Fault diagnosis apparatus for crew protecting apparatus in vehicle
First Claim
1. A fault diagnosis apparatus for a crew protecting apparatus which protects the crew of a vehicle, comprising:
- a first acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle;
signal processing means for calculating a strength of impact applied to said vehicle based on the acceleration detected by said first acceleration sensor;
first comparing means for comparing the calculated strength of impact with a predetermined strength of impact;
a second acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle;
second comparing means for comparing acceleration detected by said second acceleration sensor to a predetermined acceleration;
starting means for starting said crew protecting apparatus, as a result of comparison by said first comparing means, when the strength of the impact is larger than the predetermined strength and, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said second acceleration sensor is larger than said predetermined acceleration;
diagnosis signal output means for outputting a signal indicating the predetermined strength of impact for fault diagnosis to said signal processing means, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said second acceleration sensor is less than or equal to said predetermined acceleration; and
diagnosis means for executing a diagnosis regarding whether said starting means is operating normally or abnormally, when said signal indicating the predetermined strength of impact is output to said signal processing means.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The fault diagnosis apparatus includes an electronic acceleration sensor and mechanical acceleration sensor. Strength of an impact of the vehicle is calculated based on the acceleration detected by the electronic acceleration sensor. A first comparator compares the calculated strength of the impact to a predetermined strength, and a second comparator compares the acceleration detected by the mechanical acceleration sensor to a predetermined acceleration. When the first comparator indicates that the strength of impact is greater than or equal to the predetermined strength and the second comparator indicates that the acceleration detected by the mechanical acceleration sensor is greater than the predetermined acceleration, a crew protecting apparatus operates. On the other hand, when the second comparator indicates that the acceleration detected by the mechanical acceleration sensor is less than or equal to the predetermined acceleration, a fault diagnosis of the crew protecting apparatus is carried out. Furthermore, when the second comparator indicates that the acceleration detected by the mechanical acceleration sensor becomes greater than the predetermined acceleration during the fault diagnosis, the fault diagnosis process stops and the crew protecting apparatus is placed in a state capable of being operated.
22 Citations
35 Claims
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1. A fault diagnosis apparatus for a crew protecting apparatus which protects the crew of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle; signal processing means for calculating a strength of impact applied to said vehicle based on the acceleration detected by said first acceleration sensor; first comparing means for comparing the calculated strength of impact with a predetermined strength of impact; a second acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle; second comparing means for comparing acceleration detected by said second acceleration sensor to a predetermined acceleration; starting means for starting said crew protecting apparatus, as a result of comparison by said first comparing means, when the strength of the impact is larger than the predetermined strength and, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said second acceleration sensor is larger than said predetermined acceleration; diagnosis signal output means for outputting a signal indicating the predetermined strength of impact for fault diagnosis to said signal processing means, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said second acceleration sensor is less than or equal to said predetermined acceleration; and diagnosis means for executing a diagnosis regarding whether said starting means is operating normally or abnormally, when said signal indicating the predetermined strength of impact is output to said signal processing means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A fault diagnosis apparatus for a crew protecting apparatus in a vehicle, comprising:
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a piezo-electric sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle; signal processing means for calculating strength of impact applied to said vehicle based on the acceleration detected by said piezo-electric acceleration sensor; first comparing means for comparing the calculated strength of impact with a predetermined strength; a mechanical acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle; second comparing means for comparing acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor to a predetermined acceleration; starting means for starting said crew protecting apparatus, as a result of comparison by said first comparison means, when the strength of impact is larger than the predetermined strength and, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor is larger than said predetermined acceleration; voltage applying means for applying a voltage of a predetermined value for a fault diagnosis to said piezo-electric acceleration sensor, when the acceleration detected by said piezo-electric sensor is a predetermined acceleration or less; and diagnosis means for executing a diagnosis regarding whether said starting means is operating normally or abnormally when said voltage of said predetermined value is applied to said piezo-electric acceleration sensor.
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17. A crew protecting apparatus to protect a crew of vehicle, comprising:
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an electronic acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle; signal processing means for calculating strength of impact applied to said vehicle based on the acceleration detected by said electronic acceleration sensor; first comparing means for comparing the calculated strength of impact with a predetermined strength of impact; a mechanical sensor for detecting acceleration of said vehicle; second comparing means for comparing acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor to a predetermined acceleration; protecting operation means for executing a crew protecting operation, as a result of the comparison by said first comparing means, when the strength of impact is larger than the predetermined strength of impact and, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor is larger than said predetermined acceleration; diagnosis signal output means for outputting a signal indicating the predetermined strength of impact for fault diagnosis to said signal processing means, as a result of comparison by said second comparing means, when the acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor is less than or equal to said predetermined acceleration; and diagnosis means for executing a diagnosis regarding whether said protecting operation means is operating normally or abnormally when the signal indicating the predetermined strength of impact is output to said signal processing means.
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18. A fault diagnosis method for diagnosing a fault of a crew protecting apparatus for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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detecting acceleration of said vehicle using an electronic acceleration sensor; calculating strength of impact applied to said vehicle based on the detected acceleration; detecting acceleration of said vehicle using a mechanical acceleration sensor; comparing acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor to a predetermined acceleration; starting said crew protecting apparatus, when the calculated strength of impact is larger than a predetermined strength and when said comparing step indicates that the acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor is larger than said predetermined acceleration; and executing a diagnosis regarding whether said crew protecting apparatus is operating normally or abnormally when said comparing step indicates that the acceleration detected by said mechanical acceleration sensor is said predetermined acceleration or less. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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20. A method for diagnosing a crew protecting apparatus, comprising the steps of:
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first detecting vehicle acceleration using a first acceleration sensor; calculating a strength of impact of the vehicle based on said first detected vehicle acceleration; first comparing said calculated strength of impact to a predetermined strength of impact; second detecting vehicle acceleration using a second acceleration sensor; second comparing said second detected vehicle acceleration to a predetermined acceleration; enabling said crew protecting apparatus when said first comparison indicates that said calculated strength of impact is greater than said predetermined strength of impact and said second comparison indicates that said second detected acceleration is greater than said predetermined acceleration; outputting a diagnosis signal indicating a strength of impact greater than said predetermined strength of impact when said second comparison indicates that said second detected acceleration is less than or equal to said predetermined acceleration; and diagnosing whether said crew protecting apparatus is operating normally or abnormally when said diagnosis signal is output. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. An apparatus for diagnosing a crew protecting apparatus, comprising:
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first detecting means for detecting vehicle acceleration; calculating means for calculating a strength of impact of the vehicle based on said first detected vehicle acceleration; first comparing means for comparing said calculated strength of impact to a predetermined strength; second detecting means for detecting vehicle acceleration; second comparing means for comparing said second detected vehicle acceleration to a predetermined acceleration; enabling means for enabling said crew protecting apparatus when said first comparing means indicates that said calculated strength of impact is greater than said predetermined strength and said second comparing means indicates that said second detected acceleration is greater than said predetermined acceleration; signal generating means for generating a diagnosis signal indicating a strength of impact greater than said predetermined strength when said second comparing means indicates that said second detected acceleration is less than or equal to said predetermined acceleration; and diagnosing means for diagnosing whether said crew protecting apparatus is operating normally or abnormally when said diagnosis signal is output. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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Specification