Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/34—Protecting non-occupants of a vehicle, e.g. pedestrians
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
  • B60R21/0132—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over responsive to vehicle motion parameters, e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
  • B60R21/0132—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over responsive to vehicle motion parameters, e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value
  • B60R21/0133—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over responsive to vehicle motion parameters, e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value by integrating the amplitude of the input signal
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R21/013—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
  • B60R21/0136—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over responsive to actual contact with an obstacle, e.g. to vehicle deformation, bumper displacement or bumper velocity relative to the vehicle
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
  • B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
  • B60R2021/01122—Prevention of malfunction
  • B60R2021/01184—Fault detection or diagnostic circuits
  • B60R2021/0119—Plausibility check

Definitions

• the invention relates to a device and a method for detecting a pedestrian impact according to the preamble of the independent claim.
• the device according to the invention or the method according to the invention for detecting a pedestrian impact has the advantage that a configuration of at least three acceleration sensors is used, which are attached to the inside of the bumper fascia.
• an acceleration sensor is arranged on the right and left and the third acceleration sensor in the middle.
• the method according to the invention or the device according to the invention is characterized by its robustness.
• impact objects of non-negligible width such as a shopping cart, can be detected, provided that Exceeding the threshold of all three sensors takes place virtually simultaneously or within a very small, possibly time-dependent time interval.
• the invention is based on the idea to determine the impact location by means of at least three sensors. This is due to the fact that the
• Propagation speed of deformation and structure-borne noise in the plastic of the bumper fascia is relatively slow. As a result, an acceleration sensor farther from the impact location will later generate the signal as a sensor mounted near the impact location.
• the respective signals of the acceleration sensors are generated when the signal predetermined or adaptively determined, for example in
• noise thresholds are for example between 3 and 5g.
• the signals it is possible for the signals to be generated even when the signals show certain signal characteristics, ie forms. This can be done, for example, in
• a counter which determines the at least one time offset.
• This counter can be a timer module, which is arranged in the control unit or it is realized by software technology in a microcontroller in the control unit. In this case, the microcontroller is the evaluation circuit.
• the time offset is determined from the first two occurring signals, ie the two acceleration sensors which are arranged closest to the point of impact, and the third acceleration sensor is used with its signal for plausibility.
• the device according to the invention or the inventive method is particularly robust.
• the signals are weighted according to their occurrence. This takes into account the fact that the sensor that first generates the signal, ie closest to the impact location, generates the signal that is most important for the analysis of the impact or the impact object. This will significantly improve the analysis and weaker signals will not be included in the analysis that much.
• the signals can advantageously be summed or integrated over time.
• integration means, such an integration, which is computationally possible.
• a mass determination or estimation of the impact object can be carried out via the momentum set.
• this second sum or the second integral can be advantageously used to determine the penetration depth of the impact object into the vehicle.
• About the depth of penetration can otherwise difficult to distinguish objects, such as soft and heavy as a human being, from hard and light well discriminated. This is because a heavy object penetrates further into the bumper at a given speed than a lighter one.
• FIG. 2 shows a first block diagram
• FIG. 3 is an acceleration time diagram
• Figure 4 is a second block diagram
• FIG. 5 is a flowchart.
• Acceleration sensors for detecting a pedestrian impact have already been proposed. This results in the problem of robust separation of tripping and non-tripping cases.
• an impact offset detection is necessary because the bumper along the vehicle transverse direction changes its rigidity and therefore the signals of the sensors of one and the same impact object at the same speed depends on the offset.
• This problem is solved by the device according to the invention or the inventive method by the use of at least three acceleration sensors, which are arranged on the bumper fascia. In this case, the time offset of the signals of the acceleration sensors is evaluated.
• Figure 1 shows a view of the arrangement of the device according to the invention.
• an arrangement of three acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13 is provided on the bumper cover 15, which is largely made of plastic.
• the acceleration sensors are screwed, for example via holders with the bumper cover 15.
• Behind the acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13, a bending beam 14 of the vehicle is provided.
• the dashed lines indicate the spread of
• the sensor 10 is the first to provide a signal to
• the sensor 10 If there is an impact at the point of impact B, the sensor 10 in turn delivers the first signal and thus the start t ⁇ .
• the sensor 12 provides its signal with the time offset
• Distance d is the distance from the sensor 12 to the impact point P.
• the sensor 12 now supplies the first signal and thus the time start t ⁇ .
• the sensor 10 provides its signal with the time offset
• Atl3 2 can be used in the offset determination, that is the distance d.
• Figure 2 illustrates in a block diagram how the signals and the counter cooperate.
• block 20 for example, upon impact at point A, acceleration sensor 10 generates its signal.
• the timer 21 is started.
• the timer measures the time offset AtIl 1 until the sensor 12 generates its signal in block 22.
• the timer will continue to measure the time offset Atl3 2 in block 23 until the acceleration sensor 13 also generates its signal in block 24.
• FIG. 3 visualizes this in an acceleration time diagram.
• the curve 3.1 here represents the acceleration signal of the sensor 10 in the event of an impact at the impact point A.
• the signal 31 exceeds the noise threshold 30.
• the timer is started at the instant t.sub. ⁇ . This measures the time offset At 1 to also the signal of the sensor 12, which is designated here by the reference numeral 32, the noise threshold 30 exceeds.
• the timer continues to count the time offset At 2 until the signal 33 of the sensor 13 exceeds the noise threshold 30.
• FIG. 4 shows in a further block diagram the device according to the invention.
• the acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13 are connected via two-wire lines to a control unit ECU.
• the acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13 transmit their data as digital signals, for example by Manchester coding to the
• Control unit ECU It is possible that the acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13 already have preprocessing in their components.
• the acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13 can already check the noise threshold itself or the test takes over the control unit ECU by means of the microcontroller ⁇ C.
• the ECU ECU interface modules and other components such as a
• the microcontroller ⁇ C evaluates the signals of the acceleration sensors 10, 12 and 13 according to the invention and controls pedestrian protection means FGS in dependence thereon. To determine the time offset, the microcontroller ⁇ C uses a timer module 40. Alternatively, it is possible for the timer to be simulated by the microcontroller .mu.C itself by means of software.
• step 500 the sensor closest to the point of impact generates its signal.
• signal generation means that the signal is above the predetermined threshold, here the noise threshold.
• the counter is then started in step 501.
• the timer module 40 which is started by the microcontroller .mu.C.
• the sensors 12 and 13 also generate the second and third signals, respectively.
• the time offset is determined. Based on the time offset, it is possible to determine the impact site and the impact itself. This is done in step 503.
• the determination of the first integral of the acceleration signal takes place here as an option-this is not necessarily the case-in order to estimate the mass of the impact object via the pulse set, which is carried out in method step 504.
• the signal the first occurring signal is preferably used.
• the second integral is formed here in method step 505 in order to determine the penetration depth of the impact object. It is then possible to carry out a characterization of the impact object.
• the integrals here by means of the Microcontroller ⁇ C are performed, other summation techniques can be used. It should be understood that the integration is meant to be what a computer can do.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Air Bags (AREA)
• Force Measurement Appropriate To Specific Purposes (AREA)
• Measurement Of Mechanical Vibrations Or Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=37709494

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

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• 2006
  • 2006-01-11 DE DE102006001366.2A patent/DE102006001366B4/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-11-30 EP EP06830248A patent/EP1976727A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2006-11-30 WO PCT/EP2006/069151 patent/WO2007087916A1/de active Application Filing
  • 2006-11-30 JP JP2008549799A patent/JP2009523087A/ja active Pending
  • 2006-11-30 CN CN2006800509142A patent/CN101356079B/zh not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2006-11-30 US US12/160,707 patent/US8948961B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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