JP2005178578A - Side collision determining device of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To exactly operate an occupant restraint system in response to the behavior of a vehicle until side collision. <P>SOLUTION: An electronic control unit U determines a side collision of the vehicle based on the outputs of deformation sensors 41a-41f that are disposed on both right and left side surfaces of the vehicle and detect deformation of the outer plate of the vehicle body and the outputs of acceleration sensors 44a-44c that are disposed in the front and rear parts of the vehicle body on the opposite sides of the position 43 of the center of gravity of the vehicle and detect the accelerations in the right and left directions of the vehicle body. Therefore, the determination accuracy of the vehicle can be increased comparing with the case that the side collision of the vehicle is determined based on one set of the outputs of the deformation sensors 41a-41f and the outputs of the acceleration sensors 44a-44c. Since the acceleration sensors 44a-44c for detecting the accelerations in the right and left directions of the vehicle body are disposed in the front and rear parts of the vehicle body on the opposite sides of the position 43 of the center of gravity of the vehicle, the vehicle behavior such as side slip or spin before the collision can be certainly detected, and the occupant restraint system C can be exactly operated in response to the vehicle behavior. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an operation of an occupant restraint device for side collision such as an occupant restraint device that deploys an airbag downward from a side edge of a roof or an occupant restraint device that deploys an airbag forward from a side portion of a seat back. The present invention relates to a vehicle side collision determination device for control.

A deformation sensor for detecting the deformation of the door on the side of the vehicle and an acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration of the vehicle are provided, the deformation sensor detects the deformation of the door due to the collision, and the acceleration sensor detects the lateral acceleration of the vehicle body due to the collision. It is known from Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-151820 that the airbag is deployed when it is determined that the vehicle has collided sideways.
JP-A-11-78770

  By the way, the above-mentioned conventional apparatus considers the deformation amount and deformation speed of the door detected by the deformation sensor and the acceleration waveform detected by the acceleration sensor when determining the side collision of the vehicle. The behavior of the vehicle up to, that is, whether the other vehicle collided from the side when the own vehicle is running straight, whether the own vehicle side slipped and collided with the guard rail or utility pole, In order to properly deploy the airbag in each of these collision modes, a large number of driving / crash tests and complex threshold settings using the data are required. It took a lot of development cost and time.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and it is possible to accurately determine a collision mode by detecting a behavior until a vehicle reaches a side collision, and to control an occupant restraint device according to the collision mode. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to reduce the traveling / collision test for controlling the occupant restraint device, which has been conventionally required.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in order to control the operation of the occupant restraint device for side collision of the vehicle, the deformation of the vehicle body outer plate is provided on both the left and right sides of the vehicle. A deformation sensor that detects the vehicle's center of gravity, an acceleration sensor that is provided at the front of the vehicle body and at the rear of the vehicle body to detect acceleration in the left-right direction of the vehicle body, and the output of the deformation sensor and the output of the acceleration sensor A side collision determination device for a vehicle is provided that includes a side collision determination unit that determines a side collision.

  The electronic control unit U of the embodiment corresponds to the side collision determination means of the present invention.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect, the side collision determination means is provided on the left and right side surfaces of the vehicle and outputs the deformation sensor that detects the deformation of the vehicle body outer plate, and the vehicle body front portion and the vehicle body with the vehicle gravity center position interposed therebetween. Since the side collision of the vehicle is determined based on the output of the acceleration sensor that is provided at the rear and detects the acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, the side collision of the vehicle is determined based on either the output of the deformation sensor or the output of the acceleration sensor. The determination accuracy can be improved as compared with the case of determining. In addition, acceleration sensors that detect acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle body are provided at the front and rear of the vehicle with the center of gravity of the vehicle in between, so it is possible to reliably detect vehicle behavior before a collision such as side slip or spin. Thus, the occupant restraint device can be accurately operated according to the vehicle behavior. In this way, by controlling the occupant restraint device according to the collision mode, it is possible to reduce the running cost and the collision test for the control of the occupant restraint device, which have been required in the past, and to reduce development cost and development time. .

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on examples of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

  FIGS. 1 to 5 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a view showing a vehicle interior surface when the airbag is not deployed, and FIG. 2 is a vehicle interior surface when the airbag is deployed. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the occupant restraint device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle side collision determination device.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the RV vehicle including the front row seat 11, the center row seat 12, and the rear row seat 13 includes an A pillar 14, a B pillar 15, a C pillar 16, and a D pillar 17, and the A pillar 14 and A front door 18 is disposed between the B pillars 15, a rear door 19 is disposed between the B pillars 15 and the C pillars 16, and a tailgate 20 is disposed behind the D pillars 17. The folded airbag 21 of the occupant restraint device C is stored in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body along the side portion of the roof 22 sandwiched between the A pillar 14 and the D pillar 17. The occupant restraint device C having substantially the same structure is provided on each of the left and right sides of the vehicle body. Hereinafter, the occupant restraint device C provided on the right side of the vehicle body will be described.

  As is apparent from FIGS. 2 to 4, the airbag 21 is formed by sewing 32 sheets of base fabric 31 of two sheets, and has a cylindrical front side and rear side extending in the front-rear direction along the upper edge thereof. Side gas distribution passages 21a and 21b, a plurality of cells 21c that branch downward from the front gas distribution passage 21a to protect the heads of the occupants of the front row seats 11, and a rear gas distribution passage 21b. , And a plurality of cells 21d for branching downward from the rear row seat 13 and protecting the head of the passenger in the rear row seat 13 by branching downward from the rear gas distribution passage 21b. A plurality of cells 21e are provided.

  A non-inflatable portion 21f to which no gas is supplied is formed in front of the occupant cells 21c of the front row seat 11, and is formed between the occupant cells 21c of the front row seat 11 and the occupant cells 21d of the central row seat 12. Is formed with a non-expandable portion 21g to which no gas is supplied, and a non-expandable portion 21h to which no gas is supplied is formed between the occupant cell 21d of the central row seat 12 and the occupant cell 21e of the rear row seat 13. Is done. A plurality of attachment portions 21 i formed along the upper edge of the airbag 21 are fixed to the roof 22, the A pillar 14, and the D pillar 17.

  The folded airbag 21 is wrapped by cloth covers 33 and 34 that are divided into two parts in the front and rear direction. Each of the covers 33 and 34 is formed in a cylindrical shape by sewing along the lower edge, and the airbag is formed by breaking the perforated rupture portions 33a... 34a. 21 allows expansion. The plurality of attachment portions 21i formed along the upper edge of the airbag 21 project upward through openings 33b formed on the upper surfaces of the covers 33 and 34.

  An inflator 35 is disposed on the side of the roof 22 facing the upper end of the C pillar 16. The gas supply pipe 36 extending forward from the end of the inflator 35 is bent downward and then bifurcated into the front and rear, and the front gas outlet 36a is connected to the front gas supply port 21j at the rear end of the front gas distribution passage 21a. The gas outlet 36b at the rear end is inserted into the rear gas supply port 21k at the front end of the rear gas distribution passage 21b and fixed at the fixed band 38. At this time, the base cloth 31 is cut into a trapezoidal shape below the front and rear gas supply ports 21j and 21k so as not to interfere with the fixed bands 37 and 38, thereby forming an opening 21m. A fixing member 39 is fitted into a portion of the gas supply pipe 36 extending in the vertical direction, and both ends of the fixing member 39 are fixed by two bolts 40 and 40.

  Accordingly, when an operation command is output from the electronic control unit U to the occupant restraint device C, the inflator 35 is activated and high-pressure gas is passed through the gas supply pipe 36 to the gas distribution passages 21a and 21b before and after the airbag 21. .., 21d..., 21e. As a result, the airbag 21 accommodated along the side of the roof 22 in the folded state is inflated, and the airbag 21 is deployed downward into the vehicle interior through an opening formed by pushing down the roof garnish with the pressure. The front cell 21c of the deployed airbag 21 protects the occupant's head of the front row seat 11, the central cell 21d protects the occupant's head of the central row seat 12, and the rear cell 21e ... The head of the occupant in the rear row seat 13 can be protected.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of left and right front deformation sensors 41a and 41b, a pair of left and right center deformation sensors 41c and 41d, and a pair of left and right rear deformation sensors 41e and 41f are provided on the left and right sides of the vehicle body. It is done. The front deformation sensors 41a and 41b are fixed to the inner surface of the outer plate of the front doors 18 and 18 on the side of the front row seat 11, and the central deformation sensors 41c and 41d are outside the rear doors 19 and 19 on the side of the central row seat 12. The rear deformation sensors 41e and 41f are fixed to the inner surface of the outer plate of the rear fenders 42 and 42 on the side of the rear row seat 13. These deformation sensors 41a to 41f detect the deformation of the outer plate of the vehicle body due to a side collision, and can employ any structure such as an optical fiber type, a strain gauge type, a pressure type, and a piezoelectric film type.

  A front acceleration sensor 44a is provided in the center of the front part of the vehicle body in front of the center of gravity position 43 of the vehicle. In addition, a pair of rear acceleration sensors 44b and 44c are provided on the left and right center of the rear part of the vehicle body behind the center of gravity position 43 of the vehicle. The three acceleration sensors 44a to 44c can detect the acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle body, and only the front acceleration sensor 44a can also detect the acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body.

  These deformation sensors 41a to 41f and acceleration sensors 44a to 44c are connected to the electronic control unit U. When the electronic control unit U determines a side collision of the vehicle from the outputs of the deformation sensors 41a to 41f and the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c. The operation of the inflators 35, 35 of the left and right occupant restraining devices C, C is controlled.

  In FIG. 5, the arrows attached to the deformation sensors 41a to 41f and the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c indicate the direction of deformation and the direction of acceleration to be detected.

  Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention having the above configuration will be described.

  The deformation sensors 41a to 41f detect that the outer plate of the vehicle body has been deformed due to a side collision of the vehicle, and how much deformation has occurred in which part of the vehicle from the outputs of the six deformation sensors 41a to 41f. I can know. On the other hand, the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c detect the vehicle body acceleration of the portion where the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c are provided. The acceleration sensors 44a to 44c detect the acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle body (hereinafter referred to as the lateral acceleration) generated by turning, side slip, spin, etc. In addition to detection, it is possible to detect the occurrence of a side collision from the vibration waveform of acceleration caused by the impact of a side collision of the vehicle.

  In this embodiment, since the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c are arranged before and after the center of gravity position 23 of the vehicle, if all the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c do not detect lateral acceleration, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling straight ahead. If all the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c detect substantially the same lateral acceleration, it can be determined that the vehicle is turning without slipping. The front acceleration sensor 44a and the rear acceleration sensors 44b and 44c If a slightly different lateral acceleration is detected, it can be determined that the vehicle is side slipping, and the front acceleration sensor 44a and the rear acceleration sensors 44b, 44c detect a lateral acceleration that is greatly different or a lateral acceleration in the opposite direction. Then, it can be determined that the vehicle is spinning. In other words, the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c arranged before and after the gravity center position 23 can know the behavior before the vehicle reaches the side collision. At this time, by considering the longitudinal acceleration detected by the front acceleration sensor 44a together, it is possible to know the vehicle behavior in more detail.

  When any one of the deformation sensors 41a to 41f detects a deformation equal to or greater than the threshold value of the vehicle body outer plate and at the same time any one of the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c detects a threshold-like acceleration, the electronic control unit U It is determined that a side collision has occurred, the occupant protection device C is activated, and the occupant is restrained by the deployed airbag 21 to protect it from the damage of the secondary collision.

  At this time, it can be known from the outputs of the deformation sensors 41a to 41f whether the vehicle has collided with the left or right side of the vehicle. Accordingly, the right occupant protection device C is actuated when a collision occurs on the right side during straight traveling of the vehicle, and the left occupant protection device C is activated when a collision occurs on the left side during straight traveling of the vehicle. Also, if a lateral acceleration exceeding the specified value is detected before a collision, or if a severe side slip is detected, it is determined that the vehicle is likely to roll over, and the occupant restraint device C is activated before the rollover occurs. Let

  As described above, the electronic control unit U detects a side collision of the vehicle based on the outputs of the deformation sensors 41a to 41f that detect the deformation of the vehicle body outer plate and the outputs of the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c that detect the lateral acceleration of the vehicle. Therefore, the determination accuracy can be improved as compared with the case where the side collision of the vehicle is determined based on one of the outputs of the deformation sensors 41a to 41f and the outputs of the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c. Moreover, since the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c for detecting the acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle body are provided before and after the position of the center of gravity of the vehicle, it becomes possible to reliably detect the vehicle behavior before the collision such as side slip or spin. The occupant restraint devices C and C can be accurately operated according to the behavior.

  In particular, since the deformation sensors 41a to 41f that do not detect the lateral acceleration are used in the present embodiment, it becomes easy to distinguish the side-sliding running mode and the deformation mode, and using a plurality of conventional acceleration sensors, It is no longer necessary to set complicated algorithms and thresholds such as taking into account differences, and tests such as the skid running mode and the diagonal bounce running mode can be omitted. Furthermore, since the vehicle behavior until the deformation due to the collision can be estimated, it is possible to appropriately estimate the behavior of the occupant in the vehicle and determine the optimum operation timing of the occupant restraint devices C and C.

  As mentioned above, although the Example of this invention was explained in full detail, this invention can perform a various design change in the range which does not deviate from the summary.

  For example, the occupant protection device C for side collision is not limited to the one in which the airbag 21 is deployed downward from the side edge of the roof 22, and the airbag may be deployed forward from the side portion of the seat back. good.

  In addition, the number and arrangement of the deformation sensors 41a to 41f and the acceleration sensors 44a to 44c are not limited to the embodiment and can be changed as appropriate.

The figure which shows the interior of a car when the airbag is not deployed The figure which shows the interior surface of the car when the airbag is deployed 2 is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. Exploded perspective view of occupant restraint system The figure which shows the structure of the side collision determination apparatus of a vehicle

Explanation of symbols

C Crew restraint device U Electronic control unit (side collision judging means)
41a to 41f Deformation sensor 43 Center of gravity position 44a to 44c Acceleration sensor

Claims (1)

In order to control the operation of the occupant restraint device (C) for side collision of the vehicle,
Deformation sensors (41a to 41f) provided on both left and right side surfaces of the vehicle for detecting deformation of the vehicle body outer plate;
Acceleration sensors (44a to 44c) provided at the front of the vehicle body and the rear of the vehicle with the center of gravity (43) of the vehicle interposed therebetween to detect acceleration in the lateral direction of the vehicle body;
Side collision determination means (U) for determining a side collision of the vehicle based on the outputs of the deformation sensors (41a to 41f) and the acceleration sensors (44a to 44c);
A side collision determination device for a vehicle, comprising:

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