JP2006036120A - Pedestrian protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pedestrian protection device storable without being bulky and protecting a pedestrian by absorbing shock energy received by the pedestrian. <P>SOLUTION: In this pedestrian protection device S1, a protective material 23 is deployed to be projected to the outside of a vehicle from a stored state so that the pedestrian may be protected at the time of an operation. The protective material 23 is formed into a substantially plate shape as the shape of a deployment completion state, and is provided with a shock absorbing material 24 capable of absorbing shock energy by plastic deformation at the time of interference with the pedestrian, and an airbag 28 as a deploying means for deploying the shock absorbing material 24 from the stored portion 34. The shock absorbing material 24 is arranged along a thickness direction of the substantially plate shape to be the deployment completion shape at the time of the deployment completion. The absorbing material 24 is constituted to arrange a plurality of wall parts 25 to plastic deformation when receiving pressing force along the thickness direction with spaces 25a. The shock absorbing material 24 is stored by mutually overlapping the wall parts 25 to eliminate the spaces 25a so that the shock absorbing material 24 may be restored to a deployment completion state when stored into the stored portion 34. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a pedestrian protection device configured to be mounted on a vehicle and to be deployed so as to be able to protect a pedestrian during operation so that the protective material protrudes from the stored state to the outside of the vehicle.

  Conventionally, as a pedestrian protection device, in consideration of a collision with a pedestrian's vehicle body, it expands and expands from the vicinity of the front bumper on the front side of the vehicle to the upper side exceeding the height of the hood panel. Some have an airbag that has the same width dimension and completes inflation (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Some airbags are deployed and inflated from near the lower surface of the front bumper to above the road surface in the vicinity of the road surface so as to protect the road surface after a collision with the vehicle body (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP 2001-315599 A JP 2001-001852 A

  However, in these conventional pedestrian protection devices, a pedestrian is protected by an airbag that has been inflated, and a certain thickness is secured so that the airbag can ensure cushioning. Since the air bag is inflated, the volume of the air bag is required to be large, and the capacity during storage is bulky. In addition, it is necessary to use a high output as the inflator for supplying the inflating gas. In order to secure the strength, a base fabric having a thickness that is bulky during storage has been used.

  The present invention solves the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide a pedestrian protection device that can be stored without being bulky and can protect a pedestrian by absorbing impact energy received by the pedestrian.

A pedestrian protection device according to the present invention is a pedestrian protection device configured to be mounted on a vehicle and deployed so as to be able to protect a pedestrian during operation so that the protective material protrudes from the stored state to the outside of the vehicle. ,
The protective material has a substantially flat plate shape when deployed, and a shock absorber capable of absorbing impact energy by plastic deformation upon interference with a pedestrian, and a deployment means for deploying the shock absorber from the storage site. Composed of,
Shock absorber
When the deployment is completed, the wall portions that are arranged along the thickness direction of the substantially plate shape of the deployment completion shape and plastically deform when subjected to a pressing force along the thickness direction are opened in a plurality of spaces. As well as being configured,
The storage unit can be restored to the fully developed state, and when storing in the storage part, the walls are stacked and stored so as to eliminate the space between the walls.
The deploying means is constituted by an airbag that is connected to the shock absorbing material and inflates when inflating gas from the inflator is introduced.

  In the pedestrian protection device according to the present invention, if the inflator is activated and the inflating gas flows into the airbag as the deployment means, the impact absorbing material is deployed from the storage site by the inflation of the airbag, Complete deployment in a generally plate shape. After that, if the pedestrian interferes with the shock absorbing material, the wall portion where the shock absorbing material is juxtaposed receives a pressing force along the thickness direction and undergoes plastic deformation such as bending and buckling, and the pedestrian It is possible to absorb impact energy acting on the pedestrian and protect pedestrians.

  In the pedestrian protection apparatus according to the present invention, the airbag is only used as the deployment means for deploying the shock absorbing material from the storage site, and it is not necessary to increase the volume of the airbag, and the high output. Combined with the fact that an inflator need not be used, an air bag and an inflator can be formed compactly.

  Moreover, if the wall part which comprises an impact-absorbing material is formed from a metal plate, a synthetic resin board, paper, etc. which can be plastically deformed, it can be accommodated without being bulky. In particular, the wall portion that absorbs impact energy by plastic deformation can absorb a large amount of impact energy in a short time even if the amount of displacement is small, that is, the amount of deformation is small compared to an airbag. It can be configured compactly, and it is possible to suppress bulkiness during storage.

  Therefore, the pedestrian protection device according to the present invention can be stored without being bulky, and can absorb the impact energy received by the pedestrian to smoothly protect the pedestrian.

  The protective material is located above the front bumper on the front side of the vehicle so that it can be absorbed between the pedestrian and the vehicle body when the deployment is completed so that it can absorb the impact energy of the pedestrian during the primary collision with the vehicle body. It can be deployed on the road surface, or it can absorb shock energy when the pedestrian interferes with the road surface after the primary collision with the vehicle body, so that it is placed above the road surface in the vicinity of the road surface when the deployment is completed. Moreover, you may arrange | position so that it can expand | deploy outward from the lower part side of the side surface of a vehicle.

  Furthermore, if the airbag is disposed on substantially the entire surface of the shock absorbing material on the side that interferes with the pedestrian, the wall portion that opens the space constituting the shock absorbing material interposes the airbag. Thus, it interferes with the pedestrian and can interfere with the pedestrian without giving a sense of incongruity. Of course, the airbag in this case is not a structure that protects pedestrians from the vehicle body and the road surface by ensuring cushioning, but simply deploys the shock absorber, covering almost the entire surface of the shock absorber. Therefore, although the volume when the airbag is stored slightly increases, the volume does not increase so much as to impair the compactness when stored.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this specification, the front-rear direction is based on the direction along the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the left-right direction is the direction along the left-right direction when the front side is viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. And

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the pedestrian protection device S <b> 1 of the first embodiment includes a protective material 23 that is deployed upward from near the front bumper 4 on the front side of the vehicle V, and a case that houses the protective material 23. 34 and a cover material 37 that covers the housed protective material 23. Further, in the protection device S1, a sensor 21 that is disposed on the front bumper 4 or the like and detects a pedestrian, and a signal from the sensor 21 is input to predict a primary collision with a pedestrian of the vehicle V. And a control device 20 that operates the inflator 30 so as to deploy the wing 23.

  In the case of the embodiment, the cover member 37 is composed of the upper wall portion 4a of the front bumper 4 and includes a door portion 38 that is pushed by the protective member 23 when deployed (see FIG. 2). The door portion 38 is disposed so as to extend long in the left-right direction between the lower positions of the upper wall portion 4a near the left and right headlamps 7, 7 of the vehicle V, and the upper wall portion 4a and the front wall portion 4b of the bumper 4 are disposed. A thin hinge 39 serving as a rotation center at the time of opening is disposed in the vicinity of the boundary portion between the two. The door portion 38 is configured to open to the front side of the vehicle V with the hinge portion 39 as a rotation center, and to break the connecting portion with the upper wall portion 4a at the left and right edges of the door portion 38 when opening. Yes.

  The case 34 is made of metal made of sheet metal or the like, and is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape having a substantially U-shaped cross section with an upper opening. The case 34 includes a flange portion 35 that extends downward. The case 34 is fixed along the reinforcement 3 by fixing the flange portion 35 to the front side of the bumper reinforcement 3 on the vehicle body (body) 1 side using bolts, nuts, and the like. It is mounted on the vehicle V. The case 34 is mounted on the vehicle V such that the opening 34a on the upper side is covered with the door portion 38 of the cover member 37 in the upper wall portion 4a of the front bumper. In addition, the case 34 has both ends in the left-right direction disposed near the lower portions of the left and right headlamps 7, 7 of the vehicle V (see FIGS. 1-3). In addition, the member of the code | symbol 2 shown in FIG. 2 is the side member 2 which connected the reinforcement 3 to the front end.

  The protective material 23 includes an impact absorbing material 24 and a deployment means 27 that can deploy the impact absorbing material 24 upward from a case 34 as a storage part.

  The shock absorber 24 is configured to be plastically deformed upon interference with the pedestrian and absorb the impact energy acting on the pedestrian, and is configured to have a substantially rectangular plate shape when the deployment is completed. Yes. The shock absorber 24 has a large number of cylindrical wall portions 25 that can be plastically deformed when a pressing force is applied in the thickness direction at the completion of deployment, along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. It is configured. The axial direction of each cylindrical wall portion 25 is along the thickness direction of the substantially plate-shaped shock absorber 24 in the unfolded state, and is orthogonal to the upward direction in which the shock absorber 24 in the stored state is unfolded. It is said.

  In the case of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, each cylindrical wall portion 25 has a hexagonal cylindrical shape in which a peripheral wall is formed of an aluminum metal plate and has a honeycomb shape that also serves as an adjacent peripheral wall.

  Then, the shock absorber 24 is orthogonal to the cylindrical wall portion 25 so as to eliminate the internal space 25a of each cylindrical wall portion 25 so that the shock absorbing material 24 can be restored to the unfolded state when stored. By being crushed and stacked in the direction, it is stored in a case 34 as a storage part.

  Note that the lower wall 25 b of the cylindrical wall portion 25 on the lower end side of the shock absorber 24 is fixedly connected to the bottom wall 34 b of the case 34. Further, the shock absorbing member 24 has a height dimension of the hood panel 9 from the vicinity of the front bumper 4 on the vehicle body 1 side on the front side of the vehicle V as a width dimension to the vicinity of the left and right headlights 7 and 7 in a state when the deployment is completed. The rear surface 24b side is arranged in the vicinity of the front grille 5 as a plate shape that extends to above the upper side.

  The deployment means 17 is configured by an airbag 28 that is connected to the front surface 24a side of the shock absorber 24 and inflates when an inflation gas from the inflator 30 is introduced.

  As described above, the operation of the inflator 30 is controlled by the control device 20, and as shown in FIG. 3, the inflator 30 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a plurality of gas discharge ports 30a, and is provided with an annular projecting bolt 31a. Are held by a plurality of mounting brackets 31. The inflator 30 is accommodated in the case 34 together with the airbag 28 by passing the bolt 31a of each bracket 31 through the airbag 28 and the case 34 and fastening the nut 32 while being accommodated in the airbag 28. It is fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the airbag 28 is folded and stored in a case 34 as a bag formed of a woven fabric such as polyester having flexibility, with the inflator 30 stored therein. ing. The airbag 28 has a substantially rectangular plate shape that substantially corresponds to the rectangular shape of the shock absorber 24 at the completion of deployment, and the front surface 24a of the substantially entire surface of the shock absorber 24 at the completion of deployment. The front end of the predetermined cylindrical wall portion 25 is connected and held to the rear surface 28a using an adhesive or the like.

  The airbag 28 does not protect the pedestrian that interferes with the vehicle V by itself, but pushes the door portion 38 and deploys the shock absorber 24 in the stored state upward. Therefore, the volume is set small. In the case of the embodiment, the thickness dimension T is such that the pedestrian does not feel uncomfortable at the time of interference with the end surface side of the cylindrical wall portion 25 on the front surface 24a side of the shock absorber 24 when deployment is completed (see FIG. 6). And the volume of the airbag 28 is set.

In this pedestrian protection device S1, when the control device 20 predicts a primary collision of a pedestrian by a signal from the sensor 21 in a state where the pedestrian protection device S1 is mounted on the vehicle V, the inflator 30 is activated and the gas discharge port Since the inflation gas is discharged from 30a,
The inflation gas flows into the airbag 28 as the deploying means 27, the airbag 28 pushes open the door 38 and protrudes upward from the case 34, and the shock absorber 24 connected and held to the airbag 28 is Together with the airbag 28, it is deployed upward from the case 34 to complete the deployment (see FIGS. 5 and 6). Thereafter, if the pedestrian intervenes with the shock absorber 24 through the air bag 28, the cylindrical wall portion 25 in which the shock absorber 24 is arranged is pushed along the thickness direction of the absorber 24. Under pressure, plastic deformation such as bending and buckling can be performed, and impact energy acting on the pedestrian can be absorbed, so that the pedestrian can be protected.

  The cylindrical wall portion 25 has a front surface 24a approaching the rear surface 24b side in a state where the rear surface 24b of the shock absorber 24 is abutted and supported by the front grille 5 or the front end surface 9b of the hood panel 9. Alternatively, the impact energy of the pedestrian is absorbed by plastic deformation such as bending, buckling, compression, tension, etc., accompanied by an operation in which the upper end 24c side is tilted backward.

  And in pedestrian protection apparatus S1 of 1st Embodiment, the airbag 28 is only utilized for the expansion | deployment means 27 which expand | deploys the impact-absorbing material 24 from the case 34 as a storage part, The volume of the airbag 28 is used. Therefore, the airbag 28 and the inflator 30 can be formed in a compact manner, because the high output inflator 30 need not be used.

  Moreover, if the cylindrical wall part 25 which comprises the impact-absorbing material 24 is formed from a plastically deformable metal plate, synthetic resin plate, paper, or the like, it can be accommodated without being bulky. In particular, in the cylindrical wall portion 25 that absorbs impact energy by plastic deformation, even if the amount of displacement is reduced, that is, the amount of deformation is reduced, a large impact energy can be obtained in a short time compared to an airbag. Since it can absorb, it can be comprised compactly and it can also suppress that it is bulky at the time of accommodation.

  Therefore, the pedestrian protection device S1 of the first embodiment can be stored without being bulky, and can absorb the impact energy received by the pedestrian and thereby protect the pedestrian smoothly.

  Further, in the pedestrian protection device S1 of the first embodiment, the airbag 28 is disposed on substantially the entire surface 24a on the side of interference with the pedestrian in the shock absorber 24. Therefore, the cylindrical wall part 25 which opened the internal space 25a which comprises the impact-absorbing material 24 will interfere with a pedestrian by interposing the airbag 28, without giving a sense of incongruity and a pedestrian. Can interfere. Of course, the airbag 28 in this case is not a structure that secures cushioning and protects the pedestrian from the vehicle body 1, but simply allows the shock absorber 24 to be deployed. Since the volume when the airbag 28 is stored slightly increases, the volume does not increase so as to hinder the compactness when stored.

  If this point is not taken into consideration, the left and right edges of the shock absorber 24 are not covered without covering the front surface 24a of the shock absorber 24 as in the pedestrian protection apparatus S2 of the second embodiment shown in FIGS. Air bags 28A and 28A as deployment means 27 are connected to 24d and 24e. Each of these airbags 28A incorporates an inflator 30A that is smaller than the inflator 30 of the first embodiment, and each inflator 30A has a bolt 31a (not shown) of each bracket 31 as in the first embodiment. ) Is passed through the airbag 28A and the case 34, and is fastened to the case 34 together with the airbag 28A by fastening with a nut 32 (not shown).

  Even in the pedestrian protection apparatus S2 of the second embodiment, if the inflators 30A and 30A are activated and the inflation gas flows into the airbags 28A and 28A as the deployment means 27, the airbags 28A are inflated. The shock absorbing material 24 pushes open the door portion 38 and expands upward from the case 34 as a storage part, thereby completing the expansion. Thereafter, if the pedestrian interferes with the shock absorber 24, the cylindrical wall portion 25 in which the shock absorber 24 is arranged receives a pressing force along the thickness direction of the absorber 24, and is bent or buckled. It is possible to absorb the impact energy acting on the pedestrian and to protect the pedestrian.

  In the pedestrian protection device S2 of the second embodiment, the airbags 28A and 28A are only used for the deployment means 27 that deploys the shock absorber 24 from the storage portion 34, and the volume of the airbag 28A is reduced. The air bag 28A and the inflator 30A can be formed compactly, can be stored without being bulky, and can absorb impact energy received by pedestrians, without having to increase the size and without using a high-power inflator. Pedestrians can be protected smoothly.

  It should be noted that the protective members 23 and 23A of the first and second embodiments are arranged between the pedestrian and the vehicle body 1 when the deployment is completed so that the impact energy at the time of the primary collision with the vehicle body 1 by the pedestrian can be absorbed. Fig. 6 shows a case where the front surface of the front bumper 4 on the front side of the vehicle V is protruded upward from the upper wall portion 4a side, but the protective members 23 and 23A are attached to the front wall portion 4b of the front bumper 4 and the front grille 5 front surface. You may arrange | position so that it may protrude from the side upwards.

  Furthermore, like the pedestrian protection device S3 of the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 9 to 13, the protective material 43 can absorb impact energy when the pedestrian interferes with the road surface R after the primary collision with the vehicle body 1. In addition, the vehicle V may be disposed so as to be deployable outward from the lower side of the side surface of the vehicle V so as to be disposed above the road surface R in the vicinity of the road surface R when the deployment is completed.

  The pedestrian protection device S3 of the third embodiment is formed of a protective material 43 that is deployed outwardly in a substantially horizontal direction from below the door D of the vehicle V, and a side outer panel 11 below the door D. 43 and a cover material 57 composed of the rocker panel molding 12 covering the protective material 43 accommodated therein. Further, in this protective device S3, a sensor 21 that is disposed on the front bumper 4 and the like detects a pedestrian, and a signal from the sensor 21 is input to predict a primary collision with a pedestrian of the vehicle V. And a control device 20 that operates the inflator 50 so as to deploy 43.

  In the case of the embodiment, the cover member 57 includes the rocker panel molding 12 and includes a door portion 58 that is pushed by the protective member 43 during deployment (see FIGS. 10 and 13). The door 58 is disposed in a region below the front door FD and exceeds the length in the front-rear direction of the door FD, and a thin hinge 59 serving as a rotation center at the time of opening is disposed near the lower edge. Yes. The door portion 58 is opened with the hinge portion 59 as a rotation center so that the upper end 58a side is tilted to the outside of the vehicle, and when the door portion 58 is opened, the thin wall portion disposed on the upper end 58a side and the front and rear edges of the door portion 58 is provided. The planned fracture portion 60 is broken and opened. In addition, the member of the code | symbol 15 of FIG. 10 is a side protective molding which covers the vehicle outer side of the lower side of the door panel 14 in the door FD, and the member of the code | symbol 16 is a door lower molding.

  The case 54 is formed on the lower edge side of the side outer panel 11 with a step so as to be recessed toward the inside of the vehicle, and the base 57a on the lower edge side of the cover material 57 is fixed to the lower end surface of the outer panel 11 so that the upper and lower upper walls Between 54c and the base 57a, it is comprised so that the opening 54a which makes the protective material 43 protrude at the vehicle outer side at the time of opening of the door part 58 may be provided.

  Similarly to the protective material 23 of the first embodiment, the protective material 43 includes an impact absorbing material 44, a deployment means 47 capable of deploying the impact absorbing material 44 from the case 54 as a storage portion to the vehicle exterior in a substantially horizontal direction, It is configured with.

  As in the first embodiment, the shock absorber 44 is configured to have a substantially rectangular plate shape when the deployment is completed, and can be plastically deformed when a pressing force is applied in the thickness direction when the deployment is completed. A plurality of cylindrical wall portions 45 are arranged in parallel along a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. The axial direction of each cylindrical wall 45 is along the thickness direction of the substantially plate-shaped shock absorber 44 in the deployed state and is orthogonal to the substantially horizontal direction in which the shock absorber 44 in the stored state is deployed. The direction is the vertical direction. These cylindrical wall portions 45 are also formed in a hexagonal cylindrical shape having a peripheral wall formed of an aluminum metal plate and having a honeycomb shape that also serves as an adjacent peripheral wall.

  And, like the first embodiment, the shock absorber 44 can be restored to the unfolded state at the time of storage so that the respective cylindrical wall portions 45 are eliminated from the internal space 45a of each cylindrical wall portion 45. The cylindrical wall portion 45 is stored in a case 54 as a storage portion by being crushed and stacked in the direction perpendicular to the axis.

  The shock absorbing member 44 has a side wall 45b of a cylindrical wall portion 45 on the inner side of the vehicle connected and fixed to a bottom wall 54b of the case 54. Further, the shock absorbing member 44 is disposed so that the tip 44c protrudes from the vehicle V by about 1 m toward the vehicle outer side when the deployment is completed.

  The deploying means 47 is configured by an airbag 48 that is connected to the upper surface 44a side of the shock absorbing member 44 and inflates when inflating gas from the inflator 50 is introduced.

  The operation of the inflator 50 is controlled by the control device 20, and as shown in FIG. 11, the inflator 50 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a plurality of gas discharge ports 50a and is provided with bolts 51a (see FIGS. 10 and 13). It is held by a plurality of annular mounting brackets 51. The inflator 50 is accommodated in the case 54 together with the airbag 48 by passing the bolts 51a of the brackets 51 through the airbag 48 and the case 54 and fastening the nuts 52 while being accommodated in the airbag 48. It is fixed.

  As shown in FIGS. 10, 12, and 13, the airbag 48 is folded as a bag formed from a woven fabric such as flexible polyester and the like with the inflator 50 stored therein. It is stored inside. The airbag 48 has a substantially rectangular plate shape when the inflation is completed, approximately corresponding to the rectangle of the shock absorber 44 when the deployment is completed, and the upper surface 44a of the substantially entire surface of the shock absorber 44 when the deployment is completed. The upper end of the predetermined cylindrical wall portion 45 is connected to the lower surface 48a using an adhesive or the like.

  The airbag 48 itself does not protect a pedestrian that interferes with the road surface R. The airbag 48 pushes and opens the door 58, and deploys the shock absorber 44 in the stored state to the outside of the vehicle. Since it is a thing, the volume is set small. In the case of the embodiment, the thickness dimension T is such that the pedestrian does not feel uncomfortable at the time of interference with the end surface side of the cylindrical wall 45 on the upper surface 44a side of the shock absorber 44 when deployment is completed (see FIG. 13). And the volume of the airbag 48 is set.

  Even in this pedestrian protection device S3, when the control device 20 predicts a primary collision of a pedestrian by a signal from the sensor 21 in a state where the pedestrian protection device S3 is mounted, the inflator 50 is activated and the gas discharge port Since the inflation gas is discharged from 50a, the inflation gas flows into the airbag 48 as the deployment means 47, and the airbag 48 pushes and opens the door portion 58 to open the vehicle exterior in the substantially horizontal direction. The impact absorbing member 44 that protrudes to the airbag 48 and is connected and held to the airbag 48 is deployed together with the airbag 48 from the case 54 to the outside of the vehicle in the substantially horizontal direction, thereby completing the deployment. Thereafter, even if the pedestrian falls on the side surface of the vehicle V after the primary collision with the vehicle V, for example, after falling on the side surface of the vehicle V, it interferes with the shock absorber 44 via the airbag 48. Then, since the cylindrical wall portion 45 in which the shock absorbers 44 are arranged side by side can absorb the impact energy acting on the pedestrian by performing plastic deformation such as bending and buckling. Can be protected.

  The cylindrical wall portion 45 is in a state in which the rear surface 44b of the shock absorber 44 is in contact with and supported by the road surface R and the upper surface 44a approaches the lower surface 44b side or does not contact the road surface R. Thus, the impact energy of the pedestrian is absorbed by plastic deformation such as bending, buckling, compression, tension, and the like, with the operation that the outer end 44c bends downward.

  In the pedestrian protection apparatus S3 of the third embodiment, the airbag 48 is only used as the deployment means 47 that deploys the shock absorber 44 from the case 54 as a storage part. The air bag 48 and the inflator 50 can be formed compactly, can be stored without being bulky, and absorb the impact energy received by pedestrians. Thus, pedestrians can be protected smoothly.

  Also in the third embodiment, the airbag 48 is disposed on substantially the entire surface 44a on the side of interference with the pedestrian in the shock absorber 44. Therefore, the cylindrical wall part 45 which opened the internal space 45a which comprises the impact-absorbing material 44 will interfere with a pedestrian through the airbag 48, and without giving a sense of incongruity, a pedestrian and Can interfere.

  If this point is not taken into account, an airbag as the deployment means 47 is connected to the left and right edges 44d and 44e (see FIG. 12) of the shock absorber 44 without covering the upper surface 44a of the shock absorber 44. May be.

  Moreover, in each embodiment, although the honeycomb-shaped cylindrical wall part 24 * 45 was illustrated as wall part 25 * 45 which comprises the impact-absorbing material 24 * 44, it is substantially in the shock-absorbing material of a deployment completion shape at the time of completion | finish of expansion | deployment. It is arranged along the thickness direction of the plate shape and can be plastically deformed when subjected to a pressing force along the thickness direction, and restored to a fully developed state between the wall portions. If possible, the space that can be crushed when stored can be placed from a wall such as a square wall such as a rhombus, or a wall such as a grid or bellows bent shape A shock absorbing material may be formed.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a pedestrian protection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a fragmentary longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vehicle carrying the pedestrian protection apparatus of 1st Embodiment, and respond | corresponds to the II-II site | part of FIG. It is a schematic front view of the vehicle carrying the pedestrian protection apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a general | schematic fragmentary perspective view which shows the impact-absorbing material used in 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle at the time of the action | operation of the pedestrian protection apparatus of the embodiment. It is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the vehicle at the time of the action | operation of the pedestrian protection apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle carrying the pedestrian protection apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic front view of the vehicle carrying the pedestrian protection apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle carrying the pedestrian protection apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the pedestrian protection apparatus of 3rd Embodiment, and respond | corresponds to the XX site | part of FIG. It is a schematic side view of the vehicle carrying the pedestrian protection apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view of the vehicle which shows the time of the action | operation of the pedestrian protection apparatus of 3rd Embodiment. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the time of the action | operation of the pedestrian protection apparatus of 3rd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... (Body) Body,
4 ... Front bumper,
23, 23A, 43 ... protective material,
24.44 ... Shock absorber,
25.45 ... cylindrical wall,
25a, 45a ... internal space,
27.47. Deployment means,
28.28A.48 ... Airbag,
30.50 ... Inflator,
34.54 ... (storage part) case,
V ... Vehicle,
S1, S2, S3 ... Pedestrian protection device.

Claims (4)

A pedestrian protection device configured to be deployed on a vehicle so as to be able to protect a pedestrian during operation and to protrude the protective material from the stored state to the outside of the vehicle,
The protective material has a substantially plate-like shape in a deployed state, a shock absorber capable of absorbing impact energy by plastic deformation upon interference with a pedestrian, and deploying means for deploying the shock absorber from a storage site; Configured with
The shock absorber is
When the deployment is completed, the wall portions that are arranged along the thickness direction of the substantially plate shape of the deployment completion shape and plastically deform when subjected to a pressing force along the thickness direction are opened in a plurality of spaces. As well as being configured,
The storage unit can be restored to the unfolded state, and when stored in the storage part, the walls are stacked and stored so as to eliminate the space,
The pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, wherein the deploying means is constituted by an airbag that is connected to the shock absorbing material and inflates when inflating gas from the inflator is introduced.   From above the front bumper on the front side of the vehicle so that the protective material is disposed between the pedestrian and the vehicle body when the deployment is completed so as to absorb impact energy at the time of the primary collision with the vehicle body of the pedestrian. The pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, wherein the pedestrian protection device is arranged to be deployable.   The lower part of the side surface of the vehicle is arranged such that the protective material is disposed above the road surface in the vicinity of the road surface when the deployment is completed so as to be able to absorb impact energy when the pedestrian collides with the road surface after the primary collision with the vehicle body. The pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, wherein the pedestrian protection device is arranged to be deployable outward from the side.   The pedestrian according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the airbag is disposed on substantially the entire surface of the shock absorbing material on the side of interference with the pedestrian. Protective device.

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