Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R16/00—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for
  • B60R16/02—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements
  • B60R16/023—Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
  • B60R16/0239—Electronic boxes
• • H—ELECTRICITY
  • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
  • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
  • H01R13/00—Details of coupling devices of the kinds covered by groups H01R12/70 or H01R24/00 - H01R33/00
  • H01R13/66—Structural association with built-in electrical component
  • H01R13/70—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch
  • H01R13/703—Structural association with built-in electrical component with built-in switch operated by engagement or disengagement of coupling parts, e.g. dual-continuity coupling part
  • H01R13/7031—Shorting, shunting or bussing of different terminals interrupted or effected on engagement of coupling part, e.g. for ESD protection, line continuity
  • H01R13/7032—Shorting, shunting or bussing of different terminals interrupted or effected on engagement of coupling part, e.g. for ESD protection, line continuity making use of a separate bridging element directly cooperating with the terminals

Definitions

• Safety-relevant control unit with a control lamp connected via a plug connection, in particular on a motor vehicle
• the invention relates to a safety-relevant control device with a control lamp connected via a plug connection, in particular on a motor vehicle.
• Safety-relevant control devices on a motor vehicle are, for example, control devices for activating an airbag system, a belt tensioner system or an anti-lock or anti-slip system.
• Such control devices automatically bring about measures and operating states on the vehicle which, if they function correctly, improve vehicle safety, but in the event of a malfunction can bring about critical operating states with the risk of injuries to the vehicle occupants. It is therefore particularly important to automatically check the function of such control devices, including their correct electrical connections, and to display the result of this check via an assigned control lamp.
• a control lamp is usually used for this. controlled so that it lights continuously or flashes in the event of a malfunction.
• a control lamp arranged on the dashboard is activated, which usually lights up during the initial test and also allows the lamp function in the control lamp to be checked. After starting the engine and / or completing the internal diagnosis, if no malfunction is detected, the control is interrupted and the control lamp goes out. On the other hand, if a malfunction is detected, the indicator lamp stays on.
• control lamp If the control lamp has gone out after a positive initial test, test programs are usually also processed while driving continues. When a malfunction is detected, the control lamp is activated again and the driver is thus informed of the failure of the safety device.
• an airbag can only be installed for the driver or an additional airbag on the passenger side.
• a control device which looks largely the same from the outside is used for both installation options, but which obviously has to contain certain modifications for controlling only one or two airbags. These modifications are carried out inside the device and the outside of the device housing can practically only be viewed by means of different prints and device numbers. Therefore, both device modifications can easily be confused both in vehicle assembly and in the event of a possible repair in a repair workshop.
• control lamp is supplied with voltage externally, that is not from the control unit.
• a ground line is in each case connected to different connection contacts or plug contacts assigned to the device modifications. Short-circuit bridges are provided on the connection contacts for the lamp control line and the associated ground line, which are not occupied on the device side for the specific modification.
• the circuit for the control lamp is therefore short-circuited via one of the short-circuit bridges, so that the warning lamp is constantly activated and lights up. It is therefore for the incorporation of the wrong Modifi ⁇ cation in each case * recognized that there is an error. It is expressly pointed out that the short-circuit bridges are contained in the control unit and that the short-circuit or control of the control lamp is carried out when the control unit is plugged in (the wrong modification).
• a particularly critical state which cannot be solved with the circuit arrangement described above, is when the control unit with its system plug is not connected at all to the line set-side plug, for example when forgetting to make a corresponding plug connection during assembly has been.
• the driver of a motor vehicle thus receives the incorrect information from the dark indicator lamp while driving that his safety system is OK, although the control has no connection at all. This results in a significant reduction in vehicle safety.
• the object of the invention is to develop a safety-relevant control device with a control lamp connected via a plug connection in such a way that a missing plug connection is automatically indicated. This object is achieved with the characterizing features of claim 1.
• a ground plug connection and a battery plug connection in the connecting line of which the control lamp is located, are connected to a line set-side plug as part of the plug connection by a separable short-circuit bridge.
• the short-circuit bridge is separated when the system plug arranged on the control device is plugged into the cable set-side plug or into the associated ground plug connection and the battery plug connection.
• the indicator light when the system plug of the control unit is not plugged in, lies in a circuit closed via the short-circuit bridge and thus lights continuously.
• the connecting line to the battery connector, in which the control lamp is located, is expediently controllable via the ignition lock.
• the control lamp is thus actuated when the system plug is not plugged in and the ignition is switched on and is continuously supplied with voltage via the short-circuit bridge.
• the constant lighting of the control lamp indicates an error in any case.
• control elements for the control lamp being connected within the control unit instead of the short-circuit bridge.
• These control elements act as switching elements and, when a malfunction is detected in the control unit or in the system, close the circuit for the control lamp.
• a luminous indicator lamp thus indicates a missing plug connection. If the plug connection is made correctly and the indicator lamp lights up, this is an indication of one Errors in the control unit or, if applicable, in the connected, further components of the safety system which can be activated by the control unit.
• the driver of a motor vehicle or already the inspector in the final inspection by the vehicle assembly is thus securely, to indicate a missing plug connection between the system plug on the control device and the wiring harness-side mating connector, which is tantamount to a complete failure of therac ⁇ system by a continuously lit Kontroll ⁇ light " .
• a separable short-circuit bridge could, for example, be a wire connection that is torn off when the system connector is inserted into the mating connector on the wiring harness side.
• Claim 3 therefore proposes that the short-circuit bridge contains spring-loaded contact parts which, when the system plug is not inserted, are in contact for making contact in the ground plug connection and in the battery plug connection and are connected by a wire bridge. These spring-loaded contact parts are pushed out of their contact position against their spring force by the plug pins and / or, if necessary, separate pressure pieces when the system plug is inserted. When the system plug is pulled out, the “contact parts” are returned to their contact position by the spring force, so that the automatic display of a system plug that is not inserted is switched on again.
• control unit is part of an airbag and / or belt tensioner system with electrically activatable squibs.
• acceleration sensors are attached to suitable points on the vehicle body, the signals of which are fed to the control device via plug connections of the connector on the line set side.
• the electrical circuit for the ignition of the squib is also routed through the connector on the wiring harness side. A number of inputs and outputs on the control unit are thus visible, including the output for the control lamp control, which are connected via the plug-in Are connected.
• FIG. 1 is a plan view of a connector on the wiring harness side of a plug connection into which a system plug of a control unit can be inserted
• FIG. 2 shows a connector according to FIG. 1 in a schematic representation with a connected control lamp and connected squibs as a component of an airbag safety system
• FIG. 3 shows a schematic section through the plug according to FIG. 1 in the area of the connection contacts for the control lamp with a short-circuit bridge with spring-loaded contact parts and a control device with associated contact pins and
• Fig. 4 is a schematic representation of a control unit with a system connector and a wiring harness-side connector with a disconnectable short-circuit bridge.
• a wiring harness-side connector 1 is shown, which is fixedly attached in a vehicle body as a mating connector for a system connector of a control unit.
• the plug 1 contains a plurality of sockets 2, which are connected to cables of a multiple cable 3.
• connection is shown in detail in the schematic representation of FIG. 2.
• a ground line 4 and a connecting line 5 are connected to a positive battery connection 6.
• a control lamp 7 is located in the connecting line 5, which signals an error in the airbag system when it lights up.
• the socket connections are connected (if the system plug of the control unit is not plugged in) to a separable short-circuit bridge 8 (shown in broken lines).
• a positive line 9 and a negative line 10 to an ignition coil arrangement 11 are connected to the respective connection.
• These socket connections 23 and 24 are also connected to one another by a separable short-circuit bridge 12. Further lines to sensors (not shown) and actuating elements (not shown) are shown schematically on the other pairs of sockets.
• the short-circuit bridge 8 consists of spring-loaded contact parts 13, 14 which, when the system plug 1 is not plugged in, lie in the socket 21 as a ground plug connection and in the socket 22 battery plug connection for making contact.
• the contact parts 13, 14 are by a bridge part 15 , which is attached to the connector 1.
• FIG. 3 shows a housing of a control unit 16 with the connector pins 17, 18 assigned to the sockets 21, 22 of a system connector, which is designed in accordance with the mating connector 1.
• control device 16 shows a further embodiment, with a control device 16 and a system plug 21 connected via a cable connection 20.
• Control components in the control device are shown schematically as a switching transistor 26.
• a ground line 4 and a connecting line 5 with control lamp 7 are in turn connected to a line-side plug 1 as a mating plug to the system plug 21.
• a switch 27 which is intended to represent the ignition lock, so that the line 5 has a connection to the positive battery connection 6 only when the ignition is switched on.
• the short-circuit bridge 8 is shown here as a dashed line, which is disconnected when the system plug 25 is inserted.
• the arrangement shown has the following function: when the system plug 21 is not plugged in or the plug pins 17, 18 are plugged in, the short-circuit bridges 8 and 12 are in operation, so that (when the ignition is switched on) the control
• the lamp 7 is constantly lit and on the other hand the ignition pins 11 are protected against unintentional ignition.
• the constant lighting of the control lamp 7 indicates that no connection to the control unit has been established and thus the entire airbag safety arrangement is not functional.
• the short-circuit bridges 8 and 12 are opened and the corresponding connections are connected to the control elements in the control unit 16.
• the voltage required for ignition can thus be applied to the squib 11 via the control unit 16. If an error is detected by the control device, the circuit for the control lamp 7 is closed via the control device, so that it lights up for error signaling.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Details Of Connecting Devices For Male And Female Coupling (AREA)
• Air Bags (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=6430449

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Families Citing this family (4)

Citations (4)

Family Cites Families (4)

• 1991
  • 1991-04-26 DE DE19914113710 patent/DE4113710C1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 1992
  • 1992-03-20 WO PCT/EP1992/000621 patent/WO1992019472A1/de active Application Filing

Patent Citations (4)

Also Published As

Similar Documents

Legal Events