Chassis frame buckling control device and chassis frame deformation control device

• US 7,202,588 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2004
• Issued: 04/10/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/03/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Mae, Hiroyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Schuberg; Darren
• Assistant Examiner(s): ROSENAU, DEREK JOHN
• Application Number:
  US11/000,257
• Publication Number:
  US 20050121997A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 310/311, 310/323.01, 310/323.18
• US Class Current: 310/311
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2019/007 Means for adjusting or regulating the crash absorption capacity of the vehicle, e.g. when detecting an impending collision
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/15 having impact absorbing means, e.g. a frame designed to permanently or temporarily change shape or dimension upon impact with another body bumpers B60R19/02; shock absorbers in general F16F
• CPC Class Codes: F16F 2224/0283 piezoelectric; electro- or magnetostrictive
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/206 using only longitudinal or thickness displacement, e.g. d33 or d31 type devices
• CPC Class Codes: H10N 30/871 Single-layered electrodes of multilayer piezoelectric or electrostrictive devices, e.g. internal electrodes

Abstract

The present invention is including: a piezoelectric element actuator provided on a chassis frame and capable of generating a load along the chassis frame; and, a control unit that controls the load of the piezoelectric element actuator.

Claims

1. A buckling control device for a chassis frame in the form of a front side frame having a rectangular shape having corner sections, comprising:

a sensor operational to detect a possibility of an impact with an obstacle and an impact speed;

a hole formed at at least one of the corner sections;

rectangular piezoelectric element actuators which can extend and contract along a longitudinal direction of the front side frame, and which are provided on the front side frame at surfaces that define the corner section having the hole, the actuators are longer than the hole and are positioned beside the hole and extend in the longitudinal direction; and

,

a control unit that controls load applied by the actuators, wherein

the piezoelectric element actuators are operational to apply loads onto the chassis frame along the longitudinal direction thereof, and wherein

based on a detection by the sensor, the control unit controls the piezoelectric element actuators so as to extend when the impact speed is predicted to be faster than a predetermined speed, while the control unit controls the piezoelectric element actuators so as to contract when the impact speed is predicted to be slower than a predetermined speed.

2. The buckling control device according to claim 1, further comprising a hole formed at each of the corner sections, and rectangular piezoelectric element actuators which can extend and contract along a longitudinal direction of the front side frame, and which are provided on the front side frame at surfaces that define each of the corner sections having a hole, the actuators are longer than each hole and are positioned beside the respective holes and extend in the longitudinal direction.

3. The buckling control device according to claim 1, wherein

each of the piezoelectric element actuators comprises a plurality of piezoelectric elements of the same shape being layered in a direction of thickness and having aligned orientations, and

each of the piezoelectric elements includes electrodes having a comb-like shape aligned reciprocally.