Auxiliary acceleration sensor device for an air bag system
First Claim
1. An air bag system comprising:
- a main controller that controls operation of an air bag;
a main acceleration sensor that senses an acceleration of a vehicle carrying the air bag system; and
an auxiliary acceleration sensor device, located at a periphery of the vehicle, that senses an acceleration of the periphery of the vehicle, the auxiliary acceleration sensor device comprising;
a longitudinal sensor that senses a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and generates a longitudinal acceleration signal;
a lateral sensor that senses a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and generates a lateral acceleration signal;
a first set of comparators that compare the longitudinal acceleration signal with each of a first preselected set of acceleration values and generate a first set of comparator output signals, each of the first set of comparator output signals corresponding to one of the first preselected set of acceleration values;
a second set of comparators that compare the lateral acceleration signal with each of a second set of preselected values of acceleration and generate a second set of comparator output signals, each of the second set of comparator output signals corresponding to one of the second preselected set of acceleration values;
AND elements, each having an AND element output signal, the AND elements logically multiplying each output signal of the first set of comparator output signals with a related output signal of the second set of comparator output signals, wherein the first and second set of comparator output signals are related by increasing magnitudes of their respective preselected first and second sets of acceleration values; and
an OR circuit that logically sums the AND element output signals and outputs a result to the main controller.
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Accused Products
Abstract
To improve a response rate and an impact detection precision of an auxiliary acceleration sensor device for an air bag system, an auxiliary acceleration sensor device includes a longitudinal G sensor for sensing a longitudinal acceleration G of a vehicle, and lateral G sensor for sensing a lateral acceleration G of the vehicle. The longitudinal G sensor includes a constant current source circuit, a detector portion for outputting an electrical signal representative of a longitudinal acceleration G, and an amplifier portion for amplifying the signal received from the detecting portion. The comparator includes comparing elements that compare the voltage values corresponding to longitudinal threshold values Tf1 to Tf4 of the longitudinal acceleration G with an output signal of the amplifier portion. Lateral G sensor includes a constant current source circuit, a detector portion for outputting an electrical signal representative of a lateral acceleration G, and an amplifier portion for amplifying the signal received from the detecting portion. Comparator means includes comparing elements which compare the voltages corresponding to lateral threshold values Ts1 to Ts4 of the lateral acceleration G with the output signal of the amplifier portion. An OR circuit coupled for reception with the comparator means outputs a signal to a main controller of an air bag control system when predetermined conditions are satisfied.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. An air bag system comprising:
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a main controller that controls operation of an air bag;
a main acceleration sensor that senses an acceleration of a vehicle carrying the air bag system; and
an auxiliary acceleration sensor device, located at a periphery of the vehicle, that senses an acceleration of the periphery of the vehicle, the auxiliary acceleration sensor device comprising;
a longitudinal sensor that senses a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and generates a longitudinal acceleration signal;
a lateral sensor that senses a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and generates a lateral acceleration signal;
a first set of comparators that compare the longitudinal acceleration signal with each of a first preselected set of acceleration values and generate a first set of comparator output signals, each of the first set of comparator output signals corresponding to one of the first preselected set of acceleration values;
a second set of comparators that compare the lateral acceleration signal with each of a second set of preselected values of acceleration and generate a second set of comparator output signals, each of the second set of comparator output signals corresponding to one of the second preselected set of acceleration values;
AND elements, each having an AND element output signal, the AND elements logically multiplying each output signal of the first set of comparator output signals with a related output signal of the second set of comparator output signals, wherein the first and second set of comparator output signals are related by increasing magnitudes of their respective preselected first and second sets of acceleration values; and
an OR circuit that logically sums the AND element output signals and outputs a result to the main controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An air bag system comprising:
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a main controller for controlling an operation of an air bag;
a main acceleration sensor for sensing an acceleration of a vehicle carrying the air bag system; and
an auxiliary acceleration sensor device, located at a periphery of the vehicle, for sensing an acceleration of the periphery of the vehicle, the auxiliary acceleration sensor device comprising;
a plurality of series circuits connected in parallel, each series circuit comprising a longitudinal switch being closed when a detected acceleration reaches one of a first set of preselected acceleration values and a lateral switch being opened when a detected acceleration reaches one of a second set of preselected acceleration values. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. An air bag system, comprising:
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a main controller for controlling the operation of the air bag;
a main acceleration sensor device for sensing an acceleration of a vehicle carrying the air bag system; and
an auxiliary acceleration sensor, located at a periphery of the vehicle, for sensing an acceleration of the periphery of the vehicle, the auxiliary sensor device comprising;
longitudinal sensor means for sensing a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle, the longitudinal sensor means having an output;
lateral sensor means for sensing a lateral acceleration of the vehicle, the lateral sensor means having an output;
a first comparator means for determining if a sensed longitudinal acceleration is larger than a predetermined set of longitudinal acceleration values and generating a set of corresponding comparison output signals;
a second comparator means for determining if a sensed lateral acceleration is smaller than a predetermined set of lateral acceleration values and generating a corresponding set of output signals;
an AND circuit, having output signals and comprising a plurality of AND elements, for logically multiplying the output signals of the first comparator means and the second comparator means, wherein the multiplied output signals of the first and second set of comparator means are related by increasing magnitudes of their respective longitudinal and lateral acceleration values; and
an OR circuit for logically summing the output signals of the AND elements of the AND circuit and outputting a result to the main controller. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. An air bag system comprising:
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a main controller for controlling an operation of an air bag;
a main acceleration sensor for sensing an acceleration of a vehicle; and
an auxiliary acceleration sensor device, located at a periphery of the vehicle, for sensing an acceleration of the periphery of the vehicle, the auxiliary acceleration sensor device including;
a plurality of series circuits connected in parallel, each series circuit comprising longitudinal switching means being closed when a sensed acceleration reaches one of a first set of preselected acceleration values and lateral switching means being opened when a sensed acceleration reaches one of a second set of preselected acceleration values. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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Specification