Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-04
2001-06-26
Zanelli, Michael J. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S029000, C280S735000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06253132
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag apparatus and, more particularly, to an air bag apparatus being capable of selecting operations of air bag drivers respectively arranged for developing a plurality of air bags installed on a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there is proposed an air bag apparatus which detects information of the posture of a driver on a driver's seat, the presence/absence of an occupant on a passenger seat, and the posture of the occupant in a vehicle to control the operation of the air bag apparatus on the basis of the information.
More specifically, as in the main part shown in
FIG. 1
, an occupant sensing device
2
is connected to an air bag control device
1
through a communication line L
1
, and a driver's seat air bag driver
3
a
connected to a driver's seat air bag and a passenger seat air bag driver
3
b
connected to a passenger seat air bag are respectively connected to the air bag control device
1
.
With this arrangement, information of the posture of the driver on the driver's seat, the presence/absence of the occupant on the passenger seat, and the posture of the occupant detected by the occupant sensing device
2
is transmitted to the air bag control device
1
through the communication line L
1
to be received by the air bag control device
1
.
The air bag control device
1
controls, on the basis of the received information, the driver's seat air bag driver
3
a
connected to the driver's seat air bag and the passenger seat air bag driver
3
b
connected to the passenger seat air bag.
Conventionally, there is also proposed an air bag apparatus which controls, on the basis of the will of a user of a vehicle, the operation of an air bag apparatus, e.g., the operation of the air bag apparatus such that the driver's seat air bag is developed or not and the passenger seat air bag is developed or not.
More specifically, as in the main portion shown in
FIG. 2
, an air bag operation selecting device
5
is connected to an air bag control device
4
through communication lines L
2
and L
3
, and a driver's seat air bag driver
6
a
connected to a driver's seat air bag and a passenger seat air bag driver
6
b connected to a passenger seat air bag are connected to the air bag control device
4
.
With this arrangement, when the ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, the air bag control device
4
communicates with the air bag operation selecting device
5
through the communication line L
2
to determine whether the air bag operation An selecting device
5
is connected to the air bag control device
4
or not.
Next, information which indicates that the air bag operation selecting device
5
is connected to the air bag control device
4
is transmitted to the air bag control device
4
through the communication line L
2
.
Then, the air bag control device
4
which receives the information further receives drive selecting information, which is transmitted from the air bag operation selecting device
5
through the communication line L
3
, indicating whether the driver's seat air bag driver
6
a
is driven or not and the passenger seat air bag driver
6
b
is driven, etc.
As the result, the air bag control device
4
controls, on the basis of the drive selecting information received as described above, the driver's seat air bag driver
6
a
connected to the driver's seat air bag and the passenger seat air bag driver
6
b
connected to the passenger seat air bag.
Here, the air bag operation selecting device
5
is generally attached to the air bag apparatus of a vehicle in a dealer or the like after the vehicle is out from a mass production line in a vehicle assembly firm. That is, the air bag operation selecting device
5
is attached as a so-called additional device in its after market.
As described above, in the air bag apparatus for the vehicle, information is exchanged between the air bag apparatus and its peripheral device by using various communication lines.
However, as the number of communication lines increases, the number of harnesses themselves constituting the communication lines and the number of connection terminals or the like of connectors increase to cause an increase in weight and cost or to make the layout in the vehicle complex.
Therefore, the air bag apparatus installed on the vehicle in which information is highly frequently exchanged between the air bag apparatus and the peripheral device has been urged to simplify the communication system, especially, reduce communication lines in number at present.
Above all, since the additional peripheral device such as the air bag operation selecting device emerges, a need to simplify the communication system is remarkably increasing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an air bag apparatus, which is installed on a vehicle, in which information is exchanged between the air bag apparatus and its peripheral device, and in which its communication system is simplified, particularly, the number of communication lines is reduced.
More specifically, it is an object of the present invention to provide an air bag apparatus which can cope with a need to simplify its communication system for an additional peripheral device such as an air bag operation selecting device.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an air bag apparatus which basically comprises an air bag, an air bag driver for performing drive of the air bag to develop the air bag, and an air bag control device for controlling the drive of the air bag driver. The air bag control device has an arrangement in which an air bag operation selecting device having information related to selection of an operation state of the air bag driver can be connected to the air bag control device. Here, the air bag control device has a non-volatile storage device, determines a connection state of the air bag operation selecting device to the air bag control device, and stores information related to the determined connection state in the non-volatile storage device.
With this arrangement, a single-purpose line used for determining whether the air bag operation selecting device is connected or not can be excluded, and the communication system can be easily simplified.
Here, more specifically, the air bag control device controls a drive operation of the air bag driver according to the information related to the connection state stored in the non-volatile storage device and on the basis of the information related to selection of an operate ion state of the air bag driver.
An air bag apparatus according to the present invention may further comprise an occupant sensing device for sensing information related to seating of an occupant. In this case, furthermore, the air bag control device can preferably control drive of the air bag driver on the basis of the information sensed by the occupant sensing device. In addition, the occupant sensing device may be a device which can sense information related to the presence/absence of equipment set on a seat, e.g., so-called a child seat, or a setting direction of the equipment.
The air bag apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a first communication line for connecting the occupant sensing device and the air bag control device to each other and a second communication line for connecting the air bag operation selecting device and the air bag control device to each other. Here, the second communication line is satisfactorily connected to the first communication line in parallel. More specifically, a signal corresponding to information related to seating of an occupant and sensed by the occupant sensing device is transmitted to the air bag control device through the first communication line, and a signal corresponding to information related to selection of an operation state of the air bag driver and belonging to the air bag operation selecting device is tran
Ando Junichi
Ikegami Kenji
Takai Hideo
Foley & Lardner
Gibson E.
Nissan Motor Co,. Ltd.
Zanelli Michael J.
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