Rollover-sensing system for a vehicle and method of operating the same
First Claim
1. A method of activating a safety device of a vehicle having x, y, and z-axes, the method comprising:
- generating a y-acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of the vehicle in the direction of the y-axis;
generating an angular-rate signal representative of the angular velocity of the vehicle about the x-axis;
calculating a vehicle angle having a relationship to the angular-rate signal, and being representative of the angle of the vehicle about the x-axis;
calculating an angular-rate threshold having a relationship to the vehicle angle and the y-acceleration signal;
comparing the angular-rate signal to the angular-rate threshold; and
activating a first safety device when the magnitude of the angular-rate signal is greater than the angular-rate threshold.
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Abstract
A method and system of activating a safety device of a vehicle having x, y and z-axes. The method includes generating a y-acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of the vehicle in the y-axis, generating an angular-rate signal representative of the angular velocity of the vehicle with respect to the x-axis, calculating a vehicle angle having a relationship to the angular-rate signal and being representative of the angle of the vehicle about the x-axis, determining an angular-rate threshold having a relationship to the vehicle angle and the y-acceleration signal, comparing the angular-rate signal to the angular-rate threshold, and activating a safety device when the magnitude of the angular-rate signal is greater than the angular-rate threshold.
12 Citations
53 Claims
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1. A method of activating a safety device of a vehicle having x, y, and z-axes, the method comprising:
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generating a y-acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of the vehicle in the direction of the y-axis;
generating an angular-rate signal representative of the angular velocity of the vehicle about the x-axis;
calculating a vehicle angle having a relationship to the angular-rate signal, and being representative of the angle of the vehicle about the x-axis;
calculating an angular-rate threshold having a relationship to the vehicle angle and the y-acceleration signal;
comparing the angular-rate signal to the angular-rate threshold; and
activating a first safety device when the magnitude of the angular-rate signal is greater than the angular-rate threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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12. A vehicle having x, y, and z-axes, the vehicle comprising:
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a frame;
an accelerometer connected to the frame, the accelerometer being operable to generate a y-acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of the vehicle in the direction of the y-axis;
an angular-rate sensor connected to the frame, the angular-rate sensor being operable to generate an angular rate signal representative of the angular velocity of the vehicle about the x-axis;
a microcontroller connected to the frame, and coupled with the accelerometer and the angular-rate sensor, the microcontroller being operable to receive the y-acceleration signal and the angular-rate signal, calculate a vehicle angle having a relationship to the angular-rate signal and being representative of the angle of the vehicle about the x-axis, calculate an angular-rate threshold having a relationship to the vehicle angle and the y-acceleration signal, compare the angular-rate signal to the angular-rate threshold, and generate an output signal when the magnitude of the angular-rate signal is greater than the angular-rate threshold; and
a safety device connected to the frame and coupled to the microcontroller, the safety-device being activatable in response to receiving the output signal.
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23. A rollover sensing system for a vehicle having x, y and z-axes, the system comprising:
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an accelerometer being operable to generate a y-acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of the vehicle in the direction of the y-axis;
an angular-rate sensor being operable to generate an angular rate signal representative of the angular velocity of the vehicle about the x-axis;
a microcontroller coupled with the accelerometer and the angular-rate sensor, the microcontroller being operable to receive the y-acceleration signal and the angular-rate signal, calculate a vehicle angle having a relationship to the angular-rate signal and being representative of the angle of the vehicle about the x-axis, calculate an angular-rate threshold having a relationship to the vehicle angle and the y-acceleration signal, compare the angular-rate signal to the angular-rate threshold, and generate an output when the magnitude of the angular-rate signal is greater than the angular-rate threshold.
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33. A method of sensing the occurrence of a rollover event for a vehicle having x, y, and z axes, the method comprising:
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determining a y-acceleration of the vehicle in the direction of the y-axis;
determining an angular-rate of the vehicle about the x-axis;
determining a vehicle angle of the vehicle about the x-axis;
determining an angular-rate threshold having a relationship to the vehicle angle and the y-acceleration signal;
comparing the magnitude of the angular rate to the angular-rate threshold; and
generating an output signal when the magnitude of the angular rate is greater than the angular-rate threshold. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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46. A rollover-sensing system for a vehicle including x, y, and z-axes, a frame, and a safety-device connected to the frame, the system comprising:
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an accelerometer being operable to generate a y-acceleration signal representative of the acceleration of the vehicle in the direction of the y-axis;
an angular-rate sensor being operable to generate an angular rate signal representative of the angular velocity of the vehicle about the x-axis;
a processing unit and memory coupled with the accelerometer and the angular-rate sensor, the memory including one or more software modules having instructions that are executable by the processing unit, the software modules including an integrator that receives the angular rate signal and calculates a vehicle angle;
a trip criteria module that receives the angular rate signal, vehicle angle, and y-acceleration signal, analyzes the angular rate signal, vehicle angle, and y-acceleration signal to generate a first output signifying a trip rollover event.
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Specification