Distributed occupant protection system and method with cooperative central and distributed protection module actuation control
First Claim
1. A vehicle occupant protection system for a vehicle, said system comprising:
- a plurality of occupant protection means, each having an actuatable portion for protecting a vehicle occupant;
central processing means for determining whether a vehicle crash condition is occurring and for outputting a signal indicative of the crash determination;
sensor means for sensing a condition present at the vehicle and for outputting a signal indicative of the sensed condition; and
communication interconnection means, connected to said central processing means, said sensor means, and said plurality of protection means, for conveying the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal to said plurality of protection means;
wherein each of said plurality of protection means includes means for controlling actuation of said actuatable portion of said respective protection means responsive to the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle occupant protection system (10) for a vehicle (12) includes a plurality of occupant protection modules (20-26). Each protection module (e.g., 20) has actuatable components (e.g., 40) for protecting a vehicle occupant. A central control processing module (18) determines whether a vehicle crash condition is occurring and outputs a signal indicative of the crash determination. A sensor module (e.g., 28) senses a condition present at the vehicle and for outputs a signal indicative of the sensed condition. A communication bus (14) is connected to the central control module (18), the sensor module (28), and the plurality of protection modules (20-26), and conveys the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal to the plurality of protection modules. Each of the plurality of protection modules (e.g., 20) includes an actuation control portion (e.g., 42) for controlling actuation of the actuatable components (e.g., 40) of the respective protection module responsive to the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A vehicle occupant protection system for a vehicle, said system comprising:
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a plurality of occupant protection means, each having an actuatable portion for protecting a vehicle occupant;
central processing means for determining whether a vehicle crash condition is occurring and for outputting a signal indicative of the crash determination;
sensor means for sensing a condition present at the vehicle and for outputting a signal indicative of the sensed condition; and
communication interconnection means, connected to said central processing means, said sensor means, and said plurality of protection means, for conveying the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal to said plurality of protection means;
wherein each of said plurality of protection means includes means for controlling actuation of said actuatable portion of said respective protection means responsive to the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A vehicle occupant protection system for a vehicle, said system comprising:
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a plurality of occupant protection means, each having an actuatable portion for protecting a vehicle occupant;
central processing means for determining whether a vehicle crash condition is occurring and for outputting a signal indicative of the crash determination;
sensor means for sensing a condition indicative of need of protection means actuation and for outputting a signal indicative of the sensed condition; and
communication interconnection means, connected to said central processing means, said sensor means, and said plurality of protection means, for conveying the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal to said plurality of protection means;
wherein each of said plurality of protection means includes means for controlling actuation of said actuatable portion of said respective protection means responsive to the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method of protecting a vehicle occupant, said method comprising:
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determining, at a central processing location, whether a vehicle crash condition is occurring;
outputting a signal indicative of the crash determination;
conveying the crash determination signal via communication interconnection means from the central processing location to a plurality of vehicle occupant protection means;
sensing, at a sensor location, a condition present at the vehicle;
outputting a signal indicative of the sensed condition;
conveying these sensed condition signal via the communication interconnection means from the sensor location to the plurality of protection means; and
controlling actuation of an actuatable portion at each of the respective protection means responsive to the crash determination signal and the sensed condition signal. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification