A crash detection system comprises two sensors with complementary performance characteristics, a controller evaluates the signals from both sensors to determine whether an airbag should be activated, when an airbag should be activated and whether multiple stages of the airbag should be activated. The first sensor preferably comprises a ball-in-tube sensor and the second sensor preferably comprises an electronic sensing module comprising an accelerometer and a CPU. The CPU receives signals from the accelerometer and the ball-in-tube sensor. The controller activates the airbag only if both sensors generate fire signals. The controller generates an airbag activation signal based upon crash type and the sum of the times required from the beginning of the crash for both sensors to generate fire signals.
An algorithm for evaluating information from sensors interacting with strips that are extended during activation of the airbag determines whether the airbag has contacted an out-of-position occupant. In one embodiment, each strip includes an alternating pattern that generates a frequency in a sensor through which the strip passes during deployment. The frequency generated is based upon the speed with which the strip passes by the sensor and, in turn, the speed of deployment of the airbag. A controller evaluates the frequency and the changes in frequency from the sensor during deployment. Depending upon the specific configuration of the system and the specific vehicle, a decrease in the speed of deployment of the airbag may be indicated by a decrease in the frequency of the signal. A decrease in speed of deployment may indicate that the airbag is in contact with an occupant.
A vehicle occupant safety system includes a crash severity determination system and one or more vehicle occupant safety devices. The crash severity determination system includes at least one crash sensor which generates a crash signal based upon the severity of the crash. A continuously variable crash severity output signal is generated based upon the crash signal from the crash sensor. Generally, for a given crash type, the crash severity signal is inversely proportional to the amount of time between the beginning of the crash and when the crash signal crosses a threshold. This continuously variable crash severity signal is sent to the vehicle occupant safety devices, which activate proportionally to the crash severity signal.
Tony Gioutsos - Novi MI, US Daniel Tabar - Canton MI, US
Assignee:
Key Safety Systems, Inc. - Sterling Heights MI
International Classification:
B60R021/32
US Classification:
280735, 701 45
Abstract:
An algorithm for evaluating information from sensors interacting with strips that are extended during activation of the airbag determines whether the airbag has contacted an out-of-position occupant. In one embodiment, each strip includes an alternating pattern that generates a frequency in a sensor through which the strip passes during deployment. The frequency generated is based upon the speed with which the strip passes by the sensor and, in turn, the speed of deployment of the airbag. A controller evaluates the frequency and the changes in frequency from the sensor during deployment. Depending upon the specific configuration of the system and the specific vehicle, a decrease in the speed of deployment of the airbag may be indicated by a decrease in the frequency of the signal. A decrease in speed of deployment may indicate that the airbag is in contact with an occupant.
John Cooper - Oxford MI, US Mohannad Murad - Troy MI, US Daniel Tabar - Canton MI, US Jason Doering - Flushing MI, US Hyunsok Pang - Rochester Hills MI, US Barney Bauer - Rochester MI, US
International Classification:
G06G007/48
US Classification:
703008000
Abstract:
Disclosed is a safety restraint design controller for controlling the design of a safety restraint system so that a predetermined desired level of an occupant's response is produced. The controller has a database for storing a occupant restraint factor response model. The model interrelates at least one predetermined restraint factor with the occupant response; the restraint factors having a level which is indicative of setting values for controlling the safety restraint design. A database engine connected to the database determines a level for the occupant response based upon the model and upon a first level of the restraint factors. A solver is connected to the database engine for determining a second level of the restraint factors which produces the desired level of the occupant response based upon the desired level of the occupant response from the database engine whereby the safety restraint design is controlled based upon the determined second level of the restraint factors which produces the desired level of the safety response.
Crash Discriminator Responsive To Early-Crush And Multiple-Hit Scenarios
Tony Gioutsos - Brighton MI Daniel N. Tabar - Troy MI Edward J. Gillis - South Lyon MI
Assignee:
Automotive Systems Laboratory, Inc. - Farmington Hills MI
International Classification:
B60R 2132
US Classification:
36442405
Abstract:
In a system and method for controlling actuation of a vehicle passenger safety device in response to an event possibly requiring actuation of the safety device, stored and rank-ordered values for received vehicle acceleration are used to generate a high-rank jerk measure (j. sub. H), a median-ranked acceleration value (a. sub. M) and a median-rank velocity measure (v. sub. M), while raw acceleration information is further used to generate an "event-based timer" or event-progress measure (t'). These measures (j. sub. H, a. sub. M, v. sub. M, t') are then used to generate a pair of event-identification measures (m. sub. 1, m. sub. 2) useful in identifying two specific crash types for which specialized acceleration-based event-severity measures other than the default event-severity measure (m. sub. 0) are best suited, specifically, where a series of negative jerks occurring relatively early in an event from a high transitory acceleration identify the occurrence of a sizable vehicle crush, or where a series of small jerks occurring relatively late in an event above a minimum velocity identifies a "multiple hit" event.
Tony Gioutsos - Brighton MI Michael A. Piskie - Bloomfield Hills MI Daniel N. Tabar - Troy MI
Assignee:
Automotive Systems Laboratory, Inc. - Farmington Hills MI
International Classification:
B60R 2116
US Classification:
364424045
Abstract:
In a system and method for controlling actuation of a vehicle passenger safety device, wherein a first time-varying measure m. sub. 1 (t), itself a function of received vehicle acceleration information, is accumulated to obtain a second time-varying measure m. sub. 2 (t) for subsequent comparison with a threshold value therefor, the first measure m. sub. 1 (t) is "damped" prior to accumulation by subtracting therefrom a correction value or "damping factor f. sub. d. " The damping factor f. sub. d may be either a constant or a time-varying function f. sub. d (t) of one or more other time-varying measures, themselves based on received vehicle acceleration information.
System And Method For Discriminating Short-Period Crashes
Tony Gioutsos - Brighton MI Daniel N. Tabar - Troy MI Edward J. Gillis - South Lyon MI
Assignee:
Automotive Systems Laboratory, Inc. - Farmington Hills MI
International Classification:
B60R 2132
US Classification:
36442405
Abstract:
In a system (10) and method for controlling actuation of a vehicle passenger safety device in response to an event possibly requiring actuation of the safety device, a differential measure (m. sub. 1 (t)) is generated based on stored consecutive values for received vehicle acceleration information while a measure (m. sub. 2 (t)) correlated with the relative progress of the event is generated by selectively providing as an input to a first accumulator (24) either a weighted transitory value for received acceleration information (a(t)) whenever the transitory value is itself less than or equal to a first predetermined threshold value (x. sub. 1), or a weighted alternative value, wherein the alternative value is itself equal to twice the first predetermined threshold value (x. sub. 1) minus the transitory value. The differential measure (m. sub.