Electrical transmission or interconnection systems – Vehicle mounted systems – Automobile
Patent
1991-11-25
1993-06-01
Pellinen, A. D.
Electrical transmission or interconnection systems
Vehicle mounted systems
Automobile
180282, 280735, 340436, B60K 2814, B60R 2132
Patent
active
052162842
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a passenger safety device comprising at least one electrical component, especially a restraint system such as an airbag or seat belt tightener, for a vehicle equipped with an electrical system.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Safety devices for motor vehicles, such as the airbag system, have components which are operated electrically. For reliable operation of these safety devices, a failure of the electrical components due to voltage variations in the electrical system of the vehicle must be avoided.
It is known to counter an overly great decrease in the voltage of the electrical system with a voltage transformer which forms a correspondingly greater supply voltage for the operation of the safety device from the low electrical system voltage still present. Furthermore, so-called energy reserves are used, which maintain the ability of the safety device to function for a short period of time, after failure of the voltage supply.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,734 describes a passenger safety device for a vehicle equipped with an electrical system. This has at least one electrical component and one energy reserve circuit for temporarily maintaining the voltage supply for triggering a safety device. If an excess voltage protection device is provided in this known device, as is usual, but not mentioned in the document, and if a maximum value of the electrical system voltage which can be predetermined is exceeded, the automatic result is that the safety device is disconnected from the electrical system voltage and connected with the energy reserve voltage.
Finally, a device for avoiding data loss in a temporary memory in the case of failure of an alternating current network is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,457. This device comprises a monitoring device having a window comparator, which connects the device to an auxiliary alternating voltage source.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,835,513, a voltage supply supported by capacitors is also known, which further has a comparator with a test connection for function testing.
An object of the invention deals with the problem of always keeping the electrical energy which is sufficient to operate or trigger the safety device available even in atypical operating conditions.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
The passenger safety device according to the present invention has the advantage that when excess voltages occur in the electrical system supply, reliable functioning of the passenger safety device, especially of its triggering device, is nevertheless ensured. In general, it is assumed that if the battery of the vehicle is disconnected (e.g. during the accident phase, due to deformations), an immediate collapse of the electrical system voltage will result, which means that a low voltage condition will occur. However, this is not always the case. It can also happen that as a result of the load loss of the generator, as described, the rotor of which continues to turn unchanged at the start of the impact, excess excitation occurs, resulting in an excess voltage in the electrical system of the vehicle. A loss in the generator load can occur not only due to a disconnection of the battery, but also due to disconnection of the radiator fan motor or the headlights or another power consumption device that is turned on. Therefore, the opposite effect on the electrical system, namely the occurrence of short-term excess voltage, is more possible than has generally been assumed until now, since until now an immediate voltage reduction to zero has always been assumed. Power consumption devices connected to the electrical system, such as voltage regulators, end stage circuits, etc., are designed in such a way that they shut off above a certain excess voltage, e.g. greater than 22 volts. This has the disastrous effect, for the passenger safety devices stated initially, that the entire arrangement would fail to function. Therefore, if, for example, the voltage regulator in the restraint system (airbag) shuts off as the result of a transient excess voltag
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patent: 4359715 (1982-11-01), Langer et al.
patent: 4381457 (1983-04-01), Wiles
patent: 4384734 (1983-05-01), Yasui
patent: 4835513 (1989-05-01), McCurdy et al.
patent: 5023468 (1991-06-01), Drobny et al.
patent: 5045835 (1991-09-01), Masegi et al.
patent: 5058920 (1991-10-01), Burger et al.
patent: 5158323 (1992-10-01), Yamamoto et al.
Mattes Bernhard
Schumacher Hartmut
Taufer Peter
Elms Richard
Pellinen A. D.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
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