Secondary impact airbag
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- an initial impact airbag; and
a secondary impact airbag comprising one or more enclosing structures configured to surround an object, wherein the secondary impact airbag is configured to reduce injury caused by a secondary impact of an object upon after an initial impact of the object with the initial impact airbag, andone or more muscle wires embedded in the secondary impact airbag, wherein the one or more muscle wires are configured to receive a current and, in response to the current, guide the one or more enclosing structures around the object.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Aspects of the disclosure relate to airbag systems for vehicles. The airbag systems may reduce the secondary impact forces felt by an object upon rebounding from an initial impact with an external airbag by encasing or substantially surrounding the pedestrian with the external airbag. The airbag system may include an initial impact airbag and a secondary impact airbag, wherein the secondary impact airbag is configured to reduce injury caused by a secondary impact of an object upon after an initial impact of the object with the initial impact airbag. The initial impact airbag may be configured to be deployed at a location where the object is predicted to collide with the vehicle. The secondary impact airbag may comprise one or more arms configured to surround the object upon the initial impact.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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an initial impact airbag; and a secondary impact airbag comprising one or more enclosing structures configured to surround an object, wherein the secondary impact airbag is configured to reduce injury caused by a secondary impact of an object upon after an initial impact of the object with the initial impact airbag, and one or more muscle wires embedded in the secondary impact airbag, wherein the one or more muscle wires are configured to receive a current and, in response to the current, guide the one or more enclosing structures around the object. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for deploying a vehicle'"'"'s external airbag comprising:
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determining, by one or more processors, a collision with an object is imminent; predicting, by the one or more processors, the location on the vehicle where the collision with the object is expected to occur; determining a first external airbag of one or more external airbags at the location on the vehicle where the collision is expected to occur; sending, by the one or more processors, a triggering signal to deploy the first external airbag; and in response to receiving the triggering signal, deploying by the one or more processors, the first external airbag, wherein the first external airbag comprises an initial impact airbag and a secondary impact airbag and the secondary impact airbag is configured to reduce injury caused by a secondary impact of an object after an initial impact of the object with the initial impact airbag by surrounding the object, and wherein deploying the first external airbag further includes providing a current to one or more muscle wires embedded in the secondary impact airbag, the one or more muscle wires being configured to guide the one or more enclosing structures around the object in response to the current. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A non-transitory computer readable medium on which instructions are stored, the instructions, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method of deploying an external airbag, the method comprising:
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determining a collision with an object is imminent; predicting the location on the vehicle where the collision with the object is expected to occur; determining a first external airbag of one or more external airbags at the location on the vehicle where the collision is expected to occur; sending a triggering signal to deploy the first external airbag; and in response to receiving the triggering signal, deploying the first external airbag, wherein the first external airbag comprises an initial impact airbag and a secondary impact airbag comprising one or more enclosing structures configured to surround an object and the secondary impact airbag is configured to reduce injury caused by a secondary impact of an object after an initial impact of the object with the initial impact airbag, and wherein one or more muscle wires are embedded in the secondary impact airbag and the one or more muscle wires are configured to receive a current, and in response to the current, the one or more muscle wires guide the one or more enclosing structures around the object. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification