Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-04-26
2001-04-03
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C180S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06209910
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ignition control system for a passive safety device and, more particularly, to an ignition control system suitable for ignition control of a passive safety device that includes a head protecting airbag device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A passive safety device including a head protecting airbag is described in, for example, WO 96/26087. In such a passive safety device, the head protecting airbag is housed extending along a front pillar and a roof side rail of a vehicle. If a side impact on the vehicle or a roll-over of the vehicle is detected, the head protecting airbag is deployed into a space between the head of an occupant and a side portion of the vehicle. Thus, the head protecting airbag appropriately protects an occupant's head at the time of occurrence of a side impact or a roll-over.
For effective operation of the above-described passive safety device, it is necessary or effective to provide a roll-over sensor that precisely detects a roll-over of a vehicle and to provide a seatbelt pretensioner that operates, upon detection of a roll-over, to restrain an occupant from moving sideways relative to the vehicle so as to secure a space between a vehicle side portion and the occupant into which the head protecting airbag is deployed. The head protecting airbag is operated to protect an occupant's head not only at the time of a roll-over but also at the time of a side impact. Therefore, in some passive safety device ignition control systems, a roll-over sensor is omitted, and the head protecting airbag is operated only when a side impact is detected.
That is, the passive safety device ignition control systems can be divided into two types: basic systems which detect the occurrence of frontal impacts and the occurrence of side impacts and, on the basis of the information detected regarding impact, control the operation of a frontal impact airbag, a side impact airbag, a head protecting airbag and a seatbelt pretensioner (hereinafter, the functions will be referred to as “basic functions”); expanded systems which, in addition to the basic functions, detect the occurrence of a roll-over and, on the basis of the information detected regarding roll-over, control the head protecting airbag and the seatbelt pretensioner (hereinafter, the functions will be referred to as “roll-over functions”).
Since the head protecting airbag and the seatbelt pretensioner need to operate at the time of a side impact and at the time of a roll-over as described above, the ignition circuit provided in a basic system has the function of igniting the head protecting airbag and the seatbelt pretensioner. Therefore, expanded systems are analogous to a basic system to which a roll-over detecting sensor has been added and which, and at the time of detection of a roll-over, employs the ignition circuit of the basic system to ignite the head protecting airbag and the seatbelt pretensioner.
However, if such an expanded system with the roll-over detecting function is adopted, the electrical conditions of the ignition circuit, such as the impedance thereof and the like, change from those of the ignition circuit in a system without the roll-over detecting function. Therefore, it becomes necessary to adjust the circuit constants or factors of the ignition circuit, and the like, in accordance with whether the ignition circuit is used by the basic system or the expanded system. As a result, there arises the danger of causing drawbacks, such as a cost increase of the ignition control system and the like.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ignition control system for a passive safety device of a vehicle that eliminates the need to adjust a device that realizes the basic functions in accordance with whether the roll-over function is provided, thereby allowing a cost reduction.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an ignition control system for a vehicular passive safety device, including a first controller that controls a first passive safety device on the basis of a first dangerous state of a vehicle, a second controller that controls a second passive safety device having at least a portion of the first passive safety device on the basis of a second dangerous state of the vehicle, and a communication interface enabling communication between the first controller and the second controller. A communication specification of the communication interface is set such that control by the first controller remains unchanged whether or not the second controller is provided.
In this ignition control system, the specification of the communication between the first controller and the second controller is set such that the operation of the first controller is not affected by whether the second controller is provided. Therefore, the ignition control system eliminates the need to adjust the first controller in accordance with whether the second controller is provided. As a result, the first controller can be applied to a wide variety of ignition control systems with various specifications or designs, and the cost of the system can be reduced.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an ignition control system for a passive safety device, including an airbag controller that controls an operation of an impact passive safety device including at least an impact airbag, a seatbelt pretensioner and a head protecting airbag, on the basis of an impact condition occurring to a vehicle, a roll-over controller that controls an operation of a roll-over passive safety device having at least a portion of the impact passive safety device that includes the head protecting airbag, on the basis of a roll-over occurring to the vehicle, and a communication interface enabling communication between the airbag controller and the roll-over controller. A communication specification of the communication interface is set such that control by the airbag controller remains unchanged by whether the roll-over controller is provided.
In this ignition control system, the specification of the communication between the airbag control device and the roll-over controller is set such that the operation of the airbag controller is not affected by whether the roll-over controller is provided. Therefore, the ignition control system eliminates the need to adjust the airbag controller in accordance with whether the roll-over controller is provided. As a result, the airbag controller can be applied to a wide variety of ignition control systems with various specifications or designs, and the cost of the system can be reduced.
The above-described ignition control system may further have a construction as follows. That is, the roll-over controller may include a power source device, a roll-over power source supply passage that supplies a power from the power source device to the airbag controller, and a switch that switches the roll-over power supply passage between a connected state and a disconnected state. The airbag controller performs a diagnostic of the ignition controller system when the roll-over power supply passage is disconnected by the switch.
If the roll-over power supply passage is disconnected, the roll-over controller no longer have an electrical effect on the airbag controller. Therefore, it becomes unnecessary to adjust the parameters related to the diagnostics of the airbag controller in accordance with whether the roll-over controller is provided.
The above-described ignition control system may further have a construction as follows. That is, the airbag controller performs an early diagnostic with respect to the ignition control system immediately after an ignition switch of the vehicle is turned on, and the airbag controller transmits a diagnostic completion signal to the roll-over controller after performing the early diagnostic. The roll-over controller performs an early diagnostic with respect to a component part other than the switch, in parallel wit
Dickson Paul N.
Fleming Faye M.
Kenyon & Kenyon
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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