Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-08
2001-07-03
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S036000, C701S046000, C280S734000, C280S735000, C180S271000, C180S282000, C307S009100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06256563
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a configuration for controlling an occupant restraint device in a motor vehicle. The configuration contains two acceleration sensors with differently oriented sensitivity axes and an evaluator for evaluating sensor signals. The evaluator outputs first and second enable signals in dependence on the output signals from the acceleration sensors and the occupant restraint device is triggered in dependence on the enable signals.
A known configuration includes an acceleration sensor for detecting a collision. If an evaluator ascertains from the acceleration signal of the acceleration sensor that a sufficiently strong impact is occurring, then the associated occupant restraint device, such as an air bag, belt tightener, or the like is tripped. According to Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 40 16 644 A1, such a configuration contains a mechanical acceleration switch, whose sensitivity axis is oriented the same way as that of the acceleration sensor. The acceleration switch in particular prevents mistaken tripping because of a defective acceleration sensor or evaluator. Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 40 16 644 A1 also proposes replacing the acceleration switch with a further acceleration sensor and an evaluation circuit downstream from it.
From International Patent Application WO 89/11986, a configuration for controlling an occupant restraint device of a motor vehicle is known that has two acceleration sensors, with differently oriented sensitivity axes. The first acceleration sensor is sensitive to accelerations parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, and the second acceleration sensor is sensitive to transverse vehicle accelerations. An evaluator evaluates the acceleration signals furnished by the acceleration sensors and activates the associated occupant restraint device when the longitudinal vehicle acceleration exceeds a threshold value, which is set high, or when the amount and direction of an acceleration vector, formed from the longitudinal and transverse acceleration signals, exceeds predetermined values. Thus the occupant restraint device is also tripped in an oblique collision which is highly dangerous for the occupants, but in which the longitudinal acceleration alone would not exceed its assigned threshold value.
From Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 37 17 427 A1, a device for tripping an occupant restraint device is known which is meant to be tripped in the event of a frontal collision or an oblique collision from the front, but not in a side or rear-end collision. To that end, the configuration includes two sensors disposed at an angle of less than 90° from one another, each of them being oriented approximately ±30° from the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The restraint is tripped when both sensors furnish a significant signal.
From Published, Non-Prosecuted German Patent Application DE 195 37 546 A1, a device for tripping an occupant restraint device with two sensors disposed orthogonally to one another is known, in which to reduce the computing power of an evaluator that processes the signals, only the signal of a sensor from whose direction a collision is expected is evaluated.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a configuration for controlling an occupant restraint device in a motor vehicle which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art devices of this general type, in which it is assured that mistaken tripping of an occupant restraint device in a motor vehicle is prevented and the configuration is of simple construction.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a configuration for controlling an occupant restraint device of a motor vehicle, containing two acceleration sensors including a first acceleration sensor outputting a first acceleration signal and a second acceleration sensor outputting a second acceleration signal, the first acceleration sensor having a first sensitivity axis for picking up longitudinal vehicle accelerations and the second acceleration sensor having a second sensitivity axis oriented substantially transversely to the first sensitivity axis of the first acceleration sensor; and an evaluator receiving the first acceleration signal and the second acceleration signal from the two acceleration sensors, the evaluator generates a first enable signal dependent at least on the first acceleration signal, and the evaluator generates a second enable signal dependent on the second acceleration signal, a tripping of the occupant restraint device initiated only if both the first enable signal and the second enable signal occur simultaneously.
The evaluator generates the first enable signal which is dependent at least on the acceleration signal of the first acceleration sensor, and the second enable signal which is dependent on the acceleration signal of the second acceleration sensor. Tripping of the occupant restraint device is initiated only whenever both enable signals occur simultaneously.
To prevent mistaken tripping from being caused, perhaps by a defective acceleration sensor, the first acceleration sensor, which is necessary for tripping the occupant restraint device, is accompanied not by a redundant acceleration sensor or a mechanical acceleration switch with a sensitivity axis oriented in the same way but instead by a second acceleration sensor with a differently oriented sensitivity axis. With the aid of the acceleration signal of the second acceleration sensor, it is assured that a collision ascertained by the first acceleration sensor is actually occurring. The invention is based on the recognition that in a collision from a particular direction, acceleration components that are not only in this direction can be detected. In such a collision, acceleration components in other space axes as well can be detected, since the collision energy is dissipated not only by deformation of the vehicle body in the impact direction. The collision energy is also dissipated by instrument-measurable vehicle vibrations in directions in space that do not match the impact direction.
The sensitivity axis of the second acceleration sensor acting as a safety sensor is oriented orthogonally to the sensitivity axis of the acceleration sensor acting as a tripping sensor. If the first acceleration sensor preferably has a sensitivity axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle and is thus sensitive to longitudinal vehicle accelerations and preferentially in a frontal collision trips the occupant restraint device for frontal collision protection, such as a driver-side or passenger-side air bag or belt tightener, then the second acceleration sensor embodied as a safety sensor preferably detects transverse vehicle accelerations or accelerations along a horizontal axis of the vehicle. The orthogonal orientation of the second acceleration sensor relative to the first acceleration sensor is advantageous in the sense that in a collision, the vehicle has a tendency to vibration especially in the space axes orthogonal to the impact direction. It is in these axes that acceleration signals with the greatest signal-to-noise ratio can be picked up.
If the first acceleration sensor is disposed preferentially for picking up transverse vehicle accelerations and thus for triggering the occupant restraint device providing side impact protection—such as a side air bag or a head air bag—then the second acceleration sensor is preferentially sensitive to longitudinal vehicle accelerations or vehicle accelerations along the vertical axis of the vehicle. It is understood that the second acceleration sensor can also be oriented in some other way in the vehicle, as long as its orientation is clearly distinguished from that of the first acceleration sensor.
In the invention, the acceleration signal of the first acceleration sensor is evaluated in order to make a decision as to whether tripping of the associ
Blank Thomas
Mader Gerhard
Vogt Richard
Beaulieu Yonel
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Greenberg Laurence A.
Lerner Herbert L.
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
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