Active occupant restraint system having an ignition bus line laid in a ring shape and/or in a stub shape

• US 6,288,636 B1
• Filed: 08/07/2000
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Daimler Chrysler Company LLC (Stellantis NV)
• Inventors: Kaupp, Michael, Mueller, Manfred, Meyer, Michael, Rudolf, Harald
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/634,004
• Time in Patent Office: 400 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/438, 280/730.2, 280/735, 280/739, 180/282, 180/274, 307/10.1, 307/121
• US Class Current: 340/438
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01006 Mounting of electrical components in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01034 Controlling a plurality of restraint devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01075 between the airbag control unit and pyrotechnic fuses or equivalent actuators
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01 Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents electrical circuits for transmission of signals between steering wheel and the vehicle itself B60R16/027; for electrically actuating belt retractor locking means B60R22/343

Abstract

An active occupant restraint system for a motor vehicle has a central control unit and a plurality of active restraining devices with associated triggering units which are connected to the central control unit for the transmission of ignition information by an ignition bus line system having at least one ring line and/or at least one stub line. The triggering units within a respective ring and/or stub line of the ignition bus line system are arranged as a function of a predeterminable protection significance priority of the restraining devices assigned to the triggering units such that, with a decreasing protection significance priority, they are situated farther away from the central control unit. The occupant restraint system comprises one or more multistage restraining devices with pertaining triggering units, with the triggering unit pertaining to a higher stage of each multistage restraining device arranged in the corresponding ring or stub line closer to the central control unit than the triggering unit pertaining to a lower stage.

Claims

1. An active occupant restraint system for a motor vehicle, comprising:

a central control unit; and

a plurality of active restraining devices with associated triggering units which are connected by way of an ignition bus line system for transmission of ignition information between the triggering units and the central control unit;

wherein

the ignition bus line system includes at least one of a ring configured bus line and a stub configured bus line; and

a plurality of said triggering units are arranged within a particular bus line of the ignition bus line system with their respective proximity to the central control unit via the particular bus line being a function of a predeterminable protection significance priority of their associated restraining devices, such that, with a decreasing protection significance priority, they are situated farther away from the central control unit via the particular bus line.

2. An active occupant restraint system according to claim 1, wherein:

the occupant restraint system has at least one multistage restraining device, each stage of which has a pertaining triggering unit; and

a triggering unit pertaining to a higher stage of each multi-stage restraining device in a corresponding ring or stub line is arranged closer to the central control unit via a particular bus line of the ignition bus line system, than a triggering unit pertaining to a lower stage.

3. An active occupant restraint system according to claim 1, wherein:

the triggering units of active restraining devices whose activation is provided to occur at different times, are arranged as a function of a triggering sequence of the restraining devices assigned to the triggering units, such that a triggering unit of a restraining device with an earlier triggering time is farther removed from the central control unit via a particular bus line of the ignition bus line system, than that of a triggering unit with a later triggering time.