Patent ID: 7263460

Claim:
A device ( 10 ) for measuring accelerations for a vehicle passenger protection system, the device being adapted to a prespecified main direction of measurement ( 20 ) and comprising: at least one first acceleration sensor ( 12 ) with a first sensitivity direction ( 14 ), which forms a first main projection ( 22 ) onto the main direction of measurement ( 20 ), and a first transverse projection ( 32 ) onto a transverse direction ( 30 ) which is aligned vertically to the main direction of measurement ( 20 ), and a first evaluation channel for processing a first measuring signal from the first acceleration sensor in relation to a first reference value (R 1 ); a second acceleration sensor ( 16 ) with a second sensitivity direction ( 16 ), which forms a second main projection ( 24 ) onto the main direction of measurement ( 20 ), and a second transverse projection ( 34 ) onto the transverse direction ( 30 ), and a second evaluation channel for processing a second measuring signal from the second acceleration sensor in relation to a second reference value (R 2 ); and evaluation devices for evaluating at least the first processed measuring signal (F 1 ) and the second processed measuring signal (F 2 ), and, at least partially, a trigger signal for the passenger protection system, which is generated based on the first measuring signal and the second measuring signal; wherein the first and second transverse projections ( 32 , 24 ) in the first and second sensitivity directions ( 14 , 18 ) are aligned parallel to each other, and the first and second main projection ( 22 , 24 ) in the first and second sensitivity directions ( 14 , 18 ) are aligned antiparallel to each other; and the evaluation is conducted in such a manner that at least a partial error compensation results when the first or second reference value (R 1 or R 2 ) in the first or second evaluation channel changes, wherein the trigger signal is used to activate the passenger protection system when it is determined that the vehicle has been in a crash.