US 6712387

Patent Overview: US 6,712,387 B1

Title: Method and apparatus for controlling deployment of a side airbag
Patent number: US6712387B1
Application number: US09/437,535
Inventor(s): David S. Breed; Wilbur E. DuVall; Wendell C. Johnson
Assignee: Automotive Technologies International Inc. (original and current assignee as listed)
Filing date: 1999-11-10
Publication/grant date: 2004-03-30
Priority date (stated as an assumption): 1992-05-05
Legal status: Expired – Fee Related; anticipated expiration 2012-05-05
Source: https://patents.google.com/patent/US6712387/en

Purpose (as derivable from the supplied text): The patent concerns controlling deployment of a side airbag—i.e., circuitry/logic for triggering a passive safety arrangement—based on sensing conditions related to vehicle occupants. The classification entries indicate the subject matter falls under electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, including detection of passenger presence or position, occupant identification/categorization, and occupant body-part position (e.g., arm or leg).

Plain-language scope (from supplied materials): The title and classification data indicate a system that decides when (and possibly how) a side airbag deploys, informed by sensors that detect an occupant's presence, position, or body-part location. Classifications reference field-detection presence sensors using electromagnetic waves such as infrared, and seat-integrated occupancy detection. However, the excerpt provided contains no claim text, no abstract, and no written description, so the precise claimed scope cannot be described from this source alone. The classification terms are metadata, not claim language.

What the excerpt does not establish:

• The specific claims, their limitations, or claim scope.
• The detailed operation, sensor types, or algorithms actually described in the specification.
• The accuracy of the priority date, legal status, or assignee listing (expressly disclaimed as assumptions/not legal conclusions in the source).
• Any relationship to, or distinction over, prior art.

The excerpt further lists family members, related applications, and litigation references, which are outside the scope of this overview per instructions.

All statements above are limited to the supplied source text. Omitted specification content is not inferred.