JP2005271889A - Occupant protective device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To alleviate impact load on the neck of an occupant which is caused when the thighs and knees of the occupant get caught by the front part of a sheet cushion upon occurring of a vehicle's rear collision. <P>SOLUTION: An occupant protective device is provided to protect the occupant sitting on a seat upon occurring of the vehicle's rear collision. The protective device comprises a sheet consisting of sheet cushions 2a, 3a which allow the occupant to sit thereon and are inclined so that the front end of the cushions 2a, 3a is located to be higher than the rear end of the same, sheet backs 2b, 3b which support the back of the occupant, and head rests 2c, 3c which support the head of the occupant. The protective device also includes vehicle rear collision predicting means which predict the vehicle's rear collision, and sheet cushion front end shifting means 4 which lower the front end of the sheet cushions 2a, 3a when the vehicle's rear collision is predicted by the rear collision predicting means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection device, and more particularly to a vehicle occupant protection device that can reduce the burden on the cervical spine of a vehicle occupant during a vehicle rear-end collision.

  Conventionally, in a seat cushion, from the viewpoint of improving holdability, a bucket-like seat in which the front end side of the seat cushion is high and the rear end side of the seat cushion serving as a hip point is often used. 1 is disclosed.

No. 7-16361

However, in the seat where the front end side of the seat cushion is raised as disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, a burden on the occupant's cervical spine is generated by the following new mechanism at the time of rearward collision of the vehicle. The present inventors have found out.
In other words, at the time of rear impact, the seat on which the occupant is seated tries to move to the front side of the vehicle, whereas the occupant tries to stop by inertia, so the occupant has a force toward the rear side, The occupant's thighs and knees are caught on the front end of the seat cushion, and the upper body of the occupant rotates rearward around the occupant's thighs and knees. It moves rearward and comes into close contact with the seat back and headrest. As a result, a shearing force is applied to the occupant's cervical vertebra, causing a burden on the cervical vertebra.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to occupy the cervical vertebrae of the occupant when the occupant's thighs or knees are caught on the front end of the seat cushion part at the time of a rear collision. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle occupant protection device that can reduce the burden.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solution as a solution. That is, in the first configuration of the present invention, the occupant protection device protects the occupant seated on the seat at the time of a collision from the rear side of the vehicle, the occupant can be seated, and the front end is positioned higher than the rear end. A seat cushion portion that is inclined to be seated, a seat back portion that can support the back of the occupant, a headrest portion that can support the head of the occupant, and a collision prediction that predicts a collision from the rear of the vehicle And a seat cushion part front end moving means for lowering the front end of the seat cushion part when a collision from the rear of the vehicle is predicted by the rear collision prediction means.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, when the collision from the rear of the vehicle is predicted, the front end of the seat cushion portion is lowered, so that the occupant's thigh or knee is caught on the front end of the seat cushion. Since it can be controlled and smooth movement of the occupant to the rear side can be ensured, the occupant's lower back, back and head are translated parallel to the rear side to seat the occupant deeply in the seat and restrain the head with the headrest Can reduce the burden on the cervical spine of the occupant.

  In the second configuration of the present invention, the seat cushion portion front end moving means is configured to detect the collision from the rear of the vehicle by the rear collision prediction means and when a collision is actually detected, after a predetermined time has elapsed, The front end of the seat cushion portion is raised.

Here, when an actual rear collision occurs after the prediction of the rear collision, the occupant is thrown forward by the reaction to the seat, and for example, there is a possibility that a problem of entering under the instrument panel on the front side of the vehicle may occur. is there.
According to the second configuration of the present invention, after the front end of the seat cushion portion is lowered by the collision prediction from the rear side of the vehicle and the smooth movement of the occupant to the rear side is ensured, the actual collision is detected and predetermined. When the time has elapsed, the front end of the seat cushion part is raised, so that the front end of the raised seat cushion part prevents the occupant from moving forward, and prevents the occupant from being thrown forward. Can do.

  In the third configuration of the present invention, the seat back angle detecting means for detecting the inclination angle of the seat back portion is provided, and the seat cushion portion moving means is the inclination of the seat back portion detected by the seat back angle detecting means. When the angle is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the seat back portion is tilted rearward to the vehicle rear side, the front end of the seat cushion portion is prohibited from being lowered.

Here, when the seat back is tilted and the occupant is sleeping, the impact on the occupant during the rear impact is small and the burden on the cervical spine is small compared to when sitting in a normal posture. Therefore, there is little need to lower the front end of the seat cushion part, and there is a concern over throwing the occupant to the front side after the rear collision by lowering the front end of the seat cushion part.
According to the third configuration of the present invention, when the inclination angle of the seat back portion is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the seat back portion is tilted rearward to the vehicle rear side, the lowering of the front end of the seat cushion portion is prohibited. While suppressing the occurrence of a burden on the occupant's cervical spine, the occupant can be prevented from being thrown forward after the rear impact.

  In a fourth configuration of the present invention, the seat is configured such that when the front end of the seat cushion portion is lowered, the entire seat can be integrally rotated forward around the center of the seat cushion portion. It is.

  According to the fourth configuration of the present invention, when the front end of the seat cushion portion is lowered, the entire seat is integrally rotated forward around the center of the seat cushion portion. Since the seat back and headrest are also rotated forward as the front end of the cushion part is lowered, the smooth movement of the occupant to the rear and the rotation of the entire seat to the front side combine with each other at an early stage. The occupant's waist, back, and head can be integrally translated backward to seat the occupant deeply on the seat, the head can be restrained by the headrest, and the burden on the cervical spine can be reduced.

  In the fifth configuration of the present invention, the front end moving means of the seat cushion portion may be configured such that when the actual collision is not detected for a predetermined period after the collision from the vehicle rear side is predicted by the rear collision prediction means, the seat cushion portion The front end is configured to return to the original state.

  According to the fifth configuration of the present invention, when the actual collision is not detected for a predetermined period after the collision from the vehicle rear side is predicted by the rear collision prediction means, the front end of the seat cushion portion is returned to the original state. Therefore, it is possible to secure the holdability by the passenger's seat cushion after the actual rear collision is avoided by the erroneous detection of the rear collision prediction, the occupant's avoidance operation, or the like.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the cervical vertebra due to the occupant's thigh or knee being caught on the front end of the seat cushion at the time of a rear collision.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram relating to the present embodiment, in which a driver's seat 2 and a passenger seat 3 of a vehicle 1 are provided, and the driver's seat and the passenger seats 2 and 3 are seat cushion portions 2a and 3a, respectively. The seat back portions 2b and 3b and the headrest portions 2c and 3c are configured.
In addition, hydraulic seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 (described later) for raising or lowering the front ends of the seat cushion portions 2b and 3b are provided below the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a, respectively.
In addition, hydraulic seat back tilt angle changing actuators 5 and 5 for changing the tilt angles of the seat backs 2b and 3b are provided on the rear side of the seat backs 2b and 3b, respectively. , 3b are provided with seat back inclination angle sensors 6, 6 for detecting the inclination angle of the seat backs 2b, 3b.
Further, pretensioning motors 7 and 7 for controlling the tension of the seat belt for restraining the occupant seated in the driver seat 2 and the passenger seat 3 are provided.
In addition, 8 is a collision sensor and 9 is a rear collision prediction distance detection sensor for rear collision prediction.

As shown in FIG. 2, the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are arranged so that the front end of the seat cushion surface 2d is located from the front end side to the rear end so that the front ends of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are located above the rear end. It is tilted backward toward the side.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 are provided below the front end sides of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a, and the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 are moved upward. When the front end side of the seat cushion portions 2a, 3a rises around the rotation axis O near the center of the seat cushion portions 2a, 3a and the actuator 4 is moved downward, the seat cushion portions 2a, 3a The front end side of the descent.
The seat back tilt angle changing actuators 5 and 5 are provided on the lower rear surfaces of the seat back portions 2b and 3b. When the seat back actuators 5 and 5 are moved forward, the seat backs are changed. The parts 2b and 3b are rotated forward about a connection point (not shown) between the seat cushion parts 2a and 3a and the seat back parts 2b and 3b, and the actuators 5 and 5 are moved backward. And it is rotated to the back side centering on a connection location (not shown).

Next, the input / output relationship with respect to the control unit 50 for control relating to the present embodiment will be described based on the control block diagram of FIG.
In FIG. 3, the control unit 50 detects the acceleration of the seat back inclination angle detection sensors 6 and 6 and the vehicle 1 for detecting the inclination angles of the seat back portions 2 b and 3 b of the driver seats 2 and 3, and detects the acceleration of the vehicle. A collision sensor 8 that detects a collision (front collision, rear collision) and a rear collision with the vehicle 1 are predicted, for example, by detecting the distance between the own vehicle and the following vehicle by ultrasonic waves, radio waves, lasers, etc. A detection signal from a rear collision prediction distance sensor 9 capable of predicting a collision is input.
The control unit 50 is configured to control the seat cushion actuators 4, 4, the seat back tilt angle changing actuators 5, 5, and the pretension motors 7, 7 based on detection signals input from the sensors. Has been.

  Next, control of the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4, the seat back tilt angle changing actuators 5 and 5, and the pretension motors 7 and 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 4 and the operation diagram of FIG. 5.

In step S1 of FIG. 4, a detection signal from the rear collision prediction distance sensor 9 is read.
In step S2, a rear-end collision prediction determination process is performed based on the distance between the own vehicle read in step S1 and the following vehicle.
In step S3, if the distance determined in step S2 is equal to or less than the predetermined value and it is predicted that a rear collision will occur after a predetermined time, the process proceeds to step S4, and the restraint force of the occupant by the seat belt is increased. The pretensioning motors 7 and 7 are operated.

In step S5, detection signals from the seatback inclination angle detection sensors 6, 6 are read.
In subsequent step S6, it is determined whether or not the seat back inclination angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and the seat back portions 2b and 3b are sleeping.
When it is determined NO in step S6, that is, when the seat back portions 2b and 3b are not lying, the process proceeds to step S7, and the seat back tilt angle changing actuators 5 and 5 determine the tilt angles of the seat back portions 2b and 3b. The vehicle is raised to a predetermined value (for example, a value corresponding to substantially vertical), and the back of the occupant is brought into close contact with the seat back portions 2b and 3b in preparation for an actual rear collision. At this time, since the headrests 2c and 3c are fixed to the seat back portions 2b and 3b and are moved forward in conjunction with each other, the head of the occupant is also in close contact with the headrests 2c and 3c.
In the next step S8, the front end sides of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are lowered by the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 to ensure smooth movement of the occupant to the rear side in preparation for an actual rear collision.

In step S9, the detection signal from the collision sensor 8 is read.
In subsequent step S10, it is determined whether or not a rear collision has actually occurred after the prediction of the rear collision.
When YES is determined in the step S10, the process proceeds to a step S11 so as to determine whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed after the rear impact.
When YES is determined in step S11, the process proceeds to step S12, where the front end sides of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are raised, and the throwing of the occupant forward after the rear impact is suppressed.
Here, the term “increase” in the present embodiment is intended to return from the position lowered in step S8 to the normal position, but it may be further increased from the normal position.
Moreover, when it determines with NO by step S11, it progresses to step S13.
In step S13, the pretension motors 7 and 7 are operated so that the restraining force increased in step S4 is further increased, so that the restraining force of the occupant at the time of the rear collision is increased.

If NO is determined in step S10, that is, after a rear collision is predicted in step S3 and no actual rear collision occurs, the process proceeds to step S14, and a predetermined time has elapsed since the rear collision prediction. Judge whether or not.
When it is determined as YES in step S14, that is, when an actual rear collision is not detected even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the prediction of the rear collision, the rear collision may be caused by an erroneous prediction of the rear collision prediction or a rear collision avoidance operation by the occupant. Therefore, the process proceeds to steps S15, 16, and 17, the position of the front end side of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a raised in step S8, the restraining force by the pretensioning motors 7 and 7 set in step S4 , And all the inclination angles of the seat backs 2b and 3b set in step S7 are returned to normal.
When NO is determined in step S14, since the predetermined time has not elapsed after the prediction of the rear collision, the process returns to the determination process in step S10 without performing the processes in steps S15 to S17.

  Further, when NO is determined in step S3 or YES is determined in step S6, the rear impact prediction is not performed or the rear impact prediction is performed, but the burden on the cervical spine of the occupant due to the rear impact is not achieved. Since it is determined that the seatbacks 2b and 3b are inclined at a position where the influence is small, the process of steps S7 and S8 as a response at the time of the rear-end collision prediction is bypassed, and the process proceeds to step S9. Only the case where a rear collision actually occurs is performed in the same manner as described above.

The above operation will be described with reference to FIG.
(1) in FIG. 5 shows a state at the time of rear collision and a normal time when the prediction of rear collision is not made, (2) of FIG. 5 shows a state at the time of rear collision prediction, and (3) of FIG.

When a vehicle rear-end collision is predicted from the normal state shown in FIG. 5 (1), the restraint force of the occupant by the seat belt is increased by the pretension motors 7 and 7, as shown by the arrow a1 in FIG. 5 (2). It is done.
Further, as indicated by an arrow b1 in FIG. 5 (2), the seat backs 2b and 3b and the headrests 2c and 3c are rotated forward by the forward movement of the seat back inclination angle changing actuators 5 and 5. Early contact between the back and the head of the occupant prepared for the rear collision, and the seat backs 2b and 3b and the headrests 2c and 3c is ensured.
Further, as indicated by an arrow c1 in FIG. 5 (2), the front end sides of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are lowered by the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 to ensure a smooth movement of the occupant to the rear side.

Then, when an actual rear collision is detected after the rear collision prediction, as shown by an arrow a2 in FIG. 5 (3), the pretension motor 7 is further increased so that the restraining force of the occupant is further increased with respect to the time of the rear collision prediction. , 7 are activated.
Further, as indicated by an arrow c2 in FIG. 5 (3), the front end sides of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are raised by the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4, and the front ends of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are moved to the front side of the occupant. This prevents the movement of the occupant from being thrown forward.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the rear impact of the vehicle is predicted, the front ends of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are lowered, so that the seat cushion portions 2a and 2 3a can be restrained from being caught at the front end, and smooth movement of the occupant to the rear side can be ensured, so that the occupant's waist, back and head are integrally translated in the rearward direction to seat the occupant deeply in the seat The head can be restrained by the headrests 2c and 3c, and the burden on the occupant's cervical spine can be reduced.

  Further, when the rear impact of the vehicle is predicted, the restraint force of the occupant by the seat belt by the pretensioning motors 7 and 7 is increased, so that the safety of the occupant can be improved.

  Further, when a rear collision of the vehicle is predicted, when the seat back inclination angle is equal to or smaller than a predetermined value and the seat back portions 2a and 3a are inclined backward toward the vehicle rear side, the front end of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a Since the lowering is prohibited, it is possible to prevent the occupant from being thrown forward after the rear impact while suppressing the generation of a burden on the cervical vertebra of the occupant.

  In addition, when the rear impact of the vehicle is predicted, when the front ends of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are lowered, the seat back portions 2b and 3b and the headrests 2c and 3c are rotated forward. In preparation for the rear collision, the close contact of the back of the occupant with the seat of the head is ensured at an early stage, and the burden on the cervical spine can be further reduced.

  In addition, when the front end of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a is lowered and the smooth movement of the occupant to the rear side is ensured by the prediction of the rear collision, when the actual rear collision is detected and a predetermined time has elapsed, the seat cushion Since the front ends of the portions 2a and 3a are raised, the front ends of the raised seat cushion portions 2a and 3a inhibit the passenger from moving forward and prevent the passenger from being thrown forward. Can do.

  Further, when an actual rear collision is detected, the occupant's restraining force by the seat belt by the pretension motors 7 and 7 is further increased as compared with the time of the prediction of the rear collision, so that the safety of the occupant can be improved.

  In addition, when an actual collision is not detected for a predetermined period after the rear collision is predicted, the front ends of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a are returned to the original state, so that an erroneous detection of a rear collision prediction, an occupant avoidance operation, etc. Thus, it is possible to ensure the holdability in the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a of the occupant after the actual rear collision is avoided.

In this embodiment, when a rear-end collision is predicted, separate actuators 4, 4, 5, and 5 are provided for lowering the front end side of the seat cushion portions 2a and 3a and rotating the seat backs 2b and 3b forward. 5, the seat back inclination angle changing actuators 5 and 5 are abolished, and the seat cushions 2a and 3a, the seat backs 2b and 3b, and the headrests 2c and 3c, as shown in FIG. As shown by the arrow c3 in FIG. 6 (2), the front end side of the seat cushions 2a and 3a is lowered by the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 to thereby move the arrow A in FIG. 6 (2). As shown, the entire seat may be rotated forward about the rotation axis O.
Further, after the rear impact, as shown by an arrow c4 in FIG. 6 (3), the front end side of the seat cushions 2a and 3a is raised by the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4, thereby causing an arrow B in FIG. 6 (2). As shown, the entire seat is rotated backward about the rotation axis O.

  According to such an embodiment, since the entire seat is integrally rotated forward about the rotation axis O near the center of the seat cushion portions 2a, 3a, the seat cushion portions 2a, 3a As the front end is lowered, the seat back portions 2b and 3b and the headrest portions 2c and 3c are also rotated forward, so that the smooth movement of the occupant rearward and the forward rotation of the entire seat are combined. Therefore, the occupant's waist, back, and head can be moved together in parallel at an early stage, allowing the occupant to sit deeply in the seat and restraining the head with the headrest, further reducing the burden on the cervical spine. can do.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, an example in which the seat cushion actuators 4 and 4 and the seat back inclination angle changing actuators 5 and 5 are hydraulic actuators has been shown, but other electric motors may be used. .

The whole block diagram concerning the embodiment of the present invention. The figure which shows the sheet | seat which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The control block diagram which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The control flowchart which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation state which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the operation state which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Vehicle 2: Driver's seat (seat)
3: Passenger seat (seat)
2a, 3a: Seat cushion portion 2b, 3b: Seat back portion 2c, 3c: Headrest portion 2d: Seat cushion surface 4: Seat cushion actuator (seat cushion front end moving means)
5: Actuator for changing the seat back tilt angle 6: Seat back tilt angle sensor (seat back tilt angle detecting means)
8: Collision sensor 9: Rear collision prediction distance sensor (rear collision prediction means)
50: Control unit (seat cushion front end moving means)
O: Rotating axis

Claims (5)

An occupant protection device that protects an occupant seated in a seat at the time of a collision from the rear side of the vehicle,
A seat cushion part that can be seated by an occupant and is inclined so that the front end is positioned higher than the rear end, a seat back part that can support the back part of the occupant, and a headrest part that can support the head part of the occupant And a sheet
Rear collision prediction means for predicting a collision from the rear of the vehicle;
A vehicle occupant protection device, comprising: a seat cushion portion front end moving means for lowering the front end of the seat cushion portion when a collision from the rear of the vehicle is predicted by the rear impact prediction means.   The seat cushion portion front end moving means raises the front end of the seat cushion portion after a predetermined time when an actual collision is detected after a collision from the rear of the vehicle is predicted by the rear collision prediction means. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle occupant protection device is configured. A seat back angle detecting means for detecting an inclination angle of the seat back portion;
The seat cushion part moving means is configured such that when the inclination angle of the seat back part detected by the seat back angle detecting means is equal to or less than a predetermined value and the seat back part is tilted rearward to the vehicle rear side, The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle occupant protection device is configured to prohibit lowering of the front end.   The seat is configured such that when the front end of the seat cushion portion is lowered, the seat as a whole can be rotated integrally around the center of the seat cushion portion. Item 2. The vehicle occupant protection device according to Item 1.   The seat cushion part front end moving means is configured to return the front end of the seat cushion part to the original state when an actual collision is not detected for a predetermined period after the collision from the rear of the vehicle is predicted by the rear collision prediction means. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle occupant protection device is a vehicle occupant protection device.

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