Patent ID: 6192305
Filing Date: 2001-02-20
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
A rollover sensing apparatus for predicting an overturn condition for a vehicle, comprising:an angular roll rate sensor for sensing roll rate of a vehicle and producing an output signal indicative thereof;an angular pitch rate sensor for sensing pitch rate of the vehicle and producing an output signal indicative thereof;a longitudinal accelerometer for measuring longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and producing an output signal indicative thereof;a lateral accelerometer for measuring lateral acceleration of the vehicle and producing an output signal indicative thereof;a vertical accelerometer for measuring vertical acceleration of the vehicle and producing an output signal indicative thereof;a vehicle speed signal indicative of speed of the vehicle;a processor for receiving said signals and for estimating a roll angle and a pitch angle as a function of said received signals, said processor estimating a yaw rate of the vehicle as a function of lateral acceleration and said vehicle speed signal, and determining a pitch rate correction value as a function of said estimated yaw rate and said estimated roll angle and further correcting said measured pitch rate signal based on said pitch correction value, and said processor predicting a future pitch angle as a function of said estimated pitch angle and said corrected pitch rate and comparing said predicted pitch angle to a threshold value; andan output for deploying a vehicle overturn condition output based on said comparison.