Rollover Judgment Apparatus Using Dynamic Thresholds

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing rollover judgment apparatuses struggle to predict passenger movement accurately due to the timing of curtain air bag deployment, often resulting in the air bag being caught by passengers, which prevents normal deployment and fails to protect them effectively.

Innovation Solution

A rollover judgment apparatus that incorporates a rollover prediction function into the ω−θ map, using sensors for roll angular velocity, lateral direction acceleration, and steering wheel angle to adjust determination thresholds and deploy the curtain air bag earlier, while also detecting tire lift-off and vehicle tilt, ensuring proper deployment timing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the curtain air bag is deployed based on the traditional ω-θ map judgment method, then the deployment timing can be determined, but the air bag may be caught by the passenger's head or shoulder and fail to deploy normally

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecurtain air bag deployment reliabilityVSAvoiddeployment timing

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by deploying the curtain air bag before the vehicle actually rolls over. The system predicts rollover by monitoring the relationship between roll angular velocity (ω) and roll angle (θ), and triggers deployment when ω exceeds a predetermined threshold, which occurs earlier than traditional methods that wait for the rollover to actually happen. This advance deployment ensures the air bag is already inflated and positioned correctly to protect passengers before they can be caught by the deploying air bag.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Object-affected harmful factors

If the deployment timing is delayed to ensure proper air bag expansion, then passenger safety is improved, but the air bag may be caught by passenger body parts during deployment

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepassenger injury preventionVSAvoidair bag deployment operation

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary deployment action by triggering the curtain air bag when the roll angular velocity exceeds a predetermined threshold, which occurs during the early stage of rollover. This timing allows the air bag to begin inflating before the vehicle completes its rollover motion, ensuring that the air bag is already expanded and positioned to protect passengers before they can be caught by the deploying air bag during later stages of the rollover event.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Device complexity

If the ω-θ map judgment method is used without prediction function, then the judgment logic is simple, but it cannot predict passenger movement caused by vehicle inclination and lateral acceleration

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvejudgment logic complexityVSAvoidpassenger movement prediction

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system applies preliminary action by predicting passenger movement and potential entanglement before the rollover completes. It monitors the relationship between roll angular velocity (ω) and roll angle (θ) in advance, and when ω exceeds a predetermined threshold, the system triggers deployment. This prediction capability allows the system to account for passenger movement caused by vehicle inclination and lateral acceleration, improving judgment accuracy without significantly complicating the overall control logic.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

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

Enables early rollover judgment and normal curtain air bag deployment, improving passenger safety by synchronizing sensor signals and adjusting thresholds based on vehicle behavior, thus preventing air bag entanglement with passengers.

Implementation Method 1

roll angular velocity sensor

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectRotational motion detection:

Implementation Method 2

lateral direction acceleration sensor

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectLinear acceleration detection:

Implementation Method 3

curtain air bag deploying unit for controlling expansion of a curtain air bag

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectGas expansion:

Data Source

PatentUS7797091B2Rollover judgment apparatus

Publication Date: 2010.09.14 NEXGEN CONTROL SYSTEMS LLC

AI summary

A rollover judgment apparatus includes a threshold change functional unit 5 for changing a determination threshold on the basis of a roll angular velocity ω, a tilt angle θv of a vehicle which is acquired by integrating the roll angular velocity ω, a lateral direction acceleration Gy, and a steering wheel angle θs, an ω×θ map judging unit 6 for judging whether or not the vehicle will roll over on the basis of the determination threshold changed by the threshold change functional unit 5, and the tilt angle of the vehicle, a safing functional unit 7 for detecting a tip-up of the vehicle in relation to a motion of the vehicle, and a curtain air bag deploying unit 9 for controlling expansion of a curtain air bag on the basis of an output of the ω×θ map judging unit 6 and an output of the safing functional unit 7.