The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 30, 1999
Filed:
Apr. 23, 1997
Nobuo Mayumi, Toyohashi, JP;
Nobumasa Ueda, Aichi-ken, JP;
Denso Corporation, Kariya, JP;
Abstract
An automotive occupant restraint system with a simple and compact energy reserve circuit is provided which includes an occupant restraint mechanism, a step-up circuit, a backup capacitor, a crash monitor, a firing circuit, and a switching circuit. The step-up circuit steps up the voltage supplied from a battery to charge the backup capacitor up to a given voltage level. The crash monitor monitors a vehicle crash to provide a crash signal. The firing circuit is responsive to the crash signal to activate the occupant restraint mechanism. The switching circuit selects between a first and a second power supply mode. The first power supply mode is established to block communication between the backup capacitor and the crash monitor when a sufficient amount of electrical energy of the battery is supplied to the crash monitor, while the second power supply mode is established to communicate the backup capacitor to the crash monitor when the electrical energy supplied from the battery drops below a given voltage level to supply electrical energy stored in the backup capacitor to the crash monitor.