Vehicle Bumper Electromagnetic Pattern for Pedestrian Collision Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pedestrian collision protection systems require a large number of individually mounted sensors on vehicle bumpers, leading to increased costs and assembly burdens due to their complex structure.
Innovation Solution
A pedestrian collision determination system utilizing a conductive pattern on the vehicle bumper's shock absorber to form an electromagnetic field, combined with a conductive material on the bumper skin, which changes current flow upon collision, allowing for the detection of pedestrian collisions with reduced sensor installation complexity and cost through a control unit that determines the mass and stiffness of the colliding object.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional passive sensors (acceleration sensor, pressure sensor, optical fiber sensor) are directly fastened to the rear surface of bumper skin to detect pedestrian collision, then collision detection function is achieved, but the number of sensors must be very large and each sensor must be individually mounted, leading to increased costs and assembly burden
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the collision detection function into the bumper skin itself by forming a conductive pattern on the inner surface of the bumper skin. This eliminates the need for separate sensor devices and their individual mounting, as the bumper skin structure itself becomes the detection element. The conductive pattern integrates the sensing function directly into the existing bumper structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The bumper skin is given multiple functions: it serves as both the structural protective component and the collision detection sensor. By forming a conductive pattern on the inner surface of the bumper skin, the same component performs both mechanical protection and collision detection, eliminating the need for dedicated sensor devices.
2Measurement precision
If a large number of passive sensors are installed over the entire bumper to detect pedestrian collision, then collision detection coverage is improved, but the assembly man-hours and installation burden increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The detection function is merged into the bumper skin structure itself through a conductive pattern, eliminating the need for multiple separate sensor installations. This single integrated structure provides full coverage detection without requiring individual mounting of numerous sensors, thereby dramatically reducing assembly time and complexity.
3Reliability
If conventional pedestrian protection system uses multiple separate sensor devices, then collision detection capability is achieved, but the cost and number of separate components increase
Solution Approach 1:
The bumper skin is designed to serve dual purposes: structural protection and collision detection. By forming a conductive pattern on its inner surface, it becomes a self-contained detection system that eliminates the need for separate sensor devices, reducing both component quantity and manufacturing cost while maintaining protection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the detection function with the bumper skin structure, eliminating separate sensor components. This integration reduces the total number of parts, simplifies manufacturing, and lowers costs while maintaining the essential pedestrian protection functionality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies the installation and reduces costs by using a conductive pattern and material that can be easily attached, effectively determining pedestrian collisions and activating protection modules, such as hood lifts or airbags, while accurately identifying pedestrian targets based on current and vibration frequency analysis.
Implementation Method 1
a conductive pattern disposed on a front surface of a shock absorber of a vehicle bumper to form an electromagnetic field by an application of alternating current power
Implementation Method 2
The current flowing in the conductive pattern may change when a bumper skin deformation generated by a pedestrian collision causes the conductive material to penetrate a region of an electromagnetic field formed by the conductive pattern
Implementation Method 3
the peak value of the current flowing in the conductive pattern may vibrate according to the frequency of the bumper skin vibration generated by the pedestrian collision
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a pedestrian collision determination system including a collision detection sensor and a control unit, the collision detection sensor including a conductive pattern disposed on a front surface of a shock absorber of a vehicle bumper to form an electromagnetic field by an application of alternating current power and a conductive material disposed at a position facing the conductive pattern on an inner surface of a bumper skin of the vehicle bumper, and the control unit determining an occurrence or non-occurrence of a collision of a pedestrian based on a change of a current flowing in the conductive pattern.