Passenger air bag disable switch
First Claim
1. A vehicle occupant safety apparatus for a vehicle having a rotatable ignition, said apparatus comprising:
- an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device;
an inflator actuatable to inflate said inflatable device in response to sensing a condition indicative of a vehicle collision;
vehicle electric circuitry having a first condition enabling actuation of said inflator and a second condition disabling actuation of said inflator;
a transmitter for providing a signal;
a receiver for receiving said signal from said transmitter;
a vehicle ignition key for rotating the ignition, said ignition key being movable in a non-rotatable key block only linearly between said transmitter and said receiver to modify said signal; and
means for changing said vehicle electric circuitry between the first condition and the second condition in response to the modification of said signal by the vehicle ignition key.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle occupant safety apparatus includes an air bag (12) and an actuatable inflator (14). The apparatus includes vehicle electric circuitry (18) having a first condition enabling actuation of the inflator (14) and a second condition disabling actuation of the inflator. A disable switch (10) includes an optical transmitter (90) for providing a signal in the form of a light beam (92) and an optical receiver (100) for receiving the light beam from the transmitter. Movement of a key (66) into a position between the optical transmitter (90) and the optical receiver (100) prevents at least a part of the light beam (92) from being directed to the optical receiver, thus modifying the signal. The vehicle electric circuitry (18) changes between the first condition and the second condition in response to the modification of the signal.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A vehicle occupant safety apparatus for a vehicle having a rotatable ignition, said apparatus comprising:
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an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device; an inflator actuatable to inflate said inflatable device in response to sensing a condition indicative of a vehicle collision; vehicle electric circuitry having a first condition enabling actuation of said inflator and a second condition disabling actuation of said inflator; a transmitter for providing a signal; a receiver for receiving said signal from said transmitter; a vehicle ignition key for rotating the ignition, said ignition key being movable in a non-rotatable key block only linearly between said transmitter and said receiver to modify said signal; and means for changing said vehicle electric circuitry between the first condition and the second condition in response to the modification of said signal by the vehicle ignition key. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12)
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9. A vehicle occupant safety apparatus for a vehicle having a rotatable ignition, said apparatus comprising:
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an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device; an inflator actuatable to inflate said inflatable device in response to sensing a condition indicative of a vehicle collision; an optical transmitter for providing a light beam extending in a first direction; an optical receiver for receiving said light beam from said optical transmitter; and a vehicle ignition key for rotating the ignition, said ignition key being movable only linearly into a position between said transmitter and said receiver to block said light beam, said ignition key having a solid shaft; and vehicle electric circuitry having a first condition enabling actuation of said inflator and a second condition disabling actuation of said inflator; said vehicle electric circuitry changing between the first condition and the second condition in response to the prevention of at least a part of said light beam from being directed to said optical receiver by the linear insertion and immediate removal of said vehicle ignition key between said transmitter and said receiver.
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Specification