US 5,602,734 A · Automobile air bag systems

Abstract

A roof-mounted air bag system, having a passenger position sensor array of capacitive coupling passenger position sensors, to determine position and motion of a passenger by triangulation, from microprocessor analysis of distances of the passenger to the various sensors of the array and analysis of the changes of said distances with time; the combination of a three-axis vehicle rollover sensor and microprocessor analysis of the output of said sensor, to both block air bag deployment in the event that said sensor output indicates a vehicle rollover, and also confirm a crash event by sensing rapid angular vehicle acceleration; a microprocessor to analyze signals from the passenger position sensor array, and from the rollover sensor, and to order air bag deployment when it would be helpful but not otherwise; an air bag with an inflated configuration having two principal chambers, one inflating downward along the windshield and the other inflated to the rear of the first, with a reentrant slot-shaped space between them which can accommodate a forwardly positioned passenger, such as an infant in a rear facing car seat, which inflation configuration can reduce the likelihood of injury to said passenger resulting from the air bag deployment; and means in the microprocessor for brief recording of passenger motion data from the passenger position sensor array, by the microprocessor, for possible later use in crash analysis, which may lead to ideas for improvement of design of the vehicle or air bag system.

Claims23

Dependent claims

Motor vehicle air bag system, for inflation and deployment of an air bag in front of a passenger in a motor vehicle during a collision, said motor vehicle having a passenger compartment for at least one passenger in said motor vehicle, said passenger compartment also having an interior roof, and having a windshield at the forward end of said passenger compartment, and having a passenger seat for said passenger, said air bag system comprising:

(a) an air bag;
(b) inflation means, connected to said air bag, for inflating said air bag with a gas;
(c) passenger sensor means, for continuously sensing position of said passenger, with respect to said passenger compartment, and for generating electrical output indicative of said position of said passenger;
(d) vehicle angular orientation sensor means, for sensing angular orientation of said vehicle, and for generating electrical output indicative of said angular orientation of said vehicle;
and
(e) microprocessor means, electrically connected to said passenger sensor means, to said vehicle angular orientation sensor means, and to said inflation means, for comparing and performing an analysis of said electrical outputs from said passenger sensor means and said vehicle angular orientation sensor means, and for activating said inflation means to inflate and deploy said air bag, when said analysis indicates that said vehicle is involved in a collision and that deployment of said air bag would likely reduce a risk of serious injury to said passenger which would exist absent deployment of said air bag and likely would not present an increased risk of injury to said passenger resulting from deployment of said air bag.

3 more elements

(a) an air bag;
(b) inflation means, connected to said air bag, for inflating said air bag with a gas;
(c) passenger sensor means, mounted adjacent to said interior roof of said vehicle, for continuously sensing position of said passenger, with respect to said passenger compartment, and for generating electrical output indicative of said position of said passenger;
(d) microprocessor means, electrically connected to said passenger sensor means and to said inflation means, for comparing and performing an analysis of said electrical output from said passenger sensor means, and for activating said inflation means to inflate and deploy said air bag, when said analysis indicates that said vehicle is involved in a collision and that deployment of said air bag would likely reduce a risk of serious injury to said passenger which would exist absent deployment of said air bag and likely would not present an increased risk of injury to said passenger resulting from deployment of said air bag.

1 more element

(a) an air bag, mounted near said interior roof of said vehicle, said air bag having two principal chambers, a forward chamber and a rear chamber, and having means for gas to flow sequentially from said forward chamber to said rear chamber, said air bag being so configured that, upon inflation, said forward chamber deploys downward along said windshield, and said rear chamber deploys to the rear of said forward chamber, and said air bag having a surface having a reentrant portion forming a notch at the bottom of said air bag, upon inflation of said air bag, with said notch being located between said forward chamber and said rear chamber, and wherein said notch is of sufficient size to accommodate at least a substantial portion of the body of a passenger positioned at the location of said notch;
(b) inflation means, connected to said air bag, for inflating said air bag with a gas;
(c) inflation means activation means, for activating said inflation means to inflate said air bag, when said vehicle is involved in a collision and when deployment of said air bag would likely reduce a risk of serious injury to said passenger which would exist absent deployment of said air bag and likely would not present an increased risk of injury to said passenger resulting from deployment of said air bag.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Automobile air bag systems

Life of this patent

Automobile air bag systems

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims23