Automobile frontal collision location detection for coordinated activation of safety systems

摘要

A safety system ( 10 ) for a vehicle ( 12 ) includes multiple collision detection sensors ( 14 ), such as discretized patch sensors. The collision detection sensors ( 14 ) are coupled to a peripheral area ( 18 ) of the vehicle ( 12 ) and generate a collision detection signal ( 17 ). A controller ( 16 ) is coupled to the sensors ( 14 ) and determines collision type in response to the collision detection signal ( 17 ). The controller ( 16 ) performs a countermeasure in response to the collision type. The controller ( 16 ) may include a collision location estimator ( 22 ) for determining collision severity and collision contact location on the vehicle ( 12 ) and a coordinated device activation system ( 24 ) for performing the countermeasure.