Patent ID: 9381882
Filing Date: 2016-07-05
CPC Classification: B60R

Claim Text:
1. An external airbag deployment method comprising: setting, by a controller, a detection area located in front of a vehicle; selecting, by the controller, an object as a target object from objects detected in the detection area, when an object has a relative velocity greater than a first reference, an overlap greater than a second reference, and a Time To EAB (External Airbag) (TTE) less than a third reference, wherein TTE is a remaining time until the object collides with an airbag cushion when the external airbag is predicted to be deployed; determining, by the controller, whether the vehicle is stable by comparing a predicted yaw rate of the vehicle with a measured yaw rate; determining, by the controller, whether a relative velocity and an overlap, predicted at a time when the target object is predicted to collide with the vehicle, are greater than predetermined levels; determining, by the controller, whether a collision probability based on a reciprocal of a Time To Collision (TTC) and a variation in collision probability are greater than predetermined levels, wherein the TTC is a remaining time until the target object collides with the vehicle when the target object is predicted to collide with the vehicle; and deploying, by the controller, the external airbag when the vehicle is stable, the predicted relative velocity and overlap of the target object are greater than the predetermined levels, and the collision probability and the variation in the collision probability are greater than predetermined levels.