Situationally dependent vehicle structure for pedestrian protection
First Claim
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1. A pedestrian safety system for a motor vehicle, the system comprising:
- a bumper positioned in front of an engine compartment;
a hood positioned above the engine compartment;
a bumper actuator operably coupled to the bumper, the bumper actuator being configured to modify the stiffness of the bumper;
a hood actuator operably coupled to the hood, the hood actuator being configured to vertically move the hood relative to the engine compartment; and
a vehicle condition sensor configured to detect a vehicle condition;
a controller in communication with the bumper actuator, the hood actuator, and the sensor, the controller being configured to control the bumper actuator and the hood actuator in response to the detected vehicle condition.
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Abstract
A pedestrian safety system for a motor vehicle including a controller configured to cause selected modification of a situationally dependent structure in response to a detected vehicle condition.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A pedestrian safety system for a motor vehicle, the system comprising:
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a bumper positioned in front of an engine compartment;
a hood positioned above the engine compartment;
a bumper actuator operably coupled to the bumper, the bumper actuator being configured to modify the stiffness of the bumper;
a hood actuator operably coupled to the hood, the hood actuator being configured to vertically move the hood relative to the engine compartment; and
a vehicle condition sensor configured to detect a vehicle condition;
a controller in communication with the bumper actuator, the hood actuator, and the sensor, the controller being configured to control the bumper actuator and the hood actuator in response to the detected vehicle condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A pedestrian safety system for a motor vehicle, the pedestrian safety system comprising:
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a hood covering an engine compartment;
an actuator operably coupled to the hood and configured to raise and lower the hood;
a sensor configured to detect a vehicle condition, the vehicle condition including at least one of vehicle speed and vehicle location; and
a controller in communication with the sensor and configured to cause the actuator to move the hood in response to the detected condition. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A pedestrian safety system for a motor vehicle, the pedestrian safety system comprising:
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a situationally dependent structure;
a sensor configured to detect the location of the vehicle; and
a controller in communication with the sensor and configured to cause selective modification of the situationally dependent structure in response to the detected vehicle location. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A method of modifying a situationally dependent vehicle structure, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a situationally dependent vehicle structure;
detecting the location of the vehicle;
determining whether the detected location is within a high pedestrian contact zone; and
modifying the situationally dependent vehicle structure if the detected location is within the high pedestrian contact zone. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27)
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Specification