Vehicle passenger restraint device for use in automotive vehicle or the like
First Claim
1. A passenger vehicle restraint system comprising:
- means for activating a restraint device;
acceleration sensor means for sensing an acceleration of the passenger vehicle and issuing an analog signal which represents the intensity of said acceleration;
circuit means responsive to said acceleration sensor means for producing an activation trigger signal which is supplied to the restraint device activating means; and
a cumulative damage discrimination circuit, included in said circuit means, which senses the amount of energy produced when the vehicle encounters a collision by treating the analog signal from said acceleration sensor means and issues a damage level signal upon the sensed energy amount exceeding a predetermined level;
said cumulative damage discrimination circuit including;
a powering circuit for performing self-multiplication on the output from said acceleration sensor means and producing a control signal; and
comparator means for comparing the control signal produced by the powering circuit with a predetermined level and issuing said damage level signal when the control signal exceeds the predetermined level.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The invention relates to circuits which increase the reliability of a passenger restraint system. In one embodiment, the connection layout with respect to a main power source, such as a vehicle battery, prevents accidental activation in the event certain portions of the wiring become grounded and which enables the activation when required even when some of the wiring is cut. Another embodiment increases the time for a which a diagnostic system can be maintained operative should the connection with the vehicle battery be lost. A third and more complex embodiment features circuits which can estimate the amount of damage which has occurred to the vehicle and predict the displacement of person under the influence of the acceleration (deceleration) caused by a collision.
69 Citations
5 Claims
-
1. A passenger vehicle restraint system comprising:
- means for activating a restraint device;
acceleration sensor means for sensing an acceleration of the passenger vehicle and issuing an analog signal which represents the intensity of said acceleration; circuit means responsive to said acceleration sensor means for producing an activation trigger signal which is supplied to the restraint device activating means; and a cumulative damage discrimination circuit, included in said circuit means, which senses the amount of energy produced when the vehicle encounters a collision by treating the analog signal from said acceleration sensor means and issues a damage level signal upon the sensed energy amount exceeding a predetermined level; said cumulative damage discrimination circuit including; a powering circuit for performing self-multiplication on the output from said acceleration sensor means and producing a control signal; and comparator means for comparing the control signal produced by the powering circuit with a predetermined level and issuing said damage level signal when the control signal exceeds the predetermined level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
- means for activating a restraint device;
Specification