Patent ID: 6373146
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
An occupant protection apparatus, comprising:an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration of a vehicle at a time of collision and outputting an acceleration signal representing a magnitude of the acceleration; an inflator having two detonators for driving a main body of said protection apparatus: a timing control circuit for measuring a distance between an instrument panel and a head of an occupant sitting on a seat slidable along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle and having a reclining function, the timing control circuit for calculating an estimated distance based on the distance measured and the acceleration, the timing control circuit for comparing the estimated distance with threshold values, the timing control circuit for controlling a timing for igniting the two detonators in accordance with a result of the comparison; and an ignition control circuit for igniting said detonators in accordance with the timing controlled when the acceleration signal is outputted from said acceleration sensor, wherein said timing control circuit sets the threshold values to be compared with the distance between the head of the occupant and the instrument panel in correspondence with an inflation suppression area, an inflation area without timing delay and an inflation area with timing delay, respectively; the ignition control circuit ignites one of the two detonators when the timing control circuit determines that the head of the occupant is in the inflation suppression area; and the ignition control circuit ignites both of the two detonators at the same time when the timing control circuit determines that the head of the occupant is in the inflation area without timing delay.