Method and apparatus for deploying countermeasures in response to sensing an imminent vehicular collision
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for protecting occupants of vehicles, said apparatus comprising:
- an object detector configured to monitor a position of an object relative to a vehicle;
a processor in communication with said object detector and configured to determine a likelihood of a collision between the vehicle and the object based upon data received from the object detector; and
a deployment device in communication with said processor and configured to deploy a physical safety countermeasure before the collision occurs if said processor determines that the collision is likely.
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Abstract
An apparatus for protecting occupants of vehicles includes an object detector monitoring a position of an object relative to a vehicle. A processor is in communication with the object detector and determines a likelihood of a collision between the vehicle and the object based upon data received from the object detector. A deployment device is in communication with the processor and deploys a physical safety countermeasure before the collision occurs if the processor determines that the collision is likely.
53 Citations
23 Claims
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1. An apparatus for protecting occupants of vehicles, said apparatus comprising:
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an object detector configured to monitor a position of an object relative to a vehicle;
a processor in communication with said object detector and configured to determine a likelihood of a collision between the vehicle and the object based upon data received from the object detector; and
a deployment device in communication with said processor and configured to deploy a physical safety countermeasure before the collision occurs if said processor determines that the collision is likely. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method of protecting occupants of vehicles, comprising the steps of:
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sensing that a vehicle is likely to be involved in a collision occurring within less than 1 second after a present time; and
deploying a safety countermeasure before the collision and in response to said sensing step. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of protecting occupants of vehicles, comprising the steps of:
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sensing that a vehicle is likely to be involved in a collision; and
deploying a physical safety countermeasure before the collision and in response to said sensing step. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification