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:
Jun. 29, 2004
Filed:
Jun. 14, 2002
Ekkehard Kraft, Retzstadt, DE;
Marten Swart, Obertraubling, DE;
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft, Munich, DE;
Abstract
A vehicle occupant protection system for a motor vehicle includes a firing circuit, a control unit, a lockable latching device, and a sensor device. The firing circuit includes a firing cap for an airbag unit. The control unit activates the firing cap. The lockable latching device attaches a child seat. The sensor device has a switch and an electrical element connected in parallel to one another. The switch is open when the latching device is locked to prevent the firing cap from being activated. Preferably, the electrical element is a resistor. The control unit can determine an electrical resistance of the firing circuit. This is very useful when the vehicle occupant protection system includes a series of switches, each with a respective resistor connected in parallel to said second switch, because by judging the overall resistance the control unit can determine if all of the switches have been activated. The switch can include a Reed contact. The Reed contact is opened by a magnet that is positioned when the child seat is installed.