JP2001260806A - Occupant crash protection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exercise the optimum occupant restraint performance of plural occupant restraint devices in rolling of a vehicle having plural occupant restraint devices. SOLUTION: A threshold value line S is determined on a two-dimensional map applying a rolling angle θ and a rolling angular velocity ω of the vehicle as parameters, and the presence of the possibility of the rolling of the vehicle is determined when a hysteresis line of the actual rolling angle θ and rolling angular velocity ω of the vehicle crosses the threshold value line S from a non-rolling region at an origin side to a rolling region at a non-origin side. Both of an air curtain and a seat belt pre-tensioner are operated in sudden rolling in a state of high absolute value |ω| of the rolling angular velocity ω, and the air curtain is not operated and only the seat belt pre-tensioner is operated in slow rolling in a state of small absolute value |ω| of the rolling angular velocity ω.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention determines whether or not a vehicle may roll over based on the roll angle and roll angular velocity of the vehicle, and activates occupant restraint means when it is determined that there is a possibility of rollover. The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for a vehicle to be driven.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art On a two-dimensional map using a roll angle and a roll angular velocity of a vehicle as parameters, a rollover area is set at a place where the roll angle and the roll angular velocity are large (an area away from the origin), and a roll angle and a roll angular velocity are set. When a non-rollover area is set in a small area (the area including the origin) and the actual roll angle and roll angular velocity detected by the sensor are plotted on a map, the history line enters the rollover area from the non-rollover area, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 7-164985 discloses a technique in which it is determined that there is a possibility that a vehicle rolls over and an active roll bar is raised.

In a vehicle occupant protection system having a seat belt device having a seat belt pretensioner and an airbag device, a vehicle threshold is based on four threshold value signals output in accordance with the magnitude of the vehicle speed and the rollover of the vehicle. A device for selectively controlling the operation of the seat belt device and the airbag device is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7-112801.

[0004]

When the vehicle rolls slowly at a low roll angular velocity, the occupant moves to the door glass side due to gravity, and conversely, when the vehicle rolls rapidly at a high roll angular velocity. As a result, the occupant is left behind in the passenger compartment due to inertia and the distance to the door glass increases. Since the effect of the occupant restraint device differs depending on whether or not the occupant is at a position close to the door glass, in a vehicle equipped with a plurality of occupant restraint devices, the plurality of occupant restraint devices are controlled in accordance with the roll angular velocity when the vehicle rolls over. Precisely control the operation of the occupant restraint,
It is necessary to exhibit optimal occupant restraint performance.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and when a vehicle equipped with a plurality of occupant restraint devices rolls over,
An object is to cause the plurality of occupant restraint devices to exhibit optimal occupant restraint performance.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a threshold value line is set on a two-dimensional map in which a roll angle and a roll angular velocity of a vehicle are used as parameters. Then, it is determined that the vehicle may roll over when the history line of the actual roll angle and roll angular velocity of the vehicle crosses from the non-rollover region on the origin side of the threshold value line to the rollover region on the anti-origin side. An occupant protection device for a vehicle capable of operating a plurality of occupant restraining means, wherein the plurality of occupant restraining means are selectively operated in accordance with a roll angular velocity when it is determined that the vehicle is likely to roll over. A vehicle occupant protection device is proposed.

According to the above configuration, there are a plurality of cases where the vehicle slowly rolls over at a low roll angular velocity and the occupant approaches the door glass, and a case where the vehicle rolls over suddenly at a high roll angular speed and separates from the occupant's glass. The operation and non-operation of the occupant restraint means can be switched to exhibit the optimum occupant restraint performance.

According to the invention described in claim 2,
In addition to the configuration of claim 1, the plurality of occupant restraining means includes:
The seat belt pretensioner and air curtain are used to activate the seat belt pretensioner and the air curtain in the region where the roll angular velocity is low, and both the seat belt pretensioner and the air curtain are activated in the region where the roll angular velocity is high. An occupant protection device for a vehicle characterized by being activated is proposed.

According to the above configuration, when the vehicle rolls slowly and the occupant approaches the door glass because the roll angular velocity is low, the air curtain that extends along the door glass does not operate, so that the air curtain does not operate. Interference with the occupant can be prevented, and since the vehicle rolls slowly, the occupant can be sufficiently restrained by the seat belt pretensioner. When the vehicle suddenly rolls over and the occupant leaves the door glass due to a large roll angular velocity, the air curtain and the seat belt pretensioner are operated without interfering with the occupant, so that the air curtain and The occupant can be reliably restrained by both of the seat belt pretensioners.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing types of rollover of a vehicle, and FIG. 2 is a graph showing roll angles θ and roll angular velocities and the possibility of rollover of the vehicle. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the relationship, FIG. 3 is a map for determining the possibility of rollover of the vehicle, FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of the seat belt pretensioner and the air curtain, and FIG. 5 is a roll angle θ from the lateral acceleration Gy. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of calculating the initial value θi of FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method of determining whether the history line is in a rollover region or a non-rollover region, FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between the roll angular velocity ω of the vehicle and the behavior of the occupant.

FIG. 1 shows types of rollover of a vehicle classified by cause. The types of rollover of the vehicle are classified into “simple rotation”, “simple rotation + sideslip speed” and “divergence” according to the vehicle behavior in the process of rolling over. , "Climbover" and "fallover." A typical rollover of the "simple rotation + skid speed" type is called "tripover", and a typical rollover of the "divergent" type is called "turnover".

"Flipover" is a rollover that occurs when one of the left and right wheels of a vehicle runs over an obstacle. “Climb over” is a rollover that occurs when a vehicle whose tire rises off the road surface while riding on an obstacle at the bottom falls down sideways. “Fallover” is a rollover in which one of the left and right wheels of the vehicle falls off the road shoulder. “Trip over” is a rollover that occurs when a vehicle skids and one of the left and right tires collides with a curb or the like due to a roll moment about the curb as a fulcrum. “Turnover” means that the frequency of the steering wheel operation is changed when the steering wheel is operated left and right alternately to make a double lane change or triple lane change, or to pass an S-shaped road. Is close to the frequency of the natural vibration of the vehicle, the roll angle of the vehicle diverges due to resonance.

FIG. 2 shows a part (first quadrant) of a two-dimensional map for determining the possibility of rollover of the vehicle. The positive value (above the origin) of the roll angle θ on the vertical axis is the right roll angle. The positive value (right side of the origin) of the roll angular velocity ω on the horizontal axis corresponds to the right roll angular velocity. In this two-dimensional map, a threshold value line S composed of a straight line descending to the right is set, and the origin side of the threshold value line S, that is, a region where the roll angle θ and the roll angular velocity ω are small is set as a non-rollover region, Anti-origin side of line S, that is, roll angle θ and roll angular velocity ω
The region where is larger is the rollover region. The history lines H1 to H of the actual roll angle θ and the roll angular velocity ω of the vehicle
When the vehicle crosses the threshold value line S from the non-rollover area on the origin side to the rollover area on the opposite side of the origin, it is determined that there is a possibility of the vehicle rolling over.

The history line H1 shows a case where only the roll angle θ is slowly increased from the state where both the roll angle θ and the roll angular velocity ω are 0 (origin), while keeping the roll angular velocity ω at almost zero. At a point a where the value line S intersects the vertical axis, the roll angle θ becomes the critical roll angle θC.
When the vehicle reaches RT, it is determined that there is a possibility of the vehicle rolling over. At this time, the center of gravity CG of the vehicle is on a vertical line passing through the tire on the outer side in the roll direction, which is a fulcrum of rolling, and this state is a static stability limit for rollover of the vehicle.
The value of the critical roll angle θCRT varies depending on the shape of the vehicle and the loading state, but is generally about 50 °.

Note that even if the roll angle θ is 0, the vehicle may roll over if a large roll angular velocity ω is acting. At this time, the roll angular velocity ω is changed to the critical roll angular velocity ω
CRT.

If the vehicle has a roll angular velocity ω in the same direction as the direction of the roll angle θ, the roll angle is promoted by the roll angular velocity ω, so that the roll angle θ becomes the critical roll angle θC.
Rollover will occur even in a state smaller than RT. For example, when the history line of the roll angle θ and the roll angular velocity ω is indicated by H2, it is determined that the vehicle may roll over at a point b where the history line H2 crosses the threshold value line S from the origin side to the anti-origin side. . The roll angle θ at this time is a value smaller than the critical roll angle θCRT.

When the history line of the roll angle θ and the roll angular velocity ω is indicated by H3, the positive value of the roll angular velocity ω immediately changes from increasing to decreasing and further shifts to a negative value. Does not cross the threshold value line S, and therefore it is determined that there is no possibility of the vehicle rolling over.

FIG. 3 shows the entire two-dimensional map for determining the possibility of rollover of the vehicle. The two threshold value lines S, S are set in the first quadrant and the third quadrant, respectively, and these threshold value lines S, S are point-symmetric about the origin in the initial state. The rollover area is not set in the second quadrant where the roll angle θ is positive and the roll angular velocity ω is negative, and the fourth quadrant where the roll angle θ is negative and the roll angular velocity ω is positive. This is because the rollover of the vehicle does not occur when the roll angular velocity ω in the direction opposite to the direction is generated.

FIG. 3 shows history lines H4 to H8 of the roll angle θ and the roll angular velocity ω corresponding to the various types of rollover described with reference to FIG.

The history line H4 corresponds to a "simple rotation" type rollover such as "flipover", "climbover", or "fallover", and the roll angle θ
And the absolute value of the roll angular velocity ω simply increase, and the rollover occurs.

The history line H5 indicates "trip over".
This corresponds to a rollover of the “simple rotation + skid speed” type, and the roll angular velocity ω is generated by the roll moment generated when the tire collides with a curb or the like in the process of skidding the vehicle.
Has increased sharply, leading to a rollover.

The history lines H6 and H7 correspond to a "divergence" type rollover called "turnover". The history line H6 indicates a rollover in a double lane change, and the absolute value of the roll angle θ diverges in the process in which a vehicle that has rolled to the right in the first lane change rolls to the left in the next lane change. Has crossed over the threshold value line S. The history line H7 indicates a rollover in a triple lane change, in which a vehicle that rolls right in the first lane change rolls left in the next lane change and rolls right again in the subsequent lane change. Diverges and crosses over the threshold line S in the first quadrant.

In the history line H8, the roll angle θ converges toward the origin before crossing the threshold value line S. In this case, the vehicle does not roll over.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a control system for operating the well-known seat belt pretensioner 11 and the air curtain 12 as occupant restraining means when the vehicle rolls over. The seat belt pretensioner 11 restrains the occupant by increasing the tension of the webbing of the seat belt, and the air curtain 12 protects the occupant's head by deploying a curtain-shaped air bag along the inner surface of the door glass. Is what you do.

In order to determine whether or not the vehicle can roll over, the electronic control unit U sends a signal from a lateral acceleration sensor 15 for detecting a lateral acceleration Gy, which is an acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle, and a roll angular velocity ω of the vehicle. A signal from the roll angular velocity sensor 16 to be detected is input. Electronic control unit U
Is used to determine the possibility of rollover of the vehicle based on the map using the roll angular velocity ω and the roll angle θ of the vehicle calculated from the lateral acceleration Gy and the roll angular velocity ω as parameters. The operation of the seatbelt pretensioner 11 and the air curtain 12 is controlled based on the value of.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the lateral acceleration sensor 15 fixed to the vehicle body has an ignition switch set to O.
The lateral acceleration Gy at the time of N is output. When the ignition switch is turned on, the vehicle is in a stopped state, so that only the lateral component of the gravitational acceleration G = 1 in the vehicle lateral direction is detected as the lateral acceleration Gy without detecting the lateral acceleration caused by the centrifugal force accompanying the turning of the vehicle. I do. Therefore, the lateral acceleration G
y, an initial value θi of the roll angle θ of the vehicle is defined as θi =
It can be calculated by sin ^-1 Gy.

As described above, when the initial value θi of the roll angle θ of the vehicle is calculated based on the output of the lateral acceleration sensor 15 when the ignition switch is turned on, the initial value θi is calculated by the variation of the roll angle θ. Is added to calculate the roll angle θ of the vehicle. That is, from the time when the ignition switch is turned on, the integral value ∫ωdt of the roll angular velocity ω output from the roll angular velocity sensor 16 is changed to the roll angle θ.
Is added to the initial value θi as a variation of
The roll angle θ of the vehicle is calculated.

The lateral acceleration sensor 15 cannot detect the lateral acceleration Gy at the time of free fall of the vehicle, and determines the lateral acceleration caused by the centrifugal force accompanying the turning of the vehicle as the lateral acceleration which is a component of the gravitational acceleration G in the lateral direction of the vehicle body. There is a disadvantage that the lateral acceleration Gy output from the lateral acceleration sensor 15 is calculated only for calculating the initial value θi of the roll angle θ of the vehicle at the time when the ignition switch is turned on, although it has a disadvantage that it cannot be identified as Gy and is erroneously detected. By using the integrated value ∫ωdt of the roll angular velocity ω output from the roll angular velocity sensor 16 for the calculation of the roll angle θ of the vehicle thereafter, the above-mentioned disadvantages can be solved and the accurate roll angle θ can be calculated. Can be.

A history line, which is a locus of coordinate points formed by the roll angle θ of the vehicle calculated as described above and the roll angular velocity ω output by the roll angular velocity sensor 16, is shown on the map shown in FIG. When the history line is drawn and crosses the threshold value lines S, S from the origin side to the anti-origin side, it is determined that the vehicle may roll over.

As shown in FIG. 8, the threshold value line S includes an air curtain inactive area S1 and an air curtain active area S2.
And separated. The air curtain inoperative area S1 is an area where the absolute value | ω | of the roll angular velocity ω is less than the threshold value ωs. In this area, the vehicle rolls slowly because the roll angular velocity ω in the left-right direction is small. On the other hand, in the air curtain operation region S2, the absolute value | ω |
s or more, and in this region, the vehicle rolls over sharply because the roll angular velocity ω in the left-right direction is large. When the history line of the vehicle crosses the air curtain inoperative area S1 from the non-rollover area side to the rollover area side, only the seat belt pretensioner 11 operates and the air curtain 12 does not operate, and the history line of the vehicle activates the air curtain. When the vehicle crosses the region S2 from the non-rollover region to the rollover region, both the seat belt pretensioner 11 and the air curtain 12 operate.

It should be noted that whether or not the air curtain 12 operates is determined by whether the history line crosses the air curtain inoperative area S1 or not.
It depends only on whether or not it crosses the air curtain operation area S2, and is not affected by the behavior of the history line after crossing. For example, in the case of the history line indicated by H9 in FIG. 8, the history line H9 first sets the air curtain inoperative area S1 to p.
To cross at a point, the seat belt pretensioner 11 operates. Thereafter, the history line H9 becomes greater than or equal to the threshold value ωs at the point q due to the increase in the roll angular velocity ω, but in this case, the air curtain 12 does not operate.

The above operation will be further described with reference to FIGS.

First, in step S1, the lateral acceleration Gy and the roll angular velocity ω are read, and in step S2, the lateral acceleration Gy is calculated.
The threshold value lines S on the map are determined according to y.
The threshold value lines S, S are determined when the critical roll angle θCRT, which is the intercept of the vertical axis of the map, and the critical roll angular velocity ωCRT, which is the intercept of the horizontal axis, are determined. In this embodiment, when the vehicle rolls over due to the lateral acceleration Gy, both the critical roll angle θCRT and the critical roll angular velocity ωCRT decrease, and the threshold lines S, S move in the direction approaching the origin, and the lateral acceleration Gy causes When rollover of the vehicle is suppressed, the critical roll angle θCRT and the critical roll angular velocity ω
The CRT increases together and the threshold value lines S, S move in a direction away from the origin. Thereby, the lateral acceleration G of the vehicle is obtained.
An appropriate rollover area and non-rollover area according to y can be set.

When the threshold value line S in the first quadrant moves in a direction away from the origin, the threshold value line S in the third quadrant moves in a direction approaching the origin, and the threshold value line S in the first quadrant moves to the origin. When moving in the approaching direction, the threshold value line S in the third quadrant moves in the direction away from the origin.

Once the critical roll angle θCRT and the critical roll angular velocity ωCRT are determined, the equation for the threshold lines S, S is given by θ = − (θCRT / ωCRT) ω ± θCRT (see FIG. 3).

Subsequently, it is determined whether the coordinate point P defined by the current roll angle θ1 and roll angular velocity ω1 is in a rollover area or a non-rollover area. That is, in step S3, the determination value θ2 is calculated by substituting the current value of the roll angular velocity ω1 into ω in the equation of the threshold value line S. The determination value θ2 is the θ coordinate of the intersection Q between the straight line ω = ω1 and the threshold value line S.
In the following step S4, the judgment value θ2 and the current roll angle θ1
If | θ2 | <| θ1 | holds, the current roll angle θ1 and roll angular velocity ω are determined in step S5.
1 is determined to be in the rollover region. FIG.
In the case where the coordinate point P is in the rollover region (| θ2 | <| θ
1 |) is shown.

In the following step S6, if the absolute value | ω | of the roll angular velocity ω when the history line crosses the threshold value lines S, S is equal to or greater than the threshold value ωs, it is determined in step S7 that the vehicle is in the air curtain operating area. After the determination, both the seat belt pretensioner 11 and the air curtain 12 are operated. In step S6, the absolute value of the roll angular velocity ω when the history line crosses the threshold value lines S, S |
If ω | is smaller than the threshold value ωs, it is determined in step S8 that the air curtain is in the air curtain inoperative area, and only the seat belt pretensioner 11 is operated to make the air curtain 12 inoperative.

In step S4, | θ2 | <| θ
If 1 | does not hold, it is determined in step S9 that the coordinate point P formed by the current roll angle θ1 and roll angular velocity ω1 is in the non-rollover region, and the seat belt pretensioner 11
And both the air curtain 12 and the air curtain 12 are deactivated.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the roll angular velocity ω
If the vehicle rolls slowly due to the small absolute value | ω | of the vehicle, the occupant approaches the door glass by gravity,
When the air curtain 12 is deployed, there is a possibility that the air curtain 12 will interfere with the occupant. However, by disabling the air curtain 12, the above problem can be solved. The occupant restraint means that operates at this time is only the seat belt pretensioner 11, but the vehicle slowly rolls over, so that the seat belt pretensioner 11 alone can secure a sufficient restraining force.

As shown in FIG. 9B, when the vehicle suddenly rolls over due to the large absolute value | ω | of the roll angular velocity ω, the occupant is left behind in the original position due to inertia. The distance to the glass increases temporarily. Therefore, even if the air curtain 12 is deployed, there is no possibility of interference with the occupant.
By the operation of both the air curtain 12 and the seat belt pretensioner 11, it is possible to secure a sufficient restraining force to withstand a sudden rollover.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, various design changes can be made in the present invention without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, the occupant restraining means according to the first aspect of the present invention is a seat belt pretensioner 11 of the embodiment.
The airbag device is not limited to the air curtain 12 and includes an airbag device provided on a steering wheel, a dashboard, a seat, and the like, and an airbelt device for expanding webbing of a seatbelt. The air curtain according to the second aspect of the present invention includes a so-called inflatable tube in which a cylindrical bag is deployed along the inner surface of the door glass. Further, the initial value θi of the roll angle θ of the vehicle is calculated using the vertical acceleration Gz which is a component of the gravitational acceleration G in the vehicle vertical direction, θi = co.
It can be calculated by s ⁻¹ Gz.

[0044]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle slowly rolls over at a small roll angular velocity and the occupant approaches the door glass, the vehicle suddenly rolls at a large roll angular velocity. In the case where the vehicle is rolled over and separated from the occupant door glass, the operation and non-operation of the plurality of occupant restraining means can be switched to exhibit optimum occupant restraining performance.

According to the second aspect of the present invention,
If the vehicle rolls slowly due to low roll angular velocity and the occupant approaches the door glass, the air curtain that extends along the door glass does not operate, so that the air curtain does not interfere with the occupant. In addition, since the vehicle rolls over slowly, the occupant can be sufficiently restrained by the seat belt pretensioner. When the vehicle suddenly rolls over and the occupant leaves the door glass due to a large roll angular velocity, the air curtain and the seat belt pretensioner are operated without interfering with the occupant, so that the air curtain and The occupant can be reliably restrained by both of the seat belt pretensioners.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing types of rollover of a vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a roll angle θ and a roll angular velocity ω and a possibility of rollover of a vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a map for determining the possibility of rollover of the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control system of a seat belt pretensioner and an air curtain.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a method for calculating an initial value θi of a roll angle θ from a lateral acceleration degree Gy.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a method of determining whether a history line is in a rollover area or a non-rollover area.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an operation.

FIG. 8 is a map showing an active area and an inactive area of the air curtain.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the roll angular velocity ω of the vehicle and the behavior of the occupant.

[Explanation of symbols]

S threshold value line θ roll angle ω roll angular velocity 11 seat belt pretensioner (occupant restraint) 12 air curtain (occupant restraint)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Osamu Takahata 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama F-term in Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (Reference) 3D018 MA00 3D054 AA07 CC50 EE09 EE36 FF20

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A threshold value line (S) is set on a two-dimensional map having parameters of a roll angle (θ) and a roll angular velocity (ω) of a vehicle, and the actual roll angle (θ) and roll angular velocity ( ω) when it is determined that the vehicle may roll over when the history line crosses from the non-rollover region on the origin side of the threshold value line (S) to the rollover region on the anti-origin side, and a plurality of occupant restraining means are provided. An occupant protection device for a vehicle that can be activated, wherein the plurality of occupant restraining means are selectively activated in accordance with a roll angular velocity (ω) when it is determined that the vehicle is likely to roll over. Vehicle occupant protection system. 2. The occupant restraining means includes a seat belt pretensioner (11) and an air curtain (1).
2), in the region where the roll angular velocity (ω) is small, the seat belt pretensioner (1) of the seat belt pretensioner (11) and the air curtain (12) is used.
2. The vehicle occupant protection system according to claim 1, wherein 1) is operated, and in a region where the roll angular velocity (ω) is large, both the seat belt pretensioner (11) and the air curtain (12) are operated. .