Method and device for triggering at least one passenger protection means of a vehicle

• US 20150224951A1
• Filed: 01/29/2015
• Published: 08/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/13/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: LANG, Gunther
• Granted Patent: US 9,475,442 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01013 Means for detecting collision, impending collision or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01204 Actuation parameters of safety arrangents
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01308 monitoring distance between vehicle body and road
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over

Abstract

A method for triggering a passenger protection unit of a vehicle includes: reading in a first and a second sensor signal value of a first sensor, which is situated at a first location in the vehicle; reading in a third and a fourth sensor signal value of a second sensor, which is situated at a second location in the vehicle which is different from the first location; and activating the passenger protection unit using the first, second, third and fourth sensor signal values. The first and third sensor signal values represent a physical variable detected in a first sensor direction, and the second and fourth sensor signal values represent a second physical value detected in a second sensor direction which is different from the first sensor direction.

Claims

1. A method for triggering at least one passenger protection unit of a vehicle, comprising:

reading in at least a first and a second sensor signal value of a first sensor which is situated at a first location in the vehicle, the first sensor signal value representing a physical variable detected in a first sensor direction, and a second sensor signal value representing a physical variable detected in a second sensor direction which is different from the first sensor direction; and

activating the passenger protection unit using at least the first and the second sensor signal value.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein, during the step of reading in, a third and a fourth sensor signal value are additionally read in by a second sensor which is situated at a second location in the vehicle which is different from the first location, the third sensor signal value representing a third physical variable detected in the first sensor direction, and the fourth sensor signal value representing a fourth physical variable detected in the second sensor direction, and wherein the passenger protection unit is activated additionally taking into account the third and the fourth sensor signal value.

3. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein sensor signal values which represent accelerations as a physical variable are read in the step of reading in.

4. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein at least one of:

(i) a physical variable detected in the driving direction of the vehicle is read in as at least one of the sensor signal value and the third sensor signal value; and

(ii) one of (a) a physical variable detected transversely to the driving direction of the vehicle is read in as at least one of the second sensor signal value and the fourth sensor signal value, or (b) a physical variable detected perpendicularly to a roadway, on which the vehicle is driving, is read in as the second sensor signal value and the fourth sensor signal value.

5. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the activation is carried out on the basis of at least one linear combinations of at least two of the first, second, third and fourth sensor signal values.

6. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein at least one of:

(i) one of a first angle signal or a first linear combination is determined using the first and the second sensor signal in the step of activating; and

(ii) a second angle signal is detected using the third and the fourth sensor signal value, the passenger protection unit being activated on the basis of at least one of the first and the second angle signal.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein an angular impact of an object on the vehicle is detected in the step of activating when at least one of the first angle signal and the second angle signal is in a predetermined correlation with an angle threshold value.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein an angular impact of an object on the vehicle is detected in the step of activating if at least one of:

(i) the first angle signal is in a predetermined correlation with a first reference threshold value;

(ii) a linear combination of the first, second, third and fourth sensor signal values are in a predetermined correlation with a second reference threshold value;

(iii) a negated second angle signal is in a predefined correlation with a third reference threshold value; and

(iv) a linear combination of the first, second, third and fourth sensor signal values is in a predetermined correlation with the second reference threshold value.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein a pole impact of an object on the vehicle is detected in the step of activating if at least one of:

(i) the first angle is in a predetermined correlation with a first angle threshold value and a negated second angle is in a predetermined correlation with one of the first angle threshold value or with a second angle threshold value; and

(ii) a quotient of a difference between the second and fourth sensor signal values and a sum of the first and third sensor signal values is in a predetermined correlation with a sum threshold value, and wherein the passenger protection unit is activated in response to the detected pole impact.

10. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the first and third sensor signal values are linked to a first combination value in the step of activating, and the second and fourth sensor signal values are linked to a second combination value, and wherein the passenger protection unit is activated on the basis of at least one of the first and second combination values.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein one of a combination angle or a combination ratio is determined in the step of activating using the first and second combination values, and wherein the passenger protection unit is activated on the basis of one of the combination ratio or the combination angle.

12. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein the passenger protection unit is activated in the step of activating based on at least one sensor signal strength value determined using at least one of:

(i) a square root of a sum of the squared first sensor signal value and the squared third sensor signal value;

(ii) a square root of a sum of the squared second sensor signal value and the squared fourth sensor signal value; and

(iii) a square root of a sum of the squared sum of the first and third sensor signal values and the squared sum of the second and fourth sensor signal values.

13. A device for triggering at least one passenger protection unit of a vehicle, comprising:

a control unit including a processor configured to perform the following;

reading in at least a first and a second sensor signal value of a first sensor which is situated at a first location in the vehicle, the first sensor signal value representing a physical variable detected in a first sensor direction, and a second sensor signal value representing a physical variable detected in a second sensor direction which is different from the first sensor direction; and

activating the passenger protection unit using at least the first and the second sensor signal value;

wherein, during the step of reading in, a third and a fourth sensor signal value are additionally read in by a second sensor which is situated at a second location in the vehicle which is different from the first location, the third sensor signal value representing a third physical variable detected in the first sensor direction, and the fourth sensor signal value representing a fourth physical variable detected in the second sensor direction, and wherein the passenger protection unit is activated additionally taking into account the third and the fourth sensor signal value.

14. A non-transitory, computer-readable data storage medium storing a computer program having program codes which, when executed on a computer, perform a method for triggering at least one passenger protection unit of a vehicle, the method comprising:

reading in at least a first and a second sensor signal value of a first sensor which is situated at a first location in the vehicle, the first sensor signal value representing a physical variable detected in a first sensor direction, and a second sensor signal value representing a physical variable detected in a second sensor direction which is different from the first sensor direction; and

activating the passenger protection unit using at least the first and the second sensor signal value;

wherein, during the step of reading in, a third and a fourth sensor signal value are additionally read in by a second sensor which is situated at a second location in the vehicle which is different from the first location, the third sensor signal value representing a third physical variable detected in the first sensor direction, and the fourth sensor signal value representing a fourth physical variable detected in the second sensor direction, and wherein the passenger protection unit is activated additionally taking into account the third and the fourth sensor signal value.