Air bag deployment system and method for monitoring same
AssigneeMotorola, Inc.
InventorsBenjamin R. Davis, Ronald V. DeLong
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An air bag deployment system (20) includes a microcontroller (21), an inflator (23), and an inflator sensor (24). The inflator sensor (24) is adjacent to the inflator (23) and monitors the firing of the inflator (23). The inflator sensor (24) monitors the firing of a squib (36) of the inflator (23). The inflator sensor (24) transmits an inflator firing signal to the microcontroller (21) when the squib (36) of the inflator (23) is activated. In the absence of the inflator firing signal, a backup firing signal is generated by the microcontroller (21) and is transmitted to a backup squib (37).
Claims19
An air bag deployment system, comprising:
- an inflator;
- and
- an inflator sensor directly connected to the inflator for acoustically monitoring a surface of the inflator to determine if a squib within the inflator is activated.
A method for monitoring an air bag system, comprising:
- transmitting a firing signal to an inflator of the air bag system;
- monitoring a surface of the inflator to determine if a pyrotechnic material within the inflator has ignited;
- and
- using an inflator sensor of the air bag system to monitor the inflator and detect ignition, wherein the inflator sensor is directly connected to the inflator.
An air bag deployment system, comprising:
- an inflator;
- and
- an inflator sensor directly connected to the inflator for thermally monitoring a surface of the inflator to determine if a pyrotechnic material within the inflator has ignited.
An air bag deployment system, comprising:
- an inflator;
- and
- an inflator sensor adjacent to the inflator for sensing light produced by firing of a squib within the inflator.
A method for sensing activation of an inflator, comprising:
- activating a squib of an inflator;
- and
- optically monitoring a chamber within the inflator to determine if a pyrotechnic material within the inflator has ignited.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.