Vehicle occupant restraint device, system, and method having an anti-theft feature
First Claim
1. A vehicle system having a plurality of components, said system comprising:
- control means for communicating with each of said components and for controlling actuation of said system in response thereto;
said control means having means to discern an identity of each of said components, and means for determining whether the identity of each of said components corresponds to predetermined identification information and providing a signal indicative thereof.
4 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle occupant restraint system (10) has an anti-theft feature. A restraint device (e.g., 12) of the system (10) is actuatable for restraining a vehicle occupant. The restraint device (12) has an identity associated with the system (10). A central controller (40) communicates with the restraint device (12) and controls actuation of the restraint device. The central controller (40) has a theft deterrent function (52) for discerning the identity of the restraint device (12) and for determining whether the identity of the restraint device corresponds to the system (10). The theft deterrent function (52) provides a signal (60) indicative of the determination.
-
Citations
38 Claims
-
1. A vehicle system having a plurality of components, said system comprising:
-
control means for communicating with each of said components and for controlling actuation of said system in response thereto; said control means having means to discern an identity of each of said components, and means for determining whether the identity of each of said components corresponds to predetermined identification information and providing a signal indicative thereof. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A vehicle occupant restraint system having an anti-theft feature, said system comprising:
-
a restraint device actuatable for restraining a vehicle occupant, said restraint device having an identity associated with said system; and control means for communicating with said restraint device and for controlling actuation of said restraint device; said control means having means to discern the identity of said restraint device, and means for determining whether the identity of said restraint device corresponds to said system and providing a signal indicative thereof. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
-
23. A restraint device for a vehicle occupant restraint system having an anti-theft feature, said restraint device comprising:
-
actuatable restraint means actuatable for helping to restrain a vehicle occupant; initiator means for initiating said actuatable restraint means; identification retainer means for retaining an identity of the restraint device associated with the system; and communication means for communicating with a central controller of the system, including means for communicating to cause said initiator to initiate said actuatable means and means for communicating to provide the identity from said identification retainer means to the central controller for determination of whether the identity of said restraint device corresponds to the system. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27)
-
-
28. A method for preventing theft of a component of a vehicle system having a plurality of components, said method comprising:
-
communicating with each of the components; controlling actuation of the system in response to the communication; discerning the identity of each of the components; determining whether the identity of each of the components corresponds to predetermined identification information; and providing a signal indicative of the determination. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
-
-
33. A method for preventing theft of a restraint device that is actuatable for restraint of a vehicle occupant, the restraint device is part of a vehicle occupant restraint system that has a control means for communicating with the restraint device and for controlling actuation of the restraint device, said method comprising:
-
providing the restraint device with an identity associated with the system; discerning the identity of the restraint device, via communication between the control means and the restraint device; and determining whether the identity of the restraint device corresponds to the system and providing a signal indicative thereof. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
Specification