Crush sensor
First Claim
1. A crush sensor comprising:
- an air tank disposed between a vehicle-door outer panel and a door inner member which make up a vehicle door, such that a pressure-receiving surface of said air tank, which has a predetermined area, is opposed to said vehicle-door outer panel,a gas venting means for maintaining a state of equilibrium between the internal pressure of said air tank and ambient external pressure caused by temperature changes, and for maintaining said air tank in a semi-sealed state such that a sudden change in the internal pressure of said tank only occurs as a result of a rapid crushing of said air tank, anda pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of said air tank and outputting an electrical signal proportional to a detected value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A crush sensor has a crush box and a pressure sensor. The crush box is disposed between a vehicle-door outer panel and a door inner member which make up a vehicle door, such that a pressure-receiving surface of the crush box, which has a predetermined area, is opposed to the vehicle-door outer panel, the crush box being formed in a semi-sealed state. The pressure sensor detects the internal pressure of the crush box and outputs an electrical signal proportional to a detected value. Since the pressure sensor is capable of obtaining data corresponding to the crushing speed and the amount of crush by detecting the internal pressure of the crush box, an effect equivalent to that obtained by detecting the crushing speed and the amount of crush can be obtained with a simple arrangement without directly detecting them.
29 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A crush sensor comprising:
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an air tank disposed between a vehicle-door outer panel and a door inner member which make up a vehicle door, such that a pressure-receiving surface of said air tank, which has a predetermined area, is opposed to said vehicle-door outer panel, a gas venting means for maintaining a state of equilibrium between the internal pressure of said air tank and ambient external pressure caused by temperature changes, and for maintaining said air tank in a semi-sealed state such that a sudden change in the internal pressure of said tank only occurs as a result of a rapid crushing of said air tank, and a pressure sensor for detecting the internal pressure of said air tank and outputting an electrical signal proportional to a detected value. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A crush sensor comprising:
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a crush box disposed between a vehicle-door outer panel and a door inner member which make up a vehicle door, such that a pressure-receiving surface of said crush box, which has a predetermined area and an arcuate cross section, is opposed to said vehicle-door outer panel, said crush box being formed of a hollow, substantially semicylindrical member in a semi-sealed state; a pressure sensor for detecting an internal pressure of said crush box and outputting signals corresponding to a rising speed of the internal pressure of said crush box and a maximum value of the internal pressure of said crush box; and a gas-venting means for maintaining a state of equilibrium between the internal pressure of said crush box and ambient external pressure caused by an ambient temperature change, and for maintaining said crush box in said semi-sealed state such that a sudden change in the internal pressure of said crush box only occurs as a result of a rapid crushing of said crush box. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification