In order to detect a vehicle accident in which a vehicle and an object crash into one another, wherein a motion variable assigned to the collision is so low that at least one active occupant protection system provided for accidents in the vehicle is not activated by the crash, it is provided, with respect to the collision event, that signals and/or data formed by sensors of the vehicle are processed in such a manner that the signals and/or data are filtered, feature data are formed based on the filtered signals and/or data, and the collision event is assigned to a classification in a classification database based on the feature data.

A method for detecting scratches and bumps applied to a vehicle uses an acceleration sensor. Signals of the sensor are analyzed and evaluated based on duration and frequency.

An apparatus includes one or more sensors and a control unit. The one or more sensors may be configured to generate signals in response to movement of a vehicle. The control unit generally comprises (i) an interface configured to receive the signals from the sensors and (ii) a filter configured to reduce an effect that a mechanical transfer function of a housing of at least one of the sensors has on at least one of the signals. The filter may be configured to utilize a variable frequency band digital representation of the mechanical transfer function to negate the effect of the mechanical transfer function of the housing on the at least one of the signals.

To provide a control apparatus of a protection apparatus, which, with a simple configuration and excluding side face collisions as well as head-on collisions, favorably detects an offset collision or diagonal collision, and then activates a suitable protection apparatus for protecting the side or head of a passenger at a timing in accordance with the degree of collision, in addition to providing a method for controlling a protection apparatus. The control apparatus (101) includes: an ECU (1); satellite sensors (2, 3) for detecting a first acceleration in the longitudinal direction of a vehicle; and a main sensor (13) for detecting a second acceleration in the longitudinal direction thereof, and a third acceleration in the width direction thereof. The ECU (1) includes: a level calculation part for calculating a level of a front face collision based on the first acceleration and the second acceleration; a V.sub.offset calculation part for making an offset adjustment of V obtained by integrating the third acceleration so as to attenuate V of the third acceleration based on a head-on collision, in order to obtain V.sub.offset; and a determination part for determining an offset collision or diagonal collision based on the level of the front face collision and the V.sub.offset; and activates a side and head protection apparatus (6 or 7) if it is determined using the determination part that an offset collision or diagonal collision has occurred.

A method, a device and a computer program for activating a secondary function of an occupant protection system, a vertical acceleration and a lateral acceleration being detected and evaluated and an instantaneous position of the vehicle being determined based on the vertical acceleration and the first lateral acceleration. In the process, a lifting-off of the vehicle and/or an impact of the vehicle on its wheels is detected. A secondary function is activated if an impact of the vehicle on its roof and/or if an impact of the vehicle on one side or an impact of the vehicle on its wheels is detected.

A method for detecting scratches and bumps applied to a vehicle uses an acceleration sensor. Signals of the sensor are analyzed and evaluated based on amplitude and frequency. Relationships between the amplitudes and frequencies provide a basis to classify a vehicle contact event as a bump or a scratch.

An apparatus includes one or more sensors and a control unit. The one or more sensors may be configured to generate signals in response to movement of a vehicle. The control unit generally comprises (i) an interface configured to receive the signals from the sensors and (ii) a filter configured to reduce an effect that a mechanical transfer function of a housing of at least one of the sensors has on at least one of the signals. The filter may be configured to utilize a variable frequency band digital representation of the mechanical transfer function to negate the effect of the mechanical transfer function of the housing on the at least one of the signals.

An airbag firing control system may include an inertial measurement unit (IMU) including a low gravity (G) sensor configured to detect a longitudinal acceleration (ax), a filter configured to convert a first signal detection range of the low G sensor into a second signal detection range and to filter converted output of the low G sensor to generate a first output signal, and an adjuster configured to perform zero-point adjustment on the first output signal transmitted through the filter, and a microcomputer configured to use the first output signal for firing safing when the first output signal satisfies a safing condition as a performing result of the adjuster.

Method and apparatus are disclosed for classifying non-contact event around a vehicle based on a restraint control module accelerometer. An example vehicle includes impact sensors, a metal panel on an underside of the vehicle, an accelerometer mounted to the metal panel to measure vibrations of the metal panel caused by sound, a restraint control module. The restraint control module (a) classifies the sound as a collision event or a non-collision event, and (b) deploys an airbag when the sound is classified as the collision event and the impact sensors indicate the collision event.

A method for controlling an actuatable restraining device includes sensing a plurality of crash event indications in response to a crash event. The method also includes classifying the crash event in response to comparing the sensed crash event indications against one another to identify an oblique moving deformable barrier crash event. The method further includes controlling deployment timing of the actuatable restraining device in response to the classification of the crash event.