Apparatus and method for tripping a system for the protection of occupants of a vehicle
DCFirst Claim
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1. An apparatus for actuating a safety device for the protection of at least one occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
- a first sensor for generating a first signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis oriented in the direction of forward motion of the vehicle;
a second sensor for generating a second signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis; and
a control unit coupled to the first and second sensors and to the safety device, the control unit actuating the safety device as a function of the first signal, the second signal, or a combination thereof exceeding a threshold value, the control unit adjusting the threshold value as a function of the value of at least one of the first signal and the second signal.
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Abstract
An apparatus for tripping a system for the protection of occupants of a vehicle has a first sensor (10) for sensing the acceleration of the vehicle in its direction of forward motion and a second sensor (12) for sensing the acceleration of the vehicle in a direction transverse to its direction of forward motion. The two sensors are under the control of control means (14,16) which triggers the occupant protection system in dependence upon the signals from the first and second sensors (10,12).
148 Citations
32 Claims
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1. An apparatus for actuating a safety device for the protection of at least one occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first sensor for generating a first signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis oriented in the direction of forward motion of the vehicle; a second sensor for generating a second signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis; and a control unit coupled to the first and second sensors and to the safety device, the control unit actuating the safety device as a function of the first signal, the second signal, or a combination thereof exceeding a threshold value, the control unit adjusting the threshold value as a function of the value of at least one of the first signal and the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus for actuating a safety device for the protection of occupants of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first sensor for generating first signals indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis oriented in the direction of forward motion of the vehicle; a second sensor for generating second signals indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis; and a control unit coupled to the first and second sensors and to the safety device, the control unit actuating the safety device based on the first signals, the second signals, or a combination thereof exceeding a threshold value, the control unit adjusting the threshold value based on the value of either the first or second signals; wherein the control unit includes a first evaluation unit coupled to the first sensor for receiving the first signals therefrom, and a second evaluation unit coupled to the first evaluation unit and to the second sensor for receiving the second signals therefrom, wherein the second evaluation unit transmits an output signal based on the second signal to the first evaluation unit, and the first evaluation unit, in turn, changes an evaluation algorithm for evaluating the first signal based thereon.
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8. A method of actuating a safety device for the protection of at least one occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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(a) sensing an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis oriented in the direction of forward motion of the vehicle and generating a first signal indicative thereof; (b) sensing an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis and generating a second signal indicative thereof; (c) adjusting a threshold value indicative of a vehicle collision as a function of the value of at least one of the first signal and the second signal; (d) comparing the value of the first signal or the second signal, or the value of a combination of the first and second signals, to the threshold value; and (e) actuating the safety device as a function of the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. An apparatus for actuating a safety device for the protection of at least one occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first sensor for generating a first signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis; a second sensor for generating a second signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis; and a control unit coupled to the first and second sensors and to the safety device, the control unit controlling actuation of the safety device as a function of the first and second signals, at least one of an actuation parameter and an evaluation algorithm of the control unit being adjusted as a function of at least one of the first signal and the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method of actuating a safety device for the protection of at least one occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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(a) sensing an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis and generating a first signal indicative thereof; (b) sensing an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis and generating a second signal indicative thereof; (c) adjusting at least one of an actuation parameter and a signal evaluation algorithm as a function of at least one of the first signal and the second signal; and (d) actuating the safety device as a function of the first and second signals.
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20. An apparatus for actuating a safety device for the protection of an occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first sensor for generating a first signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis; a second sensor for generating a second signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis; and a controller coupled to the first and second sensors and to the safety device, the controller controlling actuation of the safety device as a function of the first and second signals, the safety device being actuated if the value of the first signal exceeds an actuation threshold value, regardless of the value of the second signal. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method of actuating a safety device for the protection of an occupant of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:
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sensing an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis and generating a first signal indicative thereof; sensing an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis and generating a second signal indicative thereof; controlling actuation of the safety device as a function of the first and second signals; and actuating the safety device if the value of the first signal exceeds a threshold value, regardless of the value of the second signal.
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29. An apparatus for actuating a safety device for the protection of at least one occupant of a vehicle, comprising:
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a first sensor for generating a first signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a first axis; a second sensor for generating a second signal indicative of an acceleration of the vehicle along a second axis oriented at an angle relative to the first axis; a controller coupled to the first and second sensors and to the safety device, the controller controlling actuation of the safety device as a function of the first and second signals; wherein the first and second sensors are arranged in a centralized unit. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32)
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Specification