Abstract: An activating apparatus for vehicle passenger protection devices includes a rollover determining section for determining the likelihood of a vehicle rollover. When only the presence of a passenger on the driver' seat is detected by an occupant sensor, a determination control change-over section changes conditions for rollover likelihood determination that are used for the determination of activation of a passenger protection device on a navigator's seat side to conditions that make it difficult to render a decision that a vehicle rollover is imminent. With this arrangement, the navigator's seat side passenger protection device is activated with a time delay after activation of a passenger protection device on the driver's seat side.

Abstract: A passenger-protecting device such as an air-bag system is activated upon detection of a vehicle lateral inclination angle exceeding a predetermined critical level. Such detection is performed by a lateral inclination detector having a pair of gravitational acceleration sensors for detecting a static road inclination and an angular velocity sensor for detecting a dynamic roll angle of the vehicle. Sensing directions of the pair of gravitational acceleration sensors are positioned to cross each other with a right angle and to make an angle of 45° with respect to a vehicle floor. The dynamic roll angle is calculated by integrating outputs of the angular velocity sensor. The vehicle inclination angle is obtained to summing up the static inclination angle and the roll angle. The passenger-protecting device is timely activated to protect passengers from overturn impact of the vehicle.

Abstract: A loading system for a vehicle passenger protection device performs collision determination without using inaccurate signals included among acceleration signals input to a collision determination unit. First and second normal/abnormal judgment units judge whether output signals from a main G sensor and a satellite G sensor are normal signals or abnormal signals. If abnormal, then abnormal signal processing is performed to replace the abnormal signal value with the output value of an immediately preceding normal signal, to thereby produce an abnormal signal processing signal. Segment integration is then performed on the normal signals and the abnormal signal processing signal(s) to determine whether the vehicle has collided.

Abstract: An apparatus for activating occupant restraint devices of a vehicle includes first and second sensors, first and second determination units, an output circuit, and an activation unit. The first sensor generates a first signal indicative of dynamic movement of the vehicle, and the first determination unit determines, using a CPU, whether or not to output a first activation signal depending on the first signal. The second sensor generates a second signal indicative of the dynamic movement of the vehicle, and the second determination unit determines, using two thresholds of deceleration and acceleration or a single selectively provided deceleration threshold, whether or not to output a second activation signal depending on the second signal. The output circuit outputs a final activation signal upon receiving both the first and second activation signals, and the activation unit activates the occupant restraint devices of the vehicle upon receiving the final activation signal.

Abstract: An apparatus for detecting a rollover of a vehicle is provided. The apparatus comprises a detector, memory unit, calculator, and rollover determination unit. The detector detects a roll angular velocity of the vehicle. The memory unit memorizes a value of the roll angular velocity detected by the detector. The calculator calculates a predictive value to the roll angular velocity to be expected when a predetermined period of time elapses, by using a past value of the roll angular velocity of the vehicle, the past value being memorized in the memory unit. The rollover determination unit determines whether or not there is a possibility that the vehicle will make a rollover, on the basis of the predictive value to the roll angular velocity.

Abstract: An apparatus includes a roll condition detector detecting a roll condition of a vehicle and a lateral acceleration sensor sensing a lateral acceleration of the vehicle. The apparatus also includes a trip-over determination unit determining whether an anticipated rollover of the vehicle has a pattern of trip-over in response to the lateral acceleration and the roll condition of the vehicle, and a trip-over pattern recognition unit recognizing the pattern of trip-over based on the lateral acceleration of the vehicle. The apparatus further includes a rollover determination criteria unit setting a rollover determination criterion depending on the pattern of trip-over, a rollover determination unit determining whether the vehicle will roll over based on the roll condition of the vehicle and the rollover determination criterion, and an activation unit activating occupant restraint devices of the vehicle depending on a result of the rollover determination unit which indicates the vehicle will roll over.

Abstract: An activating apparatus for vehicle passenger protection devices includes a rollover determining section for determining the likelihood of a vehicle rollover. When only the presence of a passenger on the driver' seat is detected by an occupant sensor, a determination control change-over section changes conditions for rollover likelihood determination that are used for the determination of activation of a passenger protection device on a navigator's seat side to conditions that make it difficult to render a decision that a vehicle rollover is imminent. With this arrangement, the navigator's seat side passenger protection device is activated with a time delay after activation of a passenger protection device on the driver's seat side.

Abstract: Angular velocity in a rolling action of a vehicle is detected by an angular velocity sensor, and a difference between two angular velocities detected in a short time interval is calculated. The calculated angular velocity difference is compared with a predetermined threshold value. If the angular velocity difference is larger than the threshold value, a passenger-protecting device is activated. A rolling angle of the vehicle may be calculated by integrating the detected angular velocity, and a combination of the rolling angle and the angular velocity may be compared with a predetermined threshold. If the combination exceeds the threshold, it is determined that the vehicle is rolling over and the passenger-protecting device is activated.

Abstract: An activation device for a passenger protection apparatus comprises a sensor for detecting a roll angular velocity, a unit for calculating a roll relative angle on the basis of the angular velocity, and a unit for making a judgment indicating a roll of the vehicle when the velocity and the angle satisfy a threshold condition. A control unit activates an air bag and a pretentioner at a roll judgment. A buckle switch detects a wearing state of a seat belt, and a window opening/closure sensor detects an open/closed state of a window. The threshold condition is set on the basis of the results of the detection of the buckle switch and the window opening/closure sensor. This enables the protection apparatus to be appropriately activated on the basis of a wearing state of the seat belt and an open/closed state of the window of the vehicle.

Abstract: An activation device for a passenger protection apparatus is made up of a sensor for detecting a roll angular velocity of a vehicle, a unit for calculating a roll relative angle on the basis of the roll angular velocity, and a unit for making a judgment indicating a roll of the vehicle when the velocity and the angle satisfy a threshold condition. A control unit activates an air bag when making a judgment indicating a roll. A vehicle collision state is discriminated on the basis of right-hand and left-hand accelerations detected by acceleration sensors and the threshold condition for the judgment on a roll of the vehicle is switched in accordance with the collision state. This enables a trip-over type roll to be detected at an early stage for activating the passenger protection apparatus quickly.

Abstract: A passenger-protecting device such as an air-bag system is activated upon detection of a vehicle lateral inclination angle exceeding a predetermined critical level. Such detection is performed by a lateral inclination detector having a pair of gravitational acceleration sensors for detecting a static road inclination and an angular velocity sensor for detecting a dynamic roll angle of the vehicle. Sensing directions of the pair of gravitational acceleration sensors are positioned to cross each other with a right angle and to make an angle of 45° with respect to a vehicle floor. The dynamic roll angle is calculated by integrating outputs of the angular velocity sensor. The vehicle inclination angle is obtained to summing up the static inclination angle and the roll angle. The passenger-protecting device is timely activated to protect passengers from overturn impact of the vehicle.

Abstract: A contact structure composed of a pushing side blade spring member with a first contact point and a receiving side blade spring member with a second contact point. The receiving side blade spring member is composed of three blade springs slidably overlapped with each other. A driving member is disposed on an opposite side of the second blade spring member with respect to the first blade spring member and biased by the first blade spring member. When a collision occurs, the driving member is displaced against a bias force to move the first blade spring member, so that the first contact point contacts the second contact point to output a detection signal. In this case, because the second blade spring member is composed of the three blade springs, the detection signal does not have chattering thereon.

Abstract: An acceleration detector in which detecting accuracy of acceleration is improved and unnecessary sound of operations can be prevented is disclosed. A leaf spring contacts a movable body even before it moves and, by having fixed elasticity, the leaf spring restricts the tilt of the movable body until fixed acceleration acts on it. When fixed acceleration acts on the movable body, it tilts to a fixed position against a biasing force of the leaf spring and the leaf spring and another leaf spring close to produce an acceleration detection signal.