Method and apparatus for controlling an actuatable safety device
First Claim
1. A method for determining a crash condition of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
- sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first acceleration signal indicative thereof;
sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and near opposite sides of the vehicle and providing second acceleration signals indicative thereof;
determining a transverse crash value functionally related to the second acceleration signals;
comparing the determined transverse crash value against a safing threshold; and
determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal wherein said step of determining a transverse crash value functionally related to the second acceleration signals includes the step of determining a sum of moving averages of absolute values of acceleration in the second direction based on the second acceleration signals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for determining a crash condition of a vehicle comprises the step of sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first acceleration signal indicative thereof. The method also comprises the step of sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and near opposite sides of the vehicle and providing second acceleration signals indicative thereof. The method further comprises the steps of determining a transverse crash value functionally related to the second acceleration signals and comparing the determined transverse crash value against a safing threshold. The method still further comprises the step of determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal.
20 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for determining a crash condition of a vehicle comprising the steps of:
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sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first acceleration signal indicative thereof; sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and near opposite sides of the vehicle and providing second acceleration signals indicative thereof; determining a transverse crash value functionally related to the second acceleration signals; comparing the determined transverse crash value against a safing threshold; and determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal wherein said step of determining a transverse crash value functionally related to the second acceleration signals includes the step of determining a sum of moving averages of absolute values of acceleration in the second direction based on the second acceleration signals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus for determining a crash condition of a vehicle, said apparatus comprising:
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a first accelerometer for sensing crash acceleration in a first direction substantially parallel to a front-to-rear axis of the vehicle and providing a first acceleration signal indicative thereof; second accelerometers for sensing crash acceleration in a second direction substantially parallel to a side-to-side axis of the vehicle and near opposite sides of the vehicle and providing second acceleration signals indicative thereof; and a controller determining a transverse crash value functionally related to the second acceleration signals and comparing the transverse crash value against a safing threshold, the controller also determining a crash condition of the vehicle in response to (a) the comparison and (b) the first acceleration signal wherein the controller determines the transverse crash value as a sum of moving averages of absolute values of acceleration in the second direction based on the second acceleration signals. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification