EP0738633A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Operation judgement system for an occupant protection device for a front passenger seat
Assignee: Autoliv Japan Ltd
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Filing: 1994-12-27
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2014-12-27
Abstract
Abstract An operation judgement system of an occupant protection device for a front passenger seat, which detects a rearward facing child seat and judges the necessity of operation of the occupant protection device in a wide range of cases. An airbag is stored in an airbag storing section (25) provided in a port in front of a front passenger seat (22) and inflated by the occupant protection device when the vehicle speed lowers drastically. A plurality of distance sensors (S1), (S2) are provided to measure the distance between the airbag storing section (25) and an object existing in a space between the airbag storing section (25) and the front passenger seat (22), and the necessity of operation of the occupant protection device is judged based on the signals from the distance sensors (S1), (S2).
Inventors
- 👤 Masaru Kobe Tech. Center Sensor Tech. TAKEDA
- 👤 Mitsuru Kobe Tech. Center Sensor Tech. Co. ONO
- 👤 Etsujiro Kobe Tech.Cent. Sensor Tech. IMANISHI
- 👤 Yasushi Kobe Tech. Center Sensor Tech. TSUJI
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-31 20:15
CPC Classifications
B; B60; B60R; B60R21/00; B60R21/02; B60R21/16; B60R21/01; B60R21/015; B60R21/01512; B60R21/0153; B60R21/01536; B60R21/0154; B60R21/01556; G; G06; G06V; G06V40/00; G06V40/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
119 words
An actuating-judgment system for use with a safety device mounted upon a vehicle having an front passenger seat, said safety device having an air bag storing portion holding an air bag therein, said air bag storing portion being located in front of said front passenger seat, said safety device being designed to inflate the air bag upon rapid deceleration of said vehicle, said actuating-judgment system comprising: at least two distance sensors for detecting distances to an object existing in a space between said air bag storing portion and said front passenger seat; and a judgment means for making judgments according to the distances detected by said distance sensors as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
85 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 1, wherein said distance sensors detect distances from these distance sensors to portions of said object existing in the space between said air bag storing portion and said front passenger seat, said portions being different in height, and wherein said judgment means judges direction of tilt of said object toward longitudinal direction of said vehicle from the detected distances and makes a judgment according to the direction of tilt as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
19 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 2, wherein said distance sensors are disposed close to said air bag storing portion.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims 1-3, further comprising a heat source sensor for detecting presence or absence of heat from the object existing in the space between said air bag storing portion and said front passenger seat.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
36 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims 1-4, further comprising a warning means for issuing a warning according to result of said judgment made as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
60 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims 1-5, wherein said actuating-judgment system is connected with a means for activating a pre-tensioner for a seat belt for said front passenger seat, and wherein said actuating-judgment system activates said pre-tensioner for the seat belt according to result of said judgment as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
16 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims 1-6, wherein said distance sensors are ultrasonic sensors.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
82 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 1, wherein said at least two distance sensors detect distances to the object existing in a certain location within the space extending from said air bag storing portion to said assistant driver's seat, and wherein said judgment means makes a first judgment as to whether said distances are within ranges of given threshold values and makes a second judgment according to result of said first judgment as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
22 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 8, wherein said at least two distance sensors are disposed close to said air bag storing portion.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
96 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 8 or 9,wherein (A) a first one of said distance sensors detects a distance to a lower object, such as a rearward facing child seat, (B) a second one of said distance sensors detects a distance to an upper object, such as the head of a passenger, and (C) said judgment means makes a first judgment as to whether said distances are within ranges of given threshold values and makes a second judgment according to result of said first judgment as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims8-10, wherein a position sensor is mounted in said front passenger seat to detect position of said front passenger seat, and wherein said threshold values are varied according to the detected position.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
49 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims8-11, wherein said front passenger seat has a back tilted at an angle which is detected by an angular position sensor mounted upon said front passenger seat, and wherein the ranges of said threshold values are varied according to the detected angle.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
35 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims8-12, further comprising a warning means for issuing a warning according to result of said judgment made as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
59 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims8-13, wherein said actuating-judgment system is connected with a means for activating a pre-tensioner for a seat belt for said front passenger seat, and wherein said actuating-judgment system activates said pre-tensioner for the seat belt according to result of said judgment as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims8-14, wherein said distance sensors are ultrasonic sensors.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
21 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 15, wherein at least one of said distance sensors is positioned upon top of a dashboard.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
156 words
An actuating-judgment system for use with a safety device mounted upon a vehicle having an front passenger seat, said safety device having an air bag storing portion holding an air bag therein, said air bag storing portion being located in front of said front passenger seat, said safety device being designed to inflate the air bag upon rapid deceleration of said vehicle, said actuating-judgment system comprising: at least two distance sensors for detecting distances to an object existing in a certain position within a space extending from said air bag storing portion to said assistant driver's seat, at least one of said distance sensors making use of reflection in detecting the distances to the object; and a judgment means for making judgments as to whether distances detected by said distance sensors are within ranges of given threshold values, respectively, and for determining whether said safety device should be permitted to actuate, from results of the judgments.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
33 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 17, wherein said one of said distance sensors makes use of reflection at a windshield or side window, said reflection resulting in a change in direction of detection.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
138 words
An actuating-judgment system for use with a safety device mounted upon a vehicle having an front passenger seat, said safety device having an air bag storing portion holding an air bag therein, said air bag storing portion being located in front of said front passenger seat, said safety device being designed to inflate the air bag upon rapid deceleration of said vehicle, said actuating-judgment system comprising: one distance sensor for detecting a distance to a lower object, such as a rearward facing child seat, existing in a space between said air bag storing portion and said front passenger seat; and a judgment means for making a judgment as to whether the detected distance is within a range of given threshold values and for determining whether said safety device should be permitted to actuate, from result of the judgment.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
37 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 19, wherein a position sensor is mounted in said front passenger seat to detect position of said front passenger seat, and wherein said threshold values are varied according to the detected position.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
38 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 19 or 20,further comprising a heat source sensor for detecting presence or absence of heat from the object existing in the space between said air bag storing portion and said front passenger seat.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
35 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims19-21, further comprising a warning means for issuing a warning according to result of said judgment made as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
60 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims19-22, wherein said actuating-judgment system is connected with a means for activating a pre-tensioner for a seat belt for said front passenger seat, and wherein said actuating-judgment system activates said pre-tensioner for the seat belt according to result of said judgment made as to whether it is necessary to activate said safety device.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
15 words
The actuating-judgment system of any one of claims19-23, wherein said distance sensors are ultrasonic sensors.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
17 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 24, wherein said distance sensor is positioned upon top of a dashboard.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
148 words
An actuating-judgment system for use with a safety device mounted upon a vehicle having an front passenger seat, said safety device having an air bag storing portion holding an air bag therein, said air bag storing portion being located in front of said front passenger seat, said safety device being designed to inflate the air bag upon rapid deceleration of said vehicle, said actuating-judgment system comprising: one distance sensor for detecting a distance to a lower portion of an object, such as a rearward facing child seat, existing in a space between said air bag storing portion and said front passenger seat by making use of reflection;and a judgment means for making a judgment as to whether distances detected by said distance sensors are within ranges of given threshold values, respectively, and for determining whether said safety device should be permitted to actuate, from result of the judgment.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
33 words
The actuating-judgment system of claim 26, wherein said one of said distance sensors makes use of reflection at a windshield or side window, said reflection resulting in a change in direction of detection.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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