and another object, means for detecting the magnitude of deceleration resulting from an impact at an initial stage of the impact and producing a signal voltage proportional to said magnitude of the deceleration, first comparing means connected to the detecting means for comparing said signal voltage when a set of reference voltages representing different predetermined decelerating magnitudes and producing an output voltage representative of any of said decelerating magnitudes when said signal voltage is higher than any of said reference voltages, differentiating means connected to said detecting means in parallel with said first coMparing means for differentiating said signal voltage with respect to time and producing an output voltage representing a rate of the deceleration detected at said initial stage of said impact, second comparing means connected to said differentiating means for comparing said output voltage from said differentiating means with a set of reference voltages related to said decelerating magnitudes and representing different predetermined decelerating rates and producing an output voltage representative of any of said decelerating rates when said output voltage from said differentiating means is lower than any of said reference voltages in said second comparing means and producing an output voltage when said output voltage from said differentiating means is higher than said reference voltage, and second AND gating means connected to said first AND gating means and said third comparing means for producing an output voltage when receiving the output voltages coincidently from first AND-gating means and said third comparing means and supplying said output voltage as a trigger signal to said safety device for triggering the same.
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6. A combination according to claim 5, wherein the highest of said reference voltages in said first and second comparing means corresponds substantially to a magnitude and a rate, respectively, of the deceleration at an initial stage of the impact resulting from a vehicle-to-barrier collision and said reference voltage in said third comparing means corresponds substantially to a rate of the deceleration at an initial stage of the impact resulting from a vehicle-to-behicle collision.
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7. A combination according to claim 5, wherein a lowpass filter is connected between said detecting means and said differentiating and first comparing means for removing high-frequency noises from said signal voltage.
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8. In a motor vehicle equipped with a safety device triggerable into a protective position in response to a trigger signal produced during an impact between the motor vehicle and another object, a method for producing a triggering signal and applying same to said safety device comprising:
- detecting the magnitude of deceleration resulting from an impact at an initial stage of said impact, producing a first signal voltage substantially proportional to said magnitude or deceleration, producing a second signal voltage when said first signal voltage reaches a level corresponding to a predetermined deceleration magnitude which is determined in relation to a predetermined range of decelerating rates, differentiating said first signal voltage with respect to time to produce a third signal voltage representing the rate of the deceleration resulting from said impact at the initial stage of the impact, producing a fourth signal voltage when said third signal voltage is in a range within said predetermined range of decelerating rates, producing a triggering signal when said second and fourth signal voltages coincidently exist, and applying said triggering signal to said safety device to trigger said safety device into its protective position.
Specification