METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SENSING IMPACT BETWEEN A VEHICLE AND AN OBJECT
First Claim
1. An apparatus for sensing impacts between a vehicle and an object, comprising:
- an optical fiber sensor for positioning on the vehicle, said optical fiber sensor including at least one optical fiber, a light source at one end of said optical fiber, a light detector at the other end of said optical fiber, and at least one sensing zone on the fiber, each said sensing zone comprising an area through which light is lost from the core of the fiber, on a side of the fiber facing towards a direction of expected impact and on another side of the fiber facing away from the direction of the expected impact.
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Abstract
The invention relates to the apparatus for and a method of sensing impact between a vehicle and an object and particularly between a pedestrian and the front bumper (12) of a vehicle. An optical fiber array (14) extends along the bumper (12) and the array (14) has sensors spaced along the bumper (12). A sensor comprises light loss areas spaced peripherally and axially on a fiber. An impact distorts the sensors, modulating light transmitted along the fiber or fibers. A signal is produced which is processed by a signal processor and an output signal generated. The output signal is used to actuate a safety device, such as elevating the vehicle hood to increase clearance between hood and engine, to reduce the severity of any injuries.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for sensing impacts between a vehicle and an object, comprising:
- an optical fiber sensor for positioning on the vehicle, said optical fiber sensor including at least one optical fiber, a light source at one end of said optical fiber, a light detector at the other end of said optical fiber, and at least one sensing zone on the fiber, each said sensing zone comprising an area through which light is lost from the core of the fiber, on a side of the fiber facing towards a direction of expected impact and on another side of the fiber facing away from the direction of the expected impact.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. In a vehicle having a pedestrian impact sensing system, the improvement wherein said vehicle includes:
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a plurality of sensors mounted in the front area of said vehicle and adapted to sense an impact between a pedestrian and the front area of the vehicle;
said sensors each comprising a plurality of light-loss areas on a fiber, spaced axially; and
a data processing control unit having stored data, said data processing central control unit being adapted to compare an event upon receipt of a signal from at least one of said sensors with stored data, and being adapted to generate an output signal upon evidence of a threshold value determined by said stored data, said output signal adapted to actuate a safety device.
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19. A method of sensing impact between a vehicle and an object comprising:
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providing said vehicle with a front structure having a plurality of sensors, each sensor comprising a plurality of light-loss areas on a fiber, spaced axially, each sensor having signal output means for feeding a signal upon an in-pact to a data processing control unit;
providing a data processing control unit having stored algorithms for measuring and classifying impact shape, mass, and velocity based on the signal outputs from the sensors;
said control unit being operatively associated with said signal output means of each of said sensors;
said data processing control unit being adapted to compare an event upon receipt of a signal from at least one sensor, with stored data in said control unit; and
,said control unit being adapted to generate an output signal upon evidence of a threshold value determined by said stored data, said output signal being adapted to actuate a safety device. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification