Patent · US Expired

Method and apparatus for checking the capacitance of a storage capacitor provided in an occupant protection system

US6580279B1 · kind B1 · utility

11Cited by

8References

9Claims

0Family size

Assignee

Siemens Aktiengesellschaft · DE

Inventors

Walter Baumgartner · Geisingen, DE
Klaus Bauer · Neuendettelsau, DE
Stefan Hermann · Neutraubling, DE

Key dates

Filing date	Jun 1, 1999
Grant date	Jun 17, 2003
Priority date	—
Expiry date	Jun 1, 2019

Classification

Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
CPC primaryH02J7/345
WIPO fieldMeasurement
WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A capacitance of a firing capacitor for the firing of a firing pellet, where the firing capacitor is contained in an occupant protection system of a motor vehicle, is implemented on a rising edge of a capacitor voltage in a charging phase. For this purpose, a quantity of charge taken up by the storage capacitor during a test time interval is determined by measurement of a charge current or of a corresponding value and integration over the test time interval. The capacitance is obtained through a quotient of the resultant integral and a voltage change in the capacitor voltage that occurred in the test time interval. The functional availability of the firing capacitor is not adversely affected at any time during the testing.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.