Device and method for triggering a vehicle occupant protection means, triggering system and vehicle
First Claim
1. A device for triggering an occupant protection arrangement of a vehicle, comprising:
- an environment sensor for monitoring a surrounding environment of the vehicle, the environment sensor being adapted to output an environment signal to an output of the environment sensor in response to an impending collision of the vehicle;
a connecting line connected to the output of the environment sensor;
a triggering device having an input that is connected to the connecting line for reception of the environment signal, a sensor element adapted to acquire, within a peripheral area of the vehicle, a physical quantity indicating that a collision has taken place and, based on the physical quantity, to produce a collision signal, a logic unit for making a triggering decision for the occupant protection arrangement as a function of the environment signal and of the collision signal, and an output for outputting a triggering signal based on the triggering decision;
anda control device to receive the triggering signal of the triggering device to activate the occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the triggering device;
wherein the connecting line is a direct connection between the output of the environment sensor and the input of the triggering device,wherein the environment sensor and the triggering device are situated adjacent to one another within the peripheral area of the vehicle, andwherein the triggering signal of the triggering device is adapted to activate the occupant protection arrangement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device for triggering an occupant protection means of a vehicle has an environment sensor for monitoring a surrounding environment of the vehicle, the environment sensor being adapted so as to output an environment signal in response to an impending collision of the vehicle. The device further has a triggering device that is adapted to acquire, within a peripheral area of the vehicle, a physical quantity indicating a collision that has taken place, and to produce a collision signal based on the physical quantity, and that is adapted to make a triggering decision for the occupant protection means as a function of the environment signal and of the collision signal.
39 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A device for triggering an occupant protection arrangement of a vehicle, comprising:
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an environment sensor for monitoring a surrounding environment of the vehicle, the environment sensor being adapted to output an environment signal to an output of the environment sensor in response to an impending collision of the vehicle; a connecting line connected to the output of the environment sensor; a triggering device having an input that is connected to the connecting line for reception of the environment signal, a sensor element adapted to acquire, within a peripheral area of the vehicle, a physical quantity indicating that a collision has taken place and, based on the physical quantity, to produce a collision signal, a logic unit for making a triggering decision for the occupant protection arrangement as a function of the environment signal and of the collision signal, and an output for outputting a triggering signal based on the triggering decision; and a control device to receive the triggering signal of the triggering device to activate the occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the triggering device; wherein the connecting line is a direct connection between the output of the environment sensor and the input of the triggering device, wherein the environment sensor and the triggering device are situated adjacent to one another within the peripheral area of the vehicle, and wherein the triggering signal of the triggering device is adapted to activate the occupant protection arrangement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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6. A triggering system for an occupant protection arrangement of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first device for triggering a first occupant protection arrangement; a further device for triggering a further occupant protection arrangement; and a control device that is adapted to receive the triggering signal of the first device and the triggering signal of the further device and to activate the first occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the first device, and to activate the further occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the further device; wherein the first device and the further device each include; an environment sensor for monitoring a surrounding environment of the vehicle, the environment sensor being adapted to output an environment signal to an output of the environment sensor in response to an impending collision of the vehicle; a connecting line connected to the output of the environment sensor; and a triggering device having an input that is connected to the connecting line for reception of the environment signal, a sensor element adapted to acquire, within a peripheral area of the vehicle, a physical quantity indicating that a collision has taken place and, based on the physical quantity, to produce a collision signal, a logic unit for making a triggering decision for the occupant protection arrangement as a function of the environment signal and of the collision signal, and an output for outputting a triggering signal based on the triggering decision; wherein the environment sensor is adapted to be situated on an outer shell of the vehicle, and the triggering device is adapted to be situated on a peripheral structural element of the vehicle covered by the outer shell of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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7. A vehicle, comprising:
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a first occupant protection arrangement and a further occupant protection arrangement; and a triggering system having a control device which is situated spatially separate from a first device and from a further device; wherein the triggering system includes; the first device for triggering the first occupant protection arrangement; the further device for triggering the further occupant protection arrangement; and the control device, which is adapted to receive the triggering signal of the first device and the triggering signal of the further device and to activate the first occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the first device, and to activate the further occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the further device; wherein the first device and the further device each include; an environment sensor for monitoring a surrounding environment of the vehicle, the environment sensor being adapted to output an environment signal to an output of the environment sensor in response to an impending collision of the vehicle; a connecting line connected to the output of the environment sensor; and a triggering device having an input that is connected to the connecting line for reception of the environment signal, a sensor element adapted to acquire, within a peripheral area of the vehicle, a physical quantity indicating that a collision has taken place and, based on the physical quantity, to produce a collision signal, a logic unit for making a triggering decision for the occupant protection arrangement as a function of the environment signal and of the collision signal, and an output for outputting a triggering signal based on the triggering decision; wherein the environment sensor is adapted to be situated on an outer shell of the vehicle, and wherein the triggering device is adapted to be situated on a peripheral structural element of the vehicle covered by the outer shell of the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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8. A method for triggering an occupant protection arrangement of a vehicle, comprising:
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using an environment sensor, monitoring a surrounding environment of the vehicle to output an environment signal in response to an impending collision of the vehicle; using another sensor element situated on a triggering device acquiring a physical quantity indicating a collision that has taken place within a peripheral area of the vehicle, and producing a collision signal based on the physical quantity; using the triggering device making a triggering decision for the occupant protection arrangement as a function of the environment signal and the collision signal; outputting a triggering signal based on the triggering decision, wherein using a connecting line, the triggering device is directly connected to the environment sensor; and receiving, using a control unit, the triggering signal of the triggering device to activate the occupant protection arrangement in response to the triggering signal of the triggering device; wherein the environment sensor and the triggering device are situated adjacent to one another within the peripheral area of the vehicle, and wherein the triggering signal of the triggering device is adapted to activate the occupant protection arrangement.
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Specification