Crash sensing via piezoelectric sensors
First Claim
1. A method for characterizing piezoelectric sensor signal responses for automotive vehicle crash analysis, said method comprising:
- providing at least one piezoelectric sensor mounted at a predetermined location on the automotive vehicle;
sampling a response from the piezoelectric sensor for a predetermined period of time;
subjecting the response from the piezoelectric sensor to a wavelet analysis and obtaining signal amplitudes;
plotting the signal amplitudes in three-dimensional space and forming a cluster of signal amplitudes;
comparing a most recent cluster to reference clusters that are indicative of both crash and non-crash events; and
providing appropriate instructions to an occupant restraint control system in the automotive vehicle.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for characterizing piezoelectric sensor responses for automotive vehicle crash analysis, is disclosed. The method employs Daubechies wavelet analysis (1006) to plot signal response amplitudes (1008) in three-dimensional space of at least one piezoelectric sensor. A cluster, signifying a combination of Daubechies amplitudes of the at least one piezoelectric sensor in three-dimensional space, is compared to reference clusters (1010) stored in the automotive vehicle. Based on results from comparing the cluster to the reference clusters, instructions are transmitted to an occupant restraint control system (1013) in the vehicle to deploy a specific airbag at a specific power level.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for characterizing piezoelectric sensor signal responses for automotive vehicle crash analysis, said method comprising:
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providing at least one piezoelectric sensor mounted at a predetermined location on the automotive vehicle;
sampling a response from the piezoelectric sensor for a predetermined period of time;
subjecting the response from the piezoelectric sensor to a wavelet analysis and obtaining signal amplitudes;
plotting the signal amplitudes in three-dimensional space and forming a cluster of signal amplitudes;
comparing a most recent cluster to reference clusters that are indicative of both crash and non-crash events; and
providing appropriate instructions to an occupant restraint control system in the automotive vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method for characterizing piezoelectric sensor signal responses for automobile crash analysis, said method comprising:
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providing at least three polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensors;
mounting the three polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensors on a windshield of the automobile;
sampling responses from the three polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensors for a predetermined period of time;
subjecting the responses from the three polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensors to a Daubechies wavelet analysis and obtaining Daubechies amplitudes for each polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensor;
aggregating the Daubechies amplitudes from the three polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensors and plotting the intersection of the Daubechies amplitudes and forming a cluster of the Daubechies amplitudes;
comparing a plurality of most recent clusters to a library of reference clusters in a memory storage area of the automobile; and
instructing an occupant restraint control system in the automobile to deploy specific airbags. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system for controlling deployment of airbags in an automotive vehicle, comprising:
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three polyvinylidene fluoride piezoelectric sensors;
a means for sampling responses from the piezoelectric sensors for a predetermined period of time;
a means for applying wavelet analysis to the responses to obtain signal amplitudes;
a means for combining the signal amplitudes and plotting a commonality point of the signal amplitudes in three-dimensional space;
a means for comparing most recent signal amplitudes to a library including a memory of reference signal amplitudes; and
a means for instructing deployment of the airbags using results from comparing the most recent signal amplitudes to the reference signal amplitudes.
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14. A method for characterizing a response from a sensor used for automotive vehicle crash analysis, said method comprising:
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providing at least one sensor mounted at a predetermined location on the automotive vehicle;
sampling a response from the sensor for a predetermined period of time;
subjecting the response from the sensor to a wavelet analysis and obtaining signal amplitudes;
plotting the signal amplitudes in three-dimensional space and forming a cluster of signal amplitudes;
comparing a most recent cluster to reference clusters that are indicative of both crash and non-crash events; and
providing appropriate instructions to an occupant restraint control system in the automotive vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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Specification