Denso Corporation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Fuji Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Hitachi Cable, Inc.

Koji Ohtaka

Motomi Iyoda

Hiroyuki Takahashi

Yujiro Miyata

Ryotaro Kachu

Takashi Inamoto

Shigenori Kobayashi

Yasuyuki Hishida

Yukio Nakagawa

Takahiro Saito

A load sensor includes a optical fiber sensor that provides output analog signals in response to shocks of various magnitudes caused by hits by a vehicle on various objects, two or more amplifiers each of which approximates a non linear function of the analog signals and a unit that converts the linear functions into digital data. Therefore, each analog signal either in a lower magnitude range or a higher magnitude range can be amplified by one of the amplifiers that has a more suitable gain, so that the magnitude of the shock can be accurately converted into digital data for a pedestrian protection airbag system.

Load sensor, method of detecting load and pedestrian protection system

An optical fiber sensor can be interposed between a bumper reinforcement and a load transmitting plate to extend in the direction of width of a vehicle along with the bumper reinforcement. In this case, when a change does not occur substantially in an immediately previous predetermined period in an output voltage of a light emission amount of the optical fiber sensor, a feedback control is performed in such a way that the change becomes a level of zero of the output voltage of the optical fiber sensor. In contrast, when a change in the output voltage is not substantially zero, the immediately previous state of emission of light is maintained. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively compensate a zero point shift caused by a temperature change or/and an aging degradation of the optical fiber sensor.

Collision detecting apparatus for vehicle

The present invention relates to a vehicle passenger detecting apparatus capable of detecting an unoccupied-seat state through the use of existing signals in a vehicle and correcting an unoccupied-seat reference value with a simple configuration. In a case in which an ignition key switch and a buckle switch are in off conditions and a load detecting value, which is the sum of measurement data from load sensors in these conditions, falls below a predetermined unoccupied-seat load value, an occupied-seat reference value serving as a load measurement standard for detection of a state of a vehicle passenger is corrected using the load detection value. This eliminates the influence of vibrations stemming from engine revolutions and electrical noises and enables the reference value to be corrected using a stabler load detection value.

Passenger detecting apparatus for vehicle

Growing community of inventors

Anjo, Japan

Koji Ohtaka