Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-18
2001-08-14
Rice, Kenneth R. (Department: 3611)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S732000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06273461
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a vehicle safety airbag control system, and particularly to a control system that, during a crash event, prevents airbag deployment if the vehicle seat occupant has direct physical contact with the vehicle dashboard containing the stored airbag at the beginning of the crash event.
DESCRIPTION OF PRIOR DEVELOPMENTS
There are already in existence various systems for controlling the deployment of safety airbags in automotive vehicles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,323, to D. J. Davis discloses a system for preventing the deployment of an automotive airbag when the associated seat is unoccupied or occupied by an infant. The system includes a sensor located in an airbag cover for sensing the absence of an adult person in the vehicle seat. The sensor can be an ultrasonic sensor, electromagnetic sensor, an optical sensor, or an infrared sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,686, to B. Blackburn et al, discloses a vehicle airbag system that includes a capacitor circuit means in the vehicle steering wheel for controlling the activation of a safety airbag. The capacitor circuit means is designed so that if the driver of the vehicle should be undesirably close to the steering wheel, the capacitance of the circuit is increased to a value that will prevent actuation of the airbag.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,226, to S. Gentry et al, discloses a vehicle airbag control system that includes an infrared sensor that controls airbag actuation inversely according to the spacing between the seat occupant and the airbag location.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,588,673, to M. Green et al, discloses a membrane switch located on an automotive steering wheel for controlling an audible horn. The switch includes two opposed flexible dielectric sheets having conductive metallic layers on their opposed surfaces, whereby manual pressure on one of the sheets completes an electric circuit across the metallic layers.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a vehicle safety airbag deployment control system, wherein a membrane in the airbag cover is an active part of the control system, so that when a vehicle occupant is touching the membrane during the initiation of a crash event, the control systems prevents (or delays) airbag deployment for that entire event, even if the occupant subsequently breaks contact with the membrane. However, if an occupant touches and releases the membrane during normal driving conditions, i.e., a non-crash event, the airbag controller is immediately enabled to fire in the event of a crash.
The membrane could be part of a touch-responsive switch or part of a capacitive control circuit responsive to human contact with the membrane. This switch provides one of many input signals to an airbag controller for making a decision as to whether an airbag should be deployed.
Particular features of the invention will be apparent from the attached drawings and description of an illustrative embodiment of the invention.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5330226 (1994-07-01), Gentry et al.
patent: 5549323 (1996-08-01), Davis
patent: 5588673 (1996-12-01), Green et al.
patent: 5722686 (1998-03-01), Blackburn et al.
patent: 5961144 (1999-10-01), Desmarais
patent: 5964478 (1999-12-01), Stanley et al.
Harbaugh Michele K
Kaiker Patricia S
Stouppe James S
Calcaterra Mark P.
DaimlerChrysler Corporation
Rice Kenneth R.
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