Method and device for detecting a rollover situation of a motor vehicle

• US 7,725,229 B2
• Filed: 06/16/2005
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Automotive GmbH (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Siemens AG
• Inventors: Blos, Armin, Yano, Tomomi, Bonitz, Jochen
• Primary Examiner(s): Zanelli; Michael J.
• Application Number:
  US11/596,133
• Publication Number:
  US 20070185632A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,804 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0018 Roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/01327 Angular velocity or angular acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0132 responsive to vehicle motion parameters , e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value

Abstract

A rate of rotation around the longitudinal axis of a motor vehicle and the lateral inclination thereof are determined as state variables. A rollover situation is detected when the state variables are greater than the characteristic curve of a minimum triggering threshold in a surface plane defined by the state variables.

Claims

1. A method of detecting a rollover situation of a vehicle, which comprises:

determining state variables including a rate of rotation about a longitudinal axis of the vehicle and a pitch angle of the vehicle in a lateral direction thereof;

predicting the rate of rotation as a function of at least one of a sensed lateral acceleration and a sensed vertical acceleration of the vehicle; and

detecting a rollover situation if the state variables exceed an activation threshold characteristic in a state space spanned by the state variables.

2. The method according to claim 1, which comprises defining an activation threshold characteristic to run linearly between a dynamic roll point and a static roll point in the state space.

3. The method according to claim 2, which comprises predicting the pitch angle of the vehicle.

4. The method according to claim 3, which comprises predicting the pitch angle as a function of at least one of a sensed lateral acceleration and a sensed vertical acceleration of the vehicle.

5. The method according to claim 2, which comprises, when performing the step of detecting a rollover situation, correcting one of the state variables such that the activation threshold characteristic is exceeded.

6. The method according to claim 2, which comprises performing a plausibility check in dependence on at least one of a sensed lateral acceleration and a sensed vertical acceleration of the vehicle, and introducing the plausibility check as a further precondition that the rollover situation is finally detected.

7. The method according to claim 2, which comprises determining the pitch angle as a function of the rate of rotation.

8. A device for detecting a rollover situation of a vehicle, the device comprising:

means for determining state variables of the vehicle including a rate of rotation of the vehicle about a longitudinal axis thereof and a pitch of the vehicle in a lateral direction, wherein the means for determining state variables predicts the rate of rotation as a function of at least one of a sensed lateral acceleration and a sensed vertical acceleration of the vehicle; and

means for detecting a rollover situation if the state variables of the vehicle exceed an activation threshold characteristic in a state space spanned by the state variables.