Electrical transmission or interconnection systems – Vehicle mounted systems – Automobile
Patent
1989-01-25
1991-06-11
Jennings, Derek S.
Electrical transmission or interconnection systems
Vehicle mounted systems
Automobile
307 63, 307 66, 307120, 307 64, 340436, G60Q 900, H02J 700
Patent
active
050234684
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a safety device for vehicle passengers comprising retaining means, a reserve energy storage and a control circuit for actuating the retaining means in response to a sensing condition of the vehicle. In a safety device of this type known from the US-PS 3,870,894 a capacitor, which is charged upon switching on of the current supply circuit, serves as a reserve energy storage. The reserve energy storage is intended to ensure that the operability of the safety device can be ensured at least for an additional period of time also during loss of the operating voltage. A disadvantage consists in that the capacitor which is used as the reserve energy storage can always only be charged to the actual voltage level of the current supply circuit. Therefore, under particularly unfavorable operating conditions, e.g. excessive loading of the in-vehicle voltage supply system, it may happen that the reserve energy storage is only charged to a voltage level which is no longer sufficient for a reliable operation of the safety device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the invention is a device in which a sufficient voltage is always available in the reserve energy storage also under operating conditions which are not optimum, particularly during a sharp drop in voltage in the in-vehicle voltage supply system, so that retaining means which are provided for the protection of the vehicle passengers can be actuated in a reliable manner. The object of the invention is achieved by providing a separate reserve energy storage.
The invention as to its construction so to its mode of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the safety device according to the invention; and FIG. 2 shows a simplified diagram with a reserve energy storage.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Retaining means provided for the protection of the vehicle passengers are designated with the reference number 17. The retaining means preferably consist of an air bag which is inflated by means of pyrotechnically produced gas in emergency situations and accordingly prevents, e.g., the head of the driver from impacting against the steering wheel. The retaining means 17 are actuated by a control circuit 16 comprising a power output stage. The control circuit 16 is in turn activated by a sensor circuit 13 which evaluates the signals from an impact sensor 13a. A piezoelectric pressure sensor is preferably used as an impact sensor. The entire safety device is connected to the in-vehicle voltage supply system and is supplied by the operating voltage UV in normal situations. In order to ensure the functioning of the safety device also during loss of the in-vehicle voltage supply system caused, for example, by the destruction of the line connections in the event of an accident, two separate reserve energy sources ES1 and ES2 are provided, wherein ES1 supplies the sensor evaluating circuit 13 and the sensor 13a with voltage, and ES2 supplies the control circuit 16 with voltage. The reserve energy storage is preferably charged to a voltage with a magnitude substantially below that of the operating voltage UV of the in-vehicle voltage supply system. If, for example, the supply voltage UV in motor vehicles is in the order of magnitude of approximately 10-16 Volts, the reserve energy storage ES1 is advisably charged to a voltage of approximately 6 Volts. For this purpose, a voltage transformer 11 which converts the voltage UV to the lower voltage US1 is connected between the reserve energy storage 12 and the supply voltage UV. At voltage levels of the in-vehicle voltage supply system lying within the normal range, that is, between approximately 10 and 16 Volts, the second reserve energy storage 15 (ES2) supplying the control circuit 16 with voltage is also directly connected with the suppl
REFERENCES:
patent: 4528459 (1985-07-01), Wiegel
patent: 4638175 (1987-01-01), Bradford et al.
patent: 4717904 (1988-01-01), Murakami
patent: 4836024 (1989-06-01), Woehrl et al.
Drobny Wolfgang
Nitschke Werner
Taufer Peter
Weller Hugo
Jennings Derek S.
Robert & Bosch GmbH
Striker Michael J.
LandOfFree
Safety device for car passengers does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Safety device for car passengers, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Safety device for car passengers will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-784325