Patent ID: 7364222

Claim:
A wire collision sensor system for a vehicle, which includes a vehicle body, the wire collision sensor system comprising: a bumper, which is mounted on a longitudinal end portion of the vehicle body; a wire for sensing a collision of the vehicle, wherein: the wire is received in the bumper; the wire extends along the bumper in a transverse direction of the vehicle; and the wire is connected to at least one of the vehicle body and the bumper at both ends in such a manner that the wire is displaceable in a longitudinal direction of the wire; a wire deformation sensor for electrically sensing a physical quantity, which is associated with a deformation of the wire at a time of the collision, wherein the wire deformation sensor transmits an output, which indicates the sensed physical quantity; a determination circuit for determining a state of the collision based on the output, which is transmitted by the wire deformation sensor; and a slack take-up member, which takes up slack of the wire, wherein: the slack take-up member displaces the wire in the longitudinal direction of the wire at the time of the collision; the physical quantity, which is sensed by the wire deformation sensor, is an amount of wire displacement in the longitudinal direction of the wire; and the wire deformation sensor converts the amount of wire displacement in the longitudinal direction of the wire into an electrical signal.