Denso Corporation

Freescale Semiconductor,inc.

Ryo Shimizu

John M Pigott

Craig M Aykroyd

A collision determination apparatus receives sensor data, which includes a sensor identifier, from multiple sensors that are of at least two different sensor types. Based on the sensor data from each of the sensors, a main determination unit determines whether to operate a protection apparatus. In parallel, a redundant determination unit determines whether to operate the protection apparatus based on at least one sensor data and by switching sub-determination units that have different determination logics according to a sensor type. In particular, the sensor identifier includes a sensor type information that allows the redundant determination unit to determine the sensor type of the sensor that transmitted the sensor data, and select the appropriate sub-determination unit. Therefore, based on the sensor type information in the sensor data, the same collision determination apparatus can be used in different vehicles that have respectively different number of sensors and different sensor types.

Collision determination apparatus

An electrostatic occupant detection system includes an electrostatic sensor and an electronic control unit. The electronic control unit is switchable between an occupant determination state in which the electronic control unit outputs a sine wave having a constant amplitude and a diagnosis state in which the electronic control unit maintains a voltage of the electrostatic sensor at a constant level. The electronic control unit gradually changes at least one of an amplitude and a frequency of the sine wave either when the electronic control unit switches from the occupant determination state to the diagnosis state and/or when the electronic control unit switches from the diagnosis state to the occupant determination state.

Electrostatic occupant detection system

A vehicle occupant protection apparatus includes an occupant protection device, a control unit, and a sensor module. The sensor module includes an acceleration sensor for detecting first acceleration caused by a collision and second acceleration caused by a fault diagnosis of the sensor module, a signal processing circuit for producing first and second data corresponding to the first and second acceleration, respectively, and a signal output circuit for outputting a signal having the first data or the second data to the control unit. The control unit includes a diagnostic unit for performing the fault diagnosis based on the second data and a controller for controlling the protection device based on the first data. The signal output circuit adds a first code to the signal having the first data and adds a second code to the signal having the second data.

Vehicle occupant protection apparatus

A bus communication system is equipped with an operation scheme based on a trouble detection method that prevents a halt of the entire bus communication system by partially operating the system with the enforcement of operation prohibition for a troubled part. The troubled part in a daisy chain network of a master unit and slave units is detected and identified based on response signals from the slave units when the slave units respectively acquire their IDs.

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Kariya, Japan

Ryo Shimizu