Communications: electrical – Land vehicle alarms or indicators – Of collision or contact with external object
Utility Patent
1998-10-23
2001-01-02
Tong, Nina (Department: 2736)
Communications: electrical
Land vehicle alarms or indicators
Of collision or contact with external object
C340S501000, C340S903000, C340S904000, C342S072000, C367S909000, C180S169000, C073S001150, C073S001390, C073S012010, C073S760000
Utility Patent
active
06169479
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to sensors employed to detect vehicle impact events and more particularly to sensors mounted about portions of a vehicle in order to detect vehicle impact events and actuate passive restraint systems in the vehicle.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Almost all vehicles presently produced include some type of a passive restraint system to protect vehicle occupants, or others, during a vehicle impact event. Such passive restraint systems may include, for example, front and side airbags within the passenger compartment, seat belt pretensioners, and pedestrian airbags near the front of a vehicle. In order for the passive restraints to operate quickly when needed, and only when actually needed, sensor systems must be mounted on the vehicle to determine the severity and type of impact and actuate the proper passive restraint devices.
Some types of sensors used for impact measurements on vehicles approximate or infer the type of impact being experienced. Such sensors may be, for example, accelerometers, pressure sensors and crush-zone switches. While they can work adequately, it is desirable to improve the discrimination ability of vehicle impact sensing systems thus improving the passive restraint deployment decision upon vehicle impact.
Accelerometers, when used alone, may require very complex algorithms in order to properly distinguish various impact events. Pressure sensors have also been suggested, but may be too susceptible to changes to the surrounding vehicle environment. Further, simple switch contacts around the vehicle perimeter may be used but give little information regarding the intruding object's profile and/or velocity, making passive restraints deployment decisions difficult. Consequently, a desire exists to provide for more accurate sensing that will allow for discrimination between different types and severities of vehicle impact events to provide improved passive restraint actuation decisions, within minimal time frames.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In its embodiments, the present invention contemplates a vehicle sensor assembly for detecting vehicular impacts causing structural members of a vehicle to deform. The sensor assembly includes a coaxial piezoelectric cable for detecting strain applied thereto, and a tube housing having a cavity extending along its length with the piezoelectric cable contained within the cavity. Means are adapted for mounting the tube housing adjacent to one of the structural members of the vehicle, and extending generally along the member, and a controller is in communication with the piezoelectric cable for receiving strain related signals therefrom.
The present invention further contemplates a method of detecting impacts with a vehicle having structural members that deform in an impact and at least one passive restraint, the method comprising the steps of: sensing an impact induced strain in the vehicle structural member with a coaxial piezoelectric cable and producing a corresponding strain signal; sensing the acceleration of the vehicle and producing a corresponding acceleration signal; determining the severity of the impact from the strain signal and the acceleration signal; comparing the severity of impact to a threshold value; and actuating the at least one passive restraint if the threshold is exceeded by the severity of impact.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to employ a piezoelectric cable mounted to structural members of a vehicle to discriminate between different impact events and provide a signal used to determine deployment of passive restraints within a vehicle.
An advantage of the present invention is that the piezoelectric cable sensor can be employed in combination with one or more acceleration sensors in order to further improve the passive restraints deployment decision.
A further advantage of the present invention is that the piezoelectric cable provides a variable output that is used to discriminate between various impact situations, thus improving passive restraint deployment decisions.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the piezoelectric sensor cable is mounted within a protective housing that will prevent inadvertent signals from actuating passive restraints due to non-impact events such as a vehicle door being slammed, etc.
A further advantage of the present invention is that a diagnostic check is employed without interfering with the sensor impact signal to assure that the piezoelectric sensor system is operating properly, while also assuring proper control of the passive restraints, as the vehicle ages.
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Boran Colm Peter
Collins Gary Richard
Raphael Eric Lewis
Zoratti Paul
Shelton Larry I.
Tong Nina
Visteon Global Technologies Inc.
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