JP2006044569A - Pedestrian protecting device to be installed on vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pedestrian protecting device to be installed on a vehicle for protecting a pedestrian by deploying its air bag when the vehicle goes in collision with pedestrian, capable of reducing the shock given to the pedestrian while the driver's field of view is well secured. <P>SOLUTION: The air bag 21 is composed of a roof header cover 21a to cover a roof header 7 and front pillar covers 21b to cover front pillars 8 and is formed in an inverted U-shape as a whole. The bottoms of the front pillar covers 21b are coupled together at the front face and the rear face by an impact absorbing cord 21d and a coupling cord 21c. The bottoms and tops of the front pillar covers 21b are coupled together by cords 21e installed in the cross arrangement. The mounting positions of the cords 21e should preferably be around the center across the thickness of the front pillar covers 21b. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle pedestrian protection device for protecting a pedestrian when a pedestrian and a vehicle collide, and particularly relates to a technical field of a buffer structure for reducing an impact at the time of a collision. .

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to reduce the impact received when a pedestrian falls to the rear of the vehicle when a traveling vehicle collides with a pedestrian, an airbag is deployed from the lower side of the windshield. . For example, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, an airbag device is provided below the rear end of the bonnet hood, and is substantially U-shaped so as to cover the lower part of the windshield and the front pillars located on the left and right of the windshield. As disclosed in Patent Document 2, the airbag device is provided below the rear end of the bonnet hood, and the airbag is deployed to lift the hood, It is known that an airbag is further inflated from the gap under the hood to cover the lower part of the windshield.
JP 2002-308028 A JP 2003-191866 A

  However, as described above, in the structure in which the airbag is deployed at the lower part of the windshield, a pedestrian who collides with the vehicle falls down to the rear of the vehicle and then moves up the vehicle or moves to the side of the vehicle. In some cases, the impact of a pedestrian cannot be sufficiently reduced by colliding with a relatively rigid roof header, front pillar, or the like.

  In particular, in the case of a short nose vehicle having a short vehicle front portion, there is a high possibility that a pedestrian that has collided with the vehicle will collide with the roof header, and may have a large impact on the pedestrian.

  Further, when the airbag for protecting pedestrians is deployed on the windshield as in the conventional structure, the driver's field of view is obstructed, which is not a preferable structure from the viewpoint of safety.

  The present invention has been made in view of such various points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle pedestrian protection apparatus that protects a pedestrian by deploying an air bag at the time of a collision with a vehicle. The ingenuity of the configuration of the airbag is to reduce the impact received by the pedestrian while ensuring the driver's field of view.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the vehicle pedestrian protection device according to the present invention, an airbag that is deployed at the time of a collision with a pedestrian is formed in an inverted U shape as a whole so as to cover the roof header and the front pillar. did.

  That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle pedestrian protection device that deploys the airbag to reduce the impact received by the pedestrian at least in the event of a vehicle collision, the airbag includes a roof header of the vehicle. A roof header cover portion that inflates and expands in the vehicle width direction so as to cover, and a front pillar cover that inflates and expands downward from both left and right ends of the roof header cover portion so as to cover the front pillars located on the left and right sides of the window glass. It is assumed that it is formed so as to have an inverted U shape as a whole.

  With this configuration, the roof header and the front pillar having relatively high rigidity are covered with the roof header cover portion and the front pillar cover portion of the airbag, respectively. Therefore, the vehicle and the pedestrian collide, and the pedestrian is behind the vehicle. When it falls down, the impact caused by the collision with the roof header or the like can be reduced by the airbag. In addition, since the airbag is deployed so as to surround the window glass, it is possible to regulate the pedestrian's rearward movement and movement to the side of the vehicle, effectively reducing the impact received by the pedestrian. Can do.

  Further, the airbag is deployed in an inverted U shape so as to cover the roof header and the front pillar, and is not deployed in the central portion and the lower portion of the window glass, so that the driver's view can be secured.

  In the above-described configuration, the lower end portions of the left and right front pillar cover portions are connected to each other on the front side thereof by an impact-absorbing string member (invention of claim 2). Thereby, since the impact at the time of a pedestrian colliding with the lower part of a window glass is also absorbed by the string member for shock absorption, the impact which a pedestrian receives can be reduced. Here, it is preferable that the shock absorbing string-like member is disposed away from the window glass to the front side of the airbag to such an extent that the impact received by the pedestrian can be reduced by the shock absorbing string-like member. Specifically, it is preferable to be as far as possible from the window glass, that is, near the front surface of the front pillar cover portion.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the lower end parts of the left and right front pillar cover parts are connected to each other on the rear surface side by a connecting string member (invention of claim 3). As a result, when the front pillar cover portion that is long in the up-down direction among the airbags deployed in an inverted U shape is twisted toward the inner side of the inverted U shape and the window glass side, Deformation can be prevented by the member.

  Further, the left and right front pillar cover portions are connected to each other by a pair of string-like members on the rear side of the connection position of the shock-absorbing string-like member, and the string-like members are connected to either of the left and right front pillar cover portions. It is preferable that the one lower end is connected to the other upper end and the other lower end is connected to the one upper end (invention of claim 4). As a result, the front pillar cover portions of the airbag are connected to each other by a string-like member arranged in a cross shape, and movement to the side of the vehicle is restricted. Therefore, the front pillar cover is affected by wind and the like. It is possible to prevent the portion from expanding outside the vehicle from the front pillar.

  In addition, by arranging the string-like member in a cross shape on the rear side of the airbag from the shock-absorbing string-like member, the front of the string-like member and the airbag deployed in an inverted U shape and the shock absorption Since the hollow surrounded by the string-like member is formed, the impact received by the pedestrian can be absorbed by the string-like member, and the pedestrian is dropped into the depression, thereby allowing the pedestrian to be behind the vehicle. It is possible to more reliably prevent the vehicle from climbing up or moving to the side of the vehicle.

  The airbag is preferably configured such that the front pillar cover portion is deployed after the roof header cover portion is deployed (invention of claim 5). By so doing, since the airbag is preferentially deployed on the roof header, it is possible to more reliably prevent a pedestrian from directly colliding with the roof header.

  According to the vehicle pedestrian protection apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the vehicle is driven by deploying an inverted U-shaped airbag that covers the roof header and the front pillar when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian. It is possible to prevent a pedestrian from colliding with a roof header or the like, or to slide up to the rear of the vehicle while reducing the field of view of the pedestrian, and to reduce the impact of the pedestrian.

  According to the invention of claim 2, since the lower ends of the left and right front pillar cover portions of the airbag are connected to each other by the shock absorbing string-like member on the front side, the impact received by the pedestrian who collides with the lower portion of the window glass is received. Can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the lower ends of the left and right front pillar cover portions are connected by the connecting string-like member on the rear surface side, the front pillar cover portion of the airbag is developed on the front pillar, The impact which a pedestrian receives from a front pillar can be reduced effectively.

  According to the invention of claim 4, since the left and right front pillar cover portions are connected by the string-like member disposed in a cross shape on the rear side of the airbag from the connection position of the shock-absorbing string-like member, The pillar cover portion can be reliably deployed on the front pillar, and a depression surrounded by the airbag and the shock absorbing string-like member is formed in front of the string-like member. As a result, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from moving backward, and to reduce the impact received by the pedestrian more reliably.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the front pillar cover part is deployed after the roof header cover part is deployed, it is possible to reliably prevent a pedestrian from colliding with the roof header.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a front portion of a vehicle V provided with a pedestrian protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the structure of the front portion of the vehicle, a hood hood 1 that extends forward of a windshield G (window glass) and covers the engine room is provided. Headlamps 2 and 2 are provided on both sides in the vehicle width direction immediately below the front end of the bonnet hood 1, a grill 3 is provided between the headlamps 2 and 2 immediately below the front end of the bonnet hood 1, and both heads A front bumper 4 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided immediately below the lamps 2, 2 and the grill 3, and fenders 5, 5 are provided on both sides of the hood hood 1 in the vehicle width direction. Front tires T and T are respectively mounted in the tire houses covered with the fenders 5 and 5, and front doors D and D are disposed behind the fenders 5 and 5, respectively. .

  On the other hand, a roof 6 is disposed behind the windshield G so as to extend to the rear of the vehicle, and the roof 6 has a relatively rigid structure that constitutes an upper frame of the windshield G on the vehicle front side. A high roof header 7 is formed. Further, on both sides of the windshield G in the vehicle width direction, front pillars 8 and 8 constituting left and right frames of the windshield G are formed.

  The front bumper 4 is provided with a collision detection sensor 11 for detecting a collision with a pedestrian and a collision prediction sensor 12 for predicting a collision with the pedestrian.

  The collision detection sensor 11 includes, for example, a contact sensor that detects whether or not a contact has occurred, a pressure sensor that detects a pressure applied at the time of a collision, and the output signal of the collision detection sensor 11 is a control device (not shown). ) To determine whether or not the control device has collided with a pedestrian based on the signal.

  The collision prediction sensor 12 is constituted by, for example, an infrared sensor that detects a distance from a pedestrian, and the output signal of the collision prediction sensor 12 is also input to the control device, and the control device In consideration of the speed of the vehicle V and the like, it is predicted whether or not the vehicle will collide with a pedestrian.

  The roof header 7 is provided with an airbag device 20 therein, and the airbag device 20 is in an inverted U shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle in an inflated and deployed state as shown in FIG. And an air supply means (not shown) for supplying gas to the inside of the air bag 21 to inflate and deploy the air bag 21 before inflating and deploying. The airbag 7 is stored in a folded state in an airbag storage portion 7 a provided in the header 7.

  The airbag 21 extends from both ends of the roof header cover portion 21a in the vehicle width direction so as to cover the roof header cover portion 21a formed long in the vehicle width direction so as to cover the roof header 7 and the front pillars 8 and 8. The front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are formed so as to extend downward, and are formed in an inverted U shape as a whole. Note that tethers 21f and 21f are provided between the roof header cover portion 21a and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b, respectively. As will be described later, the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b serve as the roof header. The cover portion 21a is configured to expand after a predetermined time from the cover portion 21a.

  And as shown in FIGS. 2-4, as for the lower end part which is the vehicle front side of the said front pillar cover parts 21b and 21b, the rear surface side (front glass G side) is connected by the string-like member 21c for a connection. In addition, the front side (the side on which the pedestrian collides) is connected by the shock absorbing string-like member 21d.

  The shock absorbing string-like member 21d is preferably made of a relatively high-strength string member, such as a belt strap of a seat belt, and hardly deforms in the longitudinal direction thereof. By connecting the front sides of the lower ends of the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b with the impact absorbing string-like member 21d, when a pedestrian colliding with the vehicle collides with the lower part of the windshield G, The impact at the time of collision is absorbed by elastic deformation of the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b via the impact absorbing string-like member 21d. Thereby, the impact at the time of a pedestrian colliding with the lower part of the windshield G can be reduced. In other words, the shock absorbing string-like member 21d and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b function as an airbag that is deployed under the windshield G.

  The internal pressure of the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b is preferably set higher than the internal pressure of a normal airbag so that the impact absorbing string-like member 21d can absorb the impact. From the viewpoint of shock absorption, the site where the absorbing string-like member 21d is disposed is preferably at a position where the distance from the windshield G is the largest, that is, near the front surface of the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b.

  On the other hand, as described above, the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are connected to the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b by connecting the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b to the front glass G side (rear side) by the connecting string-like member 21c. Even when a twist (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3) occurs in the vehicle width direction center side (inside of the inverted U-shaped airbag 21) and the windshield G side as indicated by an arrow in FIG. The string-like member 21c can prevent deformation due to the twist. Accordingly, the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b can be developed on the front pillars 8 and 8, and a pedestrian can be prevented from colliding with the front pillars 8 and 8.

  As described above, by providing the shock absorbing string-like member 21d on the front side of the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b, the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are twisted toward the vehicle side (see FIG. 3). (In the direction opposite to the arrow) can also be prevented, and by using in combination with the connecting string-like member 21c, the twisting of the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b and the movement to the side of the vehicle can be restricted. The front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b can be reliably deployed on the front pillars 8 and 8, respectively.

  The front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b of the airbag 21 are connected to each other at the lower end portion and the upper end portion (vehicle rear side) by string-like members 21e and 21e arranged in a cross shape. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, when viewed from the front of the vehicle, the lower end portion of the right front pillar cover portion 21b and the upper end portion of the left front pillar cover portion 21b are connected by a string-like member 21e. In addition, the lower end portion of the left front pillar cover portion 21b and the upper end portion of the right front pillar cover portion 21b are connected by another string-like member 21e. The material of the cord-like members 21e and 21e is preferably a material that is relatively high in strength and hardly deforms in the longitudinal direction, like the above-described shock absorbing cord-like member 21d.

  In this way, by connecting the lower end portion and the upper end portion of the front pillar cover portions 21b, 21b with the string-like members 21e, 21e arranged in a cross shape, for example, even when wind is blowing, the front The pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are reliably positioned on the front pillars 8 and 8 without moving to the outside of the vehicle, and can more reliably prevent a pedestrian from colliding with the front pillars 8 and 8.

  Here, the attachment positions of the string-like members 21e, 21e with respect to the front pillar cover portions 21b, 21b are on the rear surface side (front glass G side) with respect to the attachment position of the above-described shock absorbing string-like member 21d. It is preferably near the center in the thickness direction (front-rear direction) of the cover portions 21b, 21b. Accordingly, a depression 22 surrounded by the inverted U-shaped airbag 21 and the shock absorbing string-like member 21d is formed in front of the string-like members 21e, 21e arranged in a cross shape.

  With this configuration, when a pedestrian that collides with the vehicle falls to the rear of the vehicle and falls into the recess 22, the pedestrian is restricted in the recess 22 from sliding up to the rear of the vehicle or moving to the side of the vehicle. At the same time, the string members 21e and 21e and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b developed in a cross shape in front of the windshield G allow the pedestrian to move in front as in the case of the shock absorbing string member 21d. The impact when colliding with the glass G is absorbed. That is, the cord-like members 21e and 21e and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b function as an airbag that is deployed on the windshield G.

  The operation of the airbag device 20 when the vehicle V including the airbag device 20 configured as described above collides with a pedestrian will be described below.

  First, when a collision with a pedestrian is detected based on an output signal of the collision detection sensor 11 or predicted based on an output signal of the collision prediction sensor 12, as shown in FIG. A gas is supplied into the airbag 21 by the gas supply means, and first, the roof header cover portion 21 a of the airbag 21 is inflated and deployed so as to cover the roof header 7.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are provided via tethers 21f and 21f provided between the roof header cover portion 21a and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b of the airbag 21. Gas is also supplied (solid arrow in the figure), and expands and develops so as to cover the front pillars 8 and 8 (open arrow in the figure). At that time, as described above, the string-like members for connection for connecting the string-like members 21e, 21e arranged in a cross shape to connect the front pillar cover parts 21b, 21b and the lower end part of the front pillar cover part. The front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are developed by the member 21c so as to be positioned on the front pillars 8 and 8.

  Thus, by first deploying the roof header cover portion 21a, it is possible to more reliably prevent a pedestrian that collides with the vehicle from colliding with the roof header 7, and to reduce the impact received by the pedestrian. Can do.

  As described above, in this embodiment, since the airbag 21 for protecting pedestrians is formed in an inverted U shape so as to cover the roof header 7 and the front pillars 8, 8, a pedestrian who has collided with the vehicle can make the roof header 7 In addition, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from colliding with the front pillars 8, 8, and to prevent the vehicle from sliding backward and moving to the side of the vehicle, thereby reducing the impact received by pedestrians.

  Moreover, the airbag 21 is deployed so as to cover the roof header 7 constituting the upper frame of the windshield G and the front pillars 8 and 8 constituting the left and right frames of the windshield G, And since it does not expand to the lower part, the driver's field of view can be secured.

  Further, the lower ends of the front pillar cover portions 21b, 21b of the airbag 21 are connected to each other on the front side by an impact-absorbing string-like member 21d, and on the rear side by a connecting string-like member 21c. Therefore, the impact when the pedestrian collides with the lower portion of the window glass G can be absorbed by the impact absorbing string-like member 21d and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b by the connecting string-like member 21c. Can be deployed on the front pillars 8 and 8 without being twisted, and the impact received by the pedestrian can be effectively reduced.

  Further, since the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b are connected by the string-like members 21e and 21e arranged in a cross shape on the rear side of the connection position of the shock-absorbing string-like member 21d, the front pillar cover The movement of the portions 21b, 21b to the side of the vehicle is restricted, and the front pillar cover portions 21b, 21b can be more reliably deployed on the front pillars 8, 8. In addition, the cord-like members 21e and 21e are arranged on the rear side of the airbag with respect to the shock-absorbing cord-like member 21d, so that the airbag 21 and the shock-absorbing cord-like shape are in front of the cord-like members 21e and 21e. Since the recess 22 surrounded by the member 21d is formed, the pedestrian is more reliably prevented from moving up to the rear of the vehicle and moving to the side of the vehicle by dropping the pedestrian into the recess 22. Can do.

(Other embodiments)
The configuration of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but includes various other configurations. That is, in the above-described embodiment, first, gas is supplied to the roof header cover portion 21a of the airbag 21 and deployed, and then gas is supplied to the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b via the tethers 21f and 21f. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the front pillar cover portions 21b and 21b may be deployed simultaneously with the roof header cover portion 21a without providing a tether.

  As described above, the vehicle pedestrian protection device according to the present invention can reduce the impact received by the pedestrian that collides with the vehicle from the roof header and the like and can also ensure the driver's field of view. It is particularly useful for an air bag for protecting a pedestrian that is deployed when it collides with a pedestrian.

It is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a vehicle front part before air bag deployment concerning an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 after the airbag is deployed. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. It is a front view which shows the mode of airbag deployment.

Explanation of symbols

V Vehicle G Windshield (window glass)
4 Front bumper 5 Fender 6 Roof 7 Roof header 8 Front pillar 11 Collision detection sensor 12 Collision prediction sensor 20 Air bag device 21 Air bag 21a Roof header cover portion 21b Front pillar cover portion 21c Connecting string member 21d Shock absorbing string 21e string member

Claims (5)

A vehicle pedestrian protection device that deploys an air bag in order to reduce the impact received by a pedestrian at least in the event of a vehicle collision,
The airbag extends from the left and right end portions of the roof header cover portion so as to cover the roof header cover portion that inflates and expands in the vehicle width direction so as to cover the roof header of the vehicle and the front pillars positioned on the left and right sides of the window glass. A vehicular pedestrian protection device comprising a front pillar cover portion that inflates and expands in a downward direction, and is formed in an inverted U shape as a whole. In claim 1,
The pedestrian protection device for vehicles, wherein the lower end portions of the left and right front pillar cover portions are connected to each other on the front side by a string member for shock absorption. In claim 2,
The vehicle pedestrian protection device, wherein lower end portions of the left and right front pillar cover portions are connected to each other on the rear surface side by a connecting string member. In any one of Claim 2 or 3,
The left and right front pillar cover portions are connected to each other by a pair of string-like members on the rear side of the connection position of the shock-absorbing string-like member,
The string-like member is arranged to connect one lower end of the left and right front pillar cover portions to the other upper end, and the other lower end to the one upper end. A pedestrian protection device for vehicles. In any one of Claims 1-4,
The vehicle pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is configured such that the front pillar cover portion is deployed after the roof header cover portion is deployed.

Images