Device for providing a signal in response to a change of the ambient pressure

• US 6,885,966 B1
• Filed: 09/06/2000
• Issued: 04/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Siemens AG
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Tyroller, Tobias, Nakamura, Masataka, Yokota, Mitsuru, Shimoyama, Naoki
• Primary Examiner(s): Barlow, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Toan M.
• Application Number:
  US10/363,163
• Time in Patent Office: 1,693 Days
• Field of Search: 702/138, 340/436, 280/734, 280/735, 180/274
• US Class Current: 702/138
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0136 responsive to actual contact with an obstacle , e.g. to vehicle deformation, bumper displacement or bumper velocity relative to the vehicle monitoring crash strength in combination with passenger seat detection B60R21/01558
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 19/12 Alarms or signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01L 23/08 operated electrically G01L23/22 takes precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for providing a signal in response to a change of the ambient pressure, comprising a pressure sensor (S) for providing a pressure signal (DS) depending on an ambient pressure (p), and a signal processing unit (SVE) mounted downstream of the pressure sensor (S) and comprising at least one analog logarithmic system and at least one high-pass filter system.

Claims

1. A device for providing a signal in response to a change of ambient pressure for detecting a pressure change as a result of an impact of a motor vehicle, comprising:

a pressure sensor to provide a pressure signal depending on an ambient pressure; and

a signal processing unit mounted downstream of the pressure sensor and having at least one analog logarithmic system and at least one high-pass filter system, wherein the pressure signal is fed to the analog logarithmic system and an output signal of the analog logarithmic system is fed to the high-pass filter system and an output signal of the high-pass filter system is fed to an analog-to-digital converter.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the high-pass filter system is a high-pass filter.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the high-pass filter system comprises a low-pass filter to which the output signal of the analog logarithmic module is fed and a subtractor to which the output signal of the analog logarithmic module and the output signal of the low-pass filter are fed.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the high-pass filter system comprises a subtractor to which the output signal of the analog logarithmic module and a feedback signal applied at an output of a feedback path are fed, the feedback signal depending on an output signal of the subtractor.

5. The device according to claim 4, wherein the feedback path has an analog-to-digital converter connected to the output of the subtractor, an integrator mounted downstream of the analog-to-digital converter and a digital-to-analog converter mounted downstream of the integrator.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure signal is fed to a first analog logarithmic module and via a low-pass filter to a second analog logarithmic module, output signals of the first and second analog logarithmic module being fed to a subtractor.

7. The device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a low-pass filter to which the pressure signal is fed;

an analog logarithmic module;

a first switch arrangement via which the pressure signal or the output signal of the low-pass filter is fed to the analog logarithmic module in accordance with a clock pulse;

a first holding element connected to a subtractor and a second holding element connected to the subtractor; and

a second switch arrangement via which an output signal of the analog logarithmic module is fed to the first or second holding element in accordance with the clock pulse.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein an analog-to-digital converter is mounted downstream of the analog logarithmic module.

9. A method for providing a signal depending on changes of an ambient pressure for detecting a pressure change as a result of an impact of a motor vehicle, comprising:

providing a pressure signal depending on an ambient pressure by a pressure sensor; and

generating a logarithm of the pressure signal, high-pass filtering of the logarithmized pressure signal.