Pre-crash Door Locking Control for Motor Vehicle Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety systems for motor vehicles do not adequately prevent unintended door opening during critical driving operations, which can compromise occupant safety in the event of an accident.
Innovation Solution
A safety system that uses a pre-crash sensor to bolt the electrically actuated door locking apparatus for a specified interval before a potential accident, ensuring the door remains closed during the accident sequence and is only unbolted after the event, utilizing adjustable time intervals based on sensor data to optimize protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the door locking apparatus is bolted during a critical driving operation before a potential accident, then occupant safety is improved by preventing unintended door opening, but the door remains locked even if no accident occurs, reducing ease of operation
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-crash sensor activates the central locking unit to bolt the door locking apparatus in advance of a potential accident event. This preliminary action ensures the door is secured before the critical moment occurs, preventing unintended opening during the accident sequence while only locking when actually needed based on sensor detection
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the door locking state based on real-time sensor data. The locking apparatus transitions between locked and unlocked states depending on whether an accident event is detected, making the system adaptive to changing conditions rather than statically locked or unlocked
2Reliability
If the locking apparatus remains bolted for a sufficiently long interval to cover the entire accident event sequence, then protection against unintended opening is improved, but the door remains locked longer than necessary, reducing productivity of occupant egress
Solution Approach 1:
The locking duration is dynamically determined based on the detected accident event sequence. The control unit monitors the accident event and automatically unlocks the door locking apparatus when the event sequence is complete, optimizing the locking duration to match the actual protection needs without excessive delay
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback from the locking apparatus status and accident event detection to control the unlocking timing. The control unit receives feedback about the accident event sequence completion and automatically triggers unlocking at the optimal moment, ensuring protection during the event while enabling rapid egress afterward
3Reliability
If a pre-crash sensor is added to activate the locking unit before an accident, then occupant safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-crash sensor and control unit are integrated into the existing safety system architecture, allowing the same control unit to manage both pre-crash locking and crash sensor responses. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the pre-crash sensor activation and crash sensor response into a unified control system. The control unit processes both pre-crash and crash signals through a single integrated architecture, merging multiple safety functions into one cohesive system rather than using separate independent systems
Data Source
AI summary
A safety system for operating at least one electrically actuated locking apparatus of a door of a motor vehicle has a crash sensor for sensing an imminent accident event. Upon sensing an accident event with a crash sensor within a first specified interval of time, the locking apparatus remains bolted within a second specified interval of time, which has such a length that it includes the entire temporal course of the accident event, and is subsequently unbolted. The crash sensor for sensing an imminent accident event, upon recognizing a possible imminent accident event, actuates central bolting in such a way that the locking apparatus of the door is bolted for the first specified interval of time. This first specified time interval has such a length that the possible accident event will fall in the time interval specified.