Patent ID: 6438475
Filing Date: 2002-08-20
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
A crash detecting system in a vehicle comprising:an automobile safety system; a first sensor of a ball-in-tube type, mounted in a vehicle crash zone, the first sensor providing a first fire signal; a second sensor of a type providing an acceleration vs. time output signal having a magnitude and a shape; a CPU connected to receive the output of the first sensor and the output of the second sensor, the CPU calculating a time of crash onset when the second sensor exceeds an acceleration threshold, the CPU calculating a first time to fire based on an elapsed time between the time of crash onset and the first sensor first fire signal, the CPU monitoring the second sensor and generating a crash type, a crash severity, and a second fire signal based upon the magnitude and shape with respect to time of the second sensor output signal, and a second time to fire signal based on an the elapsed time between the time of crash onset and the second sensor fire signal, and the CPU generating a signal to initiate the automobile safety system only if the CPU has received the first fire signal, and has generated the second fire signal, and the CPU calculating a sum combining the first time to fire and the second time to fire, and basing a decision to initiate the automobile safety system at least in part based on the calculated sum.