Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-05-14
2001-09-25
Culbreth, Eric (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S728100, C280S734000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293583
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an activating apparatus of passive safety device for forcedly activating a passive safety device at the time of disposal of the passive safety device provided for protecting a passenger inside a vehicle.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, vehicles are equipped with various passive safety devices, including not only an air bag device for driver seat, an air bag device for passenger seat, and side air bag devices, but also seat belts with a pretensioner. When a vehicle equipped with such passive safety devices is scrapped, the passive safety devices become no longer necessary and it is desired that the scrapping of vehicle be done after the passive safety devices have been activated in a forced manner.
A conventional method for forcedly activating a passive safety device such as an air bag device preliminarily before scrapping of the vehicle was a method for providing a line for supplying an electric current from an off-vehicle power supply or the like to a squib while bypassing a safing sensor the of air bag device and for actually supplying the current to the squib to forcedly activate the air bag device, thus effecting disposal thereof. Another conventional disposing method of air bag device is, for example, the one disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application No. Hei 8-80801.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The conventional disposing methods of the air bag device described above, however, had the problem in the disposal by activation of the air bag device that when an on-vehicle power supply was connected, the current was sometimes supplied from the on-vehicle power supply to the squib, whereby the disposal of the air bag device was not done with accuracy.
An object of the present invention is to provide an activating apparatus of a passive safety device that can activate a plurality of passive safety devices mounted on a vehicle with accuracy in the disposal thereof.
An activating apparatus of a passive safety device according to the present invention is an activating apparatus of passive safety device comprising: a squib for activating a passive safety device for protecting a passenger; current controlling means for controlling an electric current supplied from an on-vehicle power supply to the squib in the event of a crash of a vehicle and for controlling an electric current supplied from an off-vehicle power supply connected at the time of disposal of the passive safety device to the squib; and driving means for outputting a driving signal to the current controlling means so as to supply an electric current from the on-vehicle power supply or the off-vehicle power supply to the squib, thereby activating the passive safety device; wherein the driving means disables outputting of a driving signal based on the crash of the vehicle to the current controlling means at the time of disposal of the passive safety device.
Since this activating apparatus of the passive safety device is arranged so that at the time of disposal of the passive safety device the driving means disables outputting of the driving signal based on the crash to the current controlling means, the current is not supplied from the on-vehicle power supply to the squib but the current is supplied from only the off-vehicle power supply to the squib, whereby the disposal of the passive safety device can be performed with accuracy.
This activating apparatus of a passive safety device is characterized in that the driving means makes determination that the disposal of the passive safety device is under way, if a voltage of the off-vehicle power supply connected at the time of disposal of the passive safety device is not less than a predetermined voltage value.
Since the activating apparatus of a passive safety device is arranged so that the apparatus is determined to be in the disposal of the passive safety device when the voltage of the off-vehicle power supply is not less than the predetermined voltage value, the determination of whether the disposal of the passive safety device is under way can be made with accuracy.
This activating apparatus of the passive safety device is characterized in that the driving means makes determination that the disposal of the passive safety device is under way, if a voltage of the off-vehicle power supply connected at the time of disposal of the passive safety device is not less than a predetermined voltage value and if a voltage of the on-vehicle power supply is not more than a predetermined voltage value.
Since this activating apparatus of the passive safety device is arranged so that the determination is made that the apparatus is in the disposal of passive safety device when the voltage of the off-vehicle power supply is not less than the predetermined voltage value and when the voltage of the on-vehicle power supply is not more than the predetermined voltage value, the determination of whether the disposal of the passive safety device is under way can be made surely.
Another activating apparatus of the passive safety device according to the present invention is an activating apparatus of the passive safety device comprising: a squib for activating a passive safety device for protecting a passenger; current controlling means for controlling an electric current supplied from an on-vehicle power supply to the squib in the event of a crash of a vehicle and for controlling an electric current supplied from an off-vehicle power supply connected at the time of disposal of the passive safety device to the squib; and driving means for outputting a driving signal to the current controllig means so as to supply an electric current from the on-vehicle power supply or the off-vehicle power supply to the squib, thereby activating the passive safety device; wherein the driving means disables outputting of a driving signal based on the disposal of the passive safety device to the current controlling means during normal operation.
Since this activating apparatus of passive safety device is arranged so that during the normal operation the driving means disables outputting of the driving signal based on the disposal of the passive safety device to the current controlling means, the current is not supplied from the off-vehicle power supply to the squib but the current is supplied from only the on-vehicle power supply to the squib, whereby the operation of the passive safety device can be performed with accuracy.
This activating apparatus of the passive safety device is characterized in that the driving means makes determination that the normal operation is under way, if a voltage of the off-vehicle power supply connected at the time of disposal of the passive safety device is not more than a predetermined voltage value.
Since this activating apparatus of the passive safety device is arranged so that the determination is made that the apparatus is in the normal operation when the voltage of the off-vehicle power supply is not more than the predetermined voltage value, the determination of whether the normal operation is under way can be made with accuracy.
This activating apparatus of the passive safety device is characterized in that the driving means makes determination that the normal operation is under way, if a voltage of the off-vehicle power supply connected at the time of disposal of the passive safety device is not more than a predetermined voltage value and if a voltage of the on-vehicle power supply is not less than a predetermined voltage value.
Since this activating apparatus of the passive safety device is arranged so that the determination is made that the apparatus is in the normal operation when the voltage of the off-vehicle power supply is not more than the predetermined voltage value and when the voltage of the on-vehicle power supply is not less than the predetermined voltage value, the determination of whether the normal operation is under way can be made surely.
Another activating apparatus of a passive safety device according to the present invention is an activating apparatus of t
Akatsuka Takao
Fujishima Hiromichi
Culbreth Eric
Kenyon & Kenyon
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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