KR19980038156A - Air bag system with variable working pressure - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an air bag system in which the operating pressure of the pressure source (Pressure sourse) is variable according to whether the occupant's seat belt is worn, so that the operating pressure of the pressure source can be minimized.

The air bag system of which the operating pressure of the present invention is variable is an air bag control unit 1 which oversees the control of the system, and a seat belt sensor which sends a signal to the air bag control unit 1 by signaling whether or not the seat belt is worn. 2) and first and second pressure sources 3, 4, etc., each having an inflator for exploding gas under the control of the air bag control unit 1 to inflate the air bag 5; In the configuration, by varying the operating pressure of the air bag 5 according to whether the seat belt 6 is worn, it is possible to increase the safety of the passengers of the vehicle.

Description

Air bag system with variable working pressure

1 is a configuration diagram of the airbag system operating structure in which the operating pressure is changed according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a block diagram showing the control structure of the airbag control unit of the airbag system variable in operating pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a flow chart showing the operation of the air bag system is variable operating pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings

1: Air Bag Control Unit 2: Seat Belt Sensor

3: first pressure source 4: second pressure source

5: air bag 6: seat belt

[TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION]

The present invention relates to a vehicle air bag system (Air Bag System), and more specifically, the operating pressure of the pressure source (Pressure sourse) is variable depending on whether the occupant's seat belt is worn, thereby minimizing the physical damage of the occupant The present invention relates to an air bag system in which the operating pressure varies.

[Prior art]

In general, an airbag system of a vehicle is a device that protects the occupant by absorbing the shock generated on the occupant in the event of a vehicle crash or similar safety accident.

Such airbag systems include both being built into the steering wheel for driver protection and those built into the instrument panel to protect the assistant driver.

The airbag system compares a power supply, a waveform generated by an impact sensor during a vehicle collision, and an stored algorithm to determine whether an airbag is operated, and a gas according to a signal of the airbag control unit. And a pressure source including an inflator to inflate the airbag by injecting the same.

According to this configuration, when the airbag system is subjected to a strong shock in front of the vehicle, a tube sensor, which is an electromechanical sensor (EMS) ball of the airbag control unit, is activated to send an electrical signal to the pressure source to operate the inflator. As a result, the gas bag is instantaneously inflated by generating nitrogen gas, thereby absorbing the shock generated by the collision to protect the occupant.

[Technical problem to be achieved]

However, the conventional air bag system as described above is always inflated at a constant pressure, so that when the air bag bursts during a minor collision, the air bag surface may scratch the occupant's face. In particular, since the airbag system is usually manufactured based on the non-wearing state of the seat belt for the protection of the occupant, when the collision occurs while the seat belt is being worn, the protection effect of the airbag on the occupant is relatively reduced. Had

The present invention solves the problems of such a conventional air bag system, by detecting the wearing of the seatbelt of the occupant by varying the operating pressure of the air bag according to the wearing, it is possible to minimize the degree of injury of the driver It is an object to provide an air bag system in which the operating pressure is variable.

[Configuration and Function of Invention]

The present invention for achieving the above object, an impact detection sensor for detecting a collision shock of the vehicle, an air bag control unit for determining whether the air bag is operated according to the signal of the impact sensor, and the signal of the air bag control unit In the airbag system including a pressure source for inflating the airbag by operating the built-in inflator, the seat belt sensor for detecting whether the occupant is wearing the seat belt and sends a signal to the air bag control unit on the seat belt And the pressure source includes a first pressure source and a second pressure source, so that the airbag control unit operates only one pressure source upon a signal of wearing the seat belt according to the signal of the seat belt sensor, In the case of non-wear signal, two pressure sources are operated simultaneously.

When the vehicle is crashed by the above configuration, when the occupant wears a seat belt, only one pressure source is operated so that the air bag is inflated to a working pressure such that there is no injury by the air bag, and the seat belt is not worn. Even though some passengers are injured by the airbags, the airbags are inflated to a strong working pressure so as to minimize the injuries caused by the impact of the body collision, thereby appropriately protecting the occupants.

EXAMPLE

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, preferred embodiment of this invention is described in detail based on an accompanying drawing.

1 is a block diagram showing the operation structure of the air bag system variable in operating pressure according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a configuration showing a control structure of the air bag control unit of such an air bag system 3 is a flowchart showing its operation.

The airbag system in which the operating pressure of the present invention is variable is safe for the airbag control unit 1 and the airbag control unit 1 that control the entire system, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. It comprises a seat belt sensor (2) for signaling the use state of the belt and the first, second pressure sources (3, 4) operated by the air bag control unit (1). In addition, the pressure sources are each provided with an inflator capable of inflating the air bag 5 by supplying nitrogen gas.

The operation by such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3.

First, when the vehicle collides, the air bag control unit 1 detects an impact amount and compares it with a prescribed value to determine whether the air bag 5 is operated. When it is determined that the sensed impact is large and the airbag is in operation, the airbag control unit 1 detects whether the seatbelt is worn from the seatbelt sensor 2, and in accordance with the signal, the pressure sources 3, 4 are checked. It works. For example, if it is determined that the seat belt is worn, the operating pressure required for the safety of the passengers is relatively small so that only the first pressure source 3 is operated to protect the passenger from injuries caused by the air bag 5 while protecting them from impact and not wearing them. If it is determined that the two pressure sensors (3, 4) are operated at the same time to protect the passengers with a higher operating pressure of the air bag (5).

As such, the airbag system having a variable operating pressure according to the present invention can appropriately cope with the wearing of the seat belt 6 to further reduce the degree of injury to the passenger.

[Effects of the Invention]

Through the embodiments of the present invention described above, it can be seen that the problems of the conventional airbag system are substantially solved. That is, according to the present invention, when the collision of the vehicle, by varying the operating pressure of the air bag according to whether the seat belt of the occupant is effectively minimized the degree of injury of the occupant, there is an effect that the safety of the vehicle is further improved.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described with reference to certain preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the invention belongs without departing from the gist of the invention as claimed in the claims. Anyone with ordinary knowledge in the field will be able to make various changes.

Claims (1)

An impact sensor for detecting a collision shock of the vehicle, an air bag control unit for determining whether the air bag is operated according to the signal of the impact sensor, and an inflator operated according to the signal of the air bag control unit to operate the air bag In the air bag system including a pressure source for inflating the seat, a seat belt sensor for detecting whether the occupant is wearing the seat belt and sends a signal to the air bag control unit is mounted on the seat belt, the pressure source is a first pressure Including the source and the second pressure source, the air bag control unit operates only one pressure source upon the seat belt wearing signal according to the signal of the seat belt sensor, and at the same time two pressure sources at the time of non-wearing signal Air bag system, characterized in that the operating pressure is variable.