Patent ID: 8103451

Claim:
A safety control apparatus for avoiding collision used in a vehicle comprising: a headway distance/relative speed detection unit measuring a distance and relative speed between the vehicle and an obstacle; a collision determination unit estimating and determining a collision with the obstacle based on the distance and relative speed measured by the headway distance/relative speed detection unit; a brake actuator controlling a brake to perform deceleration; and a suspension actuator controlling a suspension to vary one of or both a vehicle height and a damping coefficient of a shock absorber, wherein the collision estimation and determination is performed by the collision determination unit, vehicle deceleration control is performed by the brake actuator by applying the brake to reduce impact upon collision, and vehicle wheel load is controlled by the suspension actuator, wherein prior to the collision estimation and determination by the collision determination unit, a collision likelihood determination is performed by the collision determination unit, and when it is determined that a collision is likely, the vehicle wheel load control is initiated by the suspension actuator prior to initiation of the deceleration control by the brake actuator, and wherein, prior to performing the deceleration control, the vehicle wheel load is controlled by the suspension actuator, such that the damping coefficient of the shock absorber is controlled by the suspension actuator to have a soft expansion and a hard contraction while maintaining a constant vehicle deceleration.