Device, vehicle and method for detecting a collision of an object on a collision location detection region of a vehicle

• US 7,525,416 B2
• Filed: 04/26/2005
• Issued: 04/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Mader, Gerhard
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US11/579,788
• Publication Number:
  US 20080238641A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,463 Days
• Field of Search: 340/436, 340/437, 180/268, 180/271, 180/274, 701300-302
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0136 responsive to actual contact with an obstacle , e.g. to vehicle deformation, bumper displacement or bumper velocity relative to the vehicle monitoring crash strength in combination with passenger seat detection B60R21/01558

Abstract

The device includes a first and a second structural parameter for a first or a second hollow body. At least one of the parameters changes along the collision location detection region in such a way that the quotient and/or the difference between the two signals of the sensors essentially continuously increases or decreases when the same object collides at the same speed in different collision locations. Suitable parameters are, for example, the cross-sectional surface of a hollow body or the rigidity thereof.

Claims

1. A device for detecting a collision with an object on a collision location detection region of a vehicle, comprising:

first and second substantially closed hollow bodies, said hollow bodies;

being connected to a part of a vehicle bodywork;

having a longitudinal axis disposed parallel to the collision location detection direction and overlapping one another in the collision location detection region; and

being disposed in a vicinity to an exterior surface of the vehicle such that at least one of said hollow bodies is compressed during the collision;

a first sensor and a second sensor disposed to detect a compression of a respectively associated said first and second hollow bodies respectively, and configured to output first and second signals, respectively, indicative of the respective compression; and

an evaluator connected to receive the signal from each sensor;

said first hollow body having at least one first constructional parameter associated therewith and said second hollow body having at least one second constructional parameter associated therewith, with at least one of said constructional parameters varying along the collision location detection direction so that a quotient of the first and second signals increases or decreases in an event of a collision of a given object with identical velocity at different collision locations along the collision location detection direction.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first parameter and the second parameter is a cross-sectional surface area of the first and second hollow body, respectively, perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the respective hollow body.

3. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first parameter and the second parameter is a stiffness of the first and the second hollow body, respectively, along the collision location detection direction.

4. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second constructional parameters increases or decreases continuously along the collision location detection direction.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein said first and second hollow bodies are formed to have one of a substantially equal volume a substantially equal length along the collision location detection direction.

6. The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said sensors is a pressure sensor.

7. The device according to claim 6, wherein said pressure sensor is an absolute pressure sensor.

17. A method for detecting a collision of an object on a collision location detection region of a vehicle, the method which comprises:

providing a device according to claim 1;

in an event of a collision, using the first sensor and the second sensor to detect a compression of the respectively associated first hollow body and second hollow body;

transmitting first and second signals indicative of the respective compression to a central evaluator from the first sensor and from the second sensor, respectively;

forming a ratio of the first and second signals with a central evaluator; and

assigning a collision location to the ratio of the first and second signals by the evaluator from a functional relationship stored in the evaluator, and outputting a signal indicative of the collision location for further processing.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein a value of the ratio is a quotient of the first and second signals of the first and second sensors or a quotient of values derived from the first and second signals of the first and second sensors.

19. A method for detecting a collision of an object on a collision location detection region of the vehicle, the method which comprises providing a device according to claim 4;

in an event of a collision, using a first sensor and a second sensor to detect a compression of a respectively associated first hollow body and second hollow body;

transmitting first and second signals indicative of the respective compression to a central evaluator from the first sensor and from the second sensor, respectively;

forming a ratio of the first and second signals with a central evaluator; and

assigning a collision location to the ratio of the first and second signals by the evaluator from a functional relationship stored in the evaluator, and outputting a signal indicative of the collision location for further processing.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein a value of the ratio is a quotient of the first and second signals of the first and second sensors or a quotient of values derived from the first and second signals of the first and second sensors.

22. The method according to claim 17, wherein a value of the ratio is a quotient of the first and second signals of the first and second sensors or a quotient of values derived from the first and second signals of the first and second sensors.

8. A vehicle having a vehicle body and a device for detecting a collision of an object on a collision location detection region on the vehicle body, the combination comprising:

first and second substantially closed hollow bodies, said hollow bodies;

being connected to a part of a vehicle bodywork;

having a longitudinal axis disposed parallel to the collision location detection direction and overlapping one another in the collision location detection region; and

being disposed in a vicinity to an exterior surface of the vehicle such that at least one of said hollow bodies is compressed during the collision;

a first sensor disposed to detect a compression of said first hollow body and configured to output a first signals indicative of the compression of said first hollow body, and a second sensor disposed to detect a compression of said second hollow body and configured to output a second signal indicative of the compression of said second hollow body; and

an evaluator connected to receive the signal from each sensor;

said first hollow body having at least one first constructional parameter associated therewith and said second hollow body having at least one second constructional parameter associated therewith, with at least one of said constructional parameters varying along the collision location detection direction so that a quotient of the first and second signals increases or decreases in an event of a collision of a given object with identical velocity at different collision locations along the collision location detection direction.

9. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the first parameter and the second parameters is a stiffness of the part of the vehicle bodywork in the collision location detection region.

10. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the first parameter and the second parameter is a distance of one of the first hollow body the second hollow body from the outer surface of the part of the vehicle bodywork in the collision region.

11. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein a part of the vehicle bodywork in the collision region connected to the first and second hollow bodies is configured as a bumper.

12. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein the part of the vehicle bodywork connected to said first and second hollow bodies is integrally formed in one piece with a housing of at least one of said first and second hollow bodies.

13. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the first and second constructional parameters increases or decreases continuously along the collision location detection direction.

14. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein said first and second hollow bodies are formed to have one of a substantially equal volume a substantially equal length along the collision location detection direction.

15. The vehicle according to claim 8, wherein at least one of said sensors is a pressure sensor.

16. The vehicle according to claim 15, wherein said pressure sensor is an absolute pressure sensor.

21. A method for detecting a collision of an object on a collision location detection region of a vehicle, the method which comprises:

in an event of a collision, using a first sensor and a second sensor to detect a compression of a respectively associated first hollow body and second hollow body overlapping one another;

transmitting first and second signals indicative of the respective compression to a central evaluator from the first sensor and from the second sensor, respectively;

forming a ratio of the first and second signals with a central evaluator; and

assigning a collision location to the ratio of the first and second signals by the evaluator from a functional relationship stored in the evaluator, and outputting a signal indicative of the collision location for further processing.