JP2005263018A - Occupant protection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To more surely prevent the generation of a whiplash by closely adhering the shoulder and the head of an occupant to a seatback and a headrest, respectively, when predicting a rear collision of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: This device protects the occupant sitting on a seat 100 having a seatback 102 and a headrest 101 from the rear collision of the vehicle. The device is provided with a rear collision predicting sensor 20 for predicting the rear collision of the vehicle and a sitting position moving device 30 for moving a sitting position of the occupant downward so that the shoulder and head of the occupant sitting on the seat 100 may be inclined to the seatback 102 and headrest 101 side. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for protecting an occupant at the time of a vehicle collision or the like, and more particularly to a technique for preventing a whipping of an occupant at a rear collision.

  Various techniques for preventing occupant injury during a vehicle collision have been proposed, and a typical example of occupant injury that occurs during a vehicle rear-end collision is whipping. Examples of techniques for preventing injuries such as lashing by paying attention at the time of a rear-end collision of the vehicle include those disclosed in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2. According to these technologies, it is possible to effectively prevent occupants from whipping at the time of rear-end collision of the vehicle.

JP 11-334437 A JP 2000-4777 A

  Here, the whip at the rear impact of the vehicle is caused by the burden on the neck of the occupant due to the movement of the shoulder and head of the occupant separately due to the impact at the time of the rear impact. Therefore, when the rear impact of the vehicle is predicted, it is considered that the whipping of the occupant can be prevented beforehand if the occupant's shoulder and head are in close contact with the seat back and the headrest, respectively. In the past, there has been no proposal to make the occupant's shoulder and head close to the seat back and the headrest, respectively. For example, a technology such as a seat belt pretensioner represented by a conventional occupant protection device makes the shoulder portion of the occupant closely contact the seat back, but changes in the posture of the occupant's head are considered. Absent. Therefore, for example, in the case of an occupant whose seating posture tends to lean forward, such as a stooped occupant, there is little change in the posture of the head even if the occupant's torso is pressed against the seat back, and due to the impact at the time of the rear impact The occupant's head moves separately from the shoulder, and there is no possibility of whipping depending on the sitting posture of the occupant.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to more reliably prevent the occurrence of lashing by bringing the shoulder and head of an occupant into close contact with the seat back and the headrest, respectively, when a rear collision of the vehicle is predicted.

  According to the present invention, in a vehicle occupant protection device that protects an occupant seated on a seat having a seat back portion and a headrest portion from a rear collision of the vehicle, a rear collision prediction means for predicting a rear collision of the vehicle, and the rear There is provided a vehicle occupant protection device, comprising: a seating position moving means for moving a seating position of a passenger seated on the seat downward when a rear collision is predicted by the collision prediction means. .

  According to this vehicle occupant protection device, the seating position moving means moves the seating position of the occupant seated on the seat downward when a rear collision is predicted by the rear collision prediction means. Here, since the foot of the occupant is usually placed on the floor, the position of the foot of the occupant hardly changes and the knee height does not change even if the seating position changes. For this reason, when the seating position of the occupant seated on the seat is moved downward, the entire upper body of the occupant rotates to the back side about the seating position, and the shoulder and head of the occupant are It can tilt to the headrest side. As a result, the occupant's shoulder and head are in close contact with the seat back and the headrest, respectively, and the occupant's shoulder and head are restrained from moving separately during a rear-end collision, thereby preventing the occurrence of lashing more reliably. be able to.

  In the present invention, the seating position moving means lowers the upper surface position of the seat cushion portion of the seat, and lowers the upper surface position behind the front of the seat cushion portion. it can. By lowering the upper surface position behind the front of the seat cushion part further downward, the entire upper body of the occupant can be more effectively tilted toward the seat back part and the headrest part side, and the shoulder part of the occupant And the head can be effectively brought into close contact with the seat back and the headrest, respectively.

  In the present invention, the seating position moving means can lower the position of the rear portion of the upper surface of the seat cushion portion of the seat. By lowering the position of the rear portion of the upper surface of the seat cushion portion of the seat, the entire upper body of the occupant can be more effectively tilted toward the seat back portion and the headrest portion, and the shoulder of the occupant The head and the head can be effectively brought into close contact with the seat back and the headrest, respectively.

  Further, in the present invention, the seating position moving means depressurizes the inside of the airbag when a rear collision is predicted by the airbag disposed in the seat cushion portion of the seat and the rear collision prediction means. Pressure reducing means. According to this configuration, by reducing the pressure in the airbag disposed in the seat cushion portion of the seat, the width in the height direction of the seat cushion portion is reduced, thereby reducing the seating position of the occupant. it can.

  In the present invention, the seating position moving means may include a lift mechanism that moves the seat cushion portion of the seat downward. According to this configuration, the seating position of the occupant can be lowered by moving the seat cushion portion downward by providing the lift mechanism.

  In this case, the lift mechanism can also move the entire seat downward. Compared with the case where only the seat cushion portion is moved downward, the relative movement of the occupant in the vertical direction with respect to the seat can be reduced, and the uncomfortable feeling for the occupant when the lift mechanism is operated can be reduced.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when a rear collision of the vehicle is predicted, the shoulder and head of the occupant are brought into close contact with the seat back and the headrest, respectively, and the occurrence of lashing can be prevented more reliably. Can do.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control unit of an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of a vehicle seat 100 on which the occupant protection device is mounted. Referring to FIG. 1, ECU 10 is a device that controls the entire occupant protection device, and includes an arithmetic device such as a CPU, a storage means such as a RAM, a storage means such as an EEPROM, and data of peripheral devices. It consists of an interface that performs input and output. A storage means such as a RAM constitutes a work area of an arithmetic device such as a CPU and is used to store temporary data. A storage means such as an EEPROM is used for storing fixed data such as a program to be described later. The rear collision prediction sensor 20 is a sensor for predicting a rear collision of the vehicle on which the occupant protection device of this embodiment is mounted. For example, the distance between an object behind the vehicle and the vehicle by ultrasonic waves, radio waves, lasers, or the like. Detect relative speed and so on.

The seating position moving device 30 is configured so that the shoulder and head of the occupant seated on the seat 100 are seat back portion 102 and headrest portion 101 when the rear impact of the vehicle is predicted based on the detection result of the rear impact prediction sensor 20. It is a device that moves the seating position of the occupant downward so that it tilts to the side, and its operation is controlled by the ECU 10. The seating position moving device 30 can be provided for each seat in the vehicle. Details will be described later. The collision sensor 40 is a sensor that detects whether or not a rear collision of the vehicle has actually occurred. For example, the collision sensor 40 is an acceleration sensor or the like. The collision sensor 40 is used to reset the seating position moving device 30 when a rear collision is not actually detected after the seating position moving device 30 is actuated. The seat distance sensor 50 includes a distance between the occupant seated on the seat 100, the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, that is, a distance between the shoulder portion of the occupant and the seat back portion 102, and the occupant's head. This is a sensor that detects the distance from the headrest unit 101, such as an ultrasonic sensor. As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the seat distance sensor 50 is provided in each of the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, but at least one of them, preferably at least provided in the seat back portion 102. Good. The detection result of the seat distance sensor 50 is used to determine whether or not to restrict the operation of the seating position moving device 30.

  The weight detection sensor 60 is a sensor that detects the physique (weight here) of an occupant seated on the seat 100, and is, for example, a pressure sensor. The detection result of the weight detection sensor 60 is used to change the control amount for the sitting position moving device 30. The information on the occupant's physique is not detected by such sensors, but can be stored and set for each occupant scheduled in the storage means in the ECU 10 or in the external storage means connected to the ECU 10. You may leave it. The seat back tilt angle sensor 70 is a sensor for detecting the tilt angle of the seat back portion 102 toward the rear of the vehicle, and is disposed in the vicinity of the rotation shaft below the seat back portion 102 as shown in FIG. The detection result of the seat back inclination angle sensor 70 is used to determine whether or not to restrict the operation of the seating position moving device 30.

  The belt pretensioning motor 80 constitutes a pretensioner that winds up the seat belt 81. When a rear collision of the vehicle is predicted, the belt pretensioning motor 80 winds up the seat belt 81 and biases the occupant toward the seat back portion 102. , Restrain the occupant slightly. FIG. 3 (c) is a diagram showing a state when the seat belt 81 is wound up. When a rear collision of the vehicle is predicted, the seat belt 81 is wound up as shown by an arrow in FIG. It is biased toward the back portion 102 side. The active headrest operation restriction solenoid 90 (hereinafter simply referred to as a solenoid 90) is a device for restricting the operation of the active headrest mechanism. First, the active headrest mechanism in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  The active headrest mechanism is means for moving the headrest portion 101 forward of the vehicle in order to protect the occupant from the rear impact of the vehicle. In this embodiment, the rear impact of the vehicle actually occurs and the occupant's back is the seat back portion. The headrest portion 101 is moved forward of the vehicle (that is, toward the head of the occupant) by using an impact that collides with 102. As shown in FIG. 2, the headrest portion 101 is supported by a support column 91 with respect to the seat back portion 102. A headrest portion 101 is attached to the upper end of the support post 91, and a pressing plate 92 is attached to the lower end. The central portion of the support post 91 is pivotally supported by the shaft portion 93 in the seat back portion, and rotates around the shaft portion 93. It is possible. FIG. 3A is an explanatory diagram when the active headrest mechanism is operated. As shown in the figure, when the rear collision of the vehicle actually occurs, the occupant is pressed against the seat back 102 for a moment by the impact. If it does so, the impact which a passenger | crew's back will collide with the seat back part 102 will be transmitted to the press plate 92, and the press plate 92 will move from the normal position shown with the broken line of the figure to the back position shown with a continuous line. As a result, the support column 91 rotates around the shaft portion 93 in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing, and the headrest portion 101 moves toward the head of the occupant. As a result, the passenger's head is easily protected by the headrest portion 101.

  Next, the operation restriction of the active headrest mechanism by the solenoid 90 will be described. The solenoid 90 includes a projecting portion 90 ′, which normally projects little from the main body of the solenoid 90, but projects upward when the solenoid 90 is operated. FIG. 3B is an explanatory diagram when the solenoid 90 is operated. As shown in the figure, when the solenoid 90 is operated, the protruding portion 90 ′ protrudes upward and is positioned behind the pressing plate 92. For this reason, the pressing plate 92 is restricted from moving rearward, and the support column 91 does not rotate around the rotating portion 93 at all, or only a small amount can rotate. For this reason, even if an impact acts on the pressing plate 92, the headrest portion 101 does not move at all to the occupant's head side or hardly moves. As described above, the solenoid 90 has been described as the active headrest mechanism and the means for restricting the operation thereof. However, the active headrest mechanism is not limited to this, and various configurations can be adopted. Without limitation, various configurations can be adopted according to the active headrest mechanism employed.

  Next, the seating position moving device 30 will be described. In the case of the present embodiment, the seating position moving device 30 includes two airbags 31a and 31b (hereinafter referred to as the airbags 31a and 31b, respectively) disposed on the front side and the rear side of the seat cushion portion 103 in the seat cushion portion 103 as shown in FIG. , Generically referred to as airbag 31) and blowers 32a and 32b (hereinafter collectively referred to as blower 32) provided for each airbag 31a and 31b, and for blowing and discharging air to each airbag 31a and 31b. And valves 33a and 33b (hereinafter collectively referred to as valves 33) provided between the airbags 31a and 31b and the corresponding blowers 32a and 32b.

  The airbag 31 is normally in an inflated state filled with air, and the width of the seat cushion portion 103 in the height direction is kept constant by the internal pressure. The valve 33 is normally closed and prevents air from being released from the airbag 31, while being opened at the time of prediction of a rear collision, the inside of the airbag 31 is decompressed. The blower 32 includes, for example, a motor and a fan that is rotationally driven by the motor, and rotates the fan so that the air in the airbag 31 is discharged at the time of prediction of a rear collision. That is, the valve 33 and the blower 32 function as a decompression unit that decompresses the interior of the airbag 31 at the time of prediction of a rear collision. By reducing the pressure inside the airbag 31, the width in the height direction of the seat cushion portion 103 is reduced, and thereby the seating position of the occupant can be lowered. Although the pressure inside the airbag 31 can be reduced only by opening the valve 33, the air inside the airbag 31 can be more effectively reduced by discharging the air inside the airbag 31 with the blower 32. Further, since the blower 32 is provided, it can be reset after the seating position moving device 30 is actuated. In other words, with the valve 33 open, the blower 32 fan is reversed to inject air into the air bag 31 once depressurized, inflated, and then close the valve 33 to restore the air bag 31 to the original position. It is possible to return to the state. As a result, the width in the height direction of the seat cushion portion 103 is restored.

  Here, the effect | action of the seating position moving apparatus 30 using the airbag 31 is demonstrated with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing the seating posture of the occupant when the pressure reduction in the airbag 31 is started, and FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the seating posture of the occupant when the pressure inside the airbag 31 is sufficiently decompressed. It is. As shown in FIG. 4A, first, the valve 33 is opened, the blower 32 is activated, and the air in the airbag 31 is discharged. When the discharge of air in the airbag 31 proceeds, the interior of the airbag 31 is sufficiently depressurized as shown in FIG. 4B, and the airbag 31 cannot support the weight of the occupant. The width in the direction is reduced, and the upper surface position of the seat cushion portion 103 is lowered downward. As a result, the seating position of the occupant moves downward. Here, since the foot of the occupant is usually placed on the floor, the position of the foot of the occupant hardly changes and the knee height does not change even if the seating position changes. For this reason, when the seating position of the occupant seated on the seat 100 is moved downward, the entire upper body of the occupant rotates back about the seating position, and the posture changes from the broken posture to the solid posture in the figure. To do. As a result, the occupant's shoulder and head can be tilted toward the seat back 102 and the headrest 101, and the occupant's shoulder and head are in close contact with the seat back 102 and the headrest 101, respectively. The occupant's shoulder and head are prevented from moving separately at the time of a collision, and the occurrence of whipping can be more reliably prevented.

  Here, in order to more effectively tilt the entire upper body of the occupant toward the back side, it is desirable to lower the upper surface position behind the seat cushion portion 103 downward. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the airbags 31a and 31b are respectively disposed on the front side and the rear side of the seat cushion portion 103 so that the airbag 31b is more decompressed than the airbag 31a. The upper surface position behind the seat cushion 103 is lowered downward. Specifically, as indicated by arrows in FIG. 4, the blower 32b corresponding to the airbag 32b is operated so that the amount of air discharged is larger than the blower 32a corresponding to the airbag 31a. The air bag 31b is further decompressed. By doing so, the amount of downward displacement in the rear portion of the upper surface of the seat cushion portion 103 is increased, and the entire upper body of the occupant is more effectively tilted toward the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101 side. The shoulder portion and the head portion of the occupant can be effectively brought into close contact with the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, respectively.

  In this embodiment, the airbag 31a is provided so that the front portion of the seat cushion portion 103 is also lowered. However, this may be omitted and only the airbag 31b may be provided. That is, even if the position of the rear portion of the upper surface of the seat cushion portion 103 is lowered downward by the airbag 31b, the entire upper body of the occupant can be more effectively tilted toward the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101. The shoulder portion and the head portion of the occupant can be effectively brought into close contact with the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, respectively. In the present embodiment, the seat position moving device 30 using the airbag 31 is exemplified, but the device for moving the occupant's sitting position downward is not limited to this, and various devices can be applied.

  FIG. 5A is a diagram showing a configuration of another seating position moving device (300), and FIG. 5B is an operation explanatory diagram of the seating position moving device 300. FIG. The seating position moving device 300 employs a lift mechanism that moves the seat cushion portion 103 of the seat 100 downward to move the seating position of the occupant downward. In this example, the seat cushion portion 103 and the seat back portion 102 are integrally moved, that is, the entire seat 100 is moved downward, but only the seat cushion portion 103 may be moved. However, when the entire seat 100 is moved downward, the relative movement of the occupant in the vertical direction with respect to the seat 100 can be made smaller than when only the seat cushion 103 is moved downward, and the occupant feels uncomfortable when the lift mechanism is activated. Can be reduced. The seating position moving device 300 includes two fixed shafts 301 extending in the vehicle width direction and spaced apart in the vehicle front-rear direction. An L-shaped link 302 is rotatably attached to the end of the fixed shaft 301. At one end of the link 302, a lower end portion of a column 303 fixed to the seat cushion portion 103 is rotatably attached. In addition, an elongated hole is provided at the other end of the link 302, and a pin 304 'fixed to the rack 304 is engaged therewith. The rack 304 is supported on the vehicle body side so as to be movable in the vehicle front-rear direction, and meshes with a pinion 306 that is rotationally driven by a motor 305. Two sets of the fixed shaft 301, the link 302, the rack 304, the motor 305, and the pinion 306 described above are provided on the front side and the rear side of the seat cushion portion 103, respectively.

  In the seating position moving means 300 having such a configuration, when the rack 304 is sent forward by the rotation of the motor 305 as shown in FIG. 5B, the link 302 is biased by the movement of the pin 304 ′ of the rack 304. Rotates around the fixed shaft 301 in the clockwise direction in FIG. As a result, one end of the link 302 is lowered downward, so that the seat 100 is moved downward and the seating position of the occupant can be lowered. At this time, as in the case of the seating position moving device 30 described above, since the occupant's toes are usually placed on the floor, the position of the occupant's toes hardly changes even if the seating position changes.

  For this reason, when the seating position of the occupant seated on the seat 100 is moved downward, the entire upper body of the occupant rotates back about the seating position, and the posture changes from the broken posture to the solid posture in the figure. To do. As a result, the occupant's shoulder and head can be tilted toward the seat back 102 and the headrest 101, and the occupant's shoulder and head are in close contact with the seat back 102 and the headrest 101, respectively. The occupant's shoulder and head are prevented from moving separately at the time of a collision, and the occurrence of whipping can be more reliably prevented. In addition, when the rack 304 is sent to the rear of the vehicle by reversing the motor 305, the link 302 can be rotated counterclockwise to move the seat 100 to the original position, and the reset can be easily performed.

  Here, as described with respect to the sitting position moving device 30, in order to more effectively tilt the entire upper body of the occupant toward the back side, the upper surface position behind the seat cushion portion 103 is lowered further downward. Is desirable. In the present embodiment, two sets of the fixed shaft 301, the link 302, the rack 304, the motor 305, and the pinion 306 are provided on the front side and the rear side of the seat cushion portion 103, respectively, as shown in FIG. Further, by sending more rack 304 on the rear side of the seat cushion part 103 to the front side of the vehicle than on the rack 304 on the front side, the amount of downward displacement at the rear part of the seat cushion part 103 is increased, and the occupant's The entire upper body can be more effectively tilted toward the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, and the shoulder portion and the head portion of the occupant can be effectively brought into close contact with the seatback portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, respectively. it can.

  In this embodiment, the fixed shaft 301, the link 302, the rack 304, the motor 305, and the pinion 306 are also provided on the front side of the seat cushion portion 103, and the front portion of the seat cushion portion 103 is also lowered. These may be omitted and provided only on the rear side of the seat cushion portion 103. In other words, even by lowering the rear part of the seat cushion part 103 downward, the entire upper body of the occupant can be tilted more effectively toward the seat back part 102 and the headrest part 101, and the shoulder and head of the occupant Can be effectively brought into close contact with the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, respectively.

  Next, processing of the ECU 10 in the occupant protection device having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the case where the seating position moving device 30 described above is used as the seating position moving means will be described, but the same applies to the case where the seating position moving device 300 is used. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a processing flow of the ECU 10. In S1, a rear-end collision prediction determination process is performed. Here, the detection result of the rear collision prediction sensor 20 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not there is a possibility that a rear collision will occur. In S2, if a rear-end collision is predicted as a result of the determination in S1, the process proceeds to S3, and if not, the process returns to S1. In S3, a seating position movement process is performed. FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a flow of the sitting position movement process in S3.

  First, in S31, based on the detection result of the rear collision prediction sensor 20 acquired in S1, it is determined whether or not the estimated impact force expected when a rear collision actually occurs is small. If the estimated impact force is small, the process ends without moving the seating position. If it is determined that the estimated impact force is not small, the process proceeds to S32. In S32, the detection value of the seat back inclination angle sensor 70 is acquired. In S33, based on the detection value acquired in S32, it is determined whether or not the inclination angle of the seat back portion 102 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. If it is not equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the process proceeds to S34, and if it is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (when the seat back portion 102 is sleeping from the rear), the process is terminated without moving the seating position. When the inclination angle of the seat back portion 102 toward the rear of the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the occupant's riding posture is more asleep and the occupant's shoulder and head are already on the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101. It is considered that they are in close contact with each other, and when the occupant's riding posture is sleeping, it is considered that the impact of the rear collision of the vehicle on the occupant's neck is small. Therefore, in such a case, it is possible to prevent the seating position moving device 30 from functioning unnecessarily by restricting the operation of the sitting position moving device 30.

  In S34, the detection value of the sheet distance sensor 50 is acquired. In S35, based on the detection value acquired in S34, it is determined whether or not the occupant's sitting posture is a regular seating. The regular seating here means a case where the distance between the shoulder and head of the occupant and the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101 is smaller than a predetermined value, and the shoulder and head of the occupant are seat backs. This means that the head 102 and the headrest 101 are in close contact with each other, or the gap between them is small. If it is determined that the seating is not normal, the process proceeds to S36, and if it is determined that the seating is normal, the process is terminated without moving the seating position. When the seating posture of the occupant is regular seating, it is considered that the occupant hardly whipping even if a rear collision occurs, so that the seating position moving device 30 can be prevented from functioning unnecessarily. In this embodiment, the seating position moving device 30 is not operated, but the amount of movement of the seating position may be limited. Moreover, in this embodiment, although both the space | interval of a passenger | crew's shoulder part and head, and the seat back part 102 and the headrest part 101 are detected, either one (especially space | interval of a head and the headrest part 101). It is also possible to determine whether or not the seating is normal.

  In S36, the detection value of the weight detection sensor 60 is acquired. In addition, as described above, when it is possible to store and set for each occupant scheduled in the storage means in the ECU 10 or in the external storage means connected to the ECU 10 instead of being detected by the sensor, Data is acquired from the storage means. In S37, a control amount for the seating position moving device 30 is set based on the detection value (occupant's weight) acquired in S36. In other words, regardless of the weight of the occupant, in order to move the seating position by the target amount, it is necessary to weaken the degree of decompression in the airbag 31 for a heavy occupant than for a light occupant. is there. Therefore, the control amount for the blower 32 (drive power for the motor of the blower 32) is set according to the weight of the occupant. By doing so, it is possible to move the occupant's seating position by an amount aimed without depending on the individual occupant.

  In S37, the control amount can be set in consideration of other factors. For example, the seating position moving device 30 provided in the seat 100 for the driver's seat has a smaller movement of the seating position than the seating position moving device 30 provided in the other seats 100 such as the passenger seat and the rear seat. A control amount can be set. By doing so, it is possible to minimize the operation of the seating position moving device 30 from interfering with the driver.

  In S38, the seating position moving device 30 is operated by the control amount set in S37. As a result of the operation, the seating posture of the occupant changes as described above, and the shoulder portion and the head portion are in close contact with the seat back portion 102 and the headrest portion 101, respectively. Thereafter, the process ends.

  Next, returning to FIG. 6A, in S4, it is determined whether or not the seating position moving device 30 is operated by the seating position moving process in S3. If not activated, the process proceeds to S6, and if activated, the process proceeds to S5. In S5, the process waits for a predetermined time and proceeds to S6. In S6, the belt pretensioning motor 80 is operated to wind up the seat belt 81 by a certain amount. Here, when the seating position moving device 30 is operated, the process proceeds to S5, and a waiting time of a predetermined time is provided to prevent the seating position moving device 30 and the pretensioner from operating simultaneously, This is for shifting the timing. Of course, it is possible to operate the seating position moving device 30 and the pretensioner at the same time. However, in this embodiment, the pretensioner pushes the occupant toward the rear of the vehicle in an unstable state where the occupant's seating posture is changing. By preventing the operation of the occupant, the safety of the occupant can be further increased. In the present embodiment, the seating position moving device 30 is operated before the pretensioner. However, the pretensioner may be operated first, and either may be used as long as both do not operate simultaneously.

  In S8, the detection result of the collision sensor 40 is acquired, and it is determined whether or not a rear collision has actually occurred. If it is determined that a rear collision has occurred, the process proceeds to S9, and if not, the process proceeds to S11. In S9, it is determined whether or not the seating position moving device 30 is operated in the seating position moving process of S3. If not activated, the process ends. If activated, the process proceeds to S10. In S10, the solenoid 90 is operated to restrict the operation of the active headrest mechanism as described with reference to FIG. By this regulation, when the head of the occupant tilts toward the headrest 101 by the operation of the seating position moving device 30, the headrest 101 is prevented from moving forward and colliding with the occupant's head and giving an impact. can do.

  In S11, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed. If the predetermined time has not elapsed, the process proceeds to S7 and the above-described processing is performed. If the predetermined time has elapsed, the rear collision is predicted, but this has been avoided or it is an erroneous prediction, and the process proceeds to S12 on the assumption that the rear collision has not actually occurred. In S12, reset processing is performed. Here, when the seating position moving device 30 is operated, the air is filled into the airbag 31 by the blower 32 with the valve 33 opened, and then the valve 33 is closed, for example. Is restored to its original state. Further, the winding of the seat belt by the belt pretensioning motor 80 is stopped, and the tension state of the seat belt is released. As a result, the occupant can return to the original riding posture.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control part of the passenger | crew protection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the vehicle seat carrying the passenger | crew protection device which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is explanatory drawing at the time of operation of an active headrest mechanism, (b) is explanatory drawing at the time of operation of solenoid 90, (c) is a figure showing a mode at the time of winding up of seatbelt 81. (A) is a figure which shows the seating attitude | position of a passenger | crew when the pressure reduction in the airbag 31 is started, (b) is a figure which shows the passenger | crew's seating attitude | position when the inside of the airbag 31 is fully pressure-reduced. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of another seating position moving device (300), and FIG. 5B is an operation explanatory diagram of the seating position moving device 300. FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the process flow of ECU10, (b) is a figure which shows the flow of the seating position movement process of S3.

Explanation of symbols

20 Rear collision prediction sensor 30, 300 Seating position moving device 40 Collision sensor 50 Seat distance sensor 60 Weight detection sensor 70 Seat back inclination angle sensor 80 Belt pretension motor 90 Active headrest operation restriction solenoid 100 Seat 101 Headrest portion 102 Seat Back part 103 Seat cushion part

Claims (6)

In a vehicle occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated on a seat having a seat back portion and a headrest portion from a rear collision of the vehicle,
A rear impact prediction means for predicting a rear impact of the vehicle;
A seating position moving means for moving the seating position of the occupant seated on the seat downward when a rearward collision is predicted by the rearward collision prediction means;
An occupant protection device for a vehicle, comprising: The seating position moving means includes
2. The vehicle occupant according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface position of the seat cushion portion of the seat is lowered downward, and the upper surface position of the rear of the seat cushion portion is lowered further downward. Protective device. The seating position moving means includes
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein a position of a rear portion of the upper surface of the seat cushion portion of the seat is lowered. The seating position moving means includes
An airbag disposed in a seat cushion portion of the seat;
Decompression means for decompressing the inside of the airbag when a rear collision is predicted by the rear collision prediction means;
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: The seating position moving means includes
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a lift mechanism that moves a seat cushion portion of the seat downward. The lift mechanism is
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 5, wherein the entire seat is moved downward.

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