# US 2021/0276502 A1 · System and method for dampening impact to a vehicle > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2021/0276502 A1 - Document ID: US20210276502A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 17/327,896 - Filed: 2021-05-24 - Published: 2021-09-09 - Earliest claimed: 2018-06-04 - Assignees: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company - Applicants: State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company - Inventors: Scott T. Christensen; Briam M. Fields; Stephen R. Prevatt; Steve Roberson - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20210276502A1 ## CPC - B60R 19/00: Wheel guards; Radiator guards, {e.g. grilles}; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions ({reinforcement elements for side doors B60J5/0412; } mudguards B62D) - B60R 21/013: including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over - B60R 21/0132: responsive to vehicle motion parameters {, e.g. to vehicle longitudinal or transversal deceleration or speed value} - B60R 21/0134: responsive to imminent contact with an obstacle {, e.g. using radar systems} - B60W 30/08: {Active safety systems} predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision {or attempting to minimise its consequences} - B60W 30/085: Taking automatic action to adjust vehicle attitude in preparation for collision, e.g. braking for nose dropping - B60W 30/095: Predicting travel path or likelihood of collision - B60W 30/0953: {the prediction being responsive to vehicle dynamic parameters} - B60W 30/0956: {the prediction being responsive to traffic or environmental parameters} - B60R 2019/005: {Crash attenuators, i.e. means added to highway service vehicles for softening high speed impacts} - B60R 2019/007: {Means for adjusting or regulating the crash absorption capacity of the vehicle, e.g. when detecting an impending collision} - B60R 2021/01013: {Means for detecting collision, impending collision or roll-over} - B60R 2021/0104: {Communication circuits for data transmission} - B60W 2554/802: Longitudinal distance - B60W 2554/804: Relative longitudinal speed - B60R: VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT ## Abstract Systems and methods are provided for dampening impact to a vehicle. The system may include a vehicle frame component; a plurality of adjustable exterior vehicle body components coupled to the frame component, wherein the vehicle body components are on different sides of a vehicle and are configurable to dampen an external force exerted on the vehicle; a plurality of actuator components configured to adjust physical configurations of the vehicle body components relative to the frame component; a component configured to collect data representing an external environment of the vehicle; and one or more processors configured to detect, by processing the data, an external driving condition, wherein the external driving condition is an impending collision between the vehicle and one or more objects external to the vehicle, and when the external driving condition is detected, cause the actuator components to correspondingly adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A system for dampening impact to a vehicle, the system comprising: a vehicle frame component; a plurality of adjustable exterior vehicle body components coupled to the vehicle frame component, wherein the vehicle body components are on different sides of a vehicle and are configurable to dampen an external force exerted on the vehicle; a plurality of actuator components configured to adjust physical configurations of the vehicle body components relative to the vehicle frame component; a component configured to collect driving environment data representing an external environment of the vehicle; and one or more processors configured to detect, by processing the driving environment data, an external driving condition, wherein the external driving condition is an impending collision between the vehicle and one or more objects external to the vehicle, and when the external driving condition is detected, cause the actuator components to correspondingly adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect the impending collision by at least one of (i) determining a closing speed between the vehicle and the one or more objects external to the vehicle, or (ii) determining a distance between the vehicle and the one or more objects external to the vehicle. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors are configured to detect the impending collision by determining at least one of (i) a predicted trajectory of the vehicle, or (ii) a predicted trajectory of the one or more objects external to the vehicle. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the component configured to collect the driving environment data is at least one of (i) a sensor configured to sense the external environment of the vehicle, or (ii) a transceiver configured to collect data from one or more sources external to the vehicle. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the actuator components are configured to adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components by adjusting at least one of yaw angles, pitch angles, or roll angles of the vehicle body components relative to the vehicle frame component. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein the actuator components are configured to adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components by moving the vehicle body components in at least one of forward, backward, upward, downward, clockwise, counterclockwise, or lateral directions relative to the vehicle frame component. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of frame coupling components configured to couple the vehicle body components to the vehicle frame component, wherein the actuator components include gear assemblies that are coupled to the frame coupling components and are configured to cause the vehicle body components to move relative to the vehicle frame component. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are configured to cause the actuator components to correspondingly adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components by: determining, based on the driving environment data, impact absorption physical configurations of the vehicle body components that would cause the vehicle body components to dampen the external force exerted on the vehicle; and causing the gear assemblies to adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components to the impact absorption physical configurations. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The system of claim 1, wherein a first vehicle body component of the vehicle body components includes at least one of a mechanical spring, a rotary platform, polyurethane material, a hydraulic fluid system, a telescoping apparatus, a piston strut, or a shock absorber. ### Claim 10 A method for dampening impact to a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving, via one or more processors, data representing an external environment of a vehicle; detecting, by processing the data using the one or more processors, an impending collision between the vehicle and one or more objects external to the vehicle; and causing, via a plurality of actuator components, a plurality of adjustable exterior vehicle body components to correspondingly adjust physical configurations of the vehicle body components relative to a vehicle frame component to dampen an external force on the vehicle when the impending collision is detected, wherein the plurality of body components are on different sides of the vehicle. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein detecting the impending collision includes at least one of (i) determining a closing speed between the vehicle and the one or more objects external to the vehicle, or (ii) determining a distance between the vehicle and the one or more objects external to the vehicle. ### Claim 12 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein detecting the impending collision includes determining at least one of (i) a predicted trajectory of the vehicle, or (ii) a predicted trajectory of the one or more objects external to the vehicle. ### Claim 13 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, further comprising detecting the data with at least one of (i) a sensor configured to sense the external environment of the vehicle, or (ii) a transceiver configured to collect the data from one or more sources external to the vehicle. ### Claim 14 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the actuator components are configured to adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components by adjusting at least one of yaw angles, pitch angles, or roll angles of the vehicle body components relative to a vehicle frame component. ### Claim 15 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the actuator components are configured to adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components by moving the vehicle body components in at least one of forward, backward, upward, downward, clockwise, counterclockwise, or lateral directions relative to the vehicle frame component. ### Claim 16 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein the vehicle body components are coupled to the vehicle frame components by a plurality of frame coupling components, and the actuator components include gear assemblies that are coupled to the frame coupling components and are configured to cause the vehicle body components to move relative to the vehicle frame component. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The method of claim 16, further comprising: determining, based on the data, impact absorption physical configurations of the vehicle body components that would cause the vehicle body components to dampen the external force exerted on the vehicle; and causing the gear assemblies to adjust the physical configurations of the vehicle body components to the impact absorption physical configurations. ### Claim 18 (depends on 10) The method of claim 10, wherein a first vehicle body component of the vehicle body components includes at least one of a mechanical spring, a rotary platform, polyurethane material, a hydraulic fluid system, a telescoping apparatus, a piston strut, or a shock absorber.