Control system for actuating vehicle safety devices
First Claim
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1. A control system for actuating a vehicle safety device in a motor vehicle, said system comprising:
- an acceleration sensor for producing an output signal representing acceleration of the vehicle;
processing means for producing change data representing change in the detected vehicle speed calculated on the basis of the output signal produced by said acceleration sensor;
detecting means for detecting the running speed of the vehicle;
generating means for generating a reference signal;
discriminating means responsive to said processing means and said detecting means for discriminating whether or not a collision of the vehicle has occurred by comparing the change data with the reference signal in order to indicate whether or not the change in the detected vehicle speed has reached a magnitude relative to a reference level of the reference signal, said discriminating means including means for making said comparison in such a way that as the running speed of the vehicle increases, a smaller change in the detected vehicle speed produces an indication that collision of the vehicle has occurred; and
,actuating means responsive to said discriminating means for activating said vehicle safety device.
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Abstract
In a control system for actuating vehicle safety devices, data representing change in the detected vehicle speed is calculated on the basis of the acceleration sensed by a vehicle acceleration sensor. The data is compared with a reference signal depending upon the vehicle running speed to discriminate whether or not the change in the detected vehicle speed has reached a level determined by the reference signal, whereby the occurrence collision can be detected reliably and without erroneous detection over a wide range of vehicle running speeds.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A control system for actuating a vehicle safety device in a motor vehicle, said system comprising:
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an acceleration sensor for producing an output signal representing acceleration of the vehicle; processing means for producing change data representing change in the detected vehicle speed calculated on the basis of the output signal produced by said acceleration sensor; detecting means for detecting the running speed of the vehicle; generating means for generating a reference signal; discriminating means responsive to said processing means and said detecting means for discriminating whether or not a collision of the vehicle has occurred by comparing the change data with the reference signal in order to indicate whether or not the change in the detected vehicle speed has reached a magnitude relative to a reference level of the reference signal, said discriminating means including means for making said comparison in such a way that as the running speed of the vehicle increases, a smaller change in the detected vehicle speed produces an indication that collision of the vehicle has occurred; and
,actuating means responsive to said discriminating means for activating said vehicle safety device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A control system for actuating a vehicle safety device in a motor vehicle, said system comprising:
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an acceleration sensor for producing an output signal representing acceleration of the vehicle; processing means for producing data representing change in the detected vehicle speed calculated on the basis of the acceleration sensed by said acceleration sensor; detecting means for detecting the running speed of the vehicle; generating means responsive to the output of said detecting means for generating a reference signal which is determined to accordance with the running speed of the vehicle in such a way that the level according to the reference signal becomes greater as the running speed of the vehicle increases; comparing means for comparing the data with the reference signal in order to discriminate whether or not the change in the detected vehicle speed has reached the level according to the reference signal; and actuating means responsive to said comparing means for activating said vehicle safety device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A control system for actuating a vehicle safety device in a motor vehicle, said system comprising:
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an acceleration sensor for producing an output signal representing acceleration of the vehicle; processing means for producing change data representing change in the detected vehicle speed calculated on the basis of the acceleration sensed by said acceleration sensor; means for generating a standard signal; detecting means for detecting the running speed of the vehicle; determination means responsive to the output of said detecting means for determining a correction value corresponding to the running speed of the vehicle; means for correcting the change data on the basis of the correction value to produce corrected speed data in such a way that a level of the corrected speed data becomes smaller as the running speed of the vehicle increases; and
,comparing means for comparing the corrected speed data with the standard signal in order to discriminate whether or not the level of the corrected speed data has reached a reference level according to the standard signal.
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Specification