JP2005035422A - Vehicular protecting device upon collision - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform proper protection for a specified collision object, such as walkers. <P>SOLUTION: When a vehicle collides with a walker, a microcomputer 30 detects the collision based on a displacement amount detected by a bumper sensor 21 and acceleration detected by left and right front acceleration sensors 22 and 23, and a walker is protected by operating left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 and jumping up the rear part of a hood 11. When it is detected by a hood opening closing switch 24 that the hood 11 is in an opening state and right after the hood 11 is closed and when a car speed detected by a car speed sensor 25 is less than a given car speed, a microcomputer 30 prohibits decision of collision with the walker. This prohibition avoids erroneous decision of collision of a vehicle with a walker even when a bumper sensor 21 and the left and right front acceleration sensors 22 and 23 react to strong closure or the like of the hood 11. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle collision protection apparatus including a collision target protection device for protecting a specific collision target when the vehicle collides with a specific collision target such as a pedestrian.

Conventionally, a bumper sensor composed of an acceleration sensor is assembled to the bumper, and when the vehicle collides, the deformation speed of the bumper is calculated by integrating the bumper deformation acceleration detected by the bumper sensor. Is further integrated to calculate the deformation amount of the bumper, and when the deformation speed or the deformation amount is within a predetermined range, it is determined that the vehicle has collided with the pedestrian. And when judging the collision with this pedestrian, the rear part of the vehicle hood is flipped upward to protect the pedestrian (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2002-137711 A

  However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, if the hood is closed tightly or an impact is applied when the vehicle is repaired, the bumper sensor may react to this and erroneously determine that the vehicle has collided with a pedestrian.

  The present invention has been made to cope with the above-described problem, and its purpose is to accurately protect a specific collision target without erroneously determining the collision of the vehicle with respect to the specific collision target such as a pedestrian. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle collision protection device.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that a collision target protection device for protecting a specific collision target at the time of a vehicle collision, a collision sensor for detecting a physical quantity generated by the collision of the vehicle with respect to the collision target, and a collision A component state detecting means for detecting the state of the vehicle part that affects the physical quantity detected by the sensor, a specific state using the state of the vehicle part detected by the part state detecting means and the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor; An operation control means for determining the collision of the vehicle against the collision target and controlling the operation of the collision target protection device to protect the specific collision target when determining the collision of the vehicle against the specific collision target. is there. In this case, the specific collision target is, for example, a pedestrian. Moreover, as a collision object protection device, the apparatus which flips up the rear part of a hood and the hood airbag developed on a hood are employable, for example.

  In addition, when the state that does not affect the physical quantity of the vehicle component is detected by the component state detection means for a predetermined time or longer, the operation control means is configured to use the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor. It can be configured to determine a vehicle collision with respect to the vehicle. In this case, for example, the collision sensor may be provided in the pan bar of the vehicle or in the vicinity of the bumper. As the collision sensor, a sensor that detects a load applied to the bumper, a deformation amount of the bumper, a deformation speed, a deformation acceleration, or a physical quantity related thereto can be used. Further, the component state detection means is configured to detect, for example, opening / closing of a hood of the vehicle.

  In the feature of the present invention configured as described above, the state of the vehicle component that affects the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor is detected by the part state detection means, and the operation control means is the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor. In addition, the collision of the vehicle with respect to a specific collision target is determined using not only the detected state of the vehicle component. Therefore, the collision of the vehicle with respect to the specific collision target is accurately determined. As a result, according to the feature of the present invention, the collision of the vehicle with respect to a specific collision target such as a pedestrian is not erroneously determined, and the protection at the time of the vehicle collision with respect to the specific collision target is accurately performed.

  Another feature of the present invention is that, in addition to the above feature, the vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed, and the operation of the collision target protection device by the operation control means when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection means is less than a predetermined vehicle speed. The first operation prohibiting control means for prohibiting is provided. According to this, the operation of the collision target protection device is allowed only while the vehicle is traveling. This is equivalent to the fact that the collision of the vehicle against the specific collision target is not detected only while the vehicle is traveling. Therefore, even if the hood is closed tightly or an impact is applied when the vehicle is repaired, even if the collision sensor reacts to these, the collision of the vehicle against the specific collision target is not judged, but the specific collision The erroneous detection of the collision of the vehicle with the target can be eliminated with higher accuracy, and the protection at the time of the vehicle collision with respect to the specific collision target can be performed more accurately.

  Another feature of the present invention is that, in addition to the above feature, a vehicle interior impact force detecting means for detecting a vehicle interior impact force, and a vehicle interior impact force detected by the vehicle interior impact force detection device is greater than or equal to a predetermined impact force. The second operation prohibiting control means for prohibiting the operation of the collision target protection device by the operation control means is provided. In this case, a protective measure for passengers in the passenger compartment may be separately performed, that is, processing such as deploying an airbag in the passenger compartment may be performed. According to this, the fall of the protection of the passenger | crew in a vehicle interior which arises by operating a collision object protection device for the protection with respect to a specific collision object can be prevented.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a front portion of a vehicle. This vehicle includes an engine room at the front, and the engine room is covered with a front opening type hood 11. A link mechanism 12 is assembled to the rear end of the hood 11 as shown in FIG. One end of the link mechanism 12 is rotatably attached to the vehicle body member BD, and the hood 11 is opened by lifting the front end of the hood 11 as shown in FIG. The hood 11 is locked by a lock mechanism 13 fixed to the vehicle body member BD in the closed state.

  In the closed state, the hood 11 is rotatable around a rotation shaft 14 provided at the front end. Below the left and right rear portions of the hood 11, left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 fixed to the vehicle body member BD are provided. The left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 generate a large amount of gas by igniting the gas generating agent by the ignition device, and raise the piston rods 15a and 16a by a predetermined stroke. When the piston rods 15a and 16a are raised, the rear portion of the hood 11 is flipped up with the extension of the link mechanism 12, as shown in FIG.

  Next, an electric control device for controlling the left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the electric control device includes a bumper sensor 21, a left front acceleration sensor 22, a right front acceleration sensor 23, a hood opening / closing switch 24, a vehicle speed sensor 25, and a vehicle compartment acceleration sensor 26.

  The bumper sensor 21 is constituted by a long displacement sensor (or load sensor) that is substantially equal to the length of the bumper 17 assembled at the front end of the vehicle body. The bumper sensor 21 outputs a signal indicating a displacement amount BP (or a load BP applied to the bumper 17) that the bumper 17 is displaced by the collision of the bumper 17 with the collision target. The front left and right acceleration sensors 22 and 23 are assembled to a vehicle body member (not shown) near the rear of the bumper 17 and in the left and right positions in the vehicle width direction, and detect accelerations G1 and G2 generated when the bumper 17 collides with a collision target. Then, signals representing the accelerations G1 and G2 are output. The hood opening / closing switch 24 is provided in the vicinity of the lock mechanism 13 and is on when the hood 11 is in the closed state (the state shown in FIG. 2A), and the hood 11 is in the open state (the state shown in FIG. 2B). Turn off when in)). The vehicle speed sensor 25 detects the vehicle speed V and outputs a signal representing the vehicle speed V. The vehicle compartment acceleration sensor 26 is assembled to a vehicle body member (not shown) below the vehicle compartment, detects an acceleration G3 acting on the vehicle body member below the vehicle compartment, and outputs a signal representing the acceleration G3. The vehicle compartment acceleration sensor 26 detects an impact force that acts on the vehicle compartment when the vehicle collides with a collision target.

  These sensors and switches 21 to 26 are connected to a microcomputer 30 including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a timer, and the like. The microcomputer 30 controls the left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 by executing the hood state detection program of FIG. 4 and the hood operation control program of FIG. 5 every predetermined short time.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described. The microcomputer 30 measures an elapsed time T after the hood 11 is closed by executing a hood state detection program consisting of steps S10 to S18 of FIG. Specifically, after executing the hood state detection program in step S10, the microcomputer 30 inputs a signal from the hood opening / closing switch 24 in step S12. Then, the timer count value is cleared to “0” only when the hood 11 is opened based on the signal from the hood opening / closing switch 24 by the processing of steps S14 and S16. This timer count value is always counted up with the passage of time by the operation of the timer, and represents the elapsed time since the hood 11 was closed. Then, since the timer count value is set as the elapsed time T in step S18 after the processing of steps S14 and S16, the elapsed time T also represents the elapsed time since the hood 11 was closed. Since only a short time is required as the elapsed time T, the maximum value of the timer count value and the elapsed time T may be limited to a predetermined time value (for example, about 3 seconds).

  On the other hand, the microcomputer 30 repeatedly executes the hood operation control program of FIG. 5 every predetermined short time. Execution of the hood operation control program is started in step S30, and the microcomputer 30 outputs signals from the bumper sensor 21, front left and right acceleration sensors 22, 23, vehicle speed sensor 25, and vehicle interior acceleration sensor 26 in step S32. Based on these signals, the processes in and after step S34 are executed.

  In step S34, the displacement speed, displacement acceleration, etc. of the bumper 17 are calculated from the displacement amount BP of the bumper 17 (or the load BP applied to the bumper 17). Based on these displacement amounts BP (or load BP), physical quantities such as displacement speed and displacement acceleration, and left and right front accelerations G1 and G2, the collision of the vehicle with the pedestrian is determined. For example, the determination is performed based on whether the displacement speed, the displacement acceleration, and the left and right front accelerations G1 and G2 are within a range indicating the collision of the bumper 17 with the pedestrian. If it is not determined in step S34 that the vehicle has collided with the pedestrian, “No” is determined in step S36, and the execution of the hood operation control program is terminated in step S46. In this case, the left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 are not controlled.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step S34 that the vehicle has collided with the pedestrian, “Yes” is determined in step S36, and the determination processes in steps S38 to S42 are executed. In step S38, it is determined whether the elapsed time T set by the execution of the hood state detection program is equal to or longer than a predetermined time T0 (for example, 3 seconds). In step S40, it is determined whether the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 25 is equal to or higher than a predetermined vehicle speed V0 (for example, 5 km / h). In step S42, it is determined whether the acceleration G3 detected by the passenger compartment acceleration sensor 26 is equal to or less than a large predetermined acceleration G0 (for example, about 10 times the gravitational acceleration).

  The microcomputer 30 performs the process of step S44 only when the collision of the vehicle with respect to the pedestrian is determined by the processes of steps S34 and S36, and “Yes” is determined in all the determination processes of steps S38 to S42. To control the operation of the left and right hood actuators 15 and 16. Specifically, the ignition devices of the left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 are operated. As a result, the left and right hood actuators 15 and 16 start operating and raise the piston rods 15a and 16a by a predetermined stroke. As the piston rods 15a and 16a rise, the rear portion of the hood 11 is flipped up with the extension of the link mechanism 12, as shown in FIG. As a result, even if the vehicle collides with a pedestrian, the pedestrian is protected by the hood 11 that is flipped up.

  On the other hand, even if the collision of the vehicle with the pedestrian is determined by the processes of steps S34 and S36, if the elapsed time T is less than the predetermined time T0, it is determined “No” in step S38, and the process of step S44 is performed. Without executing, the execution of the hood operation control program is terminated in step S46. As a result, the operation of the hood 11 is not controlled immediately after the hood 11 is opened (the state shown in FIG. 2B) and immediately after the hood 11 is closed. This means that even if the collision of the vehicle with respect to a specific collision target such as a pedestrian is determined by the processing in steps S32 and S34, the collision of the vehicle with respect to the specific collision target is finally denied. . Therefore, even if the bumper sensor 21 and the left and right front acceleration sensors 22 and 23 react to the shock when the hood 11 is strongly closed or when the vehicle is repaired with the hood 11 opened, the vehicle is not pedestrian. Since it is not erroneously determined that the vehicle has collided, protection against a specific collision target such as a pedestrian at the time of a vehicle collision is accurately performed.

  Even if the collision of the vehicle with the pedestrian is determined by the processes in steps S34 and S36, if the vehicle is stopped, it is determined as “No” in step S40 and the process in step S44 is not executed. In step S46, the execution of the hood operation control program is terminated. This means that a specific object such as a pedestrian can be protected by the hood 11 jumping up only while the vehicle is traveling, and the vehicle collision with respect to a specific collision object can only be performed while the vehicle is traveling. Is equivalent to no longer being detected. Therefore, even if the hood 11 is closed tightly or an impact is applied at the time of repair of the vehicle, the bumper sensor 21 and the left and right front acceleration sensors 22 and 23 react to these, and the collision of the vehicle with respect to a specific collision target is determined. In other words, the erroneous detection of the collision of the vehicle with respect to the specific collision target can be eliminated with high accuracy, and the protection at the time of the vehicle collision with respect to the specific collision target is more accurately performed.

  Further, even if the collision of the vehicle with the pedestrian is determined by the processing of steps S34 and S36, if the acceleration G3 detected by the vehicle compartment acceleration sensor 26 is larger than the predetermined acceleration G0, “No” is determined in step S42. Then, without executing the process of step S44, the execution of the hood operation control program is terminated in step S46. This means that, when a large impact is applied to the passenger compartment, a reduction in the protection of the occupant due to the rear part of the hood 11 being flipped up is prevented. In this case, a protective measure for passengers in the passenger compartment may be separately performed, for example, processing such as deployment of an airbag in the passenger compartment may be performed.

  Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications thereof, and various modifications are possible without departing from the object of the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the above embodiment, as the bumper sensor 21, a displacement amount sensor or a load sensor that detects the displacement amount of the bumper 17 or the load applied to the bumper 17 is used. However, instead of this, a sensor for detecting the deformation speed, the deformation acceleration of the bumper 17 or a physical quantity related thereto may be used. Further, instead of the left and right front acceleration sensors 22 and 23, a displacement amount sensor or a load sensor for detecting the displacement amount of the rear end portion of the bumper 17 or the load received by the rear end portion may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the acceleration G3 detected by the vehicle interior acceleration sensor 26 is compared with the predetermined acceleration G0 in order to determine the presence or absence of a large impact on the vehicle interior. However, instead of this, the square value G3 · G3 of the detected acceleration G3 or the integrated value of the detected acceleration G3 may be compared with a predetermined value to determine the presence or absence of a large impact in the vehicle interior.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the rear jumping of the hood 11 is adopted as a protective device for pedestrians. However, instead of or in addition to this, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, a hood airbag 18 deployed on the rear portion of the hood 11 can be employed. In this case as well, the ignition control process for deploying the hood airbag 18 may be executed in step S44.

1 is a schematic plan view showing a front portion of a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A)-(C) are schematic sectional side views for demonstrating each state of the hood of the said vehicle. It is a block diagram of the electric control apparatus for drive-controlling the hood of the said vehicle. It is a flowchart of the hood state detection program run with the microcomputer of FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a hood operation control program executed by the microcomputer of FIG. 3.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Hood, 15, 16 ... Hood actuator, 17 ... Bumper, 18 ... Hood airbag, 21 ... Bumper sensor, 22, 23, 26 ... Acceleration sensor, 24 ... Hood opening / closing switch, 25 ... Vehicle speed sensor, 30 ... Microcomputer .

Claims (6)

A collision target protection device for protecting a specific collision target in the event of a vehicle collision;
A collision sensor for detecting a physical quantity generated by the collision of the vehicle against the collision target;
Component state detection means for detecting the state of the vehicle component that affects the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor;
Using the state of the vehicle component detected by the component state detection means and the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor, the collision of the vehicle with respect to the specific collision target is determined, and the determination of the collision of the vehicle with respect to the specific collision target is performed. A vehicle collision protection apparatus comprising: an operation control means for controlling the operation of the collision object protection device to protect the specific collision object sometimes.   The operation control means uses the physical quantity detected by the collision sensor when the state that does not affect the physical quantity of the vehicle component is detected by the part state detection means for a predetermined time or longer. The vehicle collision protection apparatus according to claim 1, which determines a collision of the vehicle with respect to a collision target. The vehicle collision protection device according to claim 2, wherein the collision sensor is provided in a pan bar of the vehicle or in the vicinity of the bumper, and the component state detection means detects opening / closing of a hood of the vehicle. Vehicle speed detection means for detecting the vehicle speed;
The first operation prohibiting control means for prohibiting the operation of the collision target protection device by the operation control means when the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting means is less than a predetermined vehicle speed. The collision protection device described in one. A vehicle interior impact force detecting means for detecting a vehicle interior impact force;
And a second operation prohibition control means for prohibiting the operation of the collision target protection device by the operation control means when the vehicle interior impact force detected by the vehicle interior impact force detection means is greater than or equal to a predetermined impact force. Item 5. The vehicle collision protection device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. The vehicle collision protection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the specific collision target is a pedestrian.

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