Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-06
2003-03-25
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3616)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S743100, C280S743200, C280S732000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06536799
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a safety device with an airbag configuration including multiple airbags for a motor vehicle.
Various types of safety devices having airbag configurations for a motor vehicle are known in the prior art. In particular, airbag configurations with multiple airbags in the frontal, side, and head impact area of occupants are known. These airbags can be inflated through the use of respective gas generators, which are assigned to the airbags and which are activated in the event of a vehicle impact as a function of the impact deceleration and impact direction, in order to cushion the impact of an occupant.
One problem with these configurations is that an inflating airbag can have an unfavorable so-called “aggressiveness” toward occupants and objects in the inflation zone. These problems arise, in particular, in the case of occupants outside a normal position, so-called “out-of-position” (OOP) occupants, such as a child standing in front of a seat, or an adult leaning far forward, and in the case of objects on a seat, such as a child seat positioned on the seat.
The use of airbags in conjunction with measuring configurations in order to determine specific conditions, especially out-of-position situations, when an airbag is activated, and where necessary to prevent or only restrict the deployment of an airbag, is already known. The use of distance measuring configurations, which determine a proximity of an object with infrared and/or ultrasonic sensors, and the use of gravity sensors is known for this purpose. Such a complex sensor technology for the interior of a passenger compartment requires a substantial technological outlay and is accordingly expensive.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a safety device for a motor vehicle which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known safety devices of this general type and which reduces the outlay and costs for sensor technology in the motor vehicle, in particular for sensors in the passenger compartment.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with a first configuration according to the invention, a safety device for a motor vehicle, including:
an airbag configuration including at least a sensing airbag and a protective airbag assigned to the sensing airbag, the sensing airbag and the protective airbag being configured as two separate airbags;
the sensing air bag being finger-shaped and having a first volume, the protective airbag having a second volume, the first volume being smaller than the second volume;
at least one gas generator configured to be activatable in a vehicle impact event and configured to inflate the sensing airbag substantially prior to the protective airbag and with a relatively lower power than the protective airbag;
the protective airbag being configured to be inflated into a given inflation zone for providing a support function;
the sensing airbag being configured to extend into the given inflation zone of the protective airbag and configured to sense an obstacle disposed in the given inflation zone of the protective airbag;
a touch-sensing device connected to the sensing airbag, the touch-sensing device providing a given control signal when the sensing airbag encounters the obstacle;
a control device connected to the touch-sensing device for receiving the given control signal from the touch-sensing device;
the control device, when being provided with the given control signal from the touch-sensing device, performing a control operation selected from the group consisting of preventing the at least one gas generator from inflating the protective airbag and enabling the at least one gas generator to perform a reduced-power inflation function for inflating the protective airbag; and
the control device, when the given control signal from the touch-sensing device is absent, enabling the at least one gas generator to perform a full-power inflation function for inflating the protective airbag.
In other words, in accordance with the first configuration according to the invention, there is provided a safety device with an airbag configuration including multiple airbags for a motor vehicle, the airbags being inflatable through the use of at least one gas generator activatable in the event of a vehicle impact, wherein the airbag configuration includes at least one sensing airbag and at least one protective airbag, the at least one relatively small-volume, finger-like sensing airbag has a sensing function, can be rapidly inflated on low power and is inflatable and/or movable into the inflation zone of the at least one assigned, larger-volume protective airbag having a support function, where it senses any obstacle that might possibly be in this inflation zone, especially an occupant outside a normal position (out of position: OOP), wherein a touch-sensing device is connected to the sensing airbag, wherein the touch-sensing device emits a control signal if the sensing airbag encounters an obstacle, wherein a control device is assigned to the at least one gas generator for controlling and influencing the protective airbag as a function of sensed positional parameters, wherein the control device is connected to the touch-sensing device and, on delivery of a control signal from the touch-sensing device, prevents or at least reduces an inflation function of the gas generator for the at least one protective airbag assigned to the sensing airbag, and in the absence of a control signal from the touch-sensing device enables the full-power inflation function for the at least one protective airbag, and wherein the at least one sensing airbag and the at least one protective airbag are airbags that are separate from one another.
With the objects of the invention in view there is also provided, in accordance with a second configuration according to the invention, a safety device for a motor vehicle, including:
a multi-chamber airbag configuration including at least a sensing airbag chamber and a protective airbag chamber assigned to the sensing airbag chamber, the sensing airbag chamber and the protective airbag chamber being configured as two separate airbags chambers in the multi-chamber airbag configuration;
the sensing air bag chamber being finger-shaped and having a first volume, the protective airbag chamber having a second volume, the first volume being smaller than the second volume;
at least one gas generator configured to be activatable in a vehicle impact event and configured to inflate the sensing airbag chamber substantially prior to the protective airbag chamber and with a relatively lower power than the protective airbag chamber;
the protective airbag chamber being configured to be inflated into a given inflation zone for providing a support function;
the sensing airbag chamber being configured to extend into the given inflation zone of the protective airbag chamber and configured to sense an obstacle disposed in the given inflation zone of the protective airbag chamber;
a touch-sensing device connected to the sensing airbag chamber, the touch-sensing device providing a given control signal when the sensing airbag chamber encounters the obstacle;
a control device connected to the touch-sensing device for receiving the given control signal from the touch-sensing device;
the control device, when being provided with the given control signal from the touch-sensing device, performing a control operation selected from the group consisting of preventing the at least one gas generator from inflating the protective airbag chamber and enabling the at least one gas generator to perform a reduced-power inflation function for inflating the protective airbag chamber; and
the control device, when the given control signal from the touch-sensing device is absent, enabling the at least one gas generator to perform a full-power inflation function for inflating the protective airbag chamber.
In other words, in accordance with the second configuration according to the in
Sinnhuber Ruprecht
Wohllebe Thomas
Beck Manfred
Dickson Paul N.
Greenberg Laurence A.
Ilan Ruth
Stemer Werner H.
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