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:
Aug. 01, 2000
Filed:
Sep. 25, 1998
Chek-Peng (Anson) Foo, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Kevin Daniel Weiss, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Paul Leo Sumner, Farmington Hills, MI (US);
Timothy Chester Wright, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
TRW Inc., Lyndhurst, OH (US);
Abstract
An apparatus for controlling side actuatable restraint (14, 16) includes a side acceleration sensor (22, 34) mounted to a vehicle at a side location and having an axis of sensitivity (24, 36) oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to a front-to-rear axis (25) of the vehicle. The side sensor provides a discriminating crash signal when a transverse crash acceleration of the vehicle is sensed indicating a deployment crash event. A first central safing acceleration sensor (52) is mounted at a substantially central location of the vehicle (11) and having an axis of sensitivity (58) oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the front-to-rear axis (25) of the vehicle. The first safing sensor provides a first safing crash signal when a deployment crash acceleration is sensed in the transverse direction. A second central safing acceleration sensor (50) is mounted at the substantially central location of the vehicle (11) and having an axis of sensitivity (56) oriented in a direction substantially parallel to the front-to-rear axis (25) of the vehicle (11). The second safing sensor provides a second safing crash signal when crash acceleration is sensed in said first direction. An actuatable restraint is actuated when the side crash sensor (22, 34) provides the discriminating crash signal indicating a deployment crash event and when either said first (52) or said second (50) crash sensor provides a safing crash signal indicating a deployment crash event.