Load management system and method for motor vehicle restraints
First Claim
1. A method of managing the enablement and disablement of occupant restraints in a motor vehicle, said method comprising:
- (a) determining if a seat belt of a seat is buckled or unbuckled;
(b) determining if a weight in the seat is less then a threshold weight or is equal to or greater than the threshold weight;
(c) in response to the determination of steps (a) and (b), enabling at least one occupant restraint of the group that consists of an automatic locking restraint, a pre-tensioner and an air bag, (d) if the seat belt is buckled and the weight in the seat is less than threshold weight, disabling the air bag and activating the automatic locking restraint upon sensing a high g event, and activating the pre-tensioner after activating the automatic locking restraint;
(e) if the seat belt is unbuckled and the weight in the seat is less than the threshold weight, disabling the air bag and the pre-tensioner;
(f) if the seat belt is unbuckled and the weight in the seat is equal to or greater than the threshold weight, disabling the pre-tensioner and activating air bag upon sensing a high g event; and
(g) if the seat belt is buckled and the weight in the seat is equal to or greater than the threshold weight, activating the automatic locking restraint upon sensing a high g event, activating the pre-tensioner after activating the automatic locking restraint, and activating the air bag after activating the pre-tensioner.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A load management system and method for controlling the activation sequence and times of activation of motor vehicle occupant restraints when a high g event, such as a crash, occurs. The system includes a microprocessor that processes inputs from a number of devices including seat weight sensor, an occupant spatial position detector, a buckle status detector, a belt sensor. The microprocessor is driven by a load management procedure that includes a high g event routine that controls the activation sequence of restraints so that the automatic locking restraint is first activated, followed by the pre-tensioner and then by the air bag. The load management procedure also includes an enable/disable procedure that controls the enabling and disabling of the restraints according to a number of variables including occupant weight, seat buckle status and belt extension status.
22 Citations
22 Claims
-
1. A method of managing the enablement and disablement of occupant restraints in a motor vehicle, said method comprising:
-
(a) determining if a seat belt of a seat is buckled or unbuckled;
(b) determining if a weight in the seat is less then a threshold weight or is equal to or greater than the threshold weight;
(c) in response to the determination of steps (a) and (b), enabling at least one occupant restraint of the group that consists of an automatic locking restraint, a pre-tensioner and an air bag, (d) if the seat belt is buckled and the weight in the seat is less than threshold weight, disabling the air bag and activating the automatic locking restraint upon sensing a high g event, and activating the pre-tensioner after activating the automatic locking restraint;
(e) if the seat belt is unbuckled and the weight in the seat is less than the threshold weight, disabling the air bag and the pre-tensioner;
(f) if the seat belt is unbuckled and the weight in the seat is equal to or greater than the threshold weight, disabling the pre-tensioner and activating air bag upon sensing a high g event; and
(g) if the seat belt is buckled and the weight in the seat is equal to or greater than the threshold weight, activating the automatic locking restraint upon sensing a high g event, activating the pre-tensioner after activating the automatic locking restraint, and activating the air bag after activating the pre-tensioner. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
-
12. A system for managing the enablement and disablement of occupant restraints on an occupant in a seat having a seat belt in a motor vehicle, said system comprising:
-
a plurality of occupant restraints selected from the group consisting of an automatic locking restraint, a pre-tensioner and an air bag device;
a processor, a memory and a bus that interconnects said processor, said memory and said plurality of occupant restraints;
a load management procedure stored in said memory that controls said processor to perform the following steps;
(a) determining if said seat belt is buckled or unbuckled;
(b) determining if a weight in the seat is less than a threshold weight or is equal to or greater than the threshold weight;
(c) in response to the determination of steps (a) and (b), enabling at least one said occupant restraints;
(d) if the seat belt is buckled and the weight in the seat is less than threshold weight, disabling the air bag and activating the automatic locking restraint upon sensing a high g event, and activating the pre-tensioner after activating the automatic locking restraint;
(e) if the seat belt is unbuckled and the weight in the seat is less than the threshold weight, disabling the air bag and the pre-tensioner;
(f) if the seat belt is unbuckled and the weight in the seat is equal to or greater than the threshold weight, disabling the pre-tensioner and activating the air bag upon sensing a high g event; and
(g) if the seat belt is buckled and the weight in the seat is equal to or greater than the threshold weight, activating the automatic locking restraint upon sensing a high g event, activating the pre-tensioner after activating the automatic locking restraint, and activating the air bag after activating the pre-tensioner. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
-
Specification