In general, automotive passenger restraint systems perform a number of functions including acceleration sensing, signal processing and analysis, and deployment of one or more restraint devices such as frontal or side air bags and seat belt pretensioners in response to a sensed crash event. Typically, one or more acceleration signals are monitored to detect a potential crash event, and then filtered or integrated over the course of the crash event to produce a velocity change or ΔV signal. If the ΔV signal exceeds a threshold, the crash event is determined to be sufficiently severe to warrant deployment of restraints.
As the number and type of restraint devices installed in a given vehicle increases, the controller must obtain more and more information about the crash event so as to only deploy restraint devices appropriate under the circumstances. In certain instances, it may be best to deploy only the passenger side air bags, for example. Various sources have suggested the use of multiple crash sensors, either distributed or centralized, to obtain sufficient information to make the appropriate decision, but what is lacking is a rigorous and universally applicable methodology for analyzing the data and determining the appropriate response.