Communication apparatus
First Claim
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1. A communication apparatus comprising:
- a master device having a plurality of communication circuits for transmitting and receiving serial data;
a plurality of communication buses over which serial data are transmitted; and
a plurality of slave devices daisy-chain-connected to the communication circuits through respective ones of the communication buses for transmitting and receiving serial data to and from the communication circuits,wherein the communication circuits set addresses for the slave devices through the plurality of communication buses at the time of initial setting, and thereafter transmit and receive serial data to and from the plurality of slave devices using the set addresses, whereinthe master device further has a communication bus connecting circuit for sequentially connecting the plurality of communication buses to the communication circuits;
the plurality of slave devices include a right group of sensors and a left group of sensors for detecting information on a collision of a vehicle at a right side and a left side of the vehicle respectively;
the right group of sensors are connected to one of the communication circuits and the left group of sensors are connected to another one of the communication circuits; and
the master device is an electronic controller for controlling a passenger protection unit in the vehicle based on information on a collision of the vehicle detected by the plurality of slave devices.
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Abstract
An airbag ECU includes a communication bus connection circuit for connecting communication buses to communication circuits. A central control circuit connects some of the communication buses to the communication circuits with the communication bus connection circuit and sets addresses for some of slave sensor devices. When those addresses are set, the other communication buses are connected to the communication circuits by the communication bus connection circuit, and addresses for the other slave sensor devices are set. Thus, a circuit can be made simpler without any influence on address setting, thus reducing cost and size of an airbag apparatus.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A communication apparatus comprising:
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a master device having a plurality of communication circuits for transmitting and receiving serial data; a plurality of communication buses over which serial data are transmitted; and a plurality of slave devices daisy-chain-connected to the communication circuits through respective ones of the communication buses for transmitting and receiving serial data to and from the communication circuits, wherein the communication circuits set addresses for the slave devices through the plurality of communication buses at the time of initial setting, and thereafter transmit and receive serial data to and from the plurality of slave devices using the set addresses, wherein the master device further has a communication bus connecting circuit for sequentially connecting the plurality of communication buses to the communication circuits; the plurality of slave devices include a right group of sensors and a left group of sensors for detecting information on a collision of a vehicle at a right side and a left side of the vehicle respectively; the right group of sensors are connected to one of the communication circuits and the left group of sensors are connected to another one of the communication circuits; and the master device is an electronic controller for controlling a passenger protection unit in the vehicle based on information on a collision of the vehicle detected by the plurality of slave devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A communication apparatus for a vehicle having a passenger protection unit, the communication apparatus comprising:
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a right group of slave devices provided at a right side of the vehicle for detecting a collision of the vehicle at the right side; a left group of slave devices provided at a left side of the vehicle for detecting a collision of the vehicle at the left side; a master device having a right communication circuit, a left communication circuit and a bus control circuit, the master device actuating the passenger protection unit when the collision of the vehicle at the right side or the left side is detected and information of the collision is communicated thereto; a right bus provided for communication between the right group of slave devices and the right communication circuit; and a left bus provided for communication between the left group of slave devices and the left communication circuit, wherein each of the right group of slave devices and the left group of slave devices includes a first sensor provided at a front side of the vehicle and a second sensor provided at a rear side of the vehicle, and wherein the bus control circuit is configured to sequentially connect the first sensor and the second sensor to a corresponding one of the communication circuits through a corresponding one of the communication buses. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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Specification