Multiple-strategy crash discrimination system

• US 5,490,069 A
• Filed: 01/14/1994
• Issued: 02/06/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Automotive Systems Laboratory, Incorporated (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Automotive Systems Laboratory, Incorporated (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Gillis, Edward J., Gioutsos, Tony
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Walker, Tyrone V.
• Application Number:
  US08/181,616
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 364/424.05, 280/735, 307/10.1, 180/268, 180/282, 340/436, 340/438
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01027 Safing sensors
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01315 monitoring occupant displacement
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01534 using electromagneticwaves, e.g. infrared

Abstract

A system (10) and method for actuating a vehicle air bag (38) uses an optical detector (12) to generate an output (22) representative of the distance between a vehicle occupant and a fixed structure within the vehicle. The output (22) is subsequently used by a signal processor/discrimination unit (26) to generate data representative of actual occupant conditions, such as transitory occupant position, velocity and/or acceleration. The occupant condition data is used to select the temporally optimal one of a plurality of different predetermined parameter-based crash discrimination strategies (R,S,T,X,Y,Z), and perhaps further used as a decisional criterion in at least one strategy. Each strategy employs different decisional criteria to provide a different range of actual times to fire. The different decisional criteria of the available strategies may be the result of uniquely-different parameter-based crash discrimination algorithms, or otherwise-identical parameter-based algorithms employing different thresholds, or both. The air bag is actuated when the decisional criteria of the selected strategy are satisfied to generate an actual time to fire. The present system and method thus optimize crash discrimination analysis by customizing the analysis in real time to match actual rather than assumed occupant conditions.

Claims

1. A system for actuating a vehicle safety restraint comprising:

means for detecting a distance between a vehicle occupant and a fixed structure within the vehicle;

means for receiving information representative of instantaneous vehicle acceleration;

processor means responsive to said detected distance and said received vehicle acceleration information for determining a first actual time to fire, wherein said processor means generates occupant condition data based on said detected distance, said occupant condition data being representative of at least one of the group consisting of transitory occupant position, transitory occupant velocity and transitory occupant acceleration; and

wherein said processor means selects in real time one of a plurality of crash discrimination strategies for use in a crash discrimination analysis based on said generated occupant condition data, each of said strategies using said received vehicle acceleration information to provide a range of actual times to fire, said range of actual times to fire provided by one of the strategies being different from the range of actual times to fire provided by another of the strategies; and

wherein said processor means determines said first actual time to fire in accordance with the selected strategy; and

means responsive to said processor means for actuating the safety restraint at said first actual time to fire.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor means further predicts a first required time to fire using said generated occupant condition data;

and wherein said first actual time to fire is less than said first required time to fire.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said generated occupant condition data is used by said processor means in determining said first actual time to fire in accordance with at least one of said strategies.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor means compares said generated occupant condition data to a first threshold value in accordance with at least one of said strategies.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the first threshold varies as a function of said detected distance.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor means compares said detected distance to a second threshold in accordance with at least one of said strategies.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein said processor means compares said vehicle acceleration information to a third threshold value in determining said first actual time to fire in accordance with at least one of said strategies, and wherein the third threshold value varies as a function of said detected distance.

8. A method of actuating a vehicle safety restraint in response to a crash comprising the steps of:

detecting a distance between a vehicle occupant and a fixed structure within the vehicle;

generating occupant condition data based on said detected distance, said generated occupant condition data being representative of at least one of the group consisting of transitory occupant position, transitory occupant velocity and transitory occupant acceleration;

receiving information representative of instantaneous vehicle acceleration;

selecting in real time one of a plurality of crash discrimination strategies for use in a crash discrimination analysis based on said generated occupant condition data, wherein each strategy uses said received vehicle acceleration information to provide a range of actual times to fire, said range of actual times to fire provided by one of the strategies being different from the range of actual times to fire provided by another of the strategies;

determining a first actual time to fire in accordance with the selected strategy; and

actuating the safety restraint at said first actual time to fire.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said selecting step includes the step of determining a first required time to fire using said generated occupant condition data;

and wherein said first actual time to fire is less than said first required time to fire.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein at least one of said strategies uses said generated occupant condition data in determining said first actual time to fire.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the use of at least one of said strategies includes comparing said generated occupant condition data to a first threshold value.

12. The method of claim 11, further including the step of adjusting the first threshold using said detected distance.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein the use of at least one of said strategies includes comparing said detected distance to a second threshold value.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein the use of said vehicle acceleration information includes comparing said vehicle acceleration information to a third threshold value, and adjusting the third threshold value based on said detected distance.