JP2005254923A - Vehicular shock-eliminating device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular shock-eliminating device capable of controlling a vehicle so that an object to be collided collides with a portion of high shock-eliminating degree when the collision is inevitable. <P>SOLUTION: The vehicular shock-eliminating device predicts the possibility of the collision of a vehicle with an object to be collided, and controls the vehicle so that the collision occurs at a part of high shock-eliminating degree of the shock on the object if the collision is predicted to be inevitable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an impact buffer device for a vehicle that performs steering, controls a traveling speed, or performs a spin motion regardless of a driver's operation when a collision with a collision target is unavoidable.

There has been proposed an invention in which a collision target is detected, and when the probability of a collision with the collision target is high, braking is automatically performed and steering is performed by controlling a steering device. According to the present invention, since the vehicle is steered when a collided body is detected, it is possible to avoid a collision with the collided body or the like regardless of the driver's steering (for example, Patent Document 1). reference.).
JP 2003-6620 A

  However, the invention described in Patent Document 1 does not describe the case where the collision cannot be avoided even if the vehicle is steered so as to avoid the collision. During actual travel, even if braking by the automatic brake device or steering for collision avoidance is performed, a situation in which a collision with a collision target cannot be avoided may occur.

  If the collision cannot be avoided, the impact on the impacted body may not be buffered by colliding with the upper part of the suspension tower or a portion with a low shock buffering degree such as the wiper pivot. Therefore, the invention described in Patent Document 1 has a disadvantage that the collision target may collide with a portion having a low shock buffering degree.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle shock absorber that controls a vehicle so that a collision target collides with a portion having a high shock buffer when a collision is unavoidable.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a collision prediction unit that predicts the possibility of collision between a vehicle and a collided object, and a buffer for shocks to a collided object when the collision prediction unit predicts that a collision is unavoidable. There is provided a vehicle shock absorbing device comprising vehicle control means for controlling the vehicle so as to collide with a portion having a high degree. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when a collision is unavoidable, the impact buffer device of a vehicle which controls a vehicle so that a to-be-collised body collides with the site | part with a high shock buffering degree can be provided.

  In one aspect of the present invention, when the collision prediction unit predicts that a collision is unavoidable, the vehicle control unit further includes a collision part prediction unit that predicts a collision part of the vehicle that the collision target collides with, Based on the shock buffering degree of the collision predicted part predicted by the collision part predicting means, the vehicle is controlled so as to collide at a part where the buffering degree of the shock to the collision object is higher than the buffering degree of the collision predicted part. It is characterized by. According to the present invention, it is possible to predict the collision site and control the vehicle so that the vehicle collides at a site having a higher degree of buffer than the predicted collision site.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control means controls the traveling direction of the vehicle. The traveling direction of the vehicle is controlled by steering the vehicle. When a collision is unavoidable, the vehicle can be controlled by controlling the direction of the vehicle so that the collision target collides with a portion having a high degree of shock buffering.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control means controls the traveling speed of the vehicle. By relaxing or increasing the braking for avoiding the collision, the vehicle can be controlled so that the collision target collides with a portion having a high degree of shock buffering.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control means controls the vehicle so that the collision target collides with the vicinity of the center of the hood panel. As a result, the vehicle can be controlled so as to collide with the collision target in the vicinity of the center of the hood panel having a high shock buffering degree. The vicinity of the center of the hood panel is an example of a portion having a high impact buffering degree, and the part having a high impact buffering degree may be another part such as a windshield depending on the shape and type of the vehicle.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the vehicle control means controls the vehicle so as to spin the vehicle. According to the present invention, when a collision is unavoidable, the vehicle can be caused to spin so that the collision target collides with a portion having a high degree of shock buffering.

  When a collision is unavoidable, it is possible to provide a vehicle shock absorbing device that controls a vehicle so that a collision target collides with a portion having a high shock buffering degree.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, based on FIG. 1, the shock buffering of the collision object when the collision object collides with the vehicle will be described. FIG. 1 shows an example of a schematic perspective view of a vehicle. When the collision object collides with the vehicle, the lower part of the collision object contacts the bumper at the initial stage of the collision. Next, the collided body falls into the hood panel (bonnet) side. The hood panel is designed to buffer the impact of the collided body that has fallen due to plastic deformation.

  However, as shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle has an engine 41, a radiator 44, suspension towers 42, 43, and the like below the hood panel 45, so that a wide space for deformation of the hood panel should be secured without restriction. It is difficult. In particular, the suspension towers 42 and 43 are difficult to shorten to secure a space such as a shock absorber that reduces vibration from the road surface, so that a sufficient space with the hood panel 45 cannot be secured. For this reason, when a collision object collides with the upper side of the suspension towers 42 and 43, the shock buffering due to the deformation of the hood panel 45 may not be sufficient. Further, the wiper pivot 48 at the lower part of the windshield 46 is a bolt portion for attaching the wiper arm, so that the shock buffering degree is low. On the other hand, in the center part of the hood panel where the engine 41 is mainly installed, it is easy to secure a space for the hood panel 45 to be deformed.

  In FIG. 1, a passenger car is taken as an example. However, in a one-box car, the front pillar and the upper end of the colliding body are at the same height, so that it may be difficult to buffer the impact when colliding with the front pillar. Thus, the shock buffering degree varies depending on the part or the type of vehicle.

  Therefore, in the impact buffering device for a vehicle in the present embodiment, the shock buffering degree around the hood panel is held in advance for each part around the hood panel. When a collision with an obstacle is unavoidable, the vehicle is steered or the speed is controlled so as to collide with a collision target at a portion where the degree of shock buffering is high. In the following embodiments, an object that may collide with a vehicle is referred to as an obstacle, and an obstacle when a collision with the vehicle is determined to be unavoidable is referred to as a collided body. An obstacle refers to any human or animal object that is moving or stopped or originally stationary on the traveling line of the host vehicle. In the drawings, according to the characteristics of this embodiment, the object to be referred to as an obstacle is also referred to as an obstacle.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of a vehicle that can control the steering angle and the traveling speed regardless of the operation of the driver. In FIG. 2, the vehicle 2 detects an obstacle, and when a collision with the detected obstacle is unavoidable, the vehicle 2 controls the steering angle and the vehicle speed of the vehicle.

  The vehicle 2 includes an electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU) 10 and is controlled by the ECU 10. When the driver steers by the steering 14, the wheels FR and FL connected by the tie rod 23 are directed in a desired traveling direction via the gear box 11. Even if the driver does not operate, the motor 12 receives a control signal from the ECU 10 and generates a driving torque. The driving torque drives the gear of the gear box 11 to control the wheels FR and FL to the steering angle corresponding to the control signal.

  The steering angle θ of the wheels FR and FL is detected by the steering angle sensor 13 and input to the ECU 10. It should be noted that the steering of the wheels by the ECU 10 is preferably prioritized over the driver's steering operation in a situation where collision is avoided regardless of the driver's operation.

  The speed sensor 18 detects the traveling speed of the host vehicle. The yaw rate sensor 17 detects the direction of the vehicle body and the speed at which the vehicle body direction changes. The G sensor 24 detects the longitudinal and lateral accelerations of the vehicle. The traveling speed, yaw rate, and acceleration are input to the ECU 10.

  The vehicle also includes a brake pedal (not shown) that is operated to brake the vehicle, and a brake actuator 19 that generates braking force on the wheels FL, FR, RL, and RR. The brake pedal is provided with a brake stroke sensor 21 that detects an operation amount of the brake. The brake stroke sensor 21 outputs an electrical signal corresponding to the operation amount of the brake pedal. The output signal of the brake stroke sensor 21 is supplied to the ECU 10. The ECU 10 detects the operation amount of the brake pedal based on the output signal of the brake stroke sensor 21. Further, the brake actuator 19 drives the brake by being supplied with a drive signal from the ECU 10 according to the operation amount of the brake pedal or not depending on the operation of the driver, and applies braking force to the wheels FL, FR, RL, RR. Is generated.

  The accelerator opening sensor 22 outputs a signal corresponding to the opening of the accelerator pedal. The ECU 10 detects the accelerator opening based on the output signal of the accelerator opening sensor 22. Further, the accelerator opening actuator 25 drives the accelerator by being supplied with a control signal from the ECU 10 according to the operation amount of the accelerator pedal or not depending on the operation of the driver, and the driving torque required for the vehicle is obtained. generate.

  The vehicle preferably has an ABS (anti-skid brake system), a TRC (traction control), and a yaw rate control system. ABS prevents the tire from locking due to sudden braking or the like, and TRC prevents the driving force from being transmitted to the road surface due to idling of the wheel. The yaw rate control system controls the traveling direction of the vehicle by distributing the left and right braking forces and reducing the driving force based on the steering angle, vehicle speed, acceleration, yaw rate, and the like.

  The vehicle also has a radar sensor 15 and transmits a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, or the like to detect reflection from an obstacle. The detected reflected wave is input to the ECU 10 together with the intensity and direction of reflection. The ECU 10 calculates the distance from the obstacle based on the time from when the irradiation wave is transmitted until the reflected wave is detected, and calculates the relative velocity with the obstacle based on the frequency change of the irradiation wave and the reflected wave.

The camera 16 is a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, and is mounted on a front grill or a room mirror. An obstacle image captured by the camera 16 is input to the ECU 10, and the ECU 10 detects the size and shape of the obstacle. For example, the type of obstacle, for example, an animal or a utility pole is determined from the shape of the obstacle. The camera 16 may be an infrared camera. In the case of an infrared camera, infrared rays emitted from the thermostat are detected, and then the type of obstacle is determined based on the size, shape, etc. of the thermostat. Further, based on the captured image, how much the obstacle is moving per unit time and the moving direction may be analyzed.
The ECU 10 can perform vehicle steering and vehicle acceleration / deceleration without the driver's operation based on the vehicle speed, the traveling direction of the vehicle, the traveling direction of the obstacle, the distance to the obstacle, and the like. The ECU 10 also inputs information for predicting the possibility of a collision, such as the relative distance and relative speed between the vehicle and the obstacle, the braking distance when braking by automatic braking is applied, and the amount of change in the traveling direction due to steering. And predicting the presence or absence of a collision between the obstacle and the vehicle. For example, the relationship between the vehicle and the obstacle is that the collision is still unavoidable even when the braking by the automatic brake is applied and the steering is not performed by the driver, that is, the collision is unavoidable. Predict.

  In the present embodiment, an example of a control routine executed by the ECU 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the relationship between the vehicle before the collision and the collision object. FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of a control routine in which the ECU 10 steers the vehicle according to the relationship between the vehicle and the obstacle.

  In FIG. 3, the vehicle 2 is traveling in the direction A at a speed Vc. The collision target 50 travels at a speed Vh through a distance between the vehicle 2 and L. In addition, the vehicle 2 has information regarding the shock buffering degree in advance for each part around the hood panel. For example, the upper part of the suspension device, the wiper pivot and the cowl part have information indicating the shock buffering level of LEVEL1, the windshield is LEVEL2, and the center part of the hood panel is LEVEL3. Is high). Information regarding the degree of buffering of the vehicle part is appropriately set according to the vehicle.

  In step S101, the presence / absence of an obstacle is determined based on inputs from the radar sensor 15 and the camera 16. The radar sensor 15 receives the reflected wave and detects whether the obstacle is an inorganic substance such as a metal or a living thing from the intensity of the reflection. If it is determined that the object is a living thing, the direction of the obstacle is estimated based on the reflection direction of the reflected wave. Next, the image from the camera 16 is analyzed, and the type of obstacle photographed is determined from the size and shape of the obstacle.

  In step S102, the position, traveling speed, and moving direction of the obstacle are calculated. At this time, the position, moving speed, and moving direction of the obstacle are relative to the vehicle. The ECU 10 detects a reflected wave such as a millimeter wave radar every moment, calculates the position and traveling speed of the obstacle, and calculates the moving direction from the direction of the reflected wave.

  In step S103, the position, traveling speed, and moving direction of the host vehicle are detected. The traveling speed is detected from the vehicle speed sensor 12, and the moving direction is detected by the steering angle 13 and the yaw rate sensor 17. Since the position of the host vehicle is a position relative to the obstacle, it has already been detected as the position of the obstacle.

  In step S104, it is determined whether or not a collision occurs. The moving direction of the obstacle, the moving direction of the vehicle, the relative distance, the relative speed, and the like are detected, and it is determined whether or not the vehicle and the obstacle are predicted to collide when braking is not performed as it is.

  If it is determined that there is no collision (No in step S104), the control routine ends. If it is determined that there is a collision (Yes in step S104), braking by automatic braking is applied in step S105. The ECU 10 transmits a control signal to the brake actuator 19 regardless of the driver's operation or together with the driver's operation, and starts braking.

  In step S107, it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be stopped before the collision by the braking by the automatic brake. Based on the traveling speed of the host vehicle and the traveling speed of the obstacle, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the vehicle can be stopped at a relative distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle by braking using automatic braking. For example, the ECU 10 predicts the braking distance and the time until the vehicle stops when the maximum braking force is applied at the current traveling speed. Next, the moving distance of the obstacle is predicted during the time until the vehicle stops. Whether the collision can be avoided by braking can be determined from the braking distance, the braking time, and the moving distance.

  If it is determined that a collision can be avoided by braking (No in step S107), the control routine ends. If it is determined that a collision cannot be avoided by braking (Yes in step S107), it is determined in step S108 whether or not the collision can be avoided by steering. The ECU 10 determines whether or not a collision can be avoided by steering according to a steering method registered in advance in association with the situation detected by the camera 16 or the like. For example, if the collided object photographed by the camera 16 is close to the left side of the image, it is steered to the right side. Therefore, in FIG. 3, in the situation where the vehicle is currently traveling in the A direction, the probability of a collision when steering in the C direction is predicted. The ECU 10 calculates the time to steer in the C direction based on the current steering angle, yaw rate, traveling speed of the host vehicle, the position of the collided body, the distance traveled during that time, the travel distance of the collided body, etc. It is determined whether or not a collision can be avoided by steering in the direction.

  When it is determined that the collision can be avoided by the steering (Yes in step S108), the steering is performed in the direction determined to be avoided by the steering in step S110. The ECU 10 transmits a signal for controlling the steering angle to the motor 12, and the motor 12 drives the gear box 11 based on the signal.

  If it is determined that a collision cannot be avoided by steering (No in step S108), in step S109, the vehicle is steered so as to collide with a portion having a high shock buffering degree. First, the ECU 10 calculates a predicted collision site. The collision prediction part is a part where, for example, the upper end of the collision target collides around the hood panel. The ECU 10 predicts a collision predicted portion based on the current traveling direction, traveling speed, position of the collided body, and moving direction of the collided body. For example, in FIG. 3, it is predicted that the lower part of the collision target comes into contact with the arrow X, and the upper end of the collision target collides with a part where the shock buffering level is LEVEL 1. Since the shock buffering degree of the collision predicted part is low, the ECU 10 steers the vehicle 2 in the B direction so that the lower part of the collision object is brought into contact with the lower part of the collision object at the position of the arrow Y and the upper end of the collision object collides with the LEVEL 3 part. To do. That is, the vehicle 2 can be steered so as to collide with a part having a higher shock buffering degree according to the shock buffering degree of the predicted collision part.

  According to this embodiment, when a collision is inevitable even if deceleration and steering are performed based on the moving direction of the obstacle and the traveling direction of the vehicle, the vehicle is steered without being operated by the driver. The impact of the body can be made to collide with a part that can be buffered.

  In the first embodiment, the vehicle is collided with the collided body at a portion where the impact of the collided body can be buffered by steering the vehicle regardless of the driver's operation. In the second embodiment, an impact buffering device that causes the vehicle and the impacted body to collide at a portion where the impact of the impacted body can be buffered by controlling the traveling speed of the vehicle regardless of the operation of the driver will be described. In the second embodiment as well, the vehicle has information about the shock buffering degree for each part around the hood panel.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of a control routine in which the ECU 10 controls the traveling speed in accordance with the relationship between the vehicle and the obstacle. Steps S101 to S105 are the same as those in the flowchart of FIG. 4 and will be described briefly. First, the ECU 10 determines the type of an obstacle based on inputs from the radar sensor 15 and the camera 16 (step S101). When the obstacle type is determined, the position, moving speed, and moving direction of the obstacle are calculated (step S102). Next, the ECU 10 detects the position, traveling speed, and moving direction of the host vehicle, and determines whether or not the vehicle and the obstacle are predicted to collide when the vehicle is not steered (steps S103 and S104). If it is determined that there is a collision, braking by automatic braking is applied (step S105).

  In step S201, a predicted collision site is calculated. The ECU 10 first calculates the vehicle speed when the vehicle collides with the collision target. The ECU 10 detects the vehicle speed, the distance to the collision target, the traveling direction of the vehicle, the movement direction of the collision target, the movement speed of the collision target, and the acceleration. The ECU 10 calculates the vehicle speed when the vehicle is suddenly braked by an automatic brake or a driver's operation and collides with a collision target at the maximum deceleration by ABS or the like.

  Next, the ECU 10 predicts a predicted collision portion when the vehicle collides with a collision target at a vehicle speed predicted at the time of the collision. For example, according to the size and shape of the collision object, a database in which the vehicle speed at the time of the collision is associated with the predicted collision part is provided, and the predicted collision part is predicted by referring to the database. If the vehicle speed becomes zero (stops) at the time of a collision, it is not necessary to predict the collision predicted portion.

  In step S202, the degree of impact buffering of the predicted collision site is determined. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing that the upper end of the collision target is predicted to collide with the cowl 63 when the vehicle speed predicted at the time of the collision is V1. According to FIG. 3, the cowl 63 has a shock buffering level of LEVEL 1, and therefore, it is determined that the cowl 63 collides with a portion having a low shock buffering level.

  If it is determined that the vehicle collides with a portion having a low shock buffering degree (Yes in step S202), braking is relaxed or accelerated in step S203. The ECU 10 outputs a control signal for relaxing braking to the brake actuator 19. As a result of the relaxation of the braking, the vehicle collides with the collision object at a speed higher than the vehicle speed predicted in step S201. FIG. 6B shows a diagram in which the vehicle collides with the collision object at a vehicle speed of V2 (> V1) and the upper end of the collision object collides with the windshield 46 as a result of relaxing braking. Since the windshield 46 has a higher degree of shock buffering than the cowl 63, the shock of the collision object can be buffered. Instead of relaxing braking, a control signal for increasing the accelerator opening may be output to the accelerator opening actuator 25, or braking may be relaxed and the accelerator opening may be increased. Further, when the braking force can be further increased, the braking force may be increased to collide with a portion having a high degree of buffering.

  When it is determined that it does not collide with a part with a low shock buffering degree (collision with a part with a shock buffering degree) (No in step S202), as shown in step S204, braking is maintained as it is.

  According to the present embodiment, if the collision is inevitable even if the vehicle is decelerated and steered based on the moving direction of the obstacle and the traveling direction of the vehicle, the braking of the vehicle is alleviated or accelerated regardless of the driver's operation. By increasing the opening degree, it is possible to control to collide at a portion where the impact of the collision object can be buffered. Since the vehicle can be controlled more quickly when braking is reduced than when avoiding by steering, this embodiment is effective when there is no room for avoiding collision by steering.

  In the first embodiment, the impact buffering device that causes the vehicle and the collided body to collide with each other at a portion where the impact of the colliding body can be buffered by controlling the traveling speed of the vehicle in the second embodiment has been described. In the third embodiment, an impact buffering device for causing a vehicle to collide with a collided body at a portion where the vehicle can be spun and the impact of the collided body can be buffered when a collision is unavoidable will be described.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic functional configuration diagram of a vehicle that can spin the vehicle regardless of a driver's operation. In FIG. 7, the same components as those in FIG. FIG. 7 differs from FIG. 2 in that it has a suspension actuator 30. The vehicle suspension generates a reaction force according to the force received from the road surface or the like. Even if there is no external force from the road surface, the suspension actuator 30 generates a force acting on the suspension substantially perpendicular to the road surface in response to a signal from the ECU 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as an acting force). Under the control of the ECU 10, the suspension actuator actively controls the suspension and controls the damping force of the absorber.

  As described above, the ECU 10 has a function of steering regardless of a driver's operation, a function of controlling a driving force such as TRC, and an ABS with an ABS or an EDB (electronically controlled brake braking force distribution mechanism) function. A function of controlling the braking force. The ECU 10 can use these functions to spin the vehicle and perform a desired motion. Further, the ECU 10 analyzes the process of entering the spin state and the movement of the vehicle in the spin state.

  FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a control routine for controlling the ECU 10 to spin the vehicle according to the relationship between the vehicle and the obstacle. Steps S101 to S107 are the same as those in the flowchart of FIG. 4 and will be described briefly. First, the ECU 10 determines the type of an obstacle based on inputs from the radar sensor 15 and the camera 16 (step S101). When the obstacle type is determined, the position, moving speed, and moving direction of the obstacle are calculated (step S102). Next, the ECU 10 detects the position, traveling speed, and moving direction of the host vehicle, and determines whether or not the vehicle and the obstacle are predicted to collide when the vehicle is not steered as it is (steps S103 and S104). If it is determined that there is a collision, braking by automatic braking is applied (step S105). Next, it is determined whether or not it is possible to stop before the collision by braking by automatic braking (step S107).

  If it is determined that a collision can be avoided by braking (No in step S107), the control routine ends. If it is determined that a collision cannot be avoided by braking (Yes in step S107), the content of control necessary for the spin motion is determined in step S301. The ECU 10 recognizes the current movement state of the vehicle based on the vehicle speed, acceleration, steering angle, yaw rate, and the like. When the current state of motion is recognized, a calculation is made as to which of the steering, driving force, braking force, and suspension action force can be operated with a control amount and a spin motion can be performed. As a result of the calculation, the ECU 10 calculates, for example, a combination of operations that can cause a spin motion most rapidly with respect to steering, driving force and braking force of each wheel, and acting force of the suspension.

  In step S302, the ECU 10 causes the vehicle to perform a spin motion. Based on the calculation result of step S301, the ECU 10 controls the steering, the driving force, the braking force, and the suspension acting force either individually or in combination necessary for causing the spin motion. As a result, the vehicle performs a spin motion.

  Fig.9 (a) shows the schematic of the relationship between the vehicle and the to-be-collised body before a collision. The vehicle 2 is traveling in the direction A at a speed Vc. The collision object 50 moves at a speed Vh through a distance of L from the vehicle 2. From the state of FIG. 9A, for example, the ECU 10 controls the vehicle to spin in the direction of the dotted line 71 (right rotation). The direction of the spin motion is determined based on the distance and position from the collision target 50. FIG. 9B shows a diagram in which the side surface of the vehicle collides with the collided object 50 as a result of the vehicle spinning. The vehicle collides with the side surface of the vehicle 2 as a result of the spin motion in the direction of the arrow 72. The side of the vehicle has higher shock buffering than the periphery of the hood panel. Therefore, when a collision with an obstacle is unavoidable, the vehicle side can be caused to collide with a collided body by causing the vehicle to perform a spin motion so that the shock buffering degree is high.

  In this embodiment, it is not determined whether or not avoidance is possible by steering. However, after step S107, it is determined whether or not avoidance is possible by steering. If the avoidance is not possible, a spin motion may be performed. When it is determined whether or not the vehicle can be avoided by steering, a spin motion may be performed after predicting a collision prediction region. In the case of predicting a collision predicted part, the spin motion can be performed only when the impact buffering degree of the collision predicted part is low. In this embodiment, the suspension is actively controlled by the suspension actuator 30 in order to perform the spin motion. However, the spin motion may be performed by the yaw rate control system.

  As described above, when a collision is unavoidable, the vehicle can be controlled so that the collision target does not collide with a portion having a low shock buffering degree. The control of the vehicle may be relaxation of steering and braking of the vehicle, or may be a spin motion.

  In addition, the braking of the vehicle may be eased and the vehicle may be steered to collide at a portion where shock can be buffered. In a vehicle shock absorbing device that can control braking relaxation and vehicle steering, when steering cannot be avoided (No in step S108 in FIG. 4), the vehicle steering or braking relaxation is selected to further shock buffer. It becomes possible to make it collide with a part with high degree. The vehicle may be steered and braked at the same time to collide with a portion having a high impact buffering degree.

  Similarly, in a vehicle shock absorber that can control braking relaxation and vehicle steering, whether or not the shock can be avoided by steering when the shock buffering degree of the collision predicted portion is low (Yes in step S202 in FIG. 5). If it is determined that it is unavoidable, it is possible to make the vehicle collide with a portion having a higher degree of shock buffering by selecting vehicle steering or braking relaxation. The vehicle may be steered and braked at the same time to collide with a portion having a high impact buffering degree.

It is an example of the schematic perspective view of a vehicle. 1 is an example of a schematic functional configuration diagram of a vehicle capable of controlling a steering angle and a traveling speed regardless of a driver's operation. It is the schematic of the relationship between the vehicle and the to-be-collised body before a collision. It is an example of the flowchart figure of the control routine which steers a vehicle according to the relationship between a vehicle and a colliding body. It is an example of the flowchart figure of the control routine which controls a vehicle speed according to the relationship between a vehicle and a colliding body. It is a figure which shows an example of the collision of the to-be-collised body and vehicle in Example 2. FIG. It is an example of the schematic function block diagram of the vehicle which spins a vehicle irrespective of a driver | operator's operation. It is an example of the flowchart figure of the control routine which controls so that a vehicle carries out a spin motion according to the relationship between a vehicle and a colliding body. It is a figure which shows an example of the collision of the to-be-collided body and vehicle in Example 3. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2 Vehicle 10 ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Gear box 12 Motor 13 Steering angle sensor 14 Steering 15 Radar sensor 16 Camera 17 Yaw rate sensor 18 Vehicle speed sensor 19 Brake actuator 21 Brake stroke sensor 22 Accelerator opening sensor 24 G sensor 42/43 Suspension tower 44 Radiator
45 Hood panel 46 Windshield 48 Wiper pivot 63 Cowl

Claims (6)

Collision prediction means for predicting the possibility of collision between the vehicle and the impacted object;
Vehicle control means for controlling the vehicle to collide at a portion where the degree of shock buffering to the collision target is high when the collision is predicted to be unavoidable by the collision prediction means;
A shock absorber for a vehicle, comprising: A collision part prediction means for predicting a collision part of the vehicle with which the collision object collides when the collision is predicted to be unavoidable by the collision prediction means;
The vehicle control means collides at a portion where the shock buffering degree of the collision target is higher than the buffering degree of the collision predicting part based on the shock buffering degree of the collision predicting part predicted by the collision part predicting part. To control the vehicle,
The shock absorber for a vehicle according to claim 1.   The impact buffering device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control means controls a traveling direction of the vehicle.   The impact buffering device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control means controls a traveling speed of the vehicle.   The impact buffering device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vehicle control means controls the vehicle so that the collided object collides with the vicinity of the center of the hood panel. 3. The impact buffering device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle control means controls the vehicle so as to cause the vehicle to spin.

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