Firing circuit for multiple vehicle passenger restraint initiators
US5796177A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 19, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 18, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 19, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC B)Performing Operations; Transporting
- CPC primaryB60R21/0173
- WIPO fieldTransport
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A firing circuit for multiple vehicle passenger restraint initiators, wherein initiators located in proximity to each other are paired in first and second parallel connected firing loops terminated by first and second firing circuit nodes. The first firing loop includes one of the initiators and a first diode poled to conduct current from the first node to the second node, and the second firing loop includes the other initiator and a second diode poled to conduct current in the opposite direction, that is, from the second node to the first node. A switching circuit, such as a four-element bridge couples each pair of firing loops to a source of DC so that the source voltage can be applied to the firing loop nodes in either polarity, depending on whether the switching circuit receives a first firing signal or a second firing signal. The switching circuit and the circuit that develops the firing signals are located together in a control unit so that only two wires must be routed from the control unit to each pair of initiators.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.