Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft

Temic Telefunken Microelectronic Gmbh

Willibald Watzka

Jan Urbahn

Andrea Link

Richard Baur

Hans Spies

Peter Hora

Gunter Fendt

Helmut Steurer

Guido Wetzel

Christian Maurer

Mario Nagelstrasser

Michael Niess

A method is provided for triggering a vehicle occupant restraint device, in which a sensor signal generated by a crash sensor is fed to a triggering device and to a clearing device supplying a clearing signal. The sensor signal is integrated in the clearing device and subjected to an examination algorithm. The output signal of at least one additional crash sensor is fed to the clearing device. Then, the two output signals are linked to one another and are subsequently integrated during an observation period. A clearing signal is generated when the integral exceeds a threshold value.

Method for triggering a vehicle occupant restraint device

A system for triggering passive occupant safety measures in a motor vehicle is described. The system includes a control unit, a plurality of acceleration sensors for detecting the acceleration caused by an impact of the motor vehicle as well as feed lines assigned to the acceleration sensors, by which feed lines the output signals of the acceleration sensors are transmitted to the control unit which analyzes the signals to determine the type and/or severity of the impact, and triggers appropriate safety measures. The sensors are mounted on a vehicle part of a low structural stiffness on the outer vehicle circumferences, and all surrounding vehicle parts of high stiffness are designed to prevent contact with the sensors after an impact of the motor vehicle of a low or medium severity within a minimum reaction time period.

Device for triggering passive passenger safety measures

The invention relates to a method for activating a safety device, using a first impact sensor for generating a displacement signal which reproduces the movement of the vehicle in a direction of displacement, and a second impact sensor, arranged at a distance from the first impact sensor, for generating a displacement signal which reproduces the movement of the vehicle in the same direction of displacement. A processing device is provided, by which means the two displacement signals or signals derived therefrom can be correlated at the right time, and by which means the safety device is activated according to the predetermined correlations of the two signals.

Method of activating a safety device

A method for activating safety devices comprising a first longitudinal impact sensor, a second lateral impact sensor and a processing device which activates the safety devices, wherein when the motion signals and/or signals derived therefrom exceed defined threshold values, the threshold values that are critical for the activation of the safety devices are increased in the event of an immediately preceding abnormal motion of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction.

Method of activating safety devices utility

The invention relates to a method for determining the key crash phases for triggering a passive safety device in a vehicle. According to the invention method, an acceleration signal (ax) representing an acceleration (ax(t)) in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle is determined, and two window integrals are simultaneously set up at the beginning of the crash-related deceleration of the vehicle, by which means the deceleration signal (ax) is added or integrated over a pre-determined time window. The first time window is smaller/equal to the minimum triggering time for triggering the safety device, and the second time window is significantly larger than the first window. The period during which the window integrals have the same value and during which said value is higher than a threshold value is defined as the first crash plane.

Method of determining the crash phases relevant to the triggering of a passive safety device in a vehicle

In a method of triggering a vehicle occupant restraining device, at least one sensor signal generated by a crash sensor is supplied to an analyzing device, which determines the crash severity, and a time for the triggering of the restraining device based on the crash severity. When a first low crash severity occurs, a timer is started and the restraining device is triggered by the analyzing unit only when a higher crash severity is reached during the running time of the timer.

Method of triggering a vehicle occupant restraining device

To trigger driver and passenger airbags as well as side airbags, the sensor signals generated by collision sensors will be fed into a central control unit for processing. According to this invention, side airbags will be activated by evaluating sensor signals generated by a collision sensor for detecting head-on and side collisions, centrally located within the motor vehicle, as well as by a left-hand and right-hand collision sensor each detecting side collisions, by the control unit generating a triggering signal whenever the centrally located collision sensor and at least one of the two side collision sensors generate a collision signal, with one of these two collision sensors having a greater value, or if the centrally located collision sensor as well as one of the two side collision sensors provide a signal of equal value, with the other side collision sensor simultaneously generating a collision signal with a value either equal or lower than the value of the collision signal generated by the central collision sensor. The process according to this invention will lead to a very high degree of triggering certainty for the entire occupant protection system, and advantageously does not require the use of a mechanical safety switch to trigger the side airbags.

Growing community of inventors

Aichach, Germany

Willibald Watzka