Adaptive rollover detection apparatus and method
First Claim
1. A rollover detection apparatus for detecting an anticipated overturn condition for a vehicle, said rollover detection apparatus comprising:
- an angular rate sensor for sensing attitude rate of change of a vehicle and producing an angular rate signal indicative thereof;
a vertical accelerometer for sensing vertical acceleration of the vehicle and producing a vertical acceleration signal indicative thereof; and
a controller comprising an integrator for integrating the angular rate signal and producing an attitude angle, said controller further determining an inclination angle of the vehicle based on the vertical acceleration signal and adjusting the attitude angle as a function of the determined inclination angle, wherein the controller further comprises deployment logic for comparing the adjusted attitude angle and the angular rate signal to a threshold level and providing a vehicle overturn condition output signal as a function of the comparison.
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Abstract
A vehicle rollover detection apparatus and method are provided for detecting an overturn condition of the vehicle. The rollover detection apparatus includes an angular rate sensor sensing angular rate of the vehicle, and a vertical accelerometer for sensing vertical acceleration of the vehicle. A controller processes the sensed angular rate signal and integrates it to produce an attitude angle. The vertical acceleration signal is processed to determine an inclination angle of the vehicle. The rollover detection apparatus adjusts the attitude angle as a function of the inclination angle and compares the adjusted attitude angle and the processed angular rate signal to a threshold level to provide a vehicle overturn condition output signal. Additionally, the rollover detection apparatus detects a near-rollover event and adjusts the variable threshold in response thereto to prevent deployment of a vehicle overturn condition, thus providing immunity to such events.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A rollover detection apparatus for detecting an anticipated overturn condition for a vehicle, said rollover detection apparatus comprising:
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an angular rate sensor for sensing attitude rate of change of a vehicle and producing an angular rate signal indicative thereof;
a vertical accelerometer for sensing vertical acceleration of the vehicle and producing a vertical acceleration signal indicative thereof; and
a controller comprising an integrator for integrating the angular rate signal and producing an attitude angle, said controller further determining an inclination angle of the vehicle based on the vertical acceleration signal and adjusting the attitude angle as a function of the determined inclination angle, wherein the controller further comprises deployment logic for comparing the adjusted attitude angle and the angular rate signal to a threshold level and providing a vehicle overturn condition output signal as a function of the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A rollover detection apparatus for detecting an anticipated overturn condition for a vehicle, said rollover detection apparatus comprising:
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an angular rate sensor for sensing attitude rate of change of a vehicle and producing an angular rate signal indicative thereof;
a controller comprising an integrator for integrating the sensed angular rate signal and producing an attitude angle, said controller further comprising deployment logic for comparing the attitude angle and sensed angular rate with a variable threshold defining a region of deployment and a region of no deployment, wherein the deployment logic further detects the presence of a driving event which causes at least one of a large attitude rate and a large attitude angle and adjusts the variable threshold based on detecting the driving event so as to prevent deployment of a vehicle overturn condition signal;
an output for providing a vehicle overturn condition signal based on said comparison; and
a vertical accelerometer for sensing vertical acceleration of the vehicle and producing a vertical acceleration signal indicative thereof, wherein an inclination angle of the vehicle is determined based on the vertical acceleration signal, and the attitude angle is adjusted as a function of the determined inclination angle. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A method for detecting an anticipated overturn condition of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing an attitude rate of change of a vehicle and producing an angular rate signal indicative thereof;
sensing vertical acceleration of the vehicle and producing a vertical acceleration signal indicative thereof;
integrating the angular rate signal and producing an attitude angle;
determining an inclination angle of the vehicle based on the sensed vertical acceleration signal;
adjusting the attitude angle as a function of the determined inclination angle;
comparing the adjusted attitude angle to a threshold level; and
providing a vehicle overturn condition output signal as a function of the comparison. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification