Method and device for activating a person protection system in a motor vehicle

摘要

Disclosed are a method and a device for detecting the impact of a pedestrian on a vehicle. According to the invention, the pressures and/or deformations caused by an impact are measured using a sensor mechanism ( 1 ) located on the bumper, a first criterion ( 19 ) for deciding whether an impact of a pedestrian has occurred is formed from the output signal (a) of the sensor mechanism ( 1 ) with the aid of an evaluation means ( 2 ), and a decision as to whether a protective system ( 3 ) is to be triggered is made in accordance with said first criterion. The decision to trigger is made conditional upon the existence of a second criterion which is determined by a physical principle that is different from the sensor mechanism ( 1 ). The decision to trigger the protective system ( 3 ) is made only if both criteria are met.