Electronic system for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus
First Claim
1. An electronic system for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus comprising:
- an acceleration sensor which detects the acceleration of the vehicle and produces an electrical acceleration signal indicative of the detected acceleration;
digital signal processing means which detects an event of collision of the vehicle based on the acceleration signal and produces a first detection signal in response to the detection of collision;
a first analog signal processing means which detects an event of collision of the vehicle based on the acceleration signal and produces a second detection signal in response to the detection of collision;
first circuit means for producing a trigger signal for activating the vehicle rider protection apparatus in response to either one of the first and second detection signalsa second analog signal processing means which produces a third detection signal, based on the acceleration signal, which is indicative of a smaller impact of collision than an impact to which said digital signal processing means and said first analog signal processing means are responsive; and
a second circuit means which produces a final trigger signal for activating the vehicle rider protection apparatus only in response to the reception of both the trigger signal and the third detection signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic system for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus capable of preventing the erroneous activation caused by the failure or malfunctioning of the triggering circuit in the system. An acceleration sensor produces a vehicle acceleration signal, and it is processed independently by a digital signal processor and analog signal processing circuits, which produce trigger signals SA, SB and SD on detecting a collision of the vehicle. An OR gate takes logical sum of the signals SA and SB, and produces a trigger signal SC. An AND gate takes logical product of the signals SC and SD, and produces a final trigger signal SE. In response to the final trigger signal SE, a current is supplied to a squib, which then ignites and activates the vehicle rider protection apparatus. A diagnostic circuit applies a test signal to the analog signal processing circuits, and tests the operation of the circuits by analyzing the outputs of the circuits.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An electronic system for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus comprising:
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an acceleration sensor which detects the acceleration of the vehicle and produces an electrical acceleration signal indicative of the detected acceleration; digital signal processing means which detects an event of collision of the vehicle based on the acceleration signal and produces a first detection signal in response to the detection of collision; a first analog signal processing means which detects an event of collision of the vehicle based on the acceleration signal and produces a second detection signal in response to the detection of collision; first circuit means for producing a trigger signal for activating the vehicle rider protection apparatus in response to either one of the first and second detection signals a second analog signal processing means which produces a third detection signal, based on the acceleration signal, which is indicative of a smaller impact of collision than an impact to which said digital signal processing means and said first analog signal processing means are responsive; and a second circuit means which produces a final trigger signal for activating the vehicle rider protection apparatus only in response to the reception of both the trigger signal and the third detection signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An electronic system for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus, comprising:
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an acceleration sensor detecting the acceleration of a vehicle and producing an acceleration signal indicative of the detected acceleration; a digital signal processor detecting collision of the vehicle based on the acceleration signal and producing a first detection signal in response to the detection of collision; a first analog signal processor detecting vehicle collision of a first magnitude based on the acceleration signal and producing a second detection signal in response to the detection of collision; a second analog signal processor detecting vehicle collision of a second magnitude based on the acceleration signal and producing a third detection signal in response to the detection of collision, the vehicle collision of the second magnitude being different from the vehicle collision of the first magnitude; and an activation circuit producing a trigger signal to activate the vehicle rider protection apparatus based on the first, second and third detection signals. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus, comprising the steps of:
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sensing acceleration of a vehicle, digitally processing the sensed acceleration to produce a first detection signal in response to a vehicle impact, analog processing the sensed acceleration to produce a second detection signal in response to a vehicle impact, producing a third detection signal indicative of a smaller vehicle impact than a vehicle impact which causes production of said first and second detection signals, and triggering the vehicle protection apparatus when the third detection signal is produced and either one of the first and second detection signals are produced. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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17. A method for activating a vehicle rider protection apparatus, comprising the steps of:
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sensing acceleration of a vehicle; digitally processing the sensed acceleration to produce a first detection signal in response to a vehicle impact; analog processing the sensed acceleration to produce a second detection signal in response to a vehicle impact and a third detection signal indicative of a smaller vehicle impact than a vehicle impact which causes production of the first and second detection signals; mechanically detecting a vehicle impact; and triggering the vehicle protection apparatus in response to the mechanical detection of a vehicle impact and the first, second and third detection signals. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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Specification