U.S. patent application number 15/451976 was filed with the patent office on 2018-09-13 for vehicle rollover safety system.
The applicant listed for this patent is FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC. Invention is credited to Rahul ARORA, Mohamed Ridha BACCOUCHE, Horst Heribert LANZERATH, Guosong LI.
Application Number | 20180257598 15/451976 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63258993 |
Filed Date | 2018-09-13 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180257598 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
BACCOUCHE; Mohamed Ridha ;
et al. |
September 13, 2018 |
VEHICLE ROLLOVER SAFETY SYSTEM
Abstract
A vehicle includes a body, door, glass dome, and dynamic
pillars. The body defines a cabin and has first and second static
pillars. The door that accesses the cabin, is secured to the body,
and is disposed between the first and second static pillars. The
glass dome is secured to the body over the entirety of the cabin.
The dynamic pillars are extendable in an upward direction and are
secured to the body proximate to an outer perimeter of the glass
dome.
Inventors: |
BACCOUCHE; Mohamed Ridha;
(Ann Arbor, MI) ; LANZERATH; Horst Heribert; (Bad
Muenstereifel, DE) ; ARORA; Rahul; (Birmingham,
MI) ; LI; Guosong; (Novi, MI) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC |
Dearborn |
MI |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
63258993 |
Appl. No.: |
15/451976 |
Filed: |
March 7, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 21/13 20130101;
B60R 2021/135 20130101; B60R 2021/01013 20130101; B62D 25/04
20130101; B32B 17/10752 20130101; B62D 25/06 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B60R 21/13 20060101
B60R021/13; B60R 21/0134 20060101 B60R021/0134; B60R 21/017
20060101 B60R021/017; B62D 25/06 20060101 B62D025/06; B32B 17/10
20060101 B32B017/10 |
Claims
1. A vehicle comprising: a body defining a cabin and having first
and second static pillars; a door that accesses the cabin, secured
to the body, and disposed between the first and second static
pillars; a glass dome secured to the body over the entirety of the
cabin; and dynamic pillars extendable in an upward direction and
secured to the body proximate to an outer perimeter of the glass
dome.
2. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein a first dynamic pillar is
disposed within the first static pillar.
3. The vehicle of claim 2, wherein a second dynamic pillar is
disposed within the second static pillar.
4. The vehicle of claim 3, wherein the body further comprises a
third static pillar, a second door that accesses the cabin that is
secured to the body and disposed between the second and third
static pillars.
5. The vehicle of claim 4, wherein a third dynamic pillar is
disposed within the second door.
6. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a gas generator
configured to direct a gaseous material to the dynamic pillars in
order to extend the dynamic pillars in the upward direction.
7. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a latching mechanism
that secures the dynamic pillars in an extended position.
8. The vehicle of claim 1, wherein the dynamic pillars are
comprised of a telescoping mechanism.
9. A vehicle comprising: a body defining a cabin; a glass dome
secured to the body over the entirety of the cabin; dynamic pillars
extendable in an upward direction via an actuator and secured to
the body proximate to an outer perimeter of the glass dome; and a
controller programmed to, in response to a trigger condition,
activate the actuator to extend the dynamic pillars.
10. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the trigger condition is a
detected imminent roll over condition.
11. The vehicle of claim 10 further comprising an accelerometer
that is configured to detect, and communicate to the controller, a
lateral acceleration of the vehicle, and wherein the controller is
programmed to, in response to a lateral acceleration exceeding a
threshold that corresponds to the roll over condition, activate the
actuator to extend the dynamic pillars.
12. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the actuator is a gas generator
configured to direct a gaseous material to the dynamic pillars in
order to extend the dynamic pillars in the upward direction.
13. The vehicle of claim 9 further comprising a latching mechanism
that secures the dynamic pillars in an extended position.
14. The vehicle of claim 9, wherein the dynamic pillars are
comprised of a telescoping mechanism.
15. A vehicle comprising: a body defining a cabin and having a set
of static pillars; a plurality of doors that accesses the cabin,
secured to the body, and disposed between adjacent static pillars;
dynamic pillars disposed within at least one of the static pillars
and extendable in an upward direction; and a gas generator
configured to direct a gaseous material to the dynamic pillars in
order to extend the dynamic pillars in the upward direction.
16. The vehicle of claim 15 further comprising a glass dome secured
to the body over the entirety of the cabin.
17. The vehicle of claim 16, wherein the glass dome is positioned
such that the dynamic pillars are secured to the body proximate to
an outer perimeter of the glass dome.
18. (canceled)
19. The vehicle of claim 15 further comprising a latching mechanism
that secures the dynamic pillars in an extended position.
20. The vehicle of claim 15, wherein the dynamic pillars are
comprised of a telescoping mechanism.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates to vehicles and more
particularly to vehicle safety systems.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Vehicle body structures provide structural support including
components configured to provide protection to vehicle passengers
during impact events.
SUMMARY
[0003] A vehicle includes a body, door, glass dome, and dynamic
pillars. The body defines a cabin and has first and second static
pillars. The door accesses the cabin, is secured to the body, and
is disposed between the first and second static pillars. The glass
dome is secured to the body over the entirety of the cabin. The
dynamic pillars are extendable in an upward direction and are
secured to the body proximate to an outer perimeter of the glass
dome.
[0004] A vehicle includes a body, glass dome, dynamic pillars, and
controller. The body defines a cabin. The glass dome is secured to
the body over the entirety of the cabin. The dynamic pillars are
extendable in an upward direction via an actuator and are secured
to the body proximate to an outer perimeter of the glass dome. The
controller is programmed to, in response to a trigger condition,
activate the actuator to extend the dynamic pillars.
[0005] A vehicle includes a body, plurality of doors, and dynamic
pillars. The body defines a cabin and has a set of static pillars.
The plurality of doors accesses the cabin, is secured to the body,
and is disposed between adjacent static pillars. The dynamic
pillars are disposed within at least one of the static pillars and
are extendable in an upward direction.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a side perspective view of a vehicle; and
[0007] FIG. 2 is a subsystem of the vehicle that includes dynamic
pillars and a deployment system for the dynamic pillars.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure are described herein.
It is to be understood, however, that the disclosed embodiments are
merely examples and other embodiments may take various and
alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; some
features could be exaggerated or minimized to show details of
particular components. Therefore, specific structural and
functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as
limiting, but merely as a representative basis for teaching one
skilled in the art to variously employ the embodiments. As those of
ordinary skill in the art will understand, various features
illustrated and described with reference to any one of the figures
may be combined with features illustrated in one or more other
figures to produce embodiments that are not explicitly illustrated
or described. The combinations of features illustrated provide
representative embodiments for typical applications. Various
combinations and modifications of the features consistent with the
teachings of this disclosure, however, could be desired for
particular applications or implementations.
[0009] Referring to FIG. 1, a perspective side view of a vehicle 10
is illustrated. The vehicle 10 includes a body 12 the defines a
cabin (or passenger compartment) 14. The body 12 includes the
plurality (or set of) structural pillars. The structural pillars
may also be referred to as static pillars. The body 12 may include
a first static pillar 16, second static pillar 18, and third static
pillar 20. The vehicle 10 may include a first door 22 that is
rotatably secured to the body 12 and is configured to provide
access to the cabin 14 when in an opened position. The first door
22 may be disposed between the first static pillar 16 and the
second static pillar 18. The vehicle 10 may include a second door
24 that is rotatably secured to the body 12 and is also configured
to provide access to the cabin 14 when in an opened position. The
second door 24 may be disposed between the second static pillar 18
and the third static pillar 20. The exterior panels of both the
first door 22 and second door 24 have been removed for illustrative
purposes. In the alternative, it may be stated that the vehicle 10
includes a plurality of doors that provide access to the cabin 14,
each door being secure to the body 12 and disposed between adjacent
static pillars.
[0010] The first static pillar 16, second static pillar 18, third
static pillar 20, first door 22, and second door 24 are shown to be
on the driver side of the vehicle 10. It should be understood,
however that the passenger side of the vehicle may also include a
first static pillar, second static pillar, third static pillar,
first door, and second door that are mirror images of and perform
similar functions as the first static pillar 16, second static
pillar 18, third static pillar 20, first door 22, and second door
24, respectively.
[0011] The vehicle 10 may also include a glass dome 26 that is
secured to the body 12 over the entirety of a top of the cabin 14.
The glass dome 26 may be comprised of safety glass that consists of
alternating layers of glass and plastic. More specifically, glass
dome 26 may be comprised polycarbonate laminated glass which
consists of alternating layers of glass sheets and polycarbonate
plastic sheets. The safety glass that comprises the glass dome 26
may include a single layer of glass sandwiched between two plastic
layers. Alternatively, the safety glass that comprises the glass
dome 26 may be bulletproof glass that consists of at least eight
alternating layers of glass and plastic.
[0012] The vehicle 10 may also include a plurality of dynamic
pillars 28 that are extendable in an upward direction 29. The
dynamic pillars 28 may be secured to the body proximate to an outer
perimeter 31 of the glass dome 26. The dynamic pillars 28 may be
configured to extend upward beyond the top of the glass dome 26 in
the event of a rollover accident in order to bear the weight of the
vehicle 10, effectively preventing the glass dome 26 from bearing
the weight of the vehicle 10. The first static pillar 16, second
static pillar 18, and third static pillar 20 (or the plurality of
static pillars) may define internal cavities. For example, the
static pillars may be made from a sheet metal material that defines
an internal cavity when formed. A first of the dynamic pillars 28
may be disposed within an internal cavity defined by the first
static pillar 16. A second of the dynamic pillars 28 may be
disposed within an internal cavity defined by the second static
pillar 18. The first door 22 and second door 24 may also define
internal cavities. For example, the doors may have an internal
loadbearing structures made up of several members that are disposed
within cavities defined between internal and external sheet metal
panels of each door. A third of the dynamic pillars 28 may also be
disposed within a cavity between internal and external sheet metal
panels of the second door 24. It should be understood that the
configuration of the dynamic pillars 28 described above may be
implemented both on the driver and passenger sides of the vehicle
10, with the configurations on each side of the vehicle being
mirror images with respect to each other.
[0013] Referring to FIG. 2, a subsystem of the vehicle 10 that
includes the dynamic pillars 28 and a deployment system for the
dynamic pillars 28 is illustrated. It should be noted that the
single dynamic pillar 28 illustrated in FIG. 2 may be
representative of all the dynamic pillars 28. The dynamic pillar 28
is shown to be a telescoping mechanism that includes a series of
latches 30 that secure individual sections of the telescoping
mechanism into position when the dynamic pillar 28 is in an
extended position. It should be noted that the proportion sizes of
the individual sections of the telescoping mechanism may be
inaccurate in FIG. 2 for illustrative purposes. For example,
individual sections of the telescoping mechanism may be narrower
and/or longer than depicted in FIG. 2. The dynamic pillar 28 is
shown as a cross-section in FIG. 2 to illustrate the telescoping
and latching mechanisms. The direction of extension of the dynamic
pillar 28 is illustrated by arrow 32. It should be noted that the
direction of extension may be the same of the as the upward
direction 29 depicted in FIG. 1. The direction of retraction of the
dynamic pillars 28 is illustrated by arrow 34. A lower section of
the dynamic pillar 28 may be fixedly secured to the vehicle body
12. The latches 30 may include spring-loaded pins 36 that are
secured to each section of the telescoping mechanism via springs
38. The spring-loaded pins 36 may be configured to engage orifices
40 defined by adjacent sections of the telescoping mechanism in
order to secure the dynamic pillar 28 in the extended position. The
individual sections of the telescoping mechanism may include seals
42 that are configured to prevent gaseous materials from flowing
from an internal cavity 44 defined by the dynamic pillar 28 to the
external space surrounding the dynamic pillar 28.
[0014] Although the dynamic pillar 28 is shown to be a telescoping
mechanism and the latching mechanism is shown to be a spring-loaded
pin 36 that engages in orifice 40, it should be understood that the
dynamic pillars 28 may be any type of mechanism that is extendable
and the latching mechanism may be any type of latching mechanism
known in the art. For example, the dynamic pillars 28 may be
comprised of a piston and cylinder combination while the latching
mechanism is a spring-loaded ring (similar to a compression ring
connected to a piston in an internal combustion engine) that
engages a groove defined within the cylinder when the piston is in
an extended position.
[0015] The vehicle 10 may include an actuator 46 that is configured
to extend the dynamic pillar 28 in the direction of extension 32
and/or the upward direction 29. The actuator 46 may comprise a gas
generator that is configured to direct the gaseous material to the
dynamic pillar 28 in order to extend the dynamic pillar 28 in the
direction of extension 32 and/or the upward direction 29. More
specifically, the gas generator may be configured to direct the
gaseous material into the internal cavity 44 defined by the dynamic
pillar 28. The gas generator may be a pump that directs a gaseous
material into the cavity 44, a pressure vessel/valve combination
that releases a pressurized gaseous material into the cavity 44, or
a system that directs gaseous material into the cavity 44 via
pyrotechnics or a chemical reaction (similar to the mechanism that
causes an airbag in an automatable to inflate).
[0016] The vehicle 10 may include a controller 48 that is
configured to activate the actuator 46 in response to a trigger
condition. The trigger condition may be an imminent roll over
condition of the vehicle 10. An imminent roll over condition may be
a condition where it has been determined that the vehicle 10 will
likely roll over within five seconds or less. The vehicle 10 may
include a sensor 50 that is configured to detect various conditions
of the vehicle 10 that are indicative of an imminent roll over and
communicate the various conditions to the controller 48. For
example, the sensor 50 may be configured to detect a loss of load
bearing weight on one or more of the vehicle's tires or an
undesirable acceleration of the vehicle 10 in a particular
direction. More specifically, the sensor 50 may be an accelerometer
that is configured to detect a lateral acceleration of the vehicle
10 and communicate the lateral acceleration of the vehicle 10 to
the controller 48. The controller 48 may then be programmed to
activate the actuator 46 in order to extend the dynamic pillars 28
in response to the lateral acceleration of the vehicle 10 exceeding
a predetermined threshold that corresponds to an imminent roll over
of the vehicle 10.
[0017] While illustrated as one controller, the controller 48 may
be part of a larger control system and may be controlled by various
other controllers throughout the vehicle 10, such as a vehicle
system controller (VSC). It should therefore be understood that the
controller 48 and one or more other controllers can collectively be
referred to as a "controller" that controls various actuators in
response to signals from various sensors to control functions the
vehicle 10 or vehicle subsystems. The controller 48 may include a
microprocessor or central processing unit (CPU) in communication
with various types of computer readable storage devices or media.
Computer readable storage devices or media may include volatile and
nonvolatile storage in read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory
(RAM), and keep-alive memory (KAM), for example. KAM is a
persistent or non-volatile memory that may be used to store various
operating variables while the CPU is powered down.
Computer-readable storage devices or media may be implemented using
any of a number of known memory devices such as PROMs (programmable
read-only memory), EPROMs (electrically PROM), EEPROMs
(electrically erasable PROM), flash memory, or any other electric,
magnetic, optical, or combination memory devices capable of storing
data, some of which represent executable instructions, used by the
controller 48 in controlling the vehicle 10 or vehicle
subsystems.
[0018] Control logic or functions performed by the controller 48
may be represented by flow charts or similar diagrams. These
diagrams may provide representative control strategies and/or logic
that may be implemented using one or more processing strategies
such as event-driven, interrupt-driven, multi-tasking,
multi-threading, and the like. As such, various steps or functions
may be performed in an illustrated sequence, in parallel, or in
some cases omitted. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize
that one or more of the steps or functions may be repeatedly
performed depending upon the particular processing strategy being
used. Similarly, an order of processing is not necessarily required
to achieve the features and advantages described herein, but may be
provided for ease of illustration and description. The control
logic may be implemented primarily in software executed by a
microprocessor-based vehicle controller, such as controller 48. Of
course, the control logic may be implemented in software, hardware,
or a combination of software and hardware in one or more
controllers depending upon the particular application. When
implemented in software, the control logic may be provided in one
or more computer-readable storage devices or media having stored
data representing code or instructions executed by a computer to
control the vehicle or its subsystems. The computer-readable
storage devices or media may include one or more of a number of
known physical devices which utilize electric, magnetic, and/or
optical storage to keep executable instructions and associated
calibration information, operating variables, and the like.
[0019] The words used in the specification are words of description
rather than limitation, and it is understood that various changes
may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the
disclosure. As previously described, the features of various
embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments that may
not be explicitly described or illustrated. While various
embodiments could have been described as providing advantages or
being preferred over other embodiments or prior art implementations
with respect to one or more desired characteristics, those of
ordinary skill in the art recognize that one or more features or
characteristics may be compromised to achieve desired overall
system attributes, which depend on the specific application and
implementation. As such, embodiments described as less desirable
than other embodiments or prior art implementations with respect to
one or more characteristics are not outside the scope of the
disclosure and may be desirable for particular applications.
* * * * *