Components Acceleration sensors Acceleration sensors for impact detection are integrated directly in the ECU (belt tightener,

front airbag) and mounted at selected points on the left and right body sides (side airbag) or in the vehicle's front-end deformation area (upfront sensors for "intelligent airbag systems"). The precision of these sensors is crucial in saving lives. They are generally surface-micromechanical sensors consisting of fixed and moving finger structures and spring pins. A special process is used to incorporate the "spring/mass system" on the surface of a silicon wafer. Since the sensors only have low working capacitance ( 1 pF), it is necessary to accommodate the evaluation electronics in the same housing so as to avoid stray-capacitance and other forms of interference. Combined ECUs for belt tighteners and front/side airbags The central ECU, also called the triggering unit, incorporates the following functions (current status): Impact detection by acceleration sensor and safety switch, or by two acceleration sensors with no safety switch (redundant, fully electronic sensing). Prompt activation of front airbags and belt tighteners in response to different types of impact in the vehicle longitudinal direction (e.g. frontal, oblique, offset, pole, rear-end). Here the acceleration is recorded at a central point in the passenger compartment and evaluated by the triggering algorithm. For the side airbags, the ECU operates in conjunction with a central lateral sensor and two or four peripheral acceleration sensors. These are attached to the seat cross-members, to the B-pillars, or to the B- and C-pillars. The peripheral acceleration sensors (PAS) transmit the triggering command to the central ECU via a digital interface. The central ECU triggers the side airbags provided the internal lateral sensor has confirmed a side impact by means of a plausibility check. Voltage transformer and energy accumulator in case the supply of power from the vehicle battery should fail. Selective triggering of belt tighteners according to monitored belt-buckle status: firing takes place only when buckle is engaged. Setting of up to over ten triggering thresholds for two-stage belt tighteners and two-stage front airbags depending on the status of belt use and seat occupation. Adaptation to the different vehicle features (energy absorption and vibrational behavior of the vehicle structure). Diagnosis of internal and external functions and of system components. Storage of fault types and durations with crash recorder; readout via the diagnostic or CAN-bus interface. Warning-lamp activation. Gas inflators The pyrotechnical propellant charges of the gas inflators for generating the airbag inflation gas (mainly nitrogen) and for actuating belt tighteners are activated by an electrically operated firing element. The gas inflator in question inflates the airbag with nitrogen. The driver's airbag

integrated in the steering-wheel hub or the passenger airbag installed in the clove box is inflated approx. 30 ms after firing. AC firing In order to prevent inadvertent triggering through contact between the firing element and the system voltage (e.g. faulty insulation in the wiring harness), AC firing involves firing by alternating-current pulses at approx. 80 kHz. A capacitor in the firing-element plug incorporated in the firing circuit isolates the firing element from the DC current. This isolation from the system voltage prevents unintentional triggering, even following an accident where the airbag remains un-triggered and the occupants have to be freed from the deformed passenger cell by emergency services, whereby it may be necessary to cut through the (permanent +) ignition cables in the steering-column wiring harness.