Patent ID: 8200395

Claim:
A vehicle collision decision apparatus comprising: a vehicle occupant protection device for protecting an occupant of a vehicle; a first acceleration detector disposed in a front end of the vehicle for detecting an acceleration of the vehicle in a longitudinal direction thereof; a second acceleration detector disposed in a transversely central region of the vehicle near a front portion thereof for detecting an acceleration of the vehicle; a third acceleration detector disposed on a side of a seat disposed in the vehicle for detecting an acceleration of the vehicle in a transverse direction thereof; a first comparator for comparing a value based on the acceleration detected by the first acceleration detector with a first threshold value, and outputting a first comparison signal if the value based on the acceleration detected by the first acceleration detector is greater than the first threshold value; a second comparator for comparing a value based on the acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle detected by the second acceleration detector with a second threshold value, and outputting a second comparison signal if the value based on the acceleration detected by the second acceleration detector is greater than the second threshold value; a third comparator for comparing a value based on the acceleration detected by the third acceleration detector with a third threshold value, and outputting a third comparison signal if the value based on the acceleration detected by the third acceleration detector is greater than the third threshold value, and a sixth comparator for comparing the value based on the acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle detected by the second acceleration detector with a sixth threshold value, and outputting a sixth comparison signal if the value based on the acceleration detected by the second acceleration detector is greater than the sixth threshold value, wherein the vehicle occupant protection device is activated when the first, second, and third comparators output the first comparison signal, the second comparison signal, and the third comparison signal, wherein the sixth threshold value is smaller than the second threshold value, and the vehicle occupant protection device is activated after a front airbag in the vehicle has been activated based on the first comparison signal and the sixth comparison signal.