JP2006056440A - Occupant protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant protection device capable of effectively reducing deceleration applied on an occupant in collision. <P>SOLUTION: A seat 1 is furnished with a seat widthward drive mechanism 14B and a seat depthward drive mechanism 14A to support the seat under a frame 13 and to drive the seat in widthward and depthward directions. The seat depthward (widthward) drive mechanism drive mechanism has a spring 9A (9B), a DC motor 4A (4B), a pinion gear 8A (8B) and a rack rail 3A (3B), and it is possible to drive the seat in the depthward direction (widthward direction) by spring force and rotation of the motor. A control unit 21 drives the DC motor by electric power accumulated in a capacitor 6 so that the seat deceleration matches with a specified pattern by releasing the spring 9A (9B), moving the seat backward (inward widthwise) and controlling the motor driving circuit 5A (5B) when detecting a collision through signals from a collision sensor 32. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device at the time of a vehicle collision.

In order to reduce the deceleration received by an occupant at the time of a collision to a suitable deceleration according to the collision situation, for example, in Patent Document 1, the seat is supported by a seat rail so as to be movable in the front-rear direction with respect to the floor of the vehicle body. There is shown an occupant protection device that adjusts the amount of seat retraction and the deceleration of the occupant by means of an actuator that retracts the seat and a variable stopper that adjusts the amount of seat retraction.
JP 2002-154398 A

  However, the variable stopper only adjusts the retracting amount of the seat, and the deceleration of the occupant is only adjusted by the crushing characteristic due to the mechanical deformation of the variable stopper. For this reason, the effect of suppressing the occupant's deceleration is limited to the predetermined collision pattern when the relationship between the seat retraction amount and the crushing characteristic of the variable stopper is set by design, and in various actual collision patterns. It was not widely effective.

  Therefore, the present invention is provided with sheet driving means for moving the sheet in a predetermined direction, and when a collision is detected, the sheet driving means is operated by a mechanical driving source and an electric driving source.

  According to the present invention, the seat can be driven by a mechanical drive source in the initial stage of a vehicle collision, and then the seat is driven so as to have a required deceleration and acceleration pattern by taking advantage of the quick response of the electrical drive source. can do. As a result, the deceleration applied to the occupant during a collision can be effectively reduced, and the occupant can be protected.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a right seat in a vehicle cabin showing the configuration of the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a view taken along the line AA in FIG.
The seat 1 includes a seat back 1 a and a seat cushion 1 b, and a frame 13 of the seat cushion 1 b is supported on the floor 2 via a left-right direction slide unit 17, a connection member 16, and a front-rear direction slide unit 15.
The left-right direction slide unit 17 includes an upper rail 17a and a lower rail 17b that extend in the left-right direction (vehicle width direction) and can slide relatively, and the front-rear slide unit 15 similarly extends in the front-rear direction and can slide relatively. The upper rail 15a and the lower rail 15b.

The left-right direction slide unit 17 has its lower rail 17b fixed on the floor 2, and two are arranged in parallel at intervals in the front-rear direction.
The front / rear direction slide unit 15 has its lower rail 15b fixed on a plate-like connecting member 16 fixed on the upper rail 17a of the left / right direction slide unit 17, and two are arranged in parallel with a space left and right. Yes.

A spring receiver 10B is fixed to the floor 2 in the front-rear direction on the left or right outside of the two left-right direction slide units 17, and a spring 9B having one end fixed to the spring receiver 10B is connected to the lower surface of the connection member 16 at the other end. It is provided so as to press the fixed plate 11B. Since FIG. 1 shows the right seat in the passenger compartment, the spring receiver 10B is provided on the right side. In the case of the left seat in the passenger compartment, the spring receiver 10B is provided on the left side.
When the seat 1 is in the normal position in the left-right direction, the spring 9B between the spring receiver 10B and the plate 11B is in a compressed state, and the spring 9B biases the plate 10B inward of the vehicle body.
A sheet stopper 12B is provided on the floor 2, and the normal position of the sheet 1 in the left-right direction is held by locking the plate 11B.

The rack rail 3B is fixed to the floor 2 so as to extend inward of the seat stopper 12B in parallel to the left / right direction slide unit 17.
A DC motor 4B is provided on the lower surface of the connecting member 16, and its rotation is transmitted to the pinion gear 8B via the reduction gear 7B.
The pinion gear 8B is fixed to a rotating shaft 19B supported at both ends by a bearing 18B fixed to the lower surface of the connection member 16. The pinion gear 8B meshes with the teeth of the rack rail 3B and can drive the seat 1 in the left-right direction.

A spring receiver 10A is fixed on the upper surface of the connecting member 16 in the left-right direction on the front end side of the two front and rear slide units 15, and a spring 9A having one end fixed to the spring receiver 10A is connected to the lower surface of the frame 13 at the other end. It is provided so as to press the fixed plate 11A.
When the seat 1 is in the normal position in the front-rear direction, the spring 9A between the spring receiver 10A and the plate 11A is in a compressed state, and the spring 9A biases the plate 10A rearward.
A sheet stopper 12A is provided on the upper surface of the connecting member 16, and the normal position of the sheet 1 in the front-rear direction is held by locking the plate 11A.
The sheet stoppers 12A and 12B have a pin (not shown) and a solenoid that moves the pin. The pins engage with hooks (not shown) provided on the plates 11A and 11B, respectively, to engage the plates 11A and 11B. It has stopped.

The rack rail 3 </ b> A is fixed to the upper surface of the connection member 16 so as to extend rearward of the seat stopper 12 </ b> A in parallel with the front / rear direction slide unit 15.
A DC motor 4A is provided on the lower surface of the frame 13, and its rotation is transmitted to the pinion gear 8A via the reduction gear 7A.
The pinion gear 8A is fixed to a rotary shaft 19A supported at both ends by a bearing (not shown) fixed to the lower surface of the frame 13. The pinion gear 8A meshes with the teeth 3a of the rack rail 3A and can drive the seat 1 in the front-rear direction.

The rack rail 3A, the DC motor 4A, the reduction gear 7A, the pinion gear 8A, the spring 9A, the spring receiver 10A, the plate 11A, the seat stopper 12A, and the front / rear direction slide unit 15 constitute a seat front / rear direction drive mechanism 14A. .
The rack rail 3B, the DC motor 4B, the reduction gear 7B, the pinion gear 8B, the spring 9B, the spring receiver 10B, the plate 11B, the seat stopper 12B, and the left-right direction slide unit 17 constitute a seat left-right direction drive mechanism 14B. .

On the lower surface of the frame 13, a sheet drive control device 40 that drives and controls the sheet is provided. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the seat drive control device.
The seat drive control device 40 includes motor drive circuits 5A and 5B, a capacitor 6, a control unit 21, a seat G sensor 22, an electromagnetic switch 23, and a backup power source 24.

  The capacitor 6 and the backup power source 24 are connected via a battery 31 provided on the vehicle body side and an electromagnetic switch 23. The electromagnetic switch 23 is normally de-energized and keeps the switch on, and the capacitor 6 and the backup power source 24 are always charged from the battery 31. When the electromagnetic switch 23 is controlled and energized by the control unit 21, the electromagnetic switch 23 is turned off and disconnects the electrical connection with the battery 31.

Power supply cables are connected from the capacitor 6 to the motor drive circuits 5A and 5B, respectively, and the motor drive circuits 5A and 5B are controlled by the motor control unit 21a of the control unit 21 to supply drive DC currents to the DC motors 4A and 4B, respectively. To do. The motor drive circuits 5A and 5B are, for example, chopper control power supply circuits.
The backup power source 24 is a power source for the control unit 21 and the like, and enables the seat drive control device 40 to operate even when power supply from the battery 31 is interrupted due to a collision.

The control unit 21 includes a microcomputer and a non-volatile memory, and has a motor control unit 21a for software that controls the rotation direction and torque of the DC motors 4A and 4B.
The control unit 21 receives acceleration signals in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction from a collision sensor 32 installed at a vehicle body important point, and further, a deceleration signal in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction of the seat G sensor 22 is input to the motor control unit 21a. Is entered.
The control unit 21 determines that a collision has occurred when either the longitudinal acceleration signal or the lateral acceleration signal is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and determines the collision direction. At that time, the seat stopper 12A or 12B is not shown. The solenoid is energized to release the pin, the plate 11A or 11B is unlocked, and the electromagnetic switch 23 is energized to turn it off.

  The non-volatile memory of the control unit 21 stores seat deceleration pattern data obtained in advance so as to secure a collision-responsive space that can reduce the impact applied to the occupant during a collision or avoid injury to the occupant body due to deformation of the passenger compartment. The motor drive circuit 5A or 5B is controlled so that the sheet deceleration input from the sheet G sensor 22 according to the collision direction matches the stored sheet deceleration pattern, and the DC motor 4A or The DC motor 4A or 4B is controlled by controlling the armature voltage to 4B.

For example, when the control unit 21 detects a forward collision from the acceleration signal of the collision sensor 32, the spring 9A of each seat 1 is first released, and then the drive of the DC motor 4A is controlled.
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a seat deceleration pattern during a frontal collision. The horizontal axis indicates the elapsed time of the start of the seat drive control after the collision, and the vertical axis indicates the seat deceleration.
In the initial period a of the sheet deceleration pattern, first, the sheet 1 is driven backward by the spring force by releasing the spring 9A to generate a sudden rise in the sheet deceleration. Then, the DC motor 4A is caused to perform a regenerative braking operation to suppress an excessive deceleration beyond a predetermined rise, and the generated power is charged in the capacitor 6.

Since the spring force decreases as the seat 1 moves rearward, when the deceleration of the seat 1 cannot be maintained by the spring force alone, the motor control unit 21a matches the stored seat deceleration pattern. Further, the DC motor 4A is driven and controlled using the electrical energy stored in the capacitor 6, and the seat 1 is moved backward mainly by the DC motor 4A.
As a result, at the initial stage where deceleration due to the crushing of the vehicle body starts, the seat 1 is moved rearward so that the passenger's load starts to be applied quickly to the seat belt, and the rise of the passenger's deceleration is accelerated.

After the seat deceleration reaches a predetermined deceleration, during the period b, the torque of the DC motor 4A is reduced to reduce the seat deceleration, and further a forward acceleration is given temporarily. Thereby, the deceleration applied to the passenger by the seat belt is suppressed. In the period c, the DC motor 4A is controlled so as to make the seat acceleration coincide with the vehicle body acceleration, and in the period d, the state coincides with the vehicle body acceleration.
In this way, the spring 9A constituting the mechanical drive source, the DC motor 4A constituting the electrical drive source, the motor drive circuit 5A, and the capacitor 6 are used, and the DC motor 4A is controlled by the seat G sensor 22 and the motor. By performing feedback control with the unit 21a, the sheet deceleration is controlled to match a desired pattern.

When the control unit 21 detects a side collision from the acceleration signal of the collision sensor 32, the spring 9B of the collision-side seat 1 is first released to drive the seat 1 to the vehicle interior side in the left-right direction. The driving of the DC motor 4B of the seat 1 is controlled, and the position of the seat 1 and the seat deceleration in the left-right direction are controlled.
In the drive control of the DC motor 4B, the lateral acceleration of the seat 1 is controlled based on the seat acceleration pattern at the time of a side collision stored in advance in a nonvolatile memory.
Although one seat in the passenger compartment has been described above, the other seats are similarly provided with a seat drive control device 40, a seat front-rear direction drive mechanism 14A, and a seat left-right direction drive mechanism 14B.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of control operation at the time of a frontal collision in the present apparatus.
When an ignition switch (not shown) of the vehicle is turned on and the vehicle is ready to run, the control unit 21 starts control.
First, in step 101, a signal from the collision sensor 32 is read. Subsequently, in step 102, the presence or absence of a collision is determined based on the acceleration signal from the collision sensor 32. If it is determined that there is a collision, the process proceeds to step 103, and if it is not a collision, step 101 is repeated.

In step 103, the sheet stopper 12A is released, and the electromagnetic switch 23 is changed from the on state to the off state.
As a result, the sheet stopper 12A releases the locking of the plate 11A, and the sheet 1 starts moving backward by the spring force of the spring 9A. Further, the capacitor 6 and the backup power source 24 are electrically disconnected from the battery 31.

In step 104, the motor control unit 21a reads the sheet deceleration signal from the sheet G sensor 22.
In step 105, the motor control unit 21a adjusts the sheet deceleration by feedback control so as to match the sheet deceleration pattern stored in the nonvolatile memory. That is, a control signal is sent to the motor drive circuit 5A so that the sheet deceleration signal matches the sheet deceleration pattern, and the rotation direction and torque of the DC motor 4A are controlled.

In step 106, the signal from the collision sensor 32 is monitored to check whether the collision continues.
When no acceleration signal is input from the collision sensor 32, it is determined that the collision has ended.
If the collision continues, the process returns to step 104, and if the collision has ended, a series of control is ended. The process is similarly terminated when the ignition switch is turned off.

In this embodiment, the seat front-rear direction driving mechanism 14A and the seat left-right direction driving mechanism 14B constitute the seat driving means in the present invention. In particular, the springs 9A and 9B and the spring receivers 10A and 10B are the mechanical drive source of the present invention, the DC motors 4A and 4B, the motor drive circuits 5A and 5B, and the capacitor 6 are the electrical drive sources, and the plates 11A and 12B and the sheet stopper. 12A and 12B constitute locking means.
In the flowchart, steps 101 and 102 constitute the collision detection means of the present invention, steps 103, 105 and 106 constitute the control means, and step 104 constitutes the sheet deceleration detection means.
Further, the capacitor 6 corresponds to a power storage device.

The present embodiment is configured as described above. When a collision is detected, the seat 1 is moved to the rear side or the lateral side of the vehicle interior in the initial direction by the potential energy of the springs 9A and 9B to reduce the initial required seat reduction. Speed can be realized.
In addition, since a DC motor having a large torque is generally used and seat drive control with high responsiveness can be performed, after starting up with an initial predetermined seat deceleration with a spring force, it continuously matches a predetermined sheet deceleration pattern. Since the movement of the sheet 1 is controlled, the required pattern of the sheet deceleration can be satisfactorily followed.

In particular, since the temporary reduction after the initial predetermined seat deceleration at the time of a frontal collision is controlled by the rotational drive control of the DC motor 4A, the forward acceleration is applied to the seat by the crushing of the variable stopper as in the prior art. The sheet deceleration can be directly controlled to a desired pattern rather than providing the above.
As a result, the deceleration applied to the occupant by the seat belt can be effectively suppressed.
Further, the rise of the initial seat deceleration due to the spring 9A can be mitigated by the braking effect by the regenerative power generation by the DC motor 4A and the motor drive circuit 5A, and the initial rise of the seat deceleration can be made to follow a desired pattern. The shock to the can be reduced.

Further, the control unit 21 directly detects the seat deceleration from the seat G sensor 22 at the time of a front collision, and feedback-controls the rotation direction and torque of the DC motor 4A so as to match the required seat deceleration pattern. It is easy to control each process of an initial rise of the seat deceleration, a temporary decrease after the rise, and an increase so as to coincide with the subsequent vehicle deceleration to match a required pattern.
In addition, the collision-side seat 1 is rapidly moved to the left or right in the vehicle interior side so as to keep the occupant of the collision-side seat away from the inward deformation of the passenger compartment at the time of a side collision. , Help protect passengers.

  Furthermore, the capacitor 6 and the backup power supply 24 charged in the battery 31 are electrically disconnected from the battery 31 when a collision is detected, and thereafter, the seat 1 is driven and controlled by the power of the capacitor 6 and the backup power supply 24. Even if the cable is short-circuited or the battery 31 loses its function, the seat can be moved.

In the embodiment, the spring receiver 10A (10B) and the sheet stopper 12A (12B) are described as being fixed on the connection member 16 (floor 2), but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the lock for fixing the seat position, in which the lock mechanism base portion in which the spring receiver 10A (10B) and the seat stopper 12A (12B) are integrated is slidably mounted on the rack rail 3A (3B) and interlocks with the seat position adjustment handle. The pin may be incorporated in the lock mechanism base, and the occupant may operate the seat position adjusting handle to bite the lock pin into an arbitrary tooth position of the rack rail 3A (3B) to position the seat.

  In this way, the spring receiver 10A (10B) and the seat stopper 12A (12B) are integrally formed on the lock mechanism base portion slidable on the rack rail 3A (3B) so that the seat 1 can be moved in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction. Even if the position adjustment is performed, the initial potential energy by the spring 9A (9B) can be maintained, and when the sheet stopper 12A (12B) is released, the sheet 1 can be moved with a required force.

Further, in the embodiment, the control unit 21 stores the seat deceleration pattern. However, the front collision pattern and the side collision pattern are not limited to one each.
For example, the lengths of the optimum sheet deceleration periods a, b, and c in FIG. 4 vary depending on the relative speed of collision and the offset amount, and the optimum sheet deceleration varies.
An obstacle detection sensor such as a laser radar detects the relative speed, the collision direction, and the offset amount between the obstacle and the host vehicle and inputs them to the control unit 21, and according to the collision direction, the offset amount and the relative speed, An optimum one is selected from a plurality of pre-stored sheet deceleration patterns, and the control unit 21 changes the sheet 1 so that the sheet deceleration input from the sheet G sensor 22 matches the selected pattern. Drive control may be performed.

Next, a modified example of the rack rail in the embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
6 is a front view of the seat in the passenger compartment, and FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line BB in FIG. The same components as those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Further, the spring support, the spring, the plate, and the sheet stopper are omitted.
The frame 13 of the seat cushion 1b of the seat 1 is supported on the floor 2 via a left / right direction slide unit 17 ′, a connecting member 16, and a front / rear direction slide unit 15 ′.

The left-right direction slide unit 17 ′ extends in the left-right direction, and includes a relatively slidable upper rail 17′a and a lower rail 17′b. The front-rear direction slide unit 15 ′ extends in the front-rear direction, and relatively The upper rail 15'a and the lower rail 15'b are slidable.
The left-right direction slide unit 17 ′ has its lower rail 17′b fixed on the floor 2 and two are arranged in parallel at a distance in the front-rear direction.
The front / rear direction slide unit 15 'has two lower rails 15'b fixed on a plate-like connecting member 16 fixed on the upper rail 17'a of the left / right direction slide unit 17', with a space left and right. Are arranged in parallel.

The upper rail 17'a has an inverted T-shaped cross section, and the lower rail 17'b supports the upper rail 17'a so as to sandwich the cross section of the upper rail 17'a from both sides, and teeth 3a meshing with a pinion gear 8B, which will be described later, on both upper ends thereof. have.
A DC motor 4B is provided on the lower surface of the connecting member 16, and the rotation thereof is a rotation shaft 19B supported at both ends by a bearing 18B fixed to the lower surface of the connecting member 16 via reduction gears 7Ba and 7Bb. To be told. The pinion gears 8B fixed to both ends of the rotary shaft 19B are positioned in the window portion 20B of the upper rail 17′a, engage with the teeth 3a of the lower rail 17′b, and can drive the seat 1 in the left-right direction.

Similarly to the left / right slide unit 17 ′, the front / rear direction slide unit 15 ′ has an inverted T-shaped cross section, and the lower rail 15′b sandwiches the upper rail 15′a from both sides. And have teeth 3a meshing with a pinion gear 8A (described later) on the upper ends of both sides.
A DC motor 4A is provided on the lower surface of the frame 13, and its rotation is transmitted to a rotating shaft 19A supported at both ends by a bearing 18A fixed to the lower surface of the frame 13 via reduction gears 7Aa and 7Ab. It is done. The pinion gear 8A fixed to both ends of the rotating shaft 19A is positioned in the window portion 20A of the upper rail 15′a, meshes with the teeth 3a of the lower rail 15′b, and can drive the seat 1 in the front-rear direction.
In this way, the rack rails may also be used as the lower rails 15′b and 17′b of the front / rear direction slide unit 15 ′ and the left / right direction slide unit 17 ′.

The DC motor 4A, the reduction gears 7Aa, 7Ab, the pinion gear 8A, the bearing 18A, the rotating shaft 19A, the front / rear direction slide unit 15 ′, and the spring, spring receiver, plate, and seat stopper (not shown) 'A is composed.
Further, the DC motor 4B, the reduction gears 7Ba and 7Bb, the pinion gear 8B, the bearing 18B, the rotating shaft 19B, the left and right direction slide unit 17 ′ and the spring, spring receiver, plate, and sheet stopper (not shown) are provided in the seat left and right direction driving mechanism 14 ′. B is configured.

In the embodiment or its modification, the connecting member 16 and the seat lateral direction drive mechanism 14B (14′B) are omitted as necessary, and the seat longitudinal direction drive mechanism 14A (14′A) is directly attached to the floor 2. The seat 1 may be fixed and driven only in the front-rear direction.
Conversely, the connecting member 16 and the seat longitudinal drive mechanism 14A (14′A) are omitted, and only the seat lateral drive mechanism 14B (14′B) is provided, fixed to the lower surface of the frame 13, and seated only in the lateral direction. It is good also as what can drive.

It is a figure which shows embodiment of this invention. It is an AA arrow line view in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the drive control system of embodiment. It is a figure which shows the pattern of sheet deceleration. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of control operation. It is a figure which shows the modification of a rack rail. It is a BB arrow line view in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat 1a Seat back 1b Seat cushion 2 Floor 3A, 3B Rack rail 3a Teeth 4A, 4B DC motor 5A, 5B Motor drive circuit 6 Capacitor 7A, 7B, 7Aa, 7Ab, 7Ba, 7Bb Reduction gear 8A, 8B Pinion gear 9A, 9B Spring 10A, 10B Spring support 11A, 11B Plate 12A, 12B Seat stopper 13 Frame 14A, 14'A Seat front-rear direction drive mechanism 14B, 14'B Seat left-right direction drive mechanism 15, 15 'Front-rear direction slide unit 15a, 15' a, 17a, 17'a Upper rail 15b, 15'b, 17b, 17'b Lower rail 16 Connection member 17, 17 'Left-right direction slide unit 18A, 18B Bearing 19A, 19B Rotating shaft 20A, 20B Window part 21 Control unit 2 a motor control unit 22 sheet G sensor 23 electromagnetic switch 24 back up power supply 31 Battery 32 crash sensor 40 seat driving control device

Claims (4)

In vehicles with seats in the passenger compartment,
A collision detection means for detecting a vehicle collision;
Sheet driving means for moving the sheet in a predetermined direction;
Control means for operating the sheet driving means when a collision is detected,
The occupant protection device, wherein the seat driving means has a mechanical drive source and an electrical drive source. The sheet driving means has a locking means for locking the sheet at an initial position,
The mechanical drive source of the sheet drive means has a spring in which potential energy is stored in advance,
When the collision is detected, the control means causes the locking means to release the locking of the sheet, and the sheet driving means moves the sheet using the potential energy of the spring. The occupant protection device according to claim 1. The electrical drive source includes a power storage device, a motor, and a motor drive circuit that drives the motor with electric power from the power storage device,
3. The control unit according to claim 2, wherein after the locking unit releases the locking of the sheet, the control unit outputs a control signal to the motor driving circuit and controls the movement of the sheet by the motor. The occupant protection device described. Furthermore, a sheet deceleration detecting means for detecting the deceleration of the sheet is provided,
4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the control means outputs the control signal to the motor drive circuit based on the detected sheet deceleration so as to match a previously stored sheet deceleration pattern. Crew protection device.

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