Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-24
2001-06-05
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3619)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C180S268000, C280S730200, C280S733000, C280S806000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241280
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to passenger safety arrangements for motor vehicles having air bags and belt tighteners.
German Offenlegungsscbrift No. 195 26 619 discloses a passenger safety arrangement for controlling operation of a variety of safety devices, especially with respect to a broadside collision. That publication also discloses a simplified arrangement of side impact sensors. In addition, control of the operation of individual safety devices for a variety of accident scenarios is described.
A safety belt system with a belt lock tightening device which disengages in response to side impact loads is described in German Offenlegungsschrift No. 195 22 684. That document, in particular in the introduction to the description, points out that, in side impact loads on a motor vehicle, relative motions between the passenger in the vehicle and the corresponding vehicle seat may occur, despite a safety belt being fastened. In particular, during a side impact, the B column may be driven inwardly so that it moves closer to the passenger and to the vehicle seat Because of this inward movement of the B column toward the vehicle seat, a safety belt which has been previously fastened or tightened by a tightening device undergoes a corresponding slackening before the vehicle seat itself is also shifted sideways by further penetration of the colliding object. As a result of such belt slackening, the passenger is no longer held sufficiently firmly on the seat and thus is not optimally secured. To solve this problem, the safety belt in a seat region is passed over a shoulder of the passenger through a seat-secured belt guide having a belt-fastening device. This document does not disclose any cooperation of such a safety belt system with side air-bag.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a motor vehicle passenger safety arrangement which overcomes disadvantages of the prior art.
Another object of the invention to provide a motor vehicle passenger safety arrangement which minimizes the risk of injury to passengers in a vehicle having conventional safety devices.
These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing a motor vehicle passenger safety arrangement having a side air bag and a tightening device for a safety belt along with a side collision sensor and a control for activating the side air bag prior to activating the safety belt tightening device in response to sensing of a side collision.
Thus, according to the invention, a passenger safety arrangement has a side air bag that can always be activated by the control unit prior to activation of a belt tightener. This arrangement assures that, on the one hand, restraining protection against a penetrating collision object is developed as rapidly as possible and, on the other hand, the safety belt, after having been tightened, is not slackened when the B column moves, inwardly in the manner described above. This arrangement is advantageous because no structural changes of any kind need be made in the safety components which are normally provided in vehicles. The control unit that is present for activating the safety devices need only be adapted to activate them in the sequence described above. In addition to using the control unit to control the deployment times, the relative timing of side air-bag deployment on the one hand and tightener deployment on the other may also be additionally or alternatively achieved in other ways. Thus, for example, an additional sensor may be provided to detect the beginning of lateral vehicle seat displacement in response to the side collision and to produce a trigger signal to activate the tightening device separately from activation of the side air bag. This arrangement allows vehicle-specific installation conditions for individual safety systems to be taken into account. The arrangement according to the invention advantageously can also be combined with safety belt fastening devices.
An additional advantage of the invention is that conventional systems can be used for all of the associated safety components i.e., for a side air bag, a safety belt and a belt tightener. At the same time, however, the specific characteristic of individual systems should be taken into consideration for selection of the time interval between deployment of the safety devices. The specific body structure of the vehicle, the arrangement of the seats relative to side rails or sills, and the ignition characteristics of the pyrotechnic propellants used in the belt tightener and the air-bag safety components should be taken into account as influencing variables for the specification of a fixed time interval &Dgr;t between actuation of an air bag and tightening of a safety belt.
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Patent Abstracts of Japan, M-1708, Nov. 21, 1994, vol. 18, No. 611, JP 06 234342 A.
Bergmann Rolf
Biewendt Marcus
Ritters Ernst-Wilhelm
Schutz Joachim
Baker & Botts L.L.P.
Ilan Ruth
Mai Lanna
Volkswagen AG
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