US 7,610,983 B2
	Method for damage limitation in the event of an offset frontal collision, and motor vehicle having an apparatus which serves for this purpose
Toros Akgun, Graz (Austria); Stephan Winkler, Graz (Austria); Wolfgang Hirschberg, Graz (Austria); and Christian Kaltenmesser, Wels (Austria)
Assigned to Magna Steyr Fahrzeugtechnik AG & Co. KG, Graz (Austria)
Appl. No. 10/577,755 PCT Filed Oct. 11, 2004, PCT No. PCT/AT2004/000343 § 371(c)(1), (2), (4) Date Jan. 25, 2007, PCT Pub. No. WO2005/042335, PCT Pub. Date May 12, 2005.
Claims priority of application No. GM754/2003 (AT), filed on Oct. 31, 2003.
Prior Publication US 2007/0125588 A1, Jun. 07, 2007
Int. Cl. B60D 1/28 (2006.01); B60K 28/00 (2006.01); B60L 3/00 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 180—271  [180/280; 180/282]

9 Claims

1. A method for damage limitation in the event of an offset frontal collision between two motor vehicles, with a first signal which signals an imminent collision triggering the steerable front wheels (9, 10) to turn inward from an initial position in opposite directions very quickly, wherein at least one of the steerable wheels is very quickly moved back to the initial position again if either no collision has taken place within a certain time after the first signal or if a second signal which is transmitted by a further sensor (22) signals the collision which actually occurs, with the initial position being the position which the wheels were in at the time the first signal was transmitted.