BOSCH iBolt Technology-A Weight-Sensing System for Advanced Passenger Safety

摘要

Since 2004 the NHTSA FMVSS-208 ruling (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations 208) is effective. It was introduced for reduction or prevention of (fatal) injuries of children by unwanted deployment of the passenger airbag. In order to fulfil this regulation several technical solutions are being currently developed or have been launched recently. The working principles are based mainly on weight sensing utilizing strain or displacement measurement. Other systems are utilising a gel-filled or keypad-like mat-solution for pattern recognition. Every sensor system has to fulfil all the NHTSA FMVSS-208 rules. Under all circumstances the occupancy-status of the passenger seat has to be determined accurately. On top of the 208 requirement, customers demand field robustness over lifetime to prevent any misclassification. This indicates the exceedingly high requirement on the functionality of a standardized sensor system. At the same time the various environmental influences, such as floor panel, seat-type, seat cushion, seat-cover, seat installation tolerances, etc. have to be considered.