Collision determination device, collision determination method, and occupant protection device

• US 8,855,865 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2008
• Issued: 10/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/04/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Iyoda, Motomi
• Primary Examiner(s): FRISBY, KEITH J
• Application Number:
  US12/676,544
• Publication Number:
  US 20100211251A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,196 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.2, 701/45
• US Class Current: 701/45
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• 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 21/0133 by integrating the amplitude of the input signal
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01332 by frequency or waveform analysis
• 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

A collision determination device for determining a collision occurrence against a door part of a vehicle has: a door acceleration detector that detects an acceleration generated on the door part of the vehicle and a direction of the acceleration; and a collision determination part that determines that a collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, when the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is a closing direction of the door part, and determines that no collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, when the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is an opening direction of the door part.

Claims

1. A collision determination device for determining occurrence of a collision against a door part of a vehicle, the collision determination device comprising:

a door acceleration detector, integrated with the door part of the vehicle, that detects an acceleration generated on the door part of the vehicle and a direction of the acceleration; and

a collision determination part that determines that no collision has occurred against the door part from an outside in response to detecting that the direction of the acceleration is an opening direction of the door part by the door acceleration detector based on a polarity of a value that is obtained by integrating the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector for a predetermined period of time being inverted relative to a polarity of an acceleration obtained when a collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, and that determines that the collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, when the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is a closing direction of the door part, based on the polarity of the value being noninverted relative to the polarity of the acceleration obtained when the collision has occurred against the door part from the outside.

2. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the collision determination part determines that the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is the opening direction of the door part, when a polarity of a peak value of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is inverted relative to a polarity of a peak value of an acceleration obtained when a collision has occurred against the door part from the outside.

3. The collision determination device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a pillar acceleration detector that detects an acceleration generated on a pillar part of the vehicle adjacent to the door part and a direction of the acceleration generated on the pillar part, wherein

the collision determination part determines that the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is the opening direction of the door part, when a polarity of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is inverted relative to a polarity of the acceleration detected by the pillar acceleration detector.

4. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the collision determination part does not perform collision determination for determining the occurrence of a collision against the door part, when a lock of the door part of the vehicle is released.

5. The collision determination device according to claim 1, wherein the door acceleration detector outputs a value obtained by reducing an acceleration acting in the closing direction of the door part.

6. The collision determination device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a door status detector that determines whether the door part is in an open state or a closed state, and

the door acceleration detector detects the acceleration generated on the door part of the vehicle and the direction of the acceleration after the door status detector determines that the door part is in the closed state.

7. An occupant protection device for a vehicle, which protects an occupant from a collision against a door part of a vehicle from an outside, the occupant protection device comprising:

an occupant protection part that protects the occupant of the vehicle;

a door acceleration detector, integrated with the door part of the vehicle, that detects an acceleration generated on the door part and a direction of the acceleration;

a collision determination part that determines that no collision has occurred against the door part from the outside in response to detecting that the direction of the acceleration is an opening direction of the door part by the door acceleration detector based on a polarity of a value that is obtained by integrating the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector for a predetermined period of time being inverted relative to a polarity of an acceleration obtained when a collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, and that determines that the collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, when the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is a closing direction of the door part, based on the polarity of the value being noninverted relative to the polarity of the acceleration obtained when the collision has occurred against the door part from the outside; and

an occupant protection actuation prohibiting part that prohibits actuation of the occupant protection part when the collision determination part determines that no collision has occurred against the door part from the outside.

8. The occupant protection device according to claim 7, wherein the collision determination part determines that the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is the opening direction of the door part, when a polarity of a peak value of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is inverted relative to a polarity of a peak value of the acceleration obtained when a collision has occurred against the door part from the outside.

9. The occupant protection device according to claim 7, further comprising:

a pillar acceleration detector that detects an acceleration generated on a pillar part of the vehicle adjacent to the door part and a direction of the acceleration generated on the pillar part, wherein

the collision determination part determines that the direction of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is the opening direction of the door part, when a polarity of the acceleration detected by the door acceleration detector is inverted relative to a polarity of the acceleration detected by the pillar acceleration detector.

10. The occupant protection device according to claim 7, wherein the collision determination part does not perform collision determination for determining the occurrence of a collision against the door part, when a lock of the door part of the vehicle is released.

11. The occupant protection device according to claim 7, wherein the door acceleration detector outputs a value obtained by reducing an acceleration acting in the closing direction of the door part.

12. A collision determination method for determining occurrence of a collision against a door part of a vehicle, the collision determination method comprising:

detecting an acceleration generated on the door part and a direction of the acceleration;

determining that no collision has occurred against the door part from an outside in response to detecting that the direction of the acceleration is an opening direction of the door part based on a polarity of a value that is obtained by integrating the detected acceleration for a predetermined period of time being inverted relative to a polarity of an acceleration obtained when a collision has occurred against the door part from the outside; and

determining that the collision has occurred against the door part from the outside, when the direction of the detected acceleration is a closing direction of the door part, based on the polarity of the value being noninverted relative to the polarity of the acceleration obtained when the collision has occurred against the door part from the outside.