Motor vehicle comprising an occupant restraint device

• US 7,983,819 B2
• Filed: 11/10/2004
• Issued: 07/19/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
• Original Assignee: Daimler AG (Mercedes-Benz Group AG)
• Inventors: Baumann, Karl-Heinz, Fehring, Michael, Justen, Rainer, Schoeneburg, Rodolfo
• Primary Examiner(s): Ilan, Ruth
• Application Number:
  US11/667,376
• Publication Number:
  US 20090008915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,442 Days
• Field of Search: 701/45, 180/268, 280/735
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01315 monitoring occupant displacement
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01542 detecting passenger motion
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01544 detecting seat belt parameters, e.g. length, tension or height-adjustment

Abstract

A motor vehicle with an occupant restraint device, including a control device which produces a triggering signal when a predefined hazard signal is generated as a function of signals of a safety sensor system, and, accordingly, the occupant restraint vehicle acts on a vehicle occupant by at least one impact cushion. The control device generates the hazard signal at least as a function of vehicle acceleration signals and a belt state signal representing the activation or deactivation of a seat belt, deactivating the occupant restraint device at least for a certain period of time and/or activating the occupant restraint device at reduced power if the seat belt is identified as having been deactivated and vehicle acceleration signals are assigned to a critical forward displacement of the occupant if the seat belt is deactivated.

Claims

1. A motor vehicle comprising:

an occupant restraint device, including a control device that produces a triggering signal when a predefined hazard signal is generated as a function of signals from a safety sensor system, the occupant restraint device configured to act on a vehicle occupant by at least one impact cushion;

wherein,

the control device is configured to generate the hazard signal at least as a function of vehicle acceleration signals and a belt state signal representing activation or deactivation of a seat belt;

the control device deactivates the occupant restraint device for a predetermined period of time or activates the occupant restraint device at reduced power if the seat belt is identified as having been deactivated;

first vehicle acceleration signals are assigned to a critical forward displacement of the occupant if the seat belt is deactivated; and

a forward displacement of the occupant is defined as critical when a forward displacement travel, which is calculated from the vehicle acceleration signals and an effective duration of the forward displacement travel, is greater than a threshold of the forward displacement travel.

2. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control device evaluates a deceleration magnitude, which is determined via a longitudinal acceleration sensor, as a first vehicle acceleration signal.

3. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the control device determines a resulting deceleration magnitude from the deceleration magnitude determined via the longitudinal acceleration sensor and a deceleration magnitude determined via a transverse acceleration sensor, and evaluates the resulting deceleration magnitude as a second vehicle acceleration signal.

4. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control device evaluates a deceleration magnitude, which is determined via a transverse acceleration sensor, as a first vehicle acceleration signal.

5. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 4, wherein the control device determines a resulting deceleration magnitude from the deceleration magnitude determined via the longitudinal acceleration sensor and a deceleration magnitude determined via a transverse acceleration sensor, and evaluates the resulting deceleration magnitude as a second vehicle acceleration signal.

6. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control device evaluates a deceleration magnitude, which is determined via the vehicle speed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, as a first vehicle acceleration signal.

7. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 6, wherein signals from wheel rotational speed sensors that represent the vehicle speed are output to the control device.

8. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control device evaluates an effective duration of the vehicle acceleration signals.

9. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the threshold of the forward displacement travel is defined as a function of the distance between a maximum rearward position of a vehicle seat and one of a dashboard compartment covering and a glove compartment covering.

10. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the impact cushion is a deployable airbag.

11. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 10, wherein the airbag is deployable in at least two stages, with the control device outputting a signal to trigger a first stage if the seat belt is identified as having been deactivated and if the vehicle acceleration signals are assigned to a critical forward displacement of the occupant.

12. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the impact cushion is formed by an extendable cushion element arranged in the region of one of a dashboard compartment covering and a glove compartment covering.

13. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the occupant restraint device is assigned to a passenger seat.

14. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein, in order to generate the hazard signal, the control device evaluates the vehicle acceleration signals in terms of magnitude and temporal profile in a pre-crash phase preceding a vehicle impact.

15. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control device evaluates a deceleration magnitude, which is determined via a longitudinal acceleration sensor, as a first vehicle acceleration signal.

16. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control device evaluates a deceleration magnitude, which is determined via a transverse acceleration sensor, as a first vehicle acceleration signal.

17. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control device evaluates a deceleration magnitude, which is determined via the vehicle speed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, as a first vehicle acceleration signal.

18. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the control device evaluates an effective duration of the vehicle acceleration signals.

19. The motor vehicle as claimed in claim 14, wherein the threshold of the forward displacement travel is defined as a function of the distance between a maximum rearward position of a vehicle seat and one of a dashboard compartment covering and a glove compartment covering.

20. A method for controlling an occupant restraint device in a motor vehicle, the method comprising:

producing a triggering signal from a control device, if a predefined hazard signal is generated as a function of signals of a safety sensor system, the hazard signal being generated at least as a function of vehicle acceleration signals and a belt state signal representing activation or deactivation of a seat belt;

acting on a vehicle occupant by at least one impact cushion of the occupant restraint device, based on the triggering signal;

deactivating the occupant restraint device for a predetermined period of time or activating the occupant restraint device at reduced power, if the seat belt is identified as having been deactivated; and

assigning first vehicle acceleration signals to a critical forward displacement of the occupant, if the seat belt is deactivated,

wherein a forward displacement of the occupant is defined as critical when a forward displacement travel, which is calculated from the vehicle acceleration signals and an effective duration of the forward displacement travel, is greater than a threshold of the forward displacement travel.