Combined acceleration sensor for high-G and low-G crash detection for an autonomous vehicle

A collision determination system for a vehicle comprising:

• an acceleration sensor including:
• an acceleration sensor housing including a base, and having a plurality of contacts;
• a single MEMS housing disposed in the acceleration sensor housing and including a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) high-G sensing element configured to detect a vehicle collision for triggering an air bag, and a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) low-G sensing element configured to detect a vehicle collision for providing an indication of a vehicle collision;
• and
• an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) disposed in the acceleration sensor housing, the ASIC being in communication with the MEMS high-G sensing element and the MEMS low-G sensing element for receiving signals therefrom;
• a transceiver for transmitting wireless signals;
• an electronic controller in communication with the transceiver, the electronic controller configured to:
• receive the high-G signal output by the high-G sensing element and provide an airbag deployment signal to an airbag deployment actuator when the high-G signal is greater than an airbag deployment threshold;
• and
• receive the low-G signal output by the low-G sensing element and determine when the low-G signal is above a collision threshold, and then provide the low-G signal to the transceiver;
• and
• a remote system for receiving the low-G signal from the transceiver, the remote system configured to determine severity and cause of the low-G signal.

A collision determination system for an autonomous vehicle including:

• a plurality of acceleration sensors, wherein each acceleration sensor includes
• a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) high-G sensing element configured to detect a vehicle collision for triggering an air bag;
• a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) low-G sensing element configured to detect a vehicle collision for providing an indication of a vehicle collision;
• and
• an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) in communication with the MEMS high-G sensing element and the MEMS low-G sensing element, wherein the ASIC is configured to:
• receive a high-G signal from the MEMS high-G sensing element,
• receive a low-G signal from the MEMS low-G sensing element,
• process the high-G signal and the low-G signal, and
• output a high-G signal, output a low-GN sensor signal, and output a low-GN+1 sensor signal,
• a transceiver for transmitting wireless signals;
• an electronic controller in communication with the transceiver, the electronic controller configured to:
• receive the high-G signal, the low-GN signal, and the low-GN+1 signal from each of the ASICs;
• and
• determine when the high-G signal is below an airbag deployment threshold, and the low-G signal is above a collision threshold, and then provide the low-G signal to the transceiver;
• and
• a remote system configured to receive the low-G signal from the transceiver, and to determine severity and cause of the low-G signal indicating a collision.