Impact sensor for detecting an impact of a collision
First Claim
1. An impact sensor arranged along a body of a vehicle in a side-to-side direction of the vehicle for detecting an impact of a collision, comprising:
- first and second electrodes, each of which has electric conductivity and a cord-shape;
first and second resistive members, each of which has a cord-shape and a predetermined resistivity on at least one of surfaces, and attached to the electrodes; and
an elastic member that holds the electrodes and the resistive members, whereinthe elastic member has a shape and elasticity such that a contact area between the first and the second resistive members varies gradually or stepwise according to the impact of a collision, and an electric resistance between the first and the second electrodes varies in positive correlation with the impact of a collision in a predetermined range.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An impact sensor includes the first and the second electrodes arranged a predetermined distance away from each other in a tube insulator. The impact sensor is arranged at a front of a vehicle such that the first and the second electrodes opposed to each other in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle. The first and the second electrodes include cable conductors sheathed with elastically deformable conductive members, respectively. The first and the second electrodes are apart from each other when no impact is applied to the impact sensor. When a collision occurs and the impact is applied to the impact sensor, a contact area between the conductive members increases and a resistance between the first and the second electrodes continuously decreases.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. An impact sensor arranged along a body of a vehicle in a side-to-side direction of the vehicle for detecting an impact of a collision, comprising:
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first and second electrodes, each of which has electric conductivity and a cord-shape; first and second resistive members, each of which has a cord-shape and a predetermined resistivity on at least one of surfaces, and attached to the electrodes; and an elastic member that holds the electrodes and the resistive members, wherein the elastic member has a shape and elasticity such that a contact area between the first and the second resistive members varies gradually or stepwise according to the impact of a collision, and an electric resistance between the first and the second electrodes varies in positive correlation with the impact of a collision in a predetermined range. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 21)
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11. An impact sensor arranged along a body of a vehicle in a side-to-side direction of the vehicle for detecting an impact of a collision, comprising:
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first and second electrodes, each of which has electric conductivity and a cord-shape; a resistive member that has a cord-shape and a predetermined resistivity on at least one of surfaces, and attached to one of the first and the second electrodes; and an elastic member that holds the electrodes and the resistive member, wherein the elastic member has a shape and elasticity such that a contact area between the electrode that the resistive member is not attached and the resistive member varies gradually or stepwise according to the impact of a collision, and an electric resistance between the first and the second electrodes varies in positive correlation with the impact of a collision in a predetermined range. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification