An airbag module for a supplemental restraint system of a vehicle can include an inflator, an airbag attached to the inflator and in fluid communication with the inflator; and a module controller mounted to the inflator. The module controller can be configured to: determine an elapsed service time of the inflator based on the identification information of the vehicle; compare the elapsed service time to a first time threshold; and output a disable signal to the SRS controller commanding the SRS controller to disable a firing pulse for the inflator when the elapsed service time is greater than or equal to the first time threshold.

A method for providing accident parameters to a person outside a vehicle after an accident includes ascertaining a first accident parameter that is representative of the severity and/or a consequence severity using a control unit of the vehicle, and determining a display device of the vehicle that can display the first accident parameter following the accident. The first accident parameter is provided on the determined display, and a second accident parameter that is representative of the severity and/or the accident consequence severity is ascertained. The method also includes receiving a release signal for the second accident parameter from the person outside the vehicle following the accident involving the vehicle, and verifying the release signal for the second accident parameter using the control unit of the vehicle. The second accident parameter is provided on the determined display if the release signal was successfully verified by the control unit of the vehicle.

Apparatuses and methods for predicting a crash using estimated vehicle speed. A set of sensor measurements are received from a mobile device disposed within a vehicle. A set of contiguous windows based on the sensor measurements may be defined. Each contiguous window represents a contiguous portion of the sensor measurements. A set of sensor measurements may be defined for each contiguous window. A trained neural network may execute, using the set of features, to generate one or more speed predictions. A vehicle crash prediction may be generated using the speed prediction. The vehicle crash prediction may then be transmitted to a remote device.

A method for recognizing the breakdown of an energy reserve device of at least two energy reserve devices of a device for protecting the occupants of a vehicle. The method includes: charging the at least two energy reserve devices to a test voltage level; ascertaining an ambient temperature of the at least two energy reserve devices; acquiring the (overall) capacitance of the at least two energy reserve devices; recognizing the breakdown of an energy reserve device as a function of a floating mean value, which is a function of the ascertained ambient temperature, for the (overall) capacitance and of the acquired (overall) capacitance; updating a floating mean value as a function of the ascertained ambient temperature and the acquired overall capacitance.

A system and method for measuring a capacitance value of a capacitor are provided. In embodiments, a resistor is coupled to a terminal of the capacitor. A difference in voltage at the terminal between a first time and a second time during a discharge routine of the capacitor is measured. The discharge routine includes sinking a current through a discharge circuit coupled to the resistor from first to second. Integration of a difference in voltage at terminals of the resistor during the discharge routine between the first and second times is also measured. The capacitance value is computed based on the measured difference in voltage, the measured integration, and the resistance value of the resistor. The health of the capacitor is determined based on a difference between the computed capacitance value and a threshold value.

A system and method is provided for measuring a voltage drop at a node. In embodiments, a circuit includes an analog-to-digital converter, a current sink, and a controller. The input of the analog-to-digital converter and the input of the current sink is coupled to the node to be measured. A set point for the current sink is determined. The output of the analog-to-digital converter during the voltage drop is sampled. And a relative voltage drop value is computed by subtracting the sampled output of the analog-to-digital converter during the voltage drop from a sampled output of the analog-to-digital converter during a steady-state condition. The current sink operating at the set point during the steady-state condition and during the voltage drop.

A method and system for diagnosing a squib loop in a restraint control module using a transient response is disclosed in the present application. The system may be used with a low energy actuator (LEA) which is primarily an inductive device. A diagnostic current may be applied to the squib loop for a diagnostic test period and the voltage between the feed line terminal and the return line terminal or the voltage between the return line terminal and the feed line terminal can be monitored at a specific time or times during the test period for the expected response (e.g. peak voltage, rise rate, etc). The current may also be reversed to check the correct polarity of a diode in the LEA.

A duplex squib module is provided. The duplex squib module may include a first squib, a second squib, a first active blocking circuit, and a second active blocking circuit: The first active blocking circuit being in series with the first squib. The first active blocking circuit having a transistor in series with a first diode to block current in a first direction. The second active blocking circuit being in series with the second squib. The second active blocking circuit having a transistor in series with a first diode to block current in a second direction opposite of the first direction.

A method of detecting normality of a PWM signal, wherein an error in a pulse-width modulation (PWM) signal is detected using four different self-test logics, and information obtained by categorizing results of detection into failure modes is transmitted to a vehicle component controller, so that the consistency of the PWM signal is determined, a signal safety means is secured, and further, safety standard requirements of the automobile field are satisfied.

An electronic module assembly (EMA) for use in controlling one or more personal restraint systems. A programmed processor within the EMA is configured to determine when a personal restraint system associated with each seat in a vehicle should be deployed. In addition, the programmed processor is configured to perform a diagnostic self-test to determine if the EMA and the personal restraint systems are operational. In one embodiment, results of the diagnostic self-test routine are displayed on a display included on the electronic module assembly. In an alternative embodiment, the results of the diagnostic self-test routine are transmitted via a wireless transceiver to a remote device. The remote device can include a wireless interrogator or can be a remote computer system such as a cabin management computer system.