Method and appartus for restraining an occupant during a side impact.

摘要

An apparatus (10) for restraining an occupant during a side impact of a vehicle with an object includes an air bag (20) mounted in a vehicle door (22) adjacent to the occupant. The door (22) includes an outside panel (26) and an inside panel (28) spaced from the outside panel (26). An accelerometer (50) for measuring sideways acceleration of the vehicle is mounted to the inside panel (28) of the door (22). The output signal of the accelerometer has a value functionally related to the acceleration of the vehicle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side of the vehicle. A controller (54, 56, 62, 66) determines the sideways velocity from the accelerometer output signal and deploys the air bag (20) if the velocity exceeds a predetermined value within a predetermined time period. Reinforcement members (310, 312, 314) enhance communication of the sideways acceleration to the accelerometer.