JP6754261B2 - Vehicle occupant protection device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for a vehicle such as an automobile.

In automobiles, research on autonomous driving has been started in recent years (Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-067483

By the way, in an autonomous vehicle, the running state of the vehicle is controlled regardless of the intention of the occupant such as the driver. In this case, for example, in the case of automatically avoiding a collision, the control may be performed so as to drive closer to the limit performance of the vehicle as compared with the case where the driver operates the vehicle. For example, immediately before a collision, in order to avoid a collision, steering may be performed at the limit of the limit performance to control the collision so as to avoid the collision.
Then, for example, in a situation where the driving is controlled near the limit performance of the vehicle in this way, when the collision cannot be actually avoided, compared with the case where the collision is avoided under the steering of the driver. Collisions can occur under different circumstances than current cars.
For example, in a situation where the vehicle is making a sharp turn in automatic driving, the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat may have moved inward from the seating position of the seat. Then, if a collision occurs in a situation where the upper body has moved inward from the seating position of the seat before the collision, the upper body of the occupant will move significantly inward from the seating position of the seat. Become. Even if the far-side airbag provided on the seat begins to deploy due to the collision, the upper body has moved inward from the seating position of the seat before the collision, and the movement is caused by the impact of the collision. It may not be possible to adequately support the upper body, which falls further inward or forward from the position. For example, in the case of a far-side airbag that is deployed on the assumption that the upper body is positioned in the normal seating position, the upper body falls inside the seat before the far-side airbag is properly deployed.
In addition to this, for example, in the case of an occupant who is distracted by something other than a collision and is not prepared for a collision, the upper body of the occupant moves significantly inward beyond the range of movement normally expected at the time of a collision. There is a possibility that it will end up.

As described above, it is expected that vehicles such as automobiles need to have an occupant protection function different from that of current automobiles during automatic driving, for example.

In the vehicle occupant protection device according to the present invention, the seat on which the occupant sits in the vehicle and the upper body of the occupant who has fallen inward from the seat inside the seat in the vehicle width direction are moved from bottom to top. A first member that expands or moves to push up, a second member that expands or moves outward from the upper part of the first member in the vehicle width direction, and the first member and the second member deploy or It has a control unit that controls the movement, and the control unit detects a collision at least when a collision is detected during a sharp turn and when an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more is applied in the vehicle width direction. Or, when a collision is detected during steering control during automatic operation, the first member and the second member are deployed or moved.

Preferably, the control unit deploys or moves the first member, and then deploys or moves the second member.

Preferably, the control unit deploys or deploys the first member at least when making a sharp turn, when an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more acts in the vehicle width direction, or when steering control during automatic driving. It is preferable to move the second member and to deploy or move the second member when a collision is detected.

Preferably, the first member deploys or moves to the height of the shoulder of the occupant seated on the seat to support the shoulder, and the second member is lateral to the head of the occupant seated on the seat. It is preferable to deploy or move to support the head.

Preferably, the control unit deploys or deploys the first member and the second member when there is a possibility of a collision during automatic driving control including driving assistance for the vehicle or a collision during a sharp turn. It is preferable that the first member and the second member are not deployed or moved in other cases.

Preferably, it has a detection unit that detects the position of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat, and the control unit is a detection unit of the detection unit during automatic driving control including driving assistance for the vehicle or during a sharp turn. The position of the upper body is determined based on the detection, and when the upper body has moved inward in the vehicle width direction from the seating position, the first member and the second member are deployed or moved to move the upper body. When the body is in the seated position, the first member and the second member may not be deployed or moved.

Preferably, the control unit deploys or moves the first member and the second member when there is a possibility of a collision during steering control by automatic driving control including driving assistance for the vehicle. In other cases, the first member and the second member may not be deployed or moved.

The present invention includes a first member 18 that deploys or moves so as to push up the upper body of an occupant who has fallen inward from the seat from the bottom to the top inside the vehicle width direction of the seat, and a vehicle from the upper part of the first member 18. It has a second member 19 that expands or moves outward in the width direction. Then, the control unit that controls the deployment or movement of the first member 18 and the second member 19 collides at least when a collision is detected during a sharp turn and an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more acts in the vehicle width direction. The first member 18 and the second member 19 are deployed or moved at the time of detecting the above, or at the time of collision detection during steering control during automatic operation.
Therefore, for example, even when the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat falls inward from the seated position of the seat before the collision during automatic driving of the vehicle, the inward tilt of the upper body is suppressed by the first member 18. be able to.
Moreover, for example, when a collision is detected during a sharp turn, the second member 19 is deployed or moved from the upper portion of the first member 18 toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, even if the head tries to fall further inward due to the collision, the head can be supported by the second member 19 from the inside.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an automobile to which the vehicle occupant protection device according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a normal occupant protection device in the automobile of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a vehicle occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an operating state in which the front airbag of the front airbag device of FIG. 3 is deployed. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the occupant protection state when deployed as shown in FIG. 4A.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an automobile 1 to which the vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 1 shows an automobile 1 as viewed from above. The automobile 1 is an example of a vehicle.
The automobile 1 of FIG. 1 has a vehicle body 2. In the passenger compartment 3 of the vehicle body 2, a plurality of seats 4 on which the occupants are seated are arranged. A steering wheel 5, an accelerator pedal (not shown), and a brake pedal are arranged in front of the front right seat 4. When the occupant seated on the seat 4 operates the steering wheel 5 and the like, the automobile 1 makes a forward, stop, reverse, right turn, and left turn.

By the way, in the automobile 1, research on automatic driving has been started in recent years. Some autonomous driving is a driving support type that simply warns or interpolates the operation of the occupant, but in the future, for example, by setting a destination, it will automatically travel to that destination. Things are expected to be realized.
Further, in the automatic operation, for the protection of the occupants and the like, for example, the front image sensor 31 arranged forward in the occupant room 3, the rear image sensor 31 arranged backward in the occupant room 3, and the left and right sides of the vehicle body 2. The right image sensor 31 and the left image sensor 31 arranged on both sides are used to observe the surrounding environment of the traveling vehicle 1 based on the images captured by these sensors, and when another vehicle 1 or the like approaches, a collision occurs. It is important to implement occupant protection control to avoid.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a normal occupant protection device 10 in the automobile 1 of FIG. FIG. 2 shows a front airbag 15 deployed in front of the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat 4.

Then, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the upper body of the occupant before the collision is located at the seating position with the back to the seat 4, the front airbag 15 can be deployed in a state of being separated from the upper body. After that, when another automobile 1 or the like collides in front of the automobile 1, the upper body moves forward from the seating position, but the upper body moving forward can be supported by the deployed front airbag 15. Thereby, the occupant can be suitably protected.
However, for example, in the automobile 1 during automatic driving, the running state of the automobile 1 is controlled regardless of the intention of the occupant such as the driver. In this case, for example, in the case of automatically avoiding a collision, the control may be performed so as to travel closer to the limit performance of the vehicle than in the case where the driver operates the vehicle 1. For example, immediately before a collision, in order to avoid a collision, steering control at the limit of the limit performance may be performed to try to avoid the collision.

Then, for example, in a situation where the driving is controlled near the limit performance of the vehicle in this way, when the collision cannot be actually avoided, compared with the case where the collision is avoided under the steering of the driver. There is a possibility that a collision will occur under a situation different from that of the current automobile 1.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 may have moved inward from the seating position of the seat 4 under the situation of making a sharp turn by automatic driving. .. Then, if a collision occurs in a situation where the upper body has moved inward from the seating position of the seat 4 before the collision, the upper body of the occupant will move significantly inward from the seating position of the seat 4. It will be.
In addition to this, for example, in the case of an occupant who is distracted by something other than a collision and is not prepared for a collision, the upper body of the occupant moves significantly inward beyond the range of movement normally expected at the time of a collision. There is a possibility that it will end up.
As described above, it is expected that a vehicle such as the automobile 1 needs to have a occupant protection function different from that of the current automobile 1 during automatic driving, for example.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of a vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Further, FIG. 3 shows an automatic operation control device 30 together with the occupant protection device 10. The automatic driving control device 30 includes various types of vehicle exterior imaging sensors 31, an automatic driving control unit 32, a steering actuator 33, a brake actuator 34, and a power source 35, as described above.
The steering actuator 33 steers the automobile 1 instead of the steering wheel 5. The brake actuator 34 brakes the automobile 1 instead of the brake pedal. The power source 35 is, for example, a gasoline engine or an electric motor. The automatic driving control unit 32 controls the steering actuator 33, the brake actuator 34, and the power source 35 according to, for example, a traveling path to the destination. Further, an approaching object is identified based on the image of the external image sensor 31, and if a collision with the approaching object is expected, the steering actuator 33, the brake actuator 34, and the power source 35 are controlled so as to avoid the collision. To do.

The occupant protection device 10 of FIG. 3 includes an occupant position sensor 11, a G sensor 12, an occupant protection control unit 13, a front airbag device 14, and an inward fall suppression device 17.

The occupant position sensor 11 detects the position of the head or upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4. Based on the seating position with the back on the seat 4, the amount of movement forward or the amount of movement to the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction is detected. The occupant position sensor 11 may be composed of, for example, a plurality of proximity sensors arranged in the detection direction.

The G sensor 12 detects the acceleration acting on the automobile 1. The direction of the detected acceleration may be the front-back direction, the left-right direction, or the up-down direction.

The front airbag device 14 includes a front airbag 15 that deploys in front of the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat 4, and an inflator 16 that discharges gas into the front airbag 15.

The inward fall suppressing device 17 is arranged at the central portion of the vehicle body 2 which is on the central side in the vehicle width direction from the seat 4. As will be described later, the inward fall suppressing device 17 deploys or moves the inward tilt suppressing member by the first member 18 and the second member 19, which will be described later, inside the vehicle width direction for the occupant seated on the seat 4. The inversion suppression device 17 may be arranged in, for example, a center console box.

The vehicle exterior image sensor 31, the automatic driving control unit 32, the G sensor 12, the occupant position sensor 11, the front airbag device 14, and the inward fall suppression device 17 are connected to the occupant protection control unit 13.
Then, the occupant protection control unit 13 controls the operation of the occupant protection device 10 according to, for example, the traveling state of the automobile 1. Specifically, it controls the operation of the front airbag device 14 and the inward fall suppressing device 17.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an operating state in which the front airbag 15 of the front airbag device 14 of FIG. 3 is deployed.

The occupant protection control unit 13 determines the traveling state of the automobile 1 when the occupant is in the automobile 1. The occupant protection control unit 13 determines whether or not the vehicle is in automatic operation based on, for example, an automatic operation operation signal from the automatic operation control unit 32.
Further, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines the presence or absence of an approaching object based on the image of the vehicle exterior image sensor 31, and further determines the possibility of collision with the approaching object.
Further, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines whether or not the automobile 1 is making a sharp turn based on the detected acceleration of the G sensor 12.
Further, in the occupant protection control unit 13, the upper body of the occupant is on the center side in the vehicle width direction from the seating position based on the detection value of the occupant position sensor 11 or the information of the automatic driving control status from the automatic driving control unit 32. Judge or estimate whether or not it has moved significantly inward. The occupant protection control unit 13 may determine this movement based on whether or not it exceeds the normally assumed range of FIG. 2 (A).

Then, when there is a possibility of a collision during automatic driving control, a collision may occur during a sharp turn, and the upper body has moved significantly outward before the collision, the occupant protection control unit 13 , As shown in FIG. 4A, the first member 18 and the second member 19 of the front airbag 15 and the inward fall suppressing device 17 are deployed.

On the other hand, in any of the above cases, when the upper body before the collision is in the seated position, the occupant protection control unit 13 deploys the front airbag 15 as shown in FIG. 4 (B).

In addition to this, for example, the occupant protection control unit 13 deploys the first member 18 and the second member 19 when there is a possibility of a collision during steering control by automatic driving control including driving support for the automobile 1. Alternatively, it may be movable, and in other cases, the first member 18 and the second member 19 may not be deployed or moved.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of the occupant protection state when deployed as shown in FIG. 4A.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 tends to tilt inward toward the center in the vehicle width direction, for example, in the case of a sharp turn.

Then, for example, when a sharp turn is detected, the inward fall suppressing device 17 first deploys the first member 18 as shown in FIG. 5 (B). The first member 18 is deployed or moved from the bottom to the top along the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 from near the height of the seat surface of the seat 4 on the inside of the seat 4 in the vehicle width direction. The first member 18 supports the shoulder portion by deploying or moving to the height of the shoulder portion of the occupant seated on the seat 4. The upper body to be tilted inward is pushed up from below by the first member 18. Inner fall of the upper body is suppressed.

Further, for example, when a collision is detected during a sharp turn, the inward fall suppressing device 17 further deploys the second member 19 as shown in FIG. 5C. The second member 19 expands or moves outward in the vehicle width direction from the upper part of the first member 18. The second member 19 deploys or moves to the side of the head of the occupant seated on the seat 4. As a result, the head of the upper body supported by the first member 18 can be supported by the second member 19 so as not to fall inward.
The first member 18 and the second member 19 may be formed of a member such as urethane having a cushioning property, or may be formed of an airbag.
Further, the first member 18 and the second member 19 also detect a collision, for example, at least when a collision is detected during a sharp turn, while an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more is applied in the vehicle width direction. It may be deployed or moved at the time, or at the time of collision detection during steering control during automatic operation.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the first member 18 that deploys or moves so as to push up the upper body of the occupant who has fallen inward from the seat 4 from the bottom to the top inside the vehicle width direction with respect to the seat 4. It has a second member 19 that expands or moves outward in the vehicle width direction from the upper part of the first member 18. Then, the control unit that controls the deployment or movement of the first member 18 and the second member 19 collides at least when a collision is detected during a sharp turn and an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more acts in the vehicle width direction. The first member 18 and the second member 19 are deployed or moved at the time of detecting the above, or at the time of collision detection during steering control during automatic operation.
Therefore, for example, even when the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat falls inward from the seated position of the seat before the collision during automatic driving of the vehicle, the inward tilt of the upper body is suppressed by the first member 18. be able to.
Moreover, for example, when a collision is detected during a sharp turn, the second member 19 is deployed or moved from the upper portion of the first member 18 toward the outside in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, even if the head tries to fall further inward due to the collision, the head can be supported by the second member 19 from the inside.

In the present embodiment, the first member 18 is deployed at least when making a sharp turn, when an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more acts in the vehicle width direction, or when steering control during automatic driving, that is, before collision detection. Or move it. Therefore, even if the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 moves inward from the seating position of the seat 4 before the collision, for example, during the automatic driving of the vehicle, the movement of the upper body is performed. It can be suppressed by the first member 18.

In the present embodiment, the first member 18 deploys or moves to the height of the shoulder of the occupant seated on the seat 4 to support the shoulder, and the second member 19 supports the head of the occupant seated on the seat 4. It can be deployed or moved laterally to support the head. Therefore, the first member 18 can support the chest and the like, and the second member 19 can support the head and support the entire upper body.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 13 deploys the first member 18 and the second member 19 when there is a possibility of a collision during automatic driving control including driving assistance for the automobile 1 or a collision during a sharp turn. Or move it, otherwise do not deploy or move the first member 18 and the second member 19. Therefore, the first member 18 and the second member 19 are appropriate according to the respective states regardless of whether the upper body of the occupant before the collision is in the seating position of the seat 4 or is moved inward from the seating position. Can exert a good occupant protection function.

Further, in a situation where the automatic driving control unit 32 is executing steering control in automatic driving control including driving support for the automobile 1, the occupant protection control unit 13 is the first member 18 and the second member based on the possibility of collision. The same applies to the case where 19 is controlled to be deployed or moved.

In the present embodiment, the occupant position sensor 11 detects the position of the occupant's upper body seated on the seat 4. Therefore, the position of the upper body of the occupant before the collision can be actually detected, and the first member 18 and the second member 19 can be appropriately deployed or moved according to the respective positions.

The above embodiments are examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications or modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

1 ... Automobile (vehicle)
2 ... Body 3 ... Passenger room 4 ... Seat 5 ... Handle 10 ... Crew protection device 11 ... Crew position sensor 12 ... G sensor 13 ... Crew protection control unit 14 ... Front airbag device 15 ... Front airbag 16 ... Inflator 17 ... Tilt suppression device 18 ... First member 19 ... Second member 30 ... Automatic operation control device 31 ... Image sensor 32 ... Automatic operation control unit 33 ... Steering actuator 34 ... Brake actuator 35 ... Power source

Claims (7)

The seat on which the occupant sits in the vehicle and
Inside the seat in the vehicle width direction, a first member that deploys or moves so as to push up the upper body of an occupant who has fallen inward from the seat from bottom to top.
A second member that expands or moves outward from the upper part of the first member in the vehicle width direction,
A control unit that controls the deployment or movement of the first member and the second member,
Have,
The control unit
At least, when predicting a collision during a sharp turn, when detecting or predicting a collision while an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more is applied in the vehicle width direction, or when assuming or detecting a collision during steering control during automatic driving. Occasionally, the first member and the second member are deployed or moved.
Vehicle occupant protection device. The control unit
The first member is deployed or moved, and then the second member is deployed or moved.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1. The control unit
At least, when making a sharp turn, when an excessive acceleration of a predetermined value or more acts in the vehicle width direction, or when steering control is performed during automatic driving, the first member is deployed or moved.
Further, when a collision is detected, the second member is deployed or moved.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1 or 2. The first member deploys or moves to the height of the shoulder of the occupant seated on the seat to support the shoulder.
The second member deploys or moves to the side of the head of the occupant seated on the seat to support the head.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The control unit
When there is a possibility of a collision during automatic driving control including driving assistance for the vehicle or a collision during a sharp turn, the first member and the second member are deployed or moved.
In other cases, the first member and the second member are not deployed or moved.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. It has a detection unit that detects the position of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat.
The control unit
The position of the upper body is determined based on the detection of the detection unit during automatic driving control including driving assistance for the vehicle or during a sharp turn.
When the upper body has moved inward in the vehicle width direction from the seating position, the first member and the second member are deployed or moved.
When the upper body is in the seating position, the first member and the second member are not deployed or moved.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 5. The control unit
When there is a possibility of a collision during steering control by automatic driving control including driving assistance for the vehicle, the first member and the second member are deployed or moved.
In other cases, the first member and the second member are not deployed or moved.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 5 or 6.

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