Combined occupant characteristic and acoustic crash sensor arrangement
First Claim
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1. An occupant protection system for use in a vehicle, said protection system comprising:
- an actuatable protection device;
occupant characteristic sensor means for sensing an occupant characteristic and outputting a sensor signal having a first frequency component that is indicative of the sensed occupant characteristic and having a second, different frequency component that is indicative of a vehicle crash condition;
first filter means, operatively connected to said occupant characteristic sensor means, for passing the first frequency component;
second filter means, operatively connected to said occupant characteristic sensor means, for passing the second frequency component; and
controller means, operatively connected to said protection device, said occupant characteristic sensor means and said first and second filter means, for controlling actuation of said protection device in response to the first and second frequency components, wherein said occupant characteristic sensor means includes an occupant weight sensor means for sensing weight and wherein the sensed occupant characteristic is a weight of the occupant.
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Abstract
An arrangement (14) is used in a vehicle (10), and contains an occupant characteristic sensor (36), a filter (62) and a controller (24). The sensor (36) senses an occupant characteristic and outputs a signal indicative thereof. The filter (62) and the controller (24) operate to monitor the signal for a frequency component indicative of a vehicle crash event. In one example, the arrangement (14) is part of an occupant protection system (12) that includes an actuatable protection device (16). The controller (24) controlling actuation of the protection device (16) in response to the filtered frequency component.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. An occupant protection system for use in a vehicle, said protection system comprising:
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an actuatable protection device;
occupant characteristic sensor means for sensing an occupant characteristic and outputting a sensor signal having a first frequency component that is indicative of the sensed occupant characteristic and having a second, different frequency component that is indicative of a vehicle crash condition;
first filter means, operatively connected to said occupant characteristic sensor means, for passing the first frequency component;
second filter means, operatively connected to said occupant characteristic sensor means, for passing the second frequency component; and
controller means, operatively connected to said protection device, said occupant characteristic sensor means and said first and second filter means, for controlling actuation of said protection device in response to the first and second frequency components, wherein said occupant characteristic sensor means includes an occupant weight sensor means for sensing weight and wherein the sensed occupant characteristic is a weight of the occupant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. An occupant protection system for use in a vehicle, said protection system comprising:
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an actuatable protection device;
occupant characteristic sensor means for sensing an occupant characteristic and outputting a sensor signal indicative of the sensed occupant characteristic;
filter means, operatively connected to said occupant characteristic sensor means, for passing a frequency component of the sensor signal indicative of a vehicle crash; and
controller means, operatively connected to said protection device, said occupant characteristic sensor means and said filter means, for controlling actuation of said protection device in response to the sensor signal and the filtered frequency component, wherein said occupant characteristic sensor means includes an occupant weight sensor means for sensing weight, and wherein said weight sensor means is a first weight sensor means, the sensor signal is a first sensor signal, and said filter means is a first filter means, said system further comprises second weight sensor means, operatively connected to said controller means, for outputting a second sensor signal, and second filter means, operatively connected to said second weight sensor means and said controller means, for passing a frequency component of the second sensor signal indicative of a vehicle crash, and said controller means controlling actuation of said protection device in response to the first and second sensor signals and the first and second filtered frequency components. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of protecting an occupant in a vehicle with an actuatable protection device, said method comprising:
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sensing an occupant characteristic;
outputting a sensor signal having a first frequency component that is indicative of the sensed occupant characteristic and having a second, different frequency component that is indicative of a vehicle crash event;
filtering the first and second frequency components of the sensor signal; and
controlling actuation of the protection device in response to the first and second frequency components of the sensor signal, wherein said step of sensing an occupant characteristic includes sensing weight.
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Specification