Dual, independent sensor vehicle impact detectin system

• US 5,544,716 A
• Filed: 06/22/1995
• Issued: 08/13/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Automotive Systems Laboratory, Incorporated (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Automotive Systems Laboratory, Incorporated (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: White, Craig W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Culbreth, Eric D.
• Assistant Examiner(s): English, Peter C.
• Application Number:
  US08/493,713
• Time in Patent Office: 418 Days
• Field of Search: 280/735, 280/734, 280/730.2, 280/730.1, 280/728.1, 180/274, 180/282, 340/436, 340/438, 307/10.1
• US Class Current: 180/274
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0136 responsive to actual contact with an obstacle , e.g. to vehicle deformation, bumper displacement or bumper velocity relative to the vehicle monitoring crash strength in combination with passenger seat detection B60R21/01558

Abstract

A vehicle impact detection system (10) for controlling the actuation of an occupant safety restraint device includes a dual, independent sensor arrangement (12) having a vibratory sensor (24) affixed to an outer surface (16) of the vehicle for continuously generating an output signal (14) representative of the condition of the outer surface, and a processor (22) for performing signal processing on the output signal (14) to predict the time at which a second crush sensor (26) will produce an output signal (18). The system (10) allows a single point outer surface sensor to reliably predict severe impacts within a few milliseconds of initial impact, and therefore is particularly suited for controlling the actuation of a safety restraint device in response to side impacts.

Claims

1. A system for controlling actuation of a vehicle occupant safety restraint device in response to an impact with an outer surface of the vehicle comprising:

a first sensor means affixed to the outer surface of the vehicle for generating a continuous first output signal representative of a condition of the outer surface;

a second sensor means affixed to an inner surface of the vehicle for producing a second output signal if the outer surface has been deformed so as to be in contact with said second sensor means;

a processor means for monitoring said first sensor output signal comprising means for performing signal analysis on said continuous first output signal to determine whether said first output signal is indicative of an impact of sufficient severity to require actuation of the safety restraint device, and prediction means responsive to said signal analysis means for generating a third output signal at a calculated time t; and

means for actuating the occupant safety restraint device if both said second and third output signals are coexistently generated.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said first sensor means comprises a vibratory sensor.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said second sensor means comprises a crush sensor positioned on an inner internal surface:

of a vehicle door.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the outer surface comprises an outer side surface of the vehicle.