Vehicle occupant protection apparatus
OwnerTetsuya Takafuji, Tomoji Suzukiinventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A vehicle occupant protection apparatus includes a collision object data detection element on a vehicle to detect data, such as the physical parameters of the estimated collision object related to a collision impact force, from an estimated collision object, a vehicle-onboard occupant protection element activated in the event of a vehicle collision, thereby protecting an occupant in a predetermined activation mode, and a protection mode control element for changing the activation mode based on the data. The vehicle occupant protection apparatus may also utilize a collision detection element for detecting an actual collision with the estimated collision object.
Claims17
A vehicle occupant protection apparatus comprising:
- a collision object data detection element provided on a vehicle, the collision object data detection element for detecting data with respect to a collision impact force from an estimated collision object;
- a vehicle occupant protection element activated in the event of a vehicle collision, thereby protecting an occupant in a predetermined activation mode;
- and
- a protection mode control element for changing the activation mode based on the data.
A method of controlling a vehicle occupant protection apparatus, comprising the steps of:
- providing a collision object data detection element on a vehicle;
- detecting data using the data detection element with respect to a collision impact force from an estimated collision object;
- activating a vehicle occupant protection element in the event of a vehicle collision with the estimated collision object, thereby protecting a vehicle occupant in a predetermined activation mode;
- and
- providing a protection mode control element for changing the activation mode based on the data.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.