Patent ID: 6512969
Filing Date: 2003-01-28
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
A method of controlling deployment of an airbag in a vehicle, said airbag having first and second stages of deployment, said method comprising the steps of:sensing vehicle acceleration as an indication of a crash event, initiating a deployment algorithm and initiating measurement of event time when the sensed acceleration exceeds a threshold, calculating a predicted occupant movement which will occur during the event time plus a predetermined time duration, calculating a biased severity measure indicative of the severity of the crash event, said biased severity measure being a function of vehicle velocity relative to an adjusted reference value of vehicle velocity, if the predicted occupant movement is equal to or greater than a predetermined movement threshold and if the biased severity measure is equal to or greater than predetermined first and second severity thresholds, activating the first and second stages of deployment of the airbag, or if the predicted occupant movement is equal to or greater than the movement threshold and if the biased severity measure is equal to or greater than the first severity threshold but less than the second severity threshold, activating only the first stage of the airbag; and if the biased severity measure is equal to or greater than the second severity threshold within a predetermined time interval, activating the second stage of the airbag, or if the predicted occupant movement is equal to or greater than the movement threshold and if the biased severity measure is less than the first severity threshold, recalculating the biased severity measure one or more times during a predetermined time period and activating the first stage of the airbag if the biased severity measure becomes equal to or greater than the first threshold during that predetermined time period, and activating the second stage of the airbag if the biased severity measure becomes equal to or greater than the second threshold within the predetermined time period, and resetting the measurement of the event time whenever it exceeds a predetermined time threshold.