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:
Jul. 25, 2000
Filed:
Dec. 15, 1998
Kazunori Sakamoto, Chiryu, JP;
Tateki Kawamura, Nagoya, JP;
Tsutomu Takeuchi, Gamagori, JP;
Koichi Fujita, Toyota, JP;
Aisin Seiki Kabushiki Kaisha, Kariya, JP;
Abstract
An acceleration detecting device includes a housing, a weight pivotally mounted inside the housing for rotating along a locus in response to an applied acceleration, a spring provided between the housing and the weight to apply a biasing force to the weight against the applied acceleration, and a contact assembly located outside the locus of the weight. The contact assembly is adapted to be electrically closed by the rotation of the weight. An arc-shaped circumference of the weight maintains the same distance between the weight and the contact assembly during the rotation of the weight. When an excessive acceleration is applied to the device, the weight rotates from an initial position against the biasing force of the spring to electrically close the contact assembly. The weight is returned to the initial position by the biasing force of the spring to electrically open the contact assembly when the excess acceleration is no longer present. Because the spring which applies the biasing force is separated from the contact assembly, the biasing force is reliably maintained for a longer period. Further, the weight can rotate without any interference to the contact assembly because the arc-shaped outer circumference of the weight maintains the contact assembly spaced from the locus of the weight.