JP2013220743A - Vehicle control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle control device capable of accurately determining the form of collision in a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A vehicle control device includes an acceleration sensor 21 and a determination means 22. The acceleration sensor 21 is provided in a vehicle 1 and detects acceleration of the vehicle 1 in a longitudinal direction and in a lateral direction. The determination means 22 determines the collision form of the vehicle 1 based on the acceleration in the longitudinal direction and the acceleration in the lateral direction detected by the acceleration sensor 21. The collision form determined by the determination means 22 includes full lap frontal collision in which the vehicle 1 collides over the full width of a front face of a vehicle body, and offset frontal collision in which the vehicle collides in a partial width biased to any right or left end portion side of the front face of the vehicle body.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle control device that determines a collision mode when an impact is received from the front of a vehicle.

  Conventionally, vehicles are equipped with various occupant protection devices in case of emergency. For example, an occupant protection device such as a front airbag or a seat belt pretensioner is provided in case a vehicle collides with an object such as a building or other vehicle from the front. The front airbag is inflated and deployed in front of the driver seat and the passenger seat, and absorbs the impact from the front to reduce the impact and protect the occupant. Further, the pretensioner secures and protects the passenger on the seat by retracting the webbing of the seat belt.

  One form of the case where the vehicle collides with an object is a frontal collision in which the front of the vehicle body collides. In this frontal collision, a full-lap frontal collision where the entire width of the front of the vehicle body collides with an object, and a part of the width of the front of the vehicle body (part offset toward the left or right end) collides with the object. Offset frontal collisions. In the case of a full-wrap frontal collision, the vehicle hardly generates yaw rate (rotation about the vertical axis), so the occupant is moved forward by the impact at the time of the collision. Therefore, in this case, the occupant's head can be protected by the expansion of the front airbag while the occupant's torso is fixed to the seat with the pretensioner.

  On the other hand, in the case of an offset frontal collision, yaw rate is generated with the rotational movement of the vehicle body in the yaw direction, so that the occupant is moved forward by the impact at the time of collision, and the generated yaw rate moves sideways. Is also moved. Therefore, in this case, there is a possibility that the occupant's head may be disengaged laterally from the deployed front airbag. That is, it may be difficult to properly protect the occupant (particularly around the head) with the front airbag alone. In addition, in the case of an offset frontal collision with a narrow collision range that is offset to the left and right end sides of the front surface of the vehicle body (here, referred to as narrow offset frontal collision), the yaw rate that occurs as the vehicle body rotates in the yaw direction is This trend can become even more pronounced as it grows larger.

  In order to cope with such a situation, a technique has been proposed in which a collision mode of a vehicle is determined and a curtain airbag provided on a side portion of the vehicle is deployed according to the configuration. For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, front collision sensors are respectively arranged in front of the left and right sides of the vehicle, and a floor G sensor is arranged in the approximate center of the vehicle. In this technology, if acceleration in the vehicle front-rear direction is detected by either the left or right front collision sensor, and if the vehicle acceleration in the vehicle front-rear direction is detected by the floor G sensor, it is determined that there is an offset collision, and the curtain on the side where the impact is large A configuration for deploying an airbag is disclosed. In addition, this technology also discloses a configuration in which a yaw rate can be detected by a yaw rate sensor to determine a turning motion of the vehicle due to an offset collision and a left or right curtain airbag can be deployed.

Japanese Patent No. 4424183

  However, since the determination of the collision type as described above is necessary only in an emergency, it is not preferable to equip a vehicle with a plurality of sensors in preparation for such a case in consideration of cost. In the technique of Patent Document 1 described above, two front collision sensors, a floor G sensor, and a yaw rate sensor are provided. However, it is desired to develop a technique for accurately determining the collision mode while reducing the number of these sensors. It is rare.

One of the purposes of the present case is to provide a vehicle control apparatus that has been developed in view of the above-described problems and that can accurately determine the collision mode with a simple configuration.
The present invention is not limited to this purpose, and is a function and effect derived from each configuration shown in the embodiments for carrying out the invention described later, and other effects of the present invention are to obtain a function and effect that cannot be obtained by conventional techniques. Can be positioned.

  (1) A vehicle control device disclosed herein is provided in a vehicle, detects an acceleration in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the vehicle, and the acceleration in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction detected by the acceleration sensor. Determining means for determining a collision mode of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle, and the collision mode determined by the determination means includes a full-wrap frontal collision in which the vehicle collides across the entire width of the front surface of the vehicle body, It includes an offset frontal collision in which a partial width that is offset toward the left or right end side of the front surface of the vehicle body collides.

  (2) In addition, the vehicle includes a front collision detection unit that is provided at a front portion of the vehicle and detects an impact applied to the vehicle body from the front, and the determination unit detects when the front collision detection unit detects the shock. It is preferable to determine the collision mode.

  (3) Further, the vehicle has a two-dimensional map storing a relationship between a longitudinal acceleration and a lateral acceleration of the vehicle and a determination threshold of a collision mode, and the determination unit detects the front and rear detected by the acceleration sensor. Preferably, the collision mode is determined by applying a direction acceleration and a lateral acceleration to the two-dimensional map.

  (4) Also, a front airbag provided in the front part of the vehicle and deployed in front of the driver's seat and the passenger seat, and provided on both left and right sides of the vehicle and deployed so as to cover the window part of the vehicle body. And a control means for selecting and deploying the front airbag and the curtain airbag in accordance with the collision mode determined by the determination means, and the control means Preferably, the front airbag is selected and deployed when the collision mode is the full-wrap frontal collision, and the front airbag and the curtain airbag are selected and deployed when the collision mode is the offset frontal collision. .

  (5) At this time, it is preferable that the control means prohibits deployment of the front airbag and the curtain airbag when the longitudinal acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is less than a predetermined threshold.

  According to the disclosed vehicle control device, the front-rear direction acceleration and the left-right direction acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor are used. For example, if the left-right acceleration is minute compared to the front-rear acceleration, the vehicle is in front of the full wrap. It can be determined that the vehicle has collided. For example, both the front-rear acceleration and the left-right acceleration are large, and further, it can be determined whether the offset frontal collision is left or right depending on the direction of the left-right acceleration. Thereby, the collision form of the vehicle can be accurately determined with a simple configuration, and appropriate control according to the collision form can be performed. Further, since the collision mode can be determined by the acceleration sensor, the yaw rate sensor as used in the conventional determination is unnecessary, and an increase in cost can be suppressed.

It is a lineblock diagram of vehicles provided with a vehicle control device concerning one embodiment. It is the schematic diagram seen from the vehicle upper direction for demonstrating the collision form of a vehicle, (a) shows a full wrap frontal collision, (b) shows an offset frontal collision, (c) shows a narrow offset frontal collision, respectively. It is a graph which illustrates the time-dependent change of the front-back direction acceleration and the left-right direction acceleration which generate | occur | produce in a vehicle with the collision form shown in FIG. It is a determination map used for determination of the collision form of the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the example of the determination procedure of the collision form using the determination map of FIG. It is a determination map used for determination of the collision form of the vehicle control apparatus which concerns on other embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the example of the determination procedure of the collision form using the determination map of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiment described below is merely an example, and there is no intention to exclude various modifications and technical applications that are not explicitly described in the following embodiment.
[1. Device configuration]
A vehicle control apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the traveling direction of the vehicle is defined as the front, and the left and right are determined based on the front. Further, the description will be made assuming that the direction of gravity is downward and vice versa. Further, a description will be given assuming that the side toward the center of the vehicle body is the inside and the opposite is the outside.

As shown in FIG. 1, a vehicle 1 to which the vehicle control device is applied is equipped with a front collision sensor (front collision detection means) 11 and an airbag ECU 20. One front collision sensor 11 is disposed approximately at the center of the front portion of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle width direction (left-right direction), and detects the acceleration α in the front-rear direction of the vehicle 1. Here, the front collision sensor 11 detects the direction toward the rear of the vehicle (that is, the deceleration direction) as a positive value. When acceleration α (α> α _TH ) equal to or higher than the threshold value α _TH which is the front collision sensor 11 is detected, it means that some impact is applied to the vehicle body of the vehicle 1 from the front. This threshold value α _TH is a threshold value for distinguishing between normal vehicle deceleration and collision. That is, the front collision sensor 11 has a function as detection means for detecting an impact from the front of the vehicle. The acceleration α detected by the front collision sensor 11 is transmitted to the airbag ECU 20 as needed.

  An airbag ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 20 is a computer that includes an acceleration sensor 21 and includes a memory (ROM, RAM), a CPU, and the like. The airbag ECU 20 incorporating the acceleration sensor 21 is disposed substantially in the center in the vehicle width direction (left-right direction) on the front side of the vehicle 1 (backward of the front collision sensor 11). The acceleration sensor 21 detects the longitudinal acceleration (longitudinal acceleration) Ax and the lateral acceleration (lateral acceleration) Ay of the vehicle 1. Here, the acceleration sensor 21 detects the direction toward the rear of the vehicle (that is, the deceleration direction) as a positive value for the longitudinal acceleration Ax, and the direction from the right to the left (left direction) is positive for the left-right acceleration Ay. A value from the left to the right (right direction) is detected as a negative value. The longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay detected by the acceleration sensor 21 are transmitted to the determination unit 22 of the airbag ECU 20.

  The vehicle 1 is equipped with a front airbag 31 and a curtain airbag 32. These airbags 31 and 32 are inflated instantaneously when explosives are exploded by the inflator when receiving a deployment command from the control unit 23 of the airbag ECU 20. The front airbag 31 is built in, for example, the handle of the driver's seat or the upper part of the glove box of the passenger's seat, and inflates forward of the driver's and passenger's seats when deployed to protect passengers (particularly around the head). is there.

  Further, the curtain airbag 32 is built in, for example, from the front pillar to the left and right sides of the roof lining, and covers substantially the entire window portion (front window 2 and rear window 3) of the vehicle body when deployed. This protects the occupant (especially around the head) from the side and prevents the occupant from moving outside the vehicle. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the front airbag 31 and the curtain airbag 32 are deployed.

The vehicle 1 is equipped with a seat belt pretensioner (not shown). When the pretensioner receives a command from the control unit 23 of the airbag ECU 20, the pretensioner secures and protects the occupant on the seat by retracting the webbing of the seat belt.
A front collision sensor 11 is connected to the input side of the airbag ECU 20, and a front airbag 31, a curtain airbag 32, and a pretensioner are connected to the output side of the airbag ECU 20.

[2. Control configuration]
Here, the airbag ECU 20 determines the collision mode of the vehicle 1 and controls the front airbag 31, the curtain airbag 32, and the pretensioner according to the determined collision mode. The airbag ECU 20 includes a functional element as the determination unit 22 and a functional element as the control unit 23 in order to perform the above determination and control. Each of these elements may be realized by an electronic circuit (hardware), may be programmed as software, or some of these functions may be provided as hardware, and the other part as software. It may be what you did.

  When the acceleration α is detected by the front collision sensor 11, the determination unit (determination means) 22 determines the collision mode of the vehicle 1 based on the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay detected by the acceleration sensor 21. . That is, the determination unit 22 first determines whether or not an impact is applied to the vehicle body from the front by the front collision sensor 11, and when it is determined that the vehicle body receives an impact from the front, the detection result of the acceleration sensor 21 is used. To determine the collision mode. The collision modes of the vehicle 1 determined here include the following two.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the first collision mode is a full-wrap frontal collision in which the vehicle 1 collides with the object 5 over the entire width of the front surface of the vehicle body. When the collision mode of the vehicle 1 is a full-wrap frontal collision, for example, when the vehicle 1 collides with a wall of a building from substantially the front and almost all of the width of the front of the vehicle body contacts the wall, In the case where the vehicle collides with the other vehicle from the front and substantially the entire width of the front surface of the vehicle body contacts the other vehicle. In the case of such a full-wrap frontal collision, the vehicle 1 is decelerated suddenly, and thus a longitudinal acceleration Ax is generated in the vehicle 1 in the backward direction. The magnitude of the longitudinal acceleration Ax is a value corresponding to the weight of the vehicle 1 and the vehicle speed immediately before the collision. In the case of a full-wrap frontal collision, since the yaw rate is hardly generated in the vehicle 1, the lateral acceleration Ay is smaller than the longitudinal acceleration Ax and is slightly generated.

  2 (b) and 2 (c), the second collision mode is an offset frontal collision in which a partial width that is offset to the left or right end side of the front surface of the vehicle 1 collides with the object 5. is there. When the collision mode of the vehicle 1 is an offset frontal collision, for example, the vehicle 1 collides with a corner of a wall of a building from a substantially front side, and a part of the width of the front of the vehicle body (either the left or right part) is a wall. For example, when the vehicle 1 is in contact with the body, the vehicle 1 collides with the other vehicle from the left and right and collides from the front, and a part of the width of the front of the vehicle body contacts the other vehicle. In the case of such an offset frontal collision, the vehicle 1 is decelerated rapidly, and thus the vehicle 1 generates a longitudinal acceleration Ax that is directed rearward.

  Further, in the case of an offset frontal collision, the collision position is shifted to the left or right from the center C in the vehicle width direction (deviation), and therefore yaw rate is generated in the vehicle 1. That is, the vehicle 1 rotates about the vertical axis in either the left or right direction around the vicinity of the collision position. For this reason, the vehicle 1 generates a lateral acceleration Ay in either the left or right direction. For example, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, when the right side of the vehicle width direction center C on the front surface of the vehicle 1 collides with the object 5, the vehicle 1 has a longitudinal acceleration Ax and left Directional lateral acceleration Ay occurs.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, in the case of an offset frontal collision in which the collision range between the vehicle 1 and the object 5 is narrow and the collision is offset to either the left or right end of the front of the vehicle body, An acceleration Ay is generated. Hereinafter, the offset frontal collision as shown in FIG. 2C is particularly called a narrow offset frontal collision. The magnitudes of the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay generated in the vehicle 1 at the time of the offset frontal collision are values according to the weight of the vehicle 1, the vehicle speed immediately before the collision, and the offset amount. The offset amount here means the ratio of the collision width to the full width of the front of the vehicle body (the amount of overlap of the collision surface). When half of the front surface of the vehicle body collides, the offset amount is 50% and the collision range is The narrower the offset, the smaller the offset amount.

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating time-dependent changes in the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay generated in the vehicle 1 in each of the collision modes shown in FIGS. For example, when the vehicle 1 collides with an offset front as shown in FIG. 2B, at a certain time t ₁ , the vehicle 1 generates the longitudinal acceleration Axt ₁ and the lateral acceleration Ayt ₁ , and the time t later than the time t _1. In ₂ longitudinal acceleration Axt ₂ and the lateral acceleration Ayt ₂ occurs. As time further advances, at time t ₃ , longitudinal acceleration Ax ₃ and lateral acceleration Ayt ₃ occur in the vehicle 1. Thus, the graph shown in FIG. 3 is obtained by plotting the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay at each time with a small time interval after the acceleration α is detected by the front collision sensor 11.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the case of the full-wrap frontal collision of FIG. 2A, the longitudinal acceleration Ax increases, but the lateral acceleration Ay hardly changes (does not increase or decrease). In the case of the offset frontal collision in FIG. 2B, the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay both increase. In particular, in the case of the narrow offset frontal collision in FIG. Larger graph. 2B and 2C, in the case of an offset frontal collision (right offset frontal collision) in which the right side of the vehicle collides with the object 5, the vehicle 1 has a left-right acceleration Ay (Ay> 0). ) Occurs. On the other hand, in the case of an offset frontal collision (left offset frontal collision) in which the left side of the vehicle collides with an object, a rightward lateral acceleration Ay (Ay <0) is generated in the vehicle 1. In any case, if the front surface of the vehicle 1 collides with some object 5, the vehicle 1 generates a longitudinal acceleration Ax (Ax> 0) that goes backward (in the deceleration direction).

  The determination unit 22 determines the collision mode of the vehicle 1 by using the fact that the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the left-right acceleration Ay that are different depending on the collision mode are generated in the vehicle 1 as described above. Here, the determination unit 22 acquires the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay detected by the acceleration sensor 21 as coordinate values (Ax, Ay), and determines which region of the determination map in FIG. 4 corresponds to. To determine the collision mode.

FIG. 4 is a determination map in which regions are divided according to the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay generated in the vehicle 1 and is stored in the airbag ECU 20 in advance. As shown in FIG. 4, the collision mode is determined based on the first threshold (predetermined threshold) X ₁ that is the threshold of the longitudinal acceleration Ax, the second threshold Y ₁ that is the threshold of the lateral acceleration Ay, and the third threshold Y _2. The area is divided. The first threshold value X ₁ is a front air bag 31 and whether or not it is necessary to deploy the curtain airbag 32 (i.e., whether the light collision or) is a threshold for determining the. Longitudinal acceleration Ax is the case of the less than a threshold value X _1, the impact to the vehicle 1 is small, the vehicle 1 is inhibited front airbags 31 and the curtain airbag 32 is deemed to have a light collision is not expanded (deployed ). The second threshold Y ₁ and the third threshold Y ₂ are thresholds for determining whether or not the curtain airbag 32 needs to be deployed when the longitudinal acceleration Ax is equal to or greater than the first threshold X ₁ .

Here, the left-right acceleration Ay is positive, the right-left acceleration Ay is negative, the second threshold Y ₁ is set to a positive value, and the third threshold Y ₂ is set to a negative value. When the left-right acceleration Ay is in a range greater than the third threshold Y _{2 and} less than the second threshold Y ₁ , the curtain airbag 32 is not deployed. Here, the absolute values of the second threshold Y ₁ and the third threshold Y ₂ are set to the same value (that is, Y ₂ = −Y ₁ ). However, depending on the characteristics of the vehicle, the second threshold Y ₁ The third threshold Y ₂ may be set individually.

Region 1 in FIG. 4 is set in a range in which the longitudinal acceleration Ax is equal to or greater than the first threshold value X ₁ and the lateral acceleration Ay is greater than the third threshold value Y ₂ and less than the second threshold value Y ₁ . Region 2 is a before and after acceleration Ax is the first threshold value X ₁ or more, lateral acceleration Ay is set to the second threshold value Y ₁ or more ranges, region 3, longitudinal acceleration Ax is the first threshold value X ₁ or more, lateral acceleration Ay is set to a third threshold value Y ₂ or less. The region 4 and region 5 of FIG. 4, the longitudinal acceleration Ax is first less than a threshold value X _1, lateral acceleration Ay is the second threshold value Y ₁ or more or the third threshold value Y ₂ or less.

  When the determination unit 22 determines that the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) corresponds to the region 1, the determination unit 22 determines that the vehicle 1 is a full-wrap frontal collision, and when the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) corresponds to the region 2, It is determined that it is an offset frontal collision, and when it corresponds to region 3, it is determined that it is a left offset frontal collision in which the left side of the vehicle 1 has collided. Moreover, the determination part 22 determines with the vehicle 1 slipping, when it determines with coordinate value (Ax, Ay) corresponding to the area | region 4 or 5. FIG. The determination result in the determination unit 22 is transmitted to the control unit 23.

  The control unit (control unit) 23 selects an appropriate one from the front airbag 31, the curtain airbag 32, and the pretensioner according to the collision mode determined by the determination unit 22, and controls the operation. When the determination unit 22 determines that the vehicle 1 is a full-lap frontal collision, the control unit 23 sends a deployment command to the front airbag 31 and deploys the front airbag 31 to move forward. Protect (especially around the head). Further, a command is sent to the seat belt pretensioner to fix and protect the occupant (particularly the torso) on the seat. In the case of a full-wrap frontal collision, a deployment command is not transmitted to the curtain airbag 32.

  In addition, when the determination unit 22 determines that the vehicle 1 is a left-offset frontal collision, the control unit 23 sends a deployment command to the front airbag 31 and the right curtain airbag 32, and the front airbag 31 and the right side By deploying the curtain airbag 32, the occupant (especially around the head) trying to move forward and to the right is protected. Further, a command is sent to the seat belt pretensioner to fix and protect the occupant (particularly the torso) on the seat.

  In addition, when the determination unit 22 determines that the vehicle 1 is a right-offset frontal collision, the control unit 23 sends a deployment command to the front airbag 31 and the left curtain airbag 32 so that the front airbag 31 and the left side By deploying the curtain airbag 32, a passenger (especially around the head) trying to move forward and left is protected. Further, a command is sent to the seat belt pretensioner to fix and protect the occupant (particularly the torso) on the seat.

  The control unit 23 deploys to the front airbag 31 and the curtain airbag 32 when the determination unit 22 determines that the vehicle 1 is slipping or when the vehicle 1 is determined to have collided lightly. Do not send commands.

[3. flowchart]
Since the vehicle control device according to the present embodiment is configured as described above, the determination and control of the collision mode of the vehicle 1 is performed, for example, according to the flowchart shown in FIG. This flowchart operates at a predetermined control cycle. Each of the following steps is performed by each function (means) assigned to the hardware of the computer being operated by software (computer program).

As shown in FIG. 5, in step S <b> 10, it is determined whether or not the acceleration α is detected by the front collision sensor 11. That is, in this step, it is determined whether or not an impact is applied to the vehicle 1 from the front. If the acceleration α detected by the front collision sensor 11 is equal to or greater than the threshold value α _TH , “front collision sensor ON” is set, and if the acceleration α is less than the threshold value α _TH , “front collision sensor OFF” is set. If it is determined in step S10 that the front collision sensor 11 is ON, in the subsequent step S20, the acceleration sensor 21 detects the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay and transmits them to the determination unit 22.

In step S30, it is determined whether the longitudinal acceleration Ax is the first threshold value X ₁ above, if the first threshold value X ₁ or more, the coordinate values in the following step S40 (Ax, Ay) is determined. In step S50, the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is applied to the determination map of FIG. 4 to determine whether the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is within the region 1 or not. If the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is within the region 1, it is determined in step S60 that the collision mode is a full-wrap frontal collision in region 1, and in step S70, the control according to the full-wrap frontal collision is performed by the control unit 23. Implemented (Control 1).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S50 that the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is not within the region 1, the process proceeds to step S80, where it is determined whether the lateral acceleration Ay is greater than or equal to zero (Ay ≧ 0). That is, in this step, it is determined whether the left offset frontal collision or the right offset frontal collision. If the left-right acceleration Ay is a positive value, it is determined in step S90 that the collision mode is a right offset frontal collision in region 2, and in step S100, the control according to the right offset frontal collision is performed by the control unit 23. (Control 2). If the left-right acceleration Ay is a negative value, it is determined in step S110 that the collision mode is a left-offset frontal collision in region 3, and in step S120, the control unit 23 performs the control according to the left-offset frontal collision. Implemented (control 3).

When each control is performed in step S70, step S100, and step S120, the control flow is ended. Also, if it is determined not before collision sensor ON in step S10, and, longitudinal acceleration Ax in step S30 if it is determined not to be the first threshold value X ₁ above, flow of FIG. That is, when the vehicle 1 is not impacted from the front, and when it is in a light collision or slip state even when it is impacted, the determination of the coordinate values (Ax, Ay) and the region are both performed. No determination is made and the flow is returned. It should be noted that the flow is returned because Ax <X ₁ is satisfied not only in a light collision or slip state but also when the vehicle 1 is traveling normally or when sudden braking is applied.

[4. effect]
Therefore, according to the vehicle control apparatus according to the present embodiment, the vehicle 1 uses the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay of the vehicle 1 detected by the acceleration sensor 21, and the lateral acceleration Ay is smaller than the longitudinal acceleration Ax. Can be determined as a full-lap frontal collision, both the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay are large, and further, it can be determined whether the frontal collision is an offset frontal collision between the left and right in the direction of the lateral acceleration Ay. Thereby, the collision form of the vehicle 1 can be accurately determined with a simple configuration, and appropriate control according to the collision form can be performed. Further, since the collision form can be determined by the acceleration sensor 21, the yaw rate sensor used in the conventional determination is unnecessary, and the increase in cost can be suppressed.

  Further, since the detected value of the front collision sensor 11 provided at the front portion of the vehicle 1 is first used when determining the collision mode, it is possible to quickly detect that an impact has been applied to the vehicle body from the front. . Furthermore, since the front collision sensor 11 is disposed substantially at the center in the vehicle width direction, it is possible to detect an impact without shifting to the left or right. Further, when the impact (acceleration α) is detected by the front collision sensor 11, the collision form is determined by the airbag ECU 20, and when the impact (acceleration α) is not detected by the front collision sensor 11, the collision form is not determined. Unnecessary determination can be suppressed, and the calculation load can be reduced. Here, since the airbag ECU 20 incorporating the acceleration sensor 21 is disposed on the front side of the vehicle 1 near the front airbag 31, the responsiveness can be improved.

  In addition, by determining the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay as coordinate values (Ax, Ay) and applying them to the two-dimensional map to determine the collision form, the collision form can be accurately determined with a simpler configuration. it can.

  Further, when the determination unit 22 determines that a full-lap frontal collision has occurred, the front airbag 31 is selected and deployed, so that the occupant (particularly around the head) can be protected by the front airbag 31. Further, in this case, since the curtain airbag 32 is not selected, unnecessary operation of the airbag can be suppressed. On the other hand, when the determination unit 22 determines that an offset frontal collision has occurred, the left and right curtain airbags 32 are selected and deployed in addition to the front airbag 31, so that the occupant's head is moved forward during the offset frontal collision. Even when the vehicle is shifted to the side, the passenger (especially around the head) can be protected. That is, an occupant can be appropriately protected according to the collision mode.

Further, since the longitudinal acceleration Ax is the deployment of the air bag is inhibited by less than _one predetermined threshold value (first threshold value) X, when the air bag operation is not required (for example, when a light collision, the vehicle 1 slips For example, when the lateral acceleration Ay increases, the operation can be prevented.

[5. Others]
Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
For example, instead of the determination map of FIG. 4 used in the above embodiment, for example, a determination map as shown in FIG. 6 may be used. The determination map of FIG. 6 is different from the determination map of FIG. 4 in the areas (area 2 ′ and area 3 ′) that are determined to be offset frontal collisions. As shown in FIG. 6, in the region 2 ′ and the region 3 ′, the lateral acceleration Ay is not less than the second threshold Y ₁ or not more than the third threshold Y ₂ , and the first threshold X increases as the absolute value of the lateral acceleration Ay increases. It is set to include a longitudinal acceleration Ax smaller than ₁ .

  That is, the threshold for dividing the region 2 ′ and the region 4 ′ and the threshold for dividing the region 3 ′ and the region 5 ′ are not constant values, and the longitudinal acceleration Ax is set smaller as the absolute value of the lateral acceleration Ay is larger. Yes. This is because, in the case of an offset frontal collision, the change in the lateral acceleration Ay is larger than that in the full-wrapped frontal collision (see FIG. 3), so the collision mode can be determined even if the longitudinal acceleration Ax is set to a small value. is there. FIG. 7 shows a control flow when the determination map of FIG. 6 is used. Note that the flowchart in FIG. 7 is a modification of the flowchart in FIG. 5, and details of steps similar to those in FIG. 5 are omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in step T10, it is determined whether or not the acceleration α is detected by the front collision sensor 11, and if it is determined that the front collision sensor 11 is ON, the acceleration sensor 21 in the subsequent step T20. The longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay are detected and transmitted to the determination unit 22. In step T30, coordinate values (Ax, Ay) are determined from the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay. In step T40, the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is applied to the determination map of FIG. 6 to determine whether the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is within the region 1 or not. If the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is within the region 1, it is determined in step T50 that the collision mode is a full-wrap frontal collision in region 1, and in step T60, the control according to the full-wrap frontal collision is performed by the control unit 23. Implemented (Control 1).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step T40 that the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is not in the region 1, the process proceeds to step T70, and it is determined whether or not the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is in the region 2 '. . If the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is within the region 2 ′, it is determined in step T80 that the collision mode is a right offset frontal collision of the region 2 ′. In step T90, the control unit 23 responds to the right offset frontal collision. The above control is executed (control 2). If it is determined in step T70 that the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is not in the region 2 ', the process proceeds to step T100, and it is determined whether the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is in the region 3'. The If the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is within the region 3 ′, it is determined in step T110 that the collision mode is a left offset frontal collision of the region 3 ′. In step T120, the control unit 23 responds to the left offset frontal collision. The above control is executed (control 3).

  When each control is performed in step T60, step T90, and step T120, the control flow is ended. If it is determined in step T10 that the front collision sensor is not ON, the flow is returned. That is, when the vehicle 1 is not impacted from the front, the coordinate values (Ax, Ay) are not determined and the region is not determined, and the flow is returned. Also, if it is determined in step T100 that the coordinate value (Ax, Ay) is not within the region 3 ', it is determined that there is a light collision or a slip state, and the flow is returned. In this way, the collision mode can be determined using a map as shown in FIG.

  In the above-described embodiment, the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the lateral acceleration Ay generated in the vehicle 1 are detected by the acceleration sensor 21, and these are determined as coordinate values (Ax, Ay) and applied to the two-dimensional map. The configuration may be such that a two-dimensional map is not used. Moreover, the structure which uses a speed and a displacement instead of an acceleration may be sufficient. In the above-described embodiment, the control for determining the full-wrap frontal collision and the left and right offset frontal collision is exemplified. However, in addition to this, a control configuration for determining the left and right narrow offset frontal collision may be employed.

Further, a sensor (for example, a pressure sensor) other than the front collision sensor 11 for detecting acceleration may be provided as means (front collision detection means) for detecting that an impact is applied to the vehicle body from the front. Further, the acceleration sensor 21 may be used to determine whether or not an impact is applied to the vehicle body from the front. In this case, since the front collision sensor 11 is unnecessary, the configuration can be further simplified and the cost can be reduced.
Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the structure by which the acceleration sensor 21 which detects the longitudinal acceleration Ax and the left-right acceleration Ay of the vehicle 1 was incorporated in airbag ECU20, the acceleration sensor 21 is provided separately from airbag ECU20. It may be done.

Further, the positions of the front collision sensor 11 and the acceleration sensor 21 (or the airbag ECU 20 incorporating the same) are not limited to those described above. For example, the front collision sensor 11 may be disposed at the front end portion of the vehicle 1 or may be disposed at an intermediate portion in the vehicle front-rear direction. Further, the acceleration sensor 21 (or the airbag ECU 20 incorporating the acceleration sensor 21) may be mounted on the middle portion or the rear portion of the vehicle 1 in the vehicle front-rear direction. Further, these sensors 11 and 21 may be mounted shifted to either the left or right in the vehicle width direction.
Moreover, this vehicle control apparatus is applicable to various vehicles, such as a motor vehicle and a truck.

1 Vehicle 11 Front collision sensor (front collision detection means)
20 Airbag ECU
21 Acceleration sensor 22 Determination unit (determination means)
23 Control unit (control means)
31 Front airbag 32 Curtain airbag Ax Longitudinal acceleration (acceleration in the longitudinal direction)
Ay Left / right acceleration (acceleration in the left / right direction)
X ₁ first threshold value (predetermined threshold value)

Claims (5)

An acceleration sensor provided in the vehicle for detecting acceleration in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the vehicle;
Determination means for determining a collision mode of the vehicle based on the longitudinal acceleration and the lateral acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor;
The collision mode determined by the determination means includes a full-wrap frontal collision in which the vehicle collides over the entire width of the front surface of the vehicle body, and an offset front surface in which a partial width that is offset toward either the left or right end of the front surface of the vehicle body collides A vehicle control device including a collision. Provided at the front of the vehicle, comprising a front collision detection means for detecting an impact applied to the vehicle body from the front,
The vehicle control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines the collision mode when the impact is detected by the front collision detection unit. The vehicle has a two-dimensional map storing the relationship between the acceleration in the front-rear direction and the acceleration in the left-right direction and the determination threshold of the collision mode,
The said determination means determines the said collision form by applying the said acceleration in the front-back direction and the acceleration in the left-right direction detected by the said acceleration sensor to the said two-dimensional map, The said collision form is characterized by the above-mentioned. Vehicle control device. A front airbag provided at the front of the vehicle and deployed in front of a driver seat and a passenger seat;
A curtain airbag that is provided on both left and right sides of the vehicle and that is deployed to cover the window of the vehicle body;
Control means for selecting and deploying the front airbag and the curtain airbag according to the collision mode determined by the determination means,
The control means selects and deploys the front airbag when the collision mode is the full-wrap frontal collision, and selects the front airbag and the curtain airbag when the collision type is the offset frontal collision. The vehicle control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vehicle control device is deployed. 5. The control unit prohibits deployment of the front airbag and the curtain airbag when the longitudinal acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is less than a predetermined threshold. Vehicle control device.

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