JP7323263B2 - Occupant protection control device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device that performs control for protecting an occupant during a side collision of a vehicle.

Conventionally, vehicles such as automobiles are equipped with occupant protection devices such as airbags and seat belt pretensioners in order to protect occupants from the impact when the vehicle receives an impact due to a collision.

For example, a vehicle is equipped with a G sensor for detecting longitudinal acceleration, and when the vehicle receives an impact from the front and the longitudinal acceleration detected by the G sensor exceeds a threshold value, the driver's seat and the The front airbag in front of the passenger seat deploys. In addition, in vehicles equipped with side collision airbags such as side airbags and side curtain airbags that deploy to the sides of the driver, front passenger, and rear seats, G A sensor is provided, and when the vehicle receives a side impact and the lateral acceleration detected by the G sensor exceeds a threshold value, the side impact airbag deploys.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-195230

When the side of the vehicle collides with another vehicle or the side of the vehicle collides with a pole such as a utility pole due to the vehicle skidding, it is desirable to deploy the side impact airbag. On the other hand, there is little need to deploy side-impact airbags in frontal offset collisions, in which part of the front of the vehicle collides with other vehicles or obstacles, and in curb collisions, in which the tires collide with the curb due to the vehicle skidding.

However, in the conventional configuration, when lateral acceleration exceeding the threshold value is detected by the G sensor, the side collision airbags are not deployed even when a frontal collision or curbstone collision occurs, in which the side collision airbags are not deployed. The bag is unfolded. In order to suppress the deployment of the side impact airbags during this frontal collision and curb collision, the threshold is desensitized. In other words, if the threshold is set high, the deployment performance of the side impact airbags will decrease. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an occupant protection control system capable of distinguishing well between side collisions and other collisions and determining the operation of the occupant protection system for side collisions.

When a vehicle side collision occurs, acceleration due to deformation of the side plates of the vehicle is followed by acceleration due to impact on the frame of the vehicle. On the other hand, when a frontal offset or a curb collision occurs, even if acceleration due to deformation occurs due to deformation of the side plates of the vehicle after acceleration due to the impact on the frame of the vehicle, the acceleration due to deformation is relatively small.

The inventors of the present application have learned, by repeating vehicle collision tests, that changes in acceleration are different between side collisions and other collisions such as frontal offset collisions and curbstone collisions. have arrived at the present invention which achieves the above objects.

An occupant protection control device according to the present invention comprises a first acceleration sensor arranged at a side of a vehicle for detecting acceleration generated in the frame of the vehicle due to a collision of the vehicle, and a second acceleration sensor for detecting acceleration generated by deformation of the side plate of the vehicle. Acceleration exceeding the first side collision determination threshold value is detected by the second acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor, and the acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor is equal to or less than the switching determination threshold value, or the second acceleration sensor The sensor detects acceleration exceeding the first side collision determination threshold, the acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor exceeds the switching determination threshold, and the acceleration detected by the second acceleration sensor is the first side collision determination. activation determination means for determining activation of the side impact occupant restraint system if a second side impact determination threshold, which is higher than the threshold, is also exceeded.

According to this configuration, when acceleration exceeding the first side collision determination threshold value is detected by the second acceleration sensor and the acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor is equal to or less than the switching determination threshold value, the frame of the vehicle is detected. Since acceleration due to deformation of the side plate of the vehicle occurs before the acceleration occurs, it can be assumed that a side collision with the airbag deployed has occurred. Activation of the side impact occupant protection system is therefore determined in that case.

On the other hand, when the acceleration detected by the second acceleration sensor exceeds the first side collision determination threshold value and the acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor exceeds the switching determination threshold value, the second acceleration sensor detects the acceleration. The threshold used for determining the acceleration is switched from the first side impact determination threshold to a second side impact determination threshold, which is higher than the first side impact determination threshold. As a result, the acceleration detected by the second acceleration sensor does not exceed the second side collision determination threshold in the case of a collision in which the acceleration due to the deformation of the side plate of the vehicle is difficult to generate, i.e., a frontal collision offset or a curbstone collision. Activation of occupant restraints for side collisions is not determined. Therefore, if a collision other than a side collision occurs, such as frontal offset or curbstone collision, the occupant protection device for side collision does not operate.

Further, even if the second acceleration sensor detects acceleration exceeding the first side collision determination threshold and the acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor exceeds the switching determination threshold, the second acceleration If the acceleration detected by the sensor is large enough to exceed the second side collision determination threshold value, it can be estimated that the operation of the passenger protection device for side collision is significant. Therefore, in that case, the activation of the occupant protection system for side collisions is determined.

Therefore, side collisions and other collisions can be well separated from each other, and the operation of the occupant protection device for side collisions can be determined. As a result, it is possible to improve the operating performance of the passenger protection device for side collision (for example, the deployment performance of the side collision airbag).

Moreover, when the acceleration detected by the second acceleration sensor exceeds the switching determination threshold value, the threshold value for determining the operation of the occupant protection device for side collision is increased from the first side impact determination threshold value to the second. A configuration in which switching to the second side collision determination threshold value is possible is also conceivable. Activation of protective device is not determined. On the other hand, in the configuration of the present invention, when the acceleration detected by the second acceleration sensor exceeds the first side collision determination threshold, which is a relatively loose criterion, the occupant protection for the side collision is performed. Operation of the device is determined. Therefore, when a side collision occurs, the occupant protection device for side collision can be activated early. As a result, the operating performance of the occupant protection system for side impact can be further improved.

It is preferable that the first acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor are arranged within a range in which the impact propagates when the vehicle receives an impact from the side.

As a result, the sensitivities of the first acceleration sensor and the second acceleration sensor to collisions can be increased, and the operating performance of the passenger protection device for side collisions can be further improved.

According to the present invention, side collisions and other collisions can be satisfactorily separated to determine the operation of an occupant protection device for side collisions, thereby improving the operating performance of the occupant protection device for side collisions. be able to.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an occupant protection control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and also shows a plan view of a vehicle in which the occupant protection control device is mounted; FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle; FIG. FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining lateral acceleration during a side collision of the vehicle; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of temporal changes in lateral acceleration detected by a first acceleration sensor and a second acceleration sensor during a side collision of the vehicle; FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining lateral acceleration during frontal collision offset; FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining lateral acceleration at the time of curb collision; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of temporal changes in lateral acceleration detected by a first acceleration sensor and a second acceleration sensor during a collision other than a side collision of the vehicle; 4 is a flow chart showing the flow of side impact airbag deployment determination processing. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a logic circuit for determining whether or not to deploy a side impact airbag;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Below, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<Configuration of occupant protection control device>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an occupant protection control device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and also shows a plan view of a vehicle 1 equipped with the occupant protection control device. FIG. 2 is a side view of the vehicle 1. FIG.

A front door opening 2 and a rear door opening 3 are formed in the left and right sides of the vehicle 1, and a front door 4 and a rear door 5 are provided for opening and closing the front door opening 2 and the rear door opening 3, respectively. The vehicle 1 has a B-pillar 6 between the front door opening 2 and the rear door opening 3 as part of its skeleton, and a side sill (rocker panel) 7 extending along the lower ends of the front door opening 2 and the rear door opening 3. have

A first acceleration sensor 11 for detecting lateral acceleration, which is lateral acceleration of the vehicle 1 , is arranged below the left and right B pillars 6 or at a position close to the B pillar 6 on the side sill 7 . The left and right front doors 4 are provided with second acceleration sensors 12 for detecting lateral acceleration. The first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 are arranged within a range in which the impact propagates when the vehicle 1 receives an impact from the side.

Also, the vehicle 1 is equipped with an airbag computer 13 . The airbag computer 13 is provided with a microcomputer (microcontroller), and the microcomputer contains, for example, a CPU, nonvolatile memory such as flash memory, and volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). .

The first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 are connected to the airbag computer 13, and respective detection signals of the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 are input.

In addition, the vehicle 1 is equipped with an occupant protection device for protecting the occupants from impact when the vehicle receives impact due to a collision. The occupant protection device includes side impact airbags 14 such as side airbags and side curtain airbags deployed inside the left and right front doors 4 and rear doors 5 .

The airbag computer 13 controls deployment of the side impact airbag 14 based on detection signals input from the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 . Specifically, the side impact airbag 14 is provided with an inflator. The inflator is provided with a squib (ignition device) and a drive circuit for driving the squib. An ignition control signal is output from the airbag computer 13 to the drive circuit, and when the squib is ignited according to the ignition control signal, high-pressure gas is generated by the ignition of the gas generating agent, and the side impact airbag 14 instantly inflates (deploys). .

<Side Collision>
FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the lateral acceleration of the vehicle 1 during a side collision. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of temporal changes in lateral acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 when the vehicle 1 undergoes a side collision.

Side collisions of the vehicle 1 include, for example, a mode in which another vehicle collides with the side of the vehicle 1 from the side, and a mode in which the vehicle 1 skids or spins and the side of the vehicle 1 collides with a pole P such as a utility pole or an obstacle. There is a mode to do. In either mode, when a side collision of the vehicle 1 occurs, the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 provided on the side of the vehicle 1 on the collision side cause the acceleration to move from that side to the opposite side. Lateral acceleration of orientation is detected.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the right side of the vehicle 1 collides with the pole P, leftward lateral acceleration is detected by the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 on the right side. In this side collision, the pole P bites into the side plate of the front door 4 on the right side of the vehicle 1, causing the side plate of the front door 4 to be plastically deformed. It propagates to the skeleton including the B-pillars 6 and side sills 7 of 1. Therefore, at the time of a side collision, as shown in FIG. Lateral acceleration caused by the impact force on the skeleton is sensed.

<Collisions other than side collisions>
FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining lateral acceleration during frontal collision offset.

A front collision offset of the vehicle 1 is a collision in which a part of the front surface of the vehicle 1 collides with another vehicle or an obstacle.

For example, in a front collision offset where an obstacle Ob collides with the right side of the front of the vehicle, an impact is input to the right side of the front of the vehicle 1, and the impact moves the frame of the vehicle 1 forward and backward. , and the lateral direction component, the lateral direction acceleration toward the left side is first generated in the frame of the vehicle 1 . After that, when the side plate of the front door 4 starts to deform due to the longitudinal component of the impact, or when the vehicle 1 starts to rotate clockwise in plan view due to the lateral component of the impact, the side plate of the front door 4 is accelerated in the lateral direction. occurs.

FIG. 6 is a plan view for explaining lateral acceleration during curb collision. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of temporal changes in lateral acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 during a collision other than a side collision of the vehicle 1. As shown in FIG.

A curbstone collision of the vehicle 1 is a collision in which the vehicle 1 skids and the tires (wheels) of the vehicle 1 collide with a curbstone C on the side of the road.

For example, in a curb collision in which the right tire of the vehicle 1 collides with the curb C, first, the impact force input from the curb C to the tire is transmitted to the frame of the vehicle 1, causing the frame of the vehicle 1 to move laterally toward the left. Directional acceleration occurs. After that, the impact force is transmitted from the frame of the vehicle 1 to the front door 4 , and lateral acceleration is generated in the side plate of the front door 4 .

Therefore, even if a frontal offset of the vehicle 1 or a curb collision occurs, the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 provided on the side of the vehicle 1 on the collision side detect the acceleration from that side to the opposite side. Lateral acceleration in the heading direction is detected. However, in collisions other than side collisions such as frontal offset collisions and curb collisions, as shown in FIG. 2 Acceleration sensor 12 detects lateral acceleration occurring in the side plate of front door 4 .

In this way, the way in which the acceleration changes is different between the side collision of the vehicle 1 and the collision other than the side collision. Based on this, a program for the side impact airbag deployment determination process described below and a logic circuit for realizing the side impact airbag deployment determination process with a hardware configuration are designed.

<Side collision airbag deployment determination processing>
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the flow of the side-impact airbag deployment determination process.

The side impact airbag deployment determination process is a process for determining whether or not to deploy the side impact airbag (side impact airbag) 14 . A program for the side impact airbag deployment determination process is stored in the nonvolatile memory of the microcomputer of the airbag computer 13, and is executed by the CPU of the microcomputer at a predetermined cycle.

In the side impact airbag deployment determination process, it is determined whether or not the lateral acceleration Gup obtained from the detection signal of the second acceleration sensor 12 is greater than a predetermined first side impact determination threshold value TLo (step S11). ).

If the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the first side collision determination threshold value TLo (YES in step S11), the lateral acceleration Gun obtained from the detection signal of the first acceleration sensor 11 is equal to or less than the predetermined switching determination threshold value Tsw. It is determined whether or not (step S12).

If the lateral acceleration Gun is equal to or less than the switching determination threshold value Tsw (YES in step S12), it is determined that the main determination for deploying the side impact airbag 14 has been established (step S13).

On the other hand, when the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the first side collision determination threshold value TLo and the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw (NO in step S12), the hold timer continues. It is determined whether or not it is in the middle (step S14).

The hold timer operates when the determination that the lateral acceleration Gun is equal to or less than the switching determination threshold value Tsw is switched to the determination that the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw, or when the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw to determine that the lateral acceleration Gun is equal to or less than the switching determination threshold value Tsw, the determination result before the switching is changed for a certain period of time after the switching. It is a function to hold. Therefore, even if it is determined that the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw, it is determined that the lateral acceleration Gun is equal to or less than the switching determination threshold value Tsw while the hold timer continues (YES in step S14). The determination result is held, and it is determined that the main determination is established (step S13).

The processing related to the operation of the hold timer is executed at a constant cycle in parallel with the side impact airbag deployment determination processing. It may or may not be ongoing.

When it is determined that the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw, if the hold timer is not continuing (NO in step S14), the lateral acceleration Gup is determined to be a predetermined second side collision. It is determined whether or not it is greater than the threshold THi (step S15). The second side collision determination threshold THi is set to a value higher than the first side collision determination threshold TLo. If the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the second side collision determination threshold value THi (YES in step S15), it is determined that the main determination is established (step S13).

When it is determined that the main determination is established, it is determined whether or not the lateral acceleration Gun obtained from the detection signal of the first acceleration sensor 11 is greater than a predetermined safety determination threshold value Tsf (step S16). The safety determination threshold Tsf is a value smaller than the switching determination threshold Tsw. The value is set so that the judgment as to whether it is larger or not is not denied.

If the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the safety judgment threshold value Tsf (YES in step S16), it is judged that the safety judgment is established (step S17), and the side collision airbag (side collision airbag) 14 is Deployment is determined (step S18), and the side impact airbag deployment determination process ends.

If the lateral acceleration Gun is equal to or less than the safety determination threshold value Tsf (NO in step S16), it is determined that the safety determination is not established (step S19), and the side impact airbag (side impact airbag) is installed. 14 non-deployment is determined (step S20), and the side-impact airbag deployment determination process ends.

On the other hand, when the lateral acceleration Gup obtained from the detection signal of the second acceleration sensor 12 is equal to or less than the predetermined first side collision determination threshold value TLo (NO in step S11), it is determined that the main determination is not established (step S21). Further, when the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the first side collision determination threshold value TLo and the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw (NO in step S12), the hold timer is stopped. If the lateral acceleration Gup is equal to or less than the second side collision determination threshold value THi (NO in step S15), the main determination is also determined to be unsatisfactory (step S21). . If it is determined that the main determination is not established, it is determined that the side impact airbag (side impact airbag) 14 is not deployed (step S20), and the side impact airbag deployment determination process ends.

<Logic circuit>
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a logic circuit for determining whether or not to deploy the side impact airbag (side impact airbag) 14. As shown in FIG.

A logic circuit for determining whether or not to deploy the side impact airbag 14 is incorporated in the airbag computer 13 when the above-described side impact airbag deployment determination processing is implemented by hardware. This logic circuit includes a first main determination comparator 21 and a second main determination comparator 22 for main determination.

The lateral acceleration Gup obtained from the detection signal of the second acceleration sensor 12 is input to the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the first main judgment comparator 21, and the first side acceleration Gup is input to the inverting input terminal (-). A collision determination threshold value TLo is input. The first main judgment comparator 21 compares the lateral acceleration Gup with the first side collision judgment threshold value TLo. Then, when the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the first side collision determination threshold value TLo, a logic value "1" is output from the output terminal of the first main determination comparator 21, and the lateral acceleration Gup is the first side collision determination threshold value. If it is equal to or less than the collision determination threshold value TLo, the output terminal of the first main determination comparator 21 outputs a logical value "0".

The lateral acceleration Gup obtained from the detection signal of the second acceleration sensor 12 is input to the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the second main judgment comparator 22, and the second side acceleration Gup is input to the inverting input terminal (-). A collision determination threshold THi is input. The second main judgment comparator 22 compares the lateral acceleration Gup with the second side collision judgment threshold value THi. When the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the second side collision determination threshold value THi, a logical value "1" is output from the output terminal of the second main determination comparator 22, and the lateral acceleration Gup is the second side collision determination threshold value THi. If it is equal to or less than the collision determination threshold THi, the output terminal of the second main determination comparator 22 outputs a logical value "0".

The logic circuit also includes a threshold switching comparator 23 , a hold timer 24 and a first AND element 25 .

The lateral acceleration Gun obtained from the detection signal of the first acceleration sensor 11 is input to the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the threshold switching comparator 23, and the switching judgment is performed to the inverting input terminal (-). A threshold Tsw is entered. The threshold value switching comparator 23 compares the lateral acceleration Gun with the switching determination threshold value Tsw. When the lateral acceleration Gun is greater than the switching determination threshold value Tsw, the output terminal of the threshold value switching comparator 23 outputs a logical value of "1", and the lateral acceleration Gun exceeds the switching determination threshold value Tsw. In the case below, the output terminal of the threshold switching comparator 23 outputs a logical value of "0".

A logical value output from the output terminal of the threshold switching comparator 23 is input to the hold timer 24 . Due to its function, the hold timer 24 outputs the logical value before switching for a certain period of time after the logical value input from the threshold value switching comparator 23 switches between "0" and "1". keep doing That is, due to the function of the hold timer 24, the logic value "0" is output from the hold timer 24 for a certain period of time after the logic value of the threshold switching comparator 23 is switched from "0" to "1". If the logical value of the threshold switching comparator 23 is still "1" even after the predetermined time has passed, the hold timer 24 outputs a logical value "1". In addition, the hold timer 24 outputs a logical value of "1" for a certain period of time after the logic value of the threshold value switching comparator 23 switches from "1" to "0". When the logic value of the threshold switching comparator 23 is still "0", the hold timer 24 outputs a logic value "0".

The logic value output from the output terminal of the second main judgment comparator 22 is input to one input terminal of the first AND element 25, and the logic output from the hold timer 24 is input to the other input terminal. The value is input in reverse. In the first logical product element 25, the logical product of the logical value input to one input terminal and the logical value input to the other input terminal is calculated, and the calculated logical product is the first logical product element. 25 output terminal.

The logic circuit further comprises an OR element 26 .

A logical value output from the output terminal of the second main judgment comparator 22 is input to one input terminal of the OR element 26, and the output terminal of the first AND element 25 is input to the other input terminal. A logical value to be output is input. In the logical sum element 26, the logical sum of the logical value input to one input terminal and the logical value input to the other input terminal is calculated, and the logical sum thus calculated is output to the output terminal of the logical sum element 26. output from

The logic circuit also includes a safety determination comparator 27 and a second AND element 28 for safety determination.

The lateral acceleration Gup obtained from the detection signal of the second acceleration sensor 12 is input to the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the safety determination comparator 27, and the safety determination comparator 27 is supplied to the inverting input terminal (-). A threshold Tsf is entered. The safety determination comparator 27 compares the lateral acceleration Gup with the safety determination threshold value Tsf. When the lateral acceleration Gup is greater than the safety determination threshold Tsf, the output terminal of the safety determination comparator 27 outputs a logical value of "1", and the lateral acceleration Gup exceeds the safety determination threshold Tsf. If it is equal to or less than Tsf, the output terminal of the safety determination comparator 27 outputs a logical value of "0".

A logical value output from the output terminal of the OR element 26 is input to one input terminal of the second AND element 28, and output from the output terminal of the safety determination comparator 27 to the other input terminal. The logical value to be input is inverted and input. In the second logical product element 28, the logical product of the logical value input to one input terminal and the logical value input to the other input terminal is calculated, and the calculated logical product is the second logical product element. 28 output terminals.

When a logical product "1" is output from the output terminal of the second logical product element 28, the airbag computer 13 determines deployment of the side impact airbag (side impact airbag) 14. FIG. On the other hand, when a logical product "0" is output from the output terminal of the second logical product element 28, the airbag computer 13 determines that the side impact airbag (side impact airbag) 14 is not deployed.

<Effect>
As described above, the second acceleration sensor 12 detects the lateral acceleration Gup exceeding the first side collision determination threshold value TLo, and the lateral acceleration Gun detected by the first acceleration sensor 11 reaches the switching determination threshold value Tsw. In the following cases, lateral acceleration Gup due to deformation of the side plates of the front door 4 of the vehicle 1 occurs prior to acceleration occurring in the frame of the vehicle 1, so a side collision occurs in which the airbag is deployed. can be estimated. Therefore, in that case, the activation of the side impact airbag 14 is determined.

On the other hand, the lateral acceleration Gup detected by the second acceleration sensor 12 exceeds the first side collision determination threshold value TLo, and the lateral acceleration Gun detected by the first acceleration sensor 11 exceeds the switching determination threshold value Tsw. If so, the threshold used to determine the lateral acceleration Gup detected by the second acceleration sensor 12 changes from the first side collision determination threshold TLo to the higher second side collision determination threshold THi. can be switched. As a result, in a collision in which the lateral acceleration Gup is difficult to generate due to deformation of the side plate of the front door 4 of the vehicle 1, that is, in a front collision offset or a curbstone collision, the lateral acceleration Gup detected by the second acceleration sensor 12 is Since the second side collision determination threshold value THi is not exceeded, activation of the side collision airbag 14 is not determined. Therefore, when a collision other than a side collision occurs, such as frontal offset or curbstone collision, the side collision airbag 14 does not operate.

Further, the second acceleration sensor 12 detects the lateral acceleration Gup exceeding the first side collision determination threshold value TLo, and the lateral acceleration Gun detected by the first acceleration sensor 11 exceeds the switching determination threshold value Tsw. Even if there is, if the lateral acceleration Gup detected by the second acceleration sensor 12 is large enough to exceed the second side collision determination threshold value THi, the operation of the side collision airbag 14 is significant. can be estimated. Therefore, in that case, the activation of the side impact airbag 14 is determined.

Therefore, it is possible to determine the operation of the side collision airbag 14 by separating the side collision and the other collisions satisfactorily. As a result, the operating performance of the side impact airbag 14 (for example, the deployment performance of the side impact airbag) can be improved.

Moreover, when the lateral acceleration Gup detected by the second acceleration sensor 12 exceeds the switching determination threshold value Tsw, the threshold value for determining the operation of the side impact airbag 14 is the first side impact determination. A configuration in which the threshold value TLo is switched to the second side collision determination threshold value THi is also conceivable. Activation of the side impact airbag 14 is not determined until it rises above the value. In contrast, in the configuration of the present invention, when the lateral acceleration Gup detected by the second acceleration sensor 12 exceeds the first side collision determination threshold value TLo, which is a relatively loose criterion, Activation of the crash airbag 14 is determined. Therefore, when a side collision occurs, the side collision airbag 14 can be activated early. As a result, the operating performance of the side impact airbag 14 can be further improved.

Further, the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 are arranged within a range in which the impact propagates when the vehicle 1 receives an impact from the side. As a result, the sensitivity of the first acceleration sensor 11 and the second acceleration sensor 12 to the collision of the vehicle 1 can be increased, and the operating performance of the side impact airbag 14 can be further improved.

<Modification>
Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can also be implemented in other forms.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the main determination is established and the lateral acceleration Gun obtained from the detection signal of the first acceleration sensor 11 is larger than the predetermined safety determination threshold value Tsf, the safety determination is performed. is established, and deployment of the side impact airbag 14 is determined. The safety determination is performed to ensure redundancy (stabilization) of the operation performance of the side collision airbag 14, and may be omitted for simplification of processing.

In addition, various design changes can be made to the above configuration within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

1: Vehicle 4: Front door (side plate)
6: B pillar (framework)
7: Side sill (framework)
11: First Acceleration Sensor 12: Second Acceleration Sensor 13: Airbag Computer (Operation Determining Means)
14: Side collision airbag (occupant protection device for side collision)

Claims (3)

a first acceleration sensor arranged on a side of a vehicle for detecting acceleration generated in a skeleton of the vehicle due to a collision of the vehicle;
a second acceleration sensor that detects acceleration caused by deformation of the side plate of the vehicle;
Acceleration exceeding the first side collision determination threshold is detected by the second acceleration sensor, acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor exceeds the switching determination threshold, and is detected by the second acceleration sensor. activation determination means for determining activation of the occupant protection device for side collision when the applied acceleration further exceeds a second side impact determination threshold higher than the first side impact determination threshold. , occupant protection control device. 2. The occupant protection control device according to claim 1, wherein said first acceleration sensor and said second acceleration sensor are arranged within a range in which said impact propagates when said vehicle receives a lateral impact. When the operation determination means determines the operation of the occupant protection device for side collision, the acceleration detected by the first acceleration sensor is equal to or lower than the switching determination threshold value, and the safety determination threshold value is less than the switching determination threshold value. 3. An occupant protection control system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a safety means for determining deactivation of said side impact occupant protection system in some cases.

Images