Collision judging system

• US 6,728,613 B2
• Filed: 08/19/2002
• Issued: 04/27/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Ishizaki, Tatsuya, Matsuda, Kazuo
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Broadhead, Brian J.
• Application Number:
  US10/223,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20030114985A1
• Time in Patent Office: 617 Days
• Field of Search: 701/36, 701/45, 701/46, 701/47, 340/436, 340/438, 340/3.43, 340/3.44, 180/274, 180/282, 280/735
• US Class Current: 701/36
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01184 Fault detection or diagnostic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/38 using means for lifting bonnets
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration

Abstract

The error determination section determines whether or not an acceleration data set has been received properly with no error. Received data memories store a plurality of the received acceleration data sets. Collision judgment control unit judges a possibility of a collision on the basis of a latest error-free proper data of the received acceleration data sets stored in the received data memories. Further, in case of occurrence of a data deficiency, an error-free proper data set is constantly stored in memory.

Claims

1. A collision judging system comprising:

a sensor unit including;

an acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration;

a data conversion section for converting the acceleration, detected by said acceleration sensor, into an acceleration data set including a check code; and

a transmission section for transmitting the acceleration data set converted by said data conversion section;

a received data control unit including;

a reception section for receiving the acceleration data set transmitted from said transmission section of said sensor unit;

an error determination section for determining, with reference to the check code included in the acceleration data set, whether the acceleration data set has been received properly from said transmission section via said reception section, and outputting the received acceleration data set as a proper data set when it is determined that the acceleration data set has been received properly but as an erroneous data set when it is determined that the acceleration data set has not been received properly; and

a first storage section for storing a plurality of the acceleration data sets output by said error determination section; and

a collision judgment control unit for making a collision judgment on the basis of a latest proper data set of the plurality of the acceleration data sets stored in said first storage section.

2. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collision judgment control unit includes a second storage section for storing the latest proper data set of the plurality of the acceleration data sets stored in said first storage section and

wherein when said collision judgment control unit has made an error determination that all of the plurality of the acceleration data sets stored in said first storage section are erroneous data sets, said collision judgment control unit makes the collision judgment on the basis of the proper data set stored in said second storage section.

3. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 2 wherein said collision judgment control unit further includes a compensating-value calculation section for calculating a predetermined compensating value on the basis of the proper data set stored in said second storage section, a post-determination proper data set input after termination of the error determination and a number of times the error determination has been made, and

wherein when the post-determination proper data set is input after the error determination is made by said collision judgment control unit at least once, said collision judgment control unit uses, in the collision judgment, a value obtained by adding the compensating value to an acceleration value represented by the post-determination proper data set.

4. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 3 wherein said compensating-value calculation section calculates the compensating value in accordance with a mathematical expression of (B−

A)N/2, where A represents the proper data set stored in said second storage section, B represents the post-determination proper data set, and N represents the number of times the error determination has been made.

5. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said collision judgment control unit includes a detected data output section for outputting, as a detected acceleration data set, the latest proper data set of the plurality of the received acceleration data sets stored in said first storage section, a collision-judging-value calculation section for adding acceleration values represented by a plurality of the detected acceleration data sets output from said detected data output section and thereby outputting, as a collision judging value, a resultant sum of the acceleration values represented by the detected acceleration data sets, and a comparison section for comparing the collision judging value and a preset collision-judging threshold value.

6. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said collision judgment control unit includes a second storage section for storing the detected acceleration data set and

wherein when said detected data output section has made an error determination that all of the plurality of the acceleration data sets stored in said first storage section are erroneous data sets, said collision-judging-value calculation section uses, as substitute data, the detected acceleration data set stored in said second storage section to calculate the collision judging value, the collision judging value being calculated by adding respective acceleration values represented by a plurality of the detected acceleration data sets including the substitute data.

7. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 6 wherein said collision-judging-value calculation section further includes a compensating-value calculation section for calculating a predetermined compensating value on the basis of the detected acceleration data set stored in said second storage section, an post-determination detected acceleration data set input after termination of the error determination and a number of times the error determination has been made, and

wherein when the post-determination detected acceleration data set is input after the error determination is made by said collision judgment control unit at least once, said collision judgment control unit outputs the collision judging value calculated by adding respective acceleration values represented by a plurality of the detected acceleration data sets that include an acceleration value obtained by adding the compensating value to an acceleration value represented by the post-determination detected acceleration data set.

8. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 7 wherein said compensating-value calculation section calculates the compensating value in accordance with a mathematical expression of (B−

A)N/2, where A represents the detected acceleration data set stored in said second storage section, B represents the post-determination detected acceleration data set, and N represents the number of times the error determination has been made.

9. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 5 wherein said reception section receives an acceleration data set from said transmission section in each predetermined reception cycle, and

wherein said detected data output section outputs, as the detected acceleration data set, the latest proper data set of the plurality of the received acceleration data sets stored in said first storage section, in each operating cycle set to an integral multiple of the predetermined reception cycle.

10. A collision judging system as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sensor unit is provided on a deformable member in a front end portion of a vehicle.