Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-13
2002-11-12
Beaulieu, Yonel (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Vehicle subsystem or accessory control
C701S045000, C280S734000, C280S735000, C180S271000, C180S282000, C340S438000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06480772
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle crash determining apparatus which controls the starting of an occupant protection means such as an air bag apparatus, a belt pretensioning apparatus or the like which protects the occupants in a vehicle compartment at the time of a vehicle crash.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 11
is a plan view showing a state in which a vehicle crash determining means
102
of an occupant protection apparatus is disposed inside a vehicle
101
.
FIG. 12
is a schematic diagram showing an arrangement of the crash determining means
102
and an occupant protection means
102
has an acceleration sensor
102
a
, a microcomputer
102
b
and a starting means
102
c
. The occupant protection means
103
which is described as an example of an air bag that has a squib (a detonator)
103
a
which receives an output of the starting means
102
c
, and an air bag
103
b
which is inflated upon receipt of the output of the squib
103
a.
A description will now be made about the operation of the above-described arrangement.
The acceleration sensor
102
detects an acceleration due to crashing and outputs an electric signal corresponding to the magnitude of the acceleration. The outputted electric signal is processed as a digital signal through operation by an analog/digital (A/D) converting means. The microcomputer
102
b
integrates the inputted electric signal by an internally disposed integrating means which is disposed therein with respect to a predetermined section (a predetermined time width). If this integrated value has exceeded a predetermined threshold value, i.e., if a vehicle crash in which the air bag
103
b
should be started or operated has happened, a determination is made that the crash corresponds to a crash in which “the starting of the occupant protection means is necessary.”
If a determination is made that there has happened a crash in which the air bag
103
b
should be operated, the starting means
102
c
is started by the output of the microcomputer
102
b
. This starting means
102
c
causes an electric current to flow through the squib
103
a
, whereby the air bag
103
b
is operated.
The conventional vehicle crash determining apparatus performs the function of only integrating the acceleration signal detected by the acceleration sensor with respect to the predetermined section. Therefore, in a soft crashing such as an offset crashing or an underride crashing as shown in
FIG. 14A
, acceleration signals relatively smaller than those in a head-on crashing as shown in
FIG. 13A
will be continuously outputted for a long period of time. The occupant protection apparatus should ordinarily be operated within this section. However, in case a discrimination is made based on the integrated value between the low-speed head-on crashing and the soft crashing, the predetermined time must be set considerably long as shown in FIGS.
13
B and
14
B. It follows that the determination for starting the occupant protection apparatus takes a long time. There is therefore a problem in that the occupant protection apparatus cannot be started at an appropriate timing.
This invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem or the like and has an object of providing a vehicle crash determining apparatus in which a discrimination can be made at a short time between a soft crashing in which relatively smaller acceleration signals last for a long period of time and a low-speed head-on crashing, whereby the occupant protection means can be started at an appropriate timing.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In order to attain the above and other objects, this invention provides a vehicle crash determining apparatus comprising: a first comparing means for comparing an output signal of an acceleration sensor for detecting an impact at a time of crashing of a vehicle with a first threshold value; a second comparing means for determining a necessity of starting an occupant protection means by comparing an accumulated value of an integrating means for accumulating an output of the first comparing means within a predetermined section while making a shift by a unit time with a second threshold value; and a starting means for controlling a starting of the occupant protection means based on an output signal of the second comparing means.
According to another aspect of this invention, there is provided a vehicle crash determining apparatus comprising: a first comparing means for comparing an output signal of the acceleration sensor for detecting an impact at a time of crashing of a vehicle with a first threshold value; a subtracting means for subtracting a predetermined constant value from an output of the first comparing means; an integrating means with a reset function for integrating an output of the subtracting means to thereby forcibly reset an integrated value thus obtained to zero when the integrated value falls below zero; a second comparing means for determining a necessity of starting an occupant protection means by comparing the integrated value of the integrating means and a second threshold value; and a starting means for controlling a starting of the occupant protection means based on an output signal of the second comparing means.
Preferably, the apparatus of this invention may further comprise attenuating means for attenuating a high-frequency component in the output signal from the acceleration sensor to thereby input a resultant product into the first comparing means.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5508918 (1996-04-01), Giuotsos
patent: 63-275959 (1988-11-01), None
Ugusa Aki
Yamashita Toshiyuki
LandOfFree
Vehicle crash determining apparatus does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle crash determining apparatus, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle crash determining apparatus will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2964745