Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
2001-02-02
2001-09-25
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S046000, C701S047000, C180S090600, C180S232000, C180S292000, C280S728200, C280S734000, C280S735000, C280S730100, C280S730200, C343S823000, C343S823000, C343S823000, C343S823000, C343S823000, C375S295000, C375S296000, C375S376000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06295494
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for data transmission in a vehicle-occupant restraint system connected through a bus line, coupled to the bus line being a central control unit and a plurality of data processing units that are provided for the triggering of restraint devices at various locations in the vehicle, data of high priority and high time-related urgency being transmitted with a high signal level and high bit rate, and data of lower priority and lower time-related urgency being transmitted at a low signal level and low bit rate.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The performance capability of the restraint systems in vehicles will sharply increase in the future in order to further improve the protection of vehicle occupants. That means that the number of restraint devices and their accompanying triggering devices in the vehicle will drastically increase. Among these restraining devices are, for example, multi-stage-activation air bags for driver and front-seat passenger, knee bags for driver and front-seat passenger, side air bags for driver, front seat passenger and backseat passengers, whereby side air bags can be provided for the head as well as the thoracic region, seat belt tighteners, which can also be activated in multiple stages, possibly also a rollbar, etc. Thus, a complex protection system that includes a plurality of restraining devices is installed for each vehicle occupant. A complex restraint system is described in the German Published Patent Application 1 961 293 and in the Conference Proceedings of the SAE International Congress & Exposition, 2/24-2711997, Detroit, in the article “Bussystem zur Vernetzung von Aktuatoren für Rückhaltesysteme” (Bus System For The Connection Of Actuators For Restraint Systems) by J. Bauer, G. Mehler and W. Nitschke. By introducing a bus system that connects all restraining devices to each other, voluminous wiring harnesses can be spared. Provided in this system for each restraining device is a data processing unit, which has essentially a computing unit, data input and output circuits, a memory unit, a time and clock base and a power supply. Also characterized as a peripheral intelligent activation end stage, this data processing unit is arranged in the direct vicinity of the triggering devices belonging to the particular restraint unit, namely in a squib insert or a substrate of the squib itself.
A central control unit connected to the bus line uses a plurality of control signals—e.g. of acceleration sensors, pre-crash sensors and seat occupancy sensors—to determine which of the restraint devices present are to be triggered. If these sensors signal a crash, then the central control unit sends a triggering command through the bus line to all or selected data processing units. Here, the central control unit uses a protocol transmitted through the bus line to address those data processing units for which the triggering command is determined. Also diagnostic commands are output from the central control unit through the bus line to the individual data processing units, which, in turn, send their diagnostic responses back to the central control unit through the bus. The transmitted data are assigned to two different categories. Triggering signals belong to the signal category with highest priority here, i.e. triggering signals require a very high transmission security and have a very high time-related urgency. By contrast, diagnostic queries and diagnostic responses belong to a signal category with lower priority because these do not require a very high transmission security or a very high time-related urgency. According to the related art mentioned here, to distinguish between signals of differing priority, signals with higher priority and higher time-related urgency (triggering signals) are transmitted with a high signal level and a high bit rate and signals with lower priority and lower time-related urgency (diagnostic queries, diagnostic responses) are transmitted with a lower signal level and a lower bit rate. With this type of signal configuration, it is possible to provide two different signal channels that can be separated from one another with a high degree of reliability.
The underlying object of the present invention is to specify a method with which more than two signal channels that are clearly separable from each other can be realized.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The cited object of the present invention is accomplished in that, in addition to data having a high priority and high time-related urgency and data having a lower priority and lower time-related urgency, also data having a high priority and lower time-related urgency are transmitted with a high signal level and a low bit rate, and data having a lower priority and high time-related urgency are transmitted with a low signal level and a high bit rate.
The triggering commands sent out from the central control unit to one or more data processing units can be treated as data having a high priority and high time-related urgency. Diagnostic queries sent out from the central control unit to data processing units and diagnostic responses sent back in the reverse direction are treated as data having lower priority and lower time-related urgency. Data sent out from the central control unit to data processing units to program address buffers in the data processing units are treated as data having a high priority and lower time-related urgency and, for example, sensor signals that are transmitted between the central control unit and data processing units are treated as data having lower priority and high time-related urgency.
Using a total of four differentiation criteria—namely two different signal levels and two different bit rates—it is possible to realize four data channels that can be effectively separated from each other.
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Bauer et al., Bussystem zur Vernetzung von Aktuatoren für Rückhaltesysteme (Bus System for the Connection of Actuators for Restraint Systems), Conference Proceedings of the SAE International Congress & Exposition, Feb. 24-27, 1997, Detroit. Described in the specification.
Bauer Joachim
Bischoff Michael
Fendt Gunter
Karl Otto
Nitschke Werner
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Kenyon & Kenyon
Mancho Ronnie
Robert & Bosch GmbH
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