JP2006248508A - Collision determining device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve accuracy and reliability when determining a colliding state and a colliding object when a collision accident occurs. <P>SOLUTION: An energy state quantity computing unit 41 computes an equivalent load f related to a collision load and an equivalent relative speed v related to relative speed between a vehicle and the article on the basis of a time change dp(n)/dt of a curvature p(n):(n=1, ..., N) output from a deformation sensor 11. A device drive determining unit 42 determines whether a history line, which shows changes with the lapse of time of the equivalent load f output from an equivalent load computing unit 56 and the equivalent relative speed v output from an equivalent relative speed computing unit 57 on a fv map (for example, a crossing coordinate formed of the equivalent load f as an axis of abscissa and the equivalent relative speed v as an axis of ordinate), crosses each of threshold values as boundary values, which divide a plurality of predetermined ranges indicating strength of a collision, or not, and determines whether operation of various occupant crash protection device 12 and walker crash protection device 14 is necessary or not. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle collision determination device.

Conventionally, for example, a collision sensor such as a pressure sensor, that is, a sensor capable of detecting a deformation amount corresponding to a collision load is disposed at the front, rear, or side of the host vehicle, and the magnitude of the detection signal output from the collision sensor (For example, the deformation amount of the collision part) and the time change of the magnitude of the detection signal and the speed of the host vehicle detected by the vehicle speed sensor or the relative speed between the target object detected by the radar device and the host vehicle. When a collision object that has collided with the host vehicle is detected, it is determined whether or not the collision object is a pedestrian, and when it is determined that the detected collision object is a pedestrian, for example, on the hood of the host vehicle There is known a vehicle collision determination device that activates a pedestrian protection device such as an airbag device that can deploy an airbag (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 11-310095 A

By the way, in the vehicle collision determination device according to the above-described prior art, the strength of the collision is detected according to the magnitude of the collision load detected at the time of the collision, and the speed of the own vehicle detected immediately before the collision, Based on the relative speed between the collision object detected immediately before the collision and the host vehicle, the type of collision object and the collision form are determined. However, the state of the collision that has actually occurred is not directly reflected in the state quantities such as the speed and relative speed of the host vehicle detected immediately before the collision.
For this reason, it is desired to appropriately determine the collision mode according to the state of the collision that has actually occurred, and to further improve the reliability in determining the type and type of the collision object.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle collision determination device capable of improving the accuracy and reliability in determining a collision state and a collision object when a collision occurs. To do.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a vehicle collision determination apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is a member constituting an outer surface of a vehicle (for example, the front bumper face 2 in the embodiment). ) Detecting means (for example, the deformation sensor 11 in the embodiment) for detecting at least one of the curvature of the member related to the deformation of the member and the time change of the curvature, and an object contacts or collides with the vehicle A speed state quantity related to a relative speed between the vehicle and the object (for example, an equivalent relative speed ν in the embodiment) and the vehicle and the object based on the state quantity detected by the detection means. A collision state quantity detection means (for example, an energy state quantity calculation unit 41 in the embodiment) for detecting a load state quantity (for example, the equivalent load f in the embodiment) related to the load acting between the collision And a collision state determination unit (for example, a device drive determination unit 42 in the embodiment) that determines a collision state according to the speed state quantity and the load state quantity detected by the state detection unit. Yes.

According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, first, time-dependent primary integration or first-order differentiation processing is performed on the detection result of the detection unit as necessary, and the state quantity related to the curvature of the member and the member A state quantity related to a change in curvature with time (that is, a first-order differential value with respect to time of curvature) is detected. Then, the collision state quantity detection means calculates the energy of bending strain acting when the member is deformed based on the state quantity relating to the curvature of the member, and further acts between the vehicle and the object based on the energy of the bending strain. A load state quantity related to the load is calculated. In addition, the collision state quantity detection means is configured to change the bending strain energy with time based on the state quantity related to the curvature of the member and the state quantity related to the time change in the curvature of the member (that is, the first-order differential value related to the time of energy). ), And a speed state quantity related to the relative speed between the vehicle and the object is detected based on the time variation of the energy of the bending strain and the load state quantity. The collision state determination means, for example, according to the speed state quantity and the load state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection means, for example, a bending strain which is a state quantity indicating the speed state quantity, the load state quantity, and the severity of the collision. The collision state is determined based on three parameters including the product of the speed state quantity and the load state quantity relating to the time change of the energy.
As a result, for example, the bending strain energy and the time variation of the bending strain energy are collided with the pedestrian (that is, the pedestrian protection device of the pedestrian protection device). It is possible to easily determine a plurality of collision states that are equal to the value for the collision that requires operation.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vehicle collision determination apparatus according to the present invention, the detection means for detecting the curvature of the member related to the deformation of the member constituting the outer surface of the vehicle and the state quantity related to the time change of the curvature; Based on the state quantity detected by the detection means when an object contacts or collides with the vehicle, the load state quantity relating to the load acting between the vehicle and the object, the curvature, and the time variation of the curvature are changed. Collision state quantity detection means for detecting an energy transition state quantity (for example, time change p of strain energy ED in the embodiment) composed of such state quantities, and the load state quantity and the energy detected by the collision state quantity detection means And a collision state determination means for determining a collision state according to the transition state amount.

According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, first, time-dependent primary integration or first-order differentiation processing is performed on the detection result of the detection unit as necessary, and the state quantity related to the curvature of the member and the member A state quantity related to a change in curvature with time is detected. The collision state quantity detecting means calculates the load state quantity based on the state quantity relating to the second-order difference (differential) value of the longitudinal position X of the curvature of the member and includes the state quantity relating to the curvature and the time change of the curvature. An energy transition state quantity is calculated. The collision state determination means determines the collision state from the load state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection means and the energy transition state quantity.
As a result, for example, the bending strain energy and the time variation of the bending strain energy are equivalent to the values for the collision with the pedestrian, such as a high-speed collision with a light object and a low-speed collision with a heavy object. A plurality of collision states can be easily determined.
Further, since it is not necessary to calculate the bending strain energy and the deflection amount of the member, the processing can be speeded up.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vehicle collision determination apparatus according to the present invention, wherein the vehicle collision determination device detects the curvature of the member related to the deformation of the member constituting the outer surface of the vehicle and the state quantity related to the time change of the curvature; Based on the state quantity detected by the detection means when an object contacts or collides with the vehicle, the speed state quantity related to the relative speed between the vehicle and the object, and the state quantity related to the curvature and the time change of the curvature A collision state quantity detection means for detecting an energy transition state quantity, and a collision state judgment means for judging a collision state according to the speed state quantity and the energy state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection means. It is characterized by that.

According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, first, time-dependent primary integration or first-order differentiation processing is performed on the detection result of the detection unit as necessary, and the state quantity related to the curvature of the member and the member A state quantity related to a change in curvature with time is detected. Here, the speed state quantity is obtained from the state quantity relating to the time change of the curvature of the member. Then, the collision state quantity detection means calculates an energy transition state quantity composed of a state quantity related to a time change in the curvature of the member. The collision state determination unit determines a collision state from the speed state amount and the energy transition state amount detected by the collision state amount detection unit.
As a result, for example, the bending strain energy and the time variation of the bending strain energy are equivalent to the values for the collision with the pedestrian, such as a high-speed collision with a light object and a low-speed collision with a heavy object. A plurality of collision states can be easily determined.
In addition, it is possible to speed up the processing without calculating the bending strain energy itself and calculating the deflection amount of the member, and in determining the speed state amount, it can be obtained in a short time by obtaining this from the state amount related to the time change of the member curvature. Processing can be performed.

  Furthermore, the vehicle collision determination apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is an object detection unit that detects the type of the object according to the speed state quantity and the load state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection unit. (For example, the device drive determination unit 42 in the embodiment) is provided.

  According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, based on the speed state quantity related to the relative speed between the vehicle and the object, and the load state quantity related to the load acting between the vehicle and the object, the type of the object, for example, It is possible to easily discriminate between a pedestrian that requires the operation of the pedestrian protection device and a barrier or other vehicle that requires the operation of the occupant protection device.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the vehicle collision determination apparatus according to the present invention, wherein the object state is determined according to either the energy transition state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection unit and the load state quantity or the speed state quantity. It is characterized by comprising object detection means for detecting the type.

  According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, it is possible to determine an object at a higher speed since the determination accuracy is not impaired while improving the calculation speed.

  Furthermore, the vehicle collision determination device according to the present invention described in claim 6 is a protection device that protects the object according to the type of the object detected by the object detection means (for example, a pedestrian in the embodiment). A drive control means (for example, a drive command output unit 43 in the embodiment) for controlling the drive of the protection device 14) is provided.

  According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, it is possible to appropriately control the presence / absence and operation state of the protection device according to the detection result of the object type.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle collision determination device including an acceleration detection unit that is attached to a vehicle and detects an acceleration acting on the vehicle, and the collision state determination unit is obtained by the acceleration detection unit. It is characterized in that the collision state is determined in consideration of the acceleration state quantity.

  According to the vehicle collision determination device having the above-described configuration, when determining the collision at the time of the collision, a safing effect (preventing erroneous determination) can be obtained by additionally using that the acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. . Further, the speed state quantity, the load state quantity, and the energy state quantity that act on the member (for example, the front bumper face 2 in the embodiment) as additional information to the conventional collision determination device based on the acceleration and the integral calculation value (speed) of the acceleration. Etc., and the conventional determination threshold level based on acceleration can be modified (for example, when the collision speed≈the vehicle front portion intrusion speed≈the member deformation speed is large, the threshold value is lowered). Therefore, the collision can be determined more accurately, and the occupant protection device can be operated more reliably.

As described above, according to the vehicle collision determination device of the present invention described in claims 1 to 3, bending strain is reduced, such as a high-speed collision with a light object or a low-speed collision with a heavy object. It is possible to easily determine a plurality of collision states in which the energy has an equivalent value.
In particular, according to the vehicle collision determination device of the present invention as set forth in claim 2, at least a load state quantity relating to a load acting between the vehicle and the object, and a state quantity relating to the curvature and a time change of the curvature. According to the vehicle collision determination device of the present invention according to claim 3, the speed state quantity obtained from at least the state quantity relating to the time change of the curvature of the member, the curvature, and Multiple collision states can be easily identified by the energy transition state amount consisting of the state amount related to the time change of the curvature, so that it is not necessary to calculate the bending strain energy itself and the deflection amount of the member. Speed can be increased.
Furthermore, according to the vehicle collision determination apparatus of the present invention as set forth in claim 4, for example, the type of an object such as a pedestrian, a barrier, or another vehicle can be easily determined.
Further, according to the vehicle collision determination device of the present invention described in claim 5, since the determination accuracy is not impaired while improving the calculation speed, the object can be determined at a higher speed.
Furthermore, according to the vehicle collision determination device of the present invention described in claim 6, it is possible to appropriately control the presence / absence and operation state of the protection device according to the detection result of the type of the object.
Furthermore, according to the vehicle collision determination device of the present invention described in claim 7, when determining the collision at the time of the collision, the fact that the acceleration is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is additionally used as a condition, so that the safing effect ( Speed state quantity that acts on a member (for example, the front bumper face 2 in the embodiment) as additional information to a conventional collision determination device based on acceleration and an integral calculation value (speed) of acceleration.・ It is configured to give the load state quantity, energy state quantity, etc., and the conventional threshold level for judgment based on acceleration is corrected (for example, the collision speed ≒ vehicle front part intrusion speed ≒ lowering the threshold value when the member deformation speed is large) Thus, it is possible to more accurately determine the collision and operate the occupant protection device more reliably.

Hereinafter, a vehicle collision determination apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The vehicle collision determination device 10 according to the present embodiment relates to deformation that occurs on the outer surface of the vehicle 1 due to, for example, contact and collision between the outer surface of the vehicle 1 and an object (hereinafter simply referred to as a collision). A deformation sensor 11 that detects a state quantity, and various occupant protection devices 12 (for example, an airbag device 12a that deploys an airbag in a passenger compartment or a seat belt) are forcibly wound based on detection signals output from the deformation sensor 11. Take-up seat belt retractor 12b) and various pedestrian protection devices 14 (for example, a bonnet hood lifting device 14a for forcibly ascending the hood and an airbag device for deploying an airbag on the hood). An electronic control unit (ECU) 15 that controls the operation is provided.
In addition to the detection signal output from the deformation sensor 11, the electronic control unit 15 detects a detection signal output from an acceleration sensor (not shown) provided in the electronic control unit 15, and the front of the vehicle 1, for example. Various occupant protection devices based on detection signals output from satellite sensors (not shown) each consisting of a pair of acceleration sensors arranged on the right side and left side of the side and the right side and left side of the rear side 12 and the operation of the pedestrian protection device 14 can be controlled.

  The deformation sensor 11 is disposed in the vicinity of the outer surface of the vehicle 1 (for example, on the inner surface of the front bumper face 2 at the front portion of the vehicle 1 as shown in FIG. 1). For example, as shown in FIGS. , A plurality of piezoelectric elements 24,..., And a pair of insulating protective films 25, 25. The flexible substrate 23 has a wiring pattern formed of the signal wiring 21 and the ground wiring 22 formed on the substrate body 23a. The flexible substrate 23 having a plurality of piezoelectric elements 24,..., 24 mounted thereon is covered with a pair of insulating protective films 25, 25 so as to be sandwiched from both sides in the thickness direction.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the substantially rectangular plate-like substrate body 23a is formed such that the longitudinal dimension thereof is an appropriate dimension along the substantially vehicle width direction of the front bumper face 2. On the surface, a plurality of independent signal wiring straight portions 21b ₁ ,..., 21b _n ,..., 21b _N (n = 1,..., N; extending along the longitudinal direction at one end in the short direction) n is an arbitrary natural number), and the signal wirings connecting part 21a _n, which is formed at one end of each signal line straight portion 21b _n at a plurality of locations appropriate in the longitudinal direction of the substrate main body 23a, the shorter A single ground wiring straight line portion 22b extending along the longitudinal direction at the other end of the direction, and a plurality of ground wiring connecting portions formed at a plurality of appropriate positions along the longitudinal direction of the ground wiring straight line portion 22b. 22a, ..., 22a It is formed as a pattern.

The piezoelectric element 24 is arranged so as to sandwich a piezoelectric film 31 having a substantially rectangular film shape made of a polymer piezoelectric material such as a vinylidene fluoride resin subjected to polarization treatment, and the piezoelectric film 31 from both sides in the thickness direction. A pair of signal electrodes 32 and a ground electrode 33 for detecting the electric charge generated at 31 as a voltage are provided. Each of the electrodes 32 and 33 is formed of, for example, a conductive thin plate, a metal paste, a vapor deposition metal, or the like.
For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the piezoelectric film 31 has a through hole 31 a penetrating in the thickness direction. One opening of the through hole 31 a faces the signal electrode 32, and the other The opening is set so as not to interfere with the ground electrode 33. The signal terminal 32 a connected to the signal electrode 32 is mounted in the through hole 31 a of the piezoelectric film 31, and the end of the signal terminal 32 a is set to be exposed on the other surface of the piezoelectric film 31. . Thus, on the other surface of the piezoelectric film 31, the ground electrode 33 and the signal terminal 32a are arranged apart from each other along the longitudinal direction, for example, and the piezoelectric element 24 is mounted on the flexible substrate 23. , the signal terminal 32a is in contact with the signal line connection portion 21a _n, the ground electrode 33 is adapted to abut against the ground wiring connection part 22a.

At the end of the flexible substrate 23, molded by the signal lines straight portions 21b _n of the other end connected to the resin and external grounding line connected to the ends of the external signal line and the ground line straight portion 22b has An external wiring 34 that is integrated by processing is formed, and the external wiring 34 is connected to an electronic control unit (ECU) 15.
For example, when an object collides with the front bumper face 2 and the front bumper face 2 is deformed, the piezoelectric film 31 of the deformation sensor 11 is deformed integrally with the front bumper face 2. Here, for the piezoelectric constant (predetermined value) of the piezoelectric film 31,
Piezoelectric constant = generated charge Q / stress σ,
The voltage V generated between the electrodes 32 and 33 = the generated charge Q / the electrostatic capacity C,
The deformation sensor 11 is configured such that the stress σ is generated according to the strain ε of the piezoelectric film 31 and the strain ε of the piezoelectric film 31 is generated according to the curvature ρ of the piezoelectric film 31.
Accordingly, the curvature ρ of the deformed piezoelectric film 31 can be detected from the voltage V generated between the electrodes 32 and 33.
Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the deformation sensor 11 constitutes a differentiation circuit 35 that outputs a time differential value (dV / dt) of the voltage V generated between the electrodes 32 and 33, and an output of the differentiation circuit 35. The voltage V _OUT is input to the electronic control unit (ECU) 15. That is, since the output voltage V _OUT of the differentiating circuit 35 is constituted by the time differential value (dV / dt) of the voltage V generated between the electrodes 32 and 33, the time change of the curvature ρ from the output voltage _VOUT. dρ (n) / dt is detected.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the differentiating circuit 35 includes first to third resistors 35a to 35c, a first operational amplifier 35d for output impedance conversion, and a second operational amplifier 35e for output adjustment. Has been.
One terminal of the first resistor 35a (resistance value R) is connected to the equivalent circuit (piezoelectric element equivalent circuit) 36 of the piezoelectric element 24 and the inverting input terminal of the first operational amplifier 35d, and the other terminal is the first terminal. The operational amplifier 35d is connected to the non-inverting input terminal and grounded.
The output terminal of the first operational amplifier 35d is connected to the inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier 35e through the second resistor 35b and to the inverting input terminal of the first operational amplifier 35d.
The non-inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier 35e is grounded, the output terminal of the second operational amplifier 35e is connected to the inverting input terminal of the second operational amplifier 35e via the third resistor 35c, and the output of the differentiating circuit 35. Connected to the terminal.
The cut-off frequency fc as the differential characteristic of the differentiating circuit 35 is determined by, for example, the first resistor 35a (resistance value R) and the capacitor 36a (electrostatic capacitance C) of the piezoelectric element equivalent circuit 36.
fc = 1 / (2πRC), which is variable according to the resistance value R of the first resistor 35a. Accordingly, a resistance value appropriate for a vehicle collision event, for example, gain in a predetermined frequency region (for example, ten to several thousand Hz) (for example, gain shown in FIG. 5 = (output V _{f =} frequency _{f = f} ) / (output V _{f = ∞} at an infinitely high frequency)) is a resistance value (for example, the resistance value R3 shown in FIG. 5) that changes in proportion to the frequency f. The resistance value of the first resistor 35a Set as R.

  An electronic control unit (ECU) 15 disposed in a substantially central portion of the vehicle (for example, the inside of the center console of the vehicle 1 formed in a hollow cylinder), for example, as shown in FIG. An energy state quantity calculation unit 41 that calculates a state quantity related to a temporal change in energy of bending strain generated on the outer surface of the vehicle 1, for example, the front bumper face 2 when a collision occurs, a device drive determination unit 42, and a drive command output unit 43 and a time integrator 44.

  The energy state quantity calculation unit 41 includes, for example, a strain energy calculation unit 51, a strain energy time change calculation unit 52, a deflection angle calculation unit 53, a deflection calculation unit 54, a deflection total calculation unit 55, and an equivalent load calculation. A unit 56 and an equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57 are provided.

The strain energy calculation unit 51 converts, for example, the total kinetic energy immediately before the collision of the object colliding with the vehicle 1 into energy required for deformation of the front bumper face 2, that is, bending strain energy (hereinafter simply referred to as strain energy). The strain energy ED is calculated and output to the equivalent load calculation unit 56.
Here, the bending moments ΔM (n); (n = 1,..., N) of the piezoelectric elements 24,..., 24 are the longitudinal elastic modulus E, the sectional secondary moment I, the piezoelectric elements 24,. 24 by the width ds and the deformation angle dθ (n) for each piezoelectric element 24,.
ΔM (n) = E × I × (dθ (n) / ds).
Thereby, the strain energy ΔED (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,.
ΔED (n) = ΔM (n) × dθ (n)
= E * I * (d [theta] (n) / ds) * (d [theta] (n) / ds) * ds. further,
Since (dθ (n) / ds) = ρ (n),
ΔED (n) = E × I × ρ (n) ² × ds.
Thereby, the distortion energy ED of the front bumper face 2 is described as shown in the following formula (1).
Therefore, the strain energy calculation unit 51 includes the curvature ρ (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 output from the time integrator 44, that is, the time change dρ (n) / dt output from the deformation sensor 11. Is inputted with a calculated value obtained by linear integration with respect to time.

  The strain energy time change calculation unit 52 is based on the curvature ρ (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 output from the time integrator 44 and the time change dρ (n) / dt output from the deformation sensor 11. As shown in the following mathematical formula (2), the temporal change (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED is calculated and output to the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the deflection angle calculation unit 53 includes the inter-element distance dL between the adjacent piezoelectric elements 24, 24 and the piezoelectric elements 24,. Based on the curvature ρ (n), the deflection angle θ (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 is calculated and output to the deflection calculation unit 54 as shown in the following formula (3).

  The deflection calculation unit 54 is based on the deflection angle θ (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 output from the deflection angle calculation unit 53 and the inter-element distance dL between the adjacent piezoelectric elements 24, 24. As shown in the following mathematical formula (4), the deflection w (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 is calculated and output to the deflection total calculation unit 55.

Based on the deflection w (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 output from the deflection calculation section 54, the deflection total calculation section 55 is represented by each piezoelectric element 24,. calculating a deflection sum _{w sum,} and outputs the equivalent load calculation unit 56.

Based on the total deflection w _sum output from the total deflection calculation unit 55 and the strain energy ED output from the strain energy calculation unit 51, the equivalent load calculation unit 56 generates a collision as shown in the following formula (6). The equivalent load f is calculated as a state quantity related to the load (collision load) that is sometimes applied to the front bumper face 2 and is output to the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57 and the device drive determination unit 42.

  The equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57 is based on the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 and the time change (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED output from the strain energy time change calculation unit 52. As shown in (7), the equivalent relative speed ν is calculated as a state quantity related to the relative speed between the vehicle 1 and the object at the time of occurrence of the collision, and is output to the device drive determination unit 42.

Based on the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 and the equivalent relative speed ν output from the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57, the device drive determination unit 42 determines the type and collision type of the object that has collided with the vehicle 1. And the detection result is output to the drive command output unit 43.
For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the device drive determination unit 42 has an fν map (for example, the equivalent load f is on the horizontal axis and the equivalent relative speed ν is on the vertical axis) indicating the correlation between the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν. On the orthogonal coordinates), threshold values TH ₁ and TH ₂ (for example, TH ₁ ≦ TH) that are boundary values for dividing a plurality of areas that specify the severity of collision, for example, first to third areas α, β, and γ. ₂ ) is set.

Each of the threshold values TH ₁ and TH ₂ is a threshold value related to a first-order differential value (for example, an increase amount of the collision energy per unit time) regarding the time of the collision energy, which is a state quantity indicating the intensity of the collision, and the collision energy. Is a state quantity related to the product (f × ν) of the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν.
Further, the device drive determination unit 42 determines a predetermined threshold for each threshold, that is, an equivalent load f, for eliminating a collision event in which the operation of various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14 is unnecessary on the fν map. A load threshold TH _f and a predetermined speed threshold TH _ν with respect to the equivalent relative speed ν are set.

Then, on the fν map, the device drive determination unit 42 firstly outputs the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 larger than a predetermined load threshold TH _f and is output from the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57. It is determined whether the equivalent relative speed ν is greater than a predetermined speed threshold TH _ν . When the determination result is “NO”, it is determined that the various occupant protection devices 12 and the pedestrian protection device 14 are unnecessary collision events, and the determination results are output to the drive command output unit 43. To do.
On the other hand, when this determination result is “YES”, for example, as an operation determination of various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14, the equivalent load f and equivalent relative speed calculation output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 are calculated. It is determined whether or not the product (f × ν) with the equivalent relative speed ν output from the unit 57 is larger than the threshold values TH ₁ and TH ₂ .

For example, if the equivalent load f equivalent relative speed [nu and the product (f × [nu) is first smaller than the threshold TH _1, ie equivalent load f and equivalent relative speed is output from the equivalent load calculating section 56 on fν map history line indicating the time change of the equivalent relative velocity ν output from the calculating unit 57, when the first threshold value TH ₁ from the first area α not cross toward the second region β is various occupant protection device 12 and the The operation of the pedestrian protection device 14 is unnecessary, and it is determined that the collision is to some extent.

Further, for example, when the product (f × ν) of the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν is equal to or more than the first threshold TH ₁ and less than the second threshold TH ₂ , that is, output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 on the fν map. that equivalent load f and the history line indicating the time change of the equivalent relative velocity ν outputted from the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57 (e.g., the history line R1 shown in FIG. 9), the first threshold value TH ₁ from the first region α When the vehicle crosses toward the second region β and the second threshold TH ₂ does not cross from the second region β to the third region γ, for example, the collision requires operation of various pedestrian protection devices 14. It is determined.

When, for example, equivalent load f equivalent relative speed [nu and the product (f × [nu) is the second threshold value TH ₂ or more, that is equivalent load f and equivalent relative output from the equivalent load calculating section 56 on fν map history line indicating the time change of the equivalent relative velocity ν output from the speed calculating unit 57 (e.g., the history line R2 shown in FIG. 9) traverses across the second threshold value TH ₂ from the second region β in the third region γ In this case, for example, it is determined that the collision requires operation of various occupant protection devices 12.

Here, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, a history line (for example, history line R <b> 3 shown in FIG. 9) and a road on the road collide with a light object such as a pylon on the road at a relatively high relative speed. opposite history line in case of a collision at a relatively low speed of the relative speed with respect to the weight (e.g., history line R4 shown in FIG. 9) is a first threshold value TH ₁ from the first region α in the second region β Crossing, various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14 when the equivalent load f is less than or equal to a predetermined load threshold TH _f or when the equivalent relative speed ν is less than or equal to a predetermined speed threshold TH _ν. Is identified as an unnecessary collision event, and is distinguished from a collision history line (for example, history line R1 shown in FIG. 9) in which various pedestrian protection devices 14 need to be operated.

  Based on the determination result output from the device drive determination unit 42, the drive command output unit 43 sends control signals for instructing operating states of various occupant protection devices 12 or pedestrian protection devices 14 to the occupant protection device 12 or pedestrian protection. Output to the device 14.

The vehicle collision determination apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration. Next, the operation of the vehicle collision determination apparatus 10, particularly the threshold values TH ₁ , TH ₂ , TH _f , TH on the fν map. _A process for determining whether or not the various occupant protection devices 12 and the pedestrian protection device 14 need to be operated will be described with reference to the attached drawings.
First, in step S01 shown in FIG. 10, the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν are calculated based on the output of the deformation sensor 11.

Then, in step S02, it is determined whether or not the equivalent load f is less than a predetermined load threshold TH _f or the equivalent relative speed ν is less than a predetermined speed threshold TH _ν .
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to step S 04 described later.
On the other hand, if the determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S03.
In step S03, it is determined that the operation of various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14 is a collision with an object that does not need to be performed, and the series of processing ends.

Then, in step S04, equivalent load f equivalent relative speed [nu and the product (f × [nu) determines whether the first threshold value TH ₁ or more.
If this determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S 06 described later.
On the other hand, if this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to step S 05.
In step S05, a history line indicating temporal changes in the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν is included in the first region α on the fν map, and the operations of various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14 are performed. Is determined to be a moderately moderate collision, and a series of processing is terminated.

In Step S06, equivalent load f equivalent relative speed [nu and the product (f × [nu) determines whether the second threshold value TH ₂ or more.
If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to step S 07.
On the other hand, if the determination is “YES”, the flow proceeds to step S08.
In step S07, the history line indicating the temporal change in the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν on the fν map reaches the second region β, and the collision that requires the operation of various pedestrian protection devices 14 is performed. And the series of processing ends.
In step S08, a history line indicating temporal changes in the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν on the fν map arrives in the third region γ, and the collision requires operation of various occupant protection devices 12. It is determined that there is, and the series of processing ends.

As described above, according to the vehicle collision determination device 10 according to the present embodiment, the detection signal output from the deformation sensor 11, that is, the curvature ρ (n that directly reflects the state of the collision that has actually occurred. ); (N = 1,..., N) Since the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν are detected based on the detection signal of the time change dρ (n) / dt, the type of the collision object is determined based on these detection results. In addition, it is possible to improve the reliability when determining the collision mode.
Furthermore, on the fν map showing the correlation between the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative velocity ν, a first-order differential value (for example, the collision energy per unit time) that is the state quantity indicating the intensity of the collision, which is a state quantity indicating the severity of the collision. Whether each of the occupant protection device 12 and the pedestrian protection device 14 needs to be operated according to the threshold values TH ₁ and TH ₂ , the load threshold value TH _f, and the speed threshold value TH _ν related to the increase amount), Can appropriately determine the required operation mode (for example, operation timing). In particular, with respect to a collision state in which the strain energy ED and the time change (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED are equivalent values, for example, a collision with a pedestrian (that is, a collision that requires operation of the pedestrian protection device). It is possible to appropriately determine a collision state such as a high-speed collision with a lightweight object having a value equivalent to the value or a low-speed collision with a heavy object.

  In the above-described embodiment, the detection signal of the time change dρ (n) / dt of the curvature ρ (n); (n = 1,..., N) output from the deformation sensor 11 is used as an electronic control unit (ECU). However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a sensor that outputs a detection signal of the curvature ρ (n) instead of the deformation sensor 11, such as a strain gauge, is provided, and the detection signal of the curvature ρ (n) is provided. You may input into the electronic control unit (ECU) 15. In this case, the electronic control unit (ECU) 15 includes a time differentiator instead of the time integrator 44, and the calculation obtained by first-order differentiation of the curvature ρ (n) output from the strain gauge with respect to time by the time differentiator. The value is input to the strain energy time change calculation unit 52.

  In the above-described embodiment, the deformation sensor 11 is disposed on the inner surface of the front bumper face 2 to detect contact and collision between the front portion of the vehicle 1 and an object. Arranged on the inner surface of the rear bumper face to detect contact and collision between the rear portion of the vehicle 1 and the object, or disposed on the inner surface of the door skin to detect contact and collision between the side portion of the vehicle 1 and the object. May be.

In the above-described embodiment, the device drive determination unit 42 performs various occupants when a history line indicating temporal changes in the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν reaches the third region γ on the fν map. Although it is determined that the collision requires the operation of the protection device 12, the present invention is not limited to this, and in addition to the detection signal output from the deformation sensor 11, for example, as in the modification shown in FIG. Based on the detection signal output from the acceleration sensor 71 provided in the unit 15, it may be determined whether or not the collision requires operation of various occupant protection devices 12, and the satellite sensor May be determined based on a detection signal output from an acceleration sensor (not shown) that constitutes the vehicle, and whether or not it is a collision that requires operation of various occupant protection devices 12.
For example, in the modification shown in FIG. 11, the electronic control unit 15 shown in FIG. 6 further includes an acceleration sensor 71, a ΔV _UNIT calculation unit 72, and a ΔV _UNIT determination unit 73, and the ΔV _UNIT calculation unit 72 is electronically controlled. For the acceleration signal G _UNIT output from the acceleration sensor 71 provided in the unit 15, a high-frequency component, which is a noise component, is removed from the acceleration signal G _UNIT by, for example, a low-pass filter, for example, as shown in the following formula (8) As described above, the acceleration signal G _UNIT is linearly integrated with respect to time for each time interval {(tp−Δt) to tp} of the predetermined time width Δt with respect to the current time tp to calculate the speed change ΔV _UNIT , and the ΔV _UNIT determination unit 73. Output to.

Then, [Delta] V _UNIT determination unit 73, for example, sets a predetermined speed threshold _{TH UNIT} for the speed change [Delta] V _UNIT for determining the operation permission of the occupant protection system 12, [Delta] V _UNIT velocity change input from the calculating unit 72 [Delta] V _UNIT Is greater than or equal to a predetermined speed threshold value TH _UNIT , and the determination result is output to the drive command output unit 47.
Then, the drive command output unit 43 determines that the history line indicating the temporal change of the equivalent load f and the equivalent relative speed ν has reached the third region γ on the fν map as the determination result of the device drive determination unit 42. It is determined that there is a collision that requires the operation of the occupant protection device 12 and the determination result of the ΔV _UNIT determination unit 73 indicates that the speed change ΔV _UNIT is greater than or equal to a predetermined speed threshold TH _UNIT. When it is determined that the collision requires the operation of the device 12, a control signal that instructs the operation of various occupant protection devices 12 is output.
Thus, in the conventional collision determination method using the acceleration and acceleration integral calculation value (speed) using the acceleration sensor, the speed state quantity / load state quantity acting on the member (for example, the front bumper face 2 in the embodiment) By giving the energy state amount and the like, the collision state can be more appropriately determined and a safing effect (prevention of erroneous determination) can be achieved.

Next, a vehicle collision determination apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14 with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, 7, 8, and 11. To do.
In the vehicle collision determination device 10 according to this embodiment, the electronic control unit (ECU) 15 controls the operation of the deformation sensor 11, the occupant protection device 12, and the various pedestrian protection devices 14, and the electronic control unit. 15, in addition to a detection signal output from the deformation sensor 11, a detection signal output from an acceleration sensor (not shown) provided in the electronic control unit 15, a right side portion on the front side of the vehicle 1, and the like Various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection based on detection signals output from a left side, a right side on the rear side, and a satellite sensor (not shown) including a pair of acceleration sensors disposed on the left side. The electronic control unit 15 can control the operation of the device 14, and the outer surface of the vehicle 1, for example, a front bumper The apparatus includes an energy state quantity calculation unit 41 that calculates a state quantity related to a time change of bending strain energy generated in the device 2, a device drive determination unit 42, a drive command output unit 43, and a time integrator 44. The basic configuration is the same as in the above embodiment.

Here, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in the mathematical formula (6), in order to calculate the equivalent load f as the state quantity related to the load (collision load) applied to the front bumper face 2 when the collision occurs, the strain energy calculation is performed. The distortion energy ED output from the unit 51 is divided by the total deflection w _sum output from the deflection total calculation unit 55. However, when the division operation is used in this way, the calculation load increases and the calculation speed becomes slow. End up. In the initial stage of the collision sum w _sum is small deflection, since the sum w _sum bending the denominator smaller close to zero, it is necessary to set a minimum value, when replaced with this minimum value, the minimum The calculation accuracy below the limit value cannot be ensured.

Similarly, in the above-described embodiment, as shown in the mathematical formula (7), in order to calculate the equivalent relative speed ν as the state quantity related to the relative speed between the vehicle 1 and the object at the time of occurrence of the collision, The time change (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED output from the calculation unit 52 is divided by the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56. However, since the division operation is also used here, the calculation load Becomes larger and the calculation speed becomes slower. Further, when the equivalent load f is obtained, the deflection total w _sum which is another parameter is required as shown in the above formula (6).
Therefore, a vehicle that uses only the product-sum (multiplication addition / subtraction) operation without using the above-described division operation, and that can output necessary data to the device drive determination unit 42 without calculating the deflection such as the deflection total sum w _sum. A collision determination device 10 is provided.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 12, the electronic control unit 15 is in a state related to the time change of the bending strain energy generated on the outer surface of the vehicle 1, for example, the front bumper face 2 when the collision between the vehicle 1 and the object occurs. An energy state amount calculation unit 41 for calculating the amount, a device drive determination unit 42, a drive command output unit 43, and a time integrator 44 are provided, but the configuration of the energy state amount calculation unit 41 is different. ing. The energy state quantity calculation unit 41 includes, for example, a strain energy time change calculation unit 52 and an equivalent load calculation unit 56. That is, the strain energy calculation unit 51, the deflection angle calculation unit 53, the deflection calculation unit 54, the deflection total calculation unit 55, and the equivalent relative velocity calculation unit 57 in the above-described embodiment are not provided.

  The strain energy time change calculation unit 52 performs the curvature ρ (n) of each piezoelectric element 24,..., 24 output from the time integrator 44 and the time change dρ ( Based on n) / dt, the temporal change (energy transition state quantity) p = (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED is calculated and output to the device drive determination unit 42 as shown in the equation (2).

The equivalent load calculation unit 56 acts on the front bumper face 2 when a collision occurs from the second-order differential value of the curvature ρ (n) with respect to the distance X (direction shown in FIG. 7) in the longitudinal direction (vehicle width direction) of the front bumper face 2. The equivalent load f is calculated as a state quantity related to the applied load (collision load). Since the second-order differential value is a process of only obtaining a difference between values for each operation clock, the calculation speed becomes high.
That is, since the bending moment: M (n) = EIρ (n) = EId ² y / dx ² ,
Distributed load: φ (x) = d ² M (n) / dx ²
= EId ² ρ (n) / dx ² Here, the equivalent load f can be expressed by the following equation as an amount based on the distributed load φ (x).
Equivalent load: f = Ψ [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ] (9)
Note that Ψ means a function (for example, three calculation methods described later).
Therefore, when the equivalent load f is obtained, the above division is not performed, and it is obtained by addition / subtraction using only ρ (n) without using other parameters besides the total deflection w _sum .

There are three calculation methods for obtaining the above-described equivalent load f.
The first is f∝ [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ] _max , which is a pick-up of the maximum value of the [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ] distribution in the longitudinal direction of the bumper face.
The second is f∝Σabs [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ], which is the sum of the absolute values of the [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ] distribution,
The third is f∝Σ [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ] _pos , which is a sum of only positive values of the [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ] distribution. Can be adopted.

Here, unlike the previous embodiment, this embodiment does not include the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57, but as shown in FIG. 13, the equivalent relative speed ν is a time change p = (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED. It is expressed as the slope of a straight line passing through the origin on a two-dimensional map composed of ∝Σ2ρ (n) [dρ (n) / dt] and the equivalent load f. That is, the equivalent relative speed ν ₀ = tan θ ₀ and the equivalent relative speed ν ₁ = tan θ ₁ are obtained.
As a result, in the above-described embodiment, what is obtained as ν = (dED / dt) / f does not use the division operation and does not use the equivalent load f or other parameters as in the case of obtaining the equivalent load f. Therefore, the calculation load is reduced.

  The device drive determination unit 42 is based on the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 and the time change p: (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED output from the strain energy time change calculation unit 52. The type of the object colliding with 1 and the form of collision are detected, and the detection result is output to the drive command output unit 43. In this case, the device drive determination unit 42 requires the strain energy calculation unit 51, the deflection angle calculation unit 53, the deflection calculation unit 54, the deflection total calculation unit 55, and the equivalent relative speed calculation unit 57 in the above-described embodiment. Therefore, the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 and the time change p: (dED / dt) of the strain energy ED output from the strain energy time change calculation unit 52 are used for faster calculation and determination. Since the determination accuracy is not impaired, the object can be determined at high speed.

As shown in FIG. 13, the device drive determination unit 42 is an fp map showing the correlation between the equivalent load f and the time change P of the strain energy ED (for example, the equivalent load f is plotted on the horizontal axis, and the time change p of the strain energy ED). Each of the thresholds of the equivalent load f, which is a boundary value that divides a plurality of areas that specify the severity of the collision, for example, the first to third areas α ′, β ′, and γ ′. f ₀ and f ₁ (for example, f ₀ ≦ f ₁ ) and threshold values p ₀ and p ₁ (for example, p ₀ ≦ p ₁ ) of the temporal change p of the strain energy ED that is the boundary value are set.

Here, the equivalent load f on the horizontal axis of the fp map shown in FIG. 13 can be expressed by f = Ψ [d ² ρ (n) / dx ² ], and the time change p of the strain energy ED on the vertical axis is , P = (dED / dt) ∝Σ2ρ (n) [dρ (n) / dt]. Accordingly, in this fp map, the equivalent relative velocity ν is expressed as a slope of a straight line passing through the origin on the two-dimensional map constituted by the time change p of the strain energy ED and the equivalent load f. The amount of information to be obtained is the same as that of the two-dimensional map composed of the equivalent relative speed ν and the equivalent load f of the above embodiment. Thereby, the physical performance of the determination using the map is not impaired.
Note that p = (dED / dt) ∝Σ2ρ (n) [dρ (n) / dt] is based on the above formulas (1) and (2).

Also, with respect to the equivalent relative speed ν appearing as the slope of the straight line passing through the origin, the first to third regions α ′, β ′, γ ′ are classified in the same manner as the equivalent load f and the time change p of the strain energy ED. Each threshold value ν ₀ , ν ₁ which is a boundary value is set.

On the fp map, the device drive determination unit 42 firstly has the equivalent load f output from the equivalent load calculation unit 56 smaller than the threshold f ₀ or the time change p of the strain energy ED is smaller than the threshold p _0. or determines whether the equivalent relative speed [nu is smaller than the threshold value [nu _0. When the determination result is “YES”, it is determined that the operation of various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14 is an unnecessary collision event, and the determination result is output to the drive command output unit 43. .

When the determination result is “NO”, the device drive determination unit 42 indicates that the equivalent load f is not less than the threshold f ₀ and the time change p of the strain energy ED is not less than the threshold p ₀ on the fp map. and it determines whether or not the equivalent relative speed [nu is the threshold value [nu ₀ or more. When the determination result is “NO”, it is determined that the collision is to some extent that the operations of the various occupant protection devices 12 and the pedestrian protection device 14 are unnecessary (α ′ region).
On the other hand, when the determination result is “YES”, the equivalent load f is greater than or equal to the threshold f ₁ , the temporal change p of the strain energy ED is greater than or equal to the threshold p ₁ , and the equivalent relative velocity ν is further displayed on the fp map. is equal to or the threshold value [nu ₁ or more. When the determination result is “NO”, it is determined that the collision requires the pedestrian protection device 14 to be operated (β ′ region). On the other hand, if this determination result is “YES”, it is determined that the collision requires the occupant protection device 12 to be operated (γ ′ region).

  Based on the determination result output from the device drive determination unit 42, the drive command output unit 43 sends control signals for instructing operating states of various occupant protection devices 12 or pedestrian protection devices 14 to the occupant protection device 12 or pedestrian protection. Output to the device 14.

Next, the operation of another embodiment of the present invention having the above-described configuration, in particular, the occupant protection device according to the threshold values f ₀ , f ₁ , p ₀ , p ₁ , ν ₀ , ν ₁ on the fp map. 12 or the process of determining whether or not the operation of the pedestrian protection device 14 is a collision will be described.

As shown in FIG. 14, in step S11, the values of the temporal change p of the equivalent load f and the strain energy ED are read. Next, in step S12, less than the equivalent load f is a threshold value f _0, or smaller than the time variation p of the strain energy ED threshold p _0, or, or equivalent relative speed [nu is smaller than the threshold value [nu ₀ not Determine whether. If this determination is “NO”, the flow proceeds to step S 14 described later.

If the determination result of step S12 is “YES”, the process proceeds to step S13. In step S13, it is determined that the operation of various occupant protection devices 12 and the pedestrian protection device 14 is a collision with an unnecessary object, and a series of processing ends.
In step S14, determines equivalent load f is at the threshold value f ₀ or more and in time change p of the strain energy ED threshold p ₀ or more, and the equivalent relative speed [nu is whether a threshold value [nu ₀ or more. If the determination result is “NO”, it is determined that the operation of various occupant protection devices 12 and the pedestrian protection device 14 is unnecessary and the collision is moderate to some extent (α ′ region), and the series of processes is terminated.

If the determination result in step S14 is “YES”, the process proceeds to step S16. In this step S16, it is determined in equivalent load f is a threshold value f ₁ or more, and in a time change p of the strain energy ED threshold p ₁ or more, and the equivalent relative speed [nu is whether a threshold value [nu ₁ or more. If the determination result is “NO”, it is determined in step S17 that the collision requires the pedestrian protection device 14 to be operated (β ′ region), and the series of processing ends.
If the determination result in step S16 is “YES”, it is determined in step S18 that the occupant protection device 12 needs to be actuated (collision required) (γ ′ region), and the series of processing ends.

As described above, according to the vehicle collision determination device 10 according to the present embodiment, the detection signal output from the deformation sensor 11, that is, the curvature ρ (n that directly reflects the state of the collision that has actually occurred. ); (N = 1,..., N) based on the detection signal of the time change dρ (n) / dt, the equivalent load f and the time change p of the strain energy ED are detected. The reliability at the time of discriminating the type of object and the collision form can be improved.
Further, the above-described safing effect can be obtained by combining with a conventional collision determination method using acceleration and an integral calculation value (speed) of acceleration, so that reliability can be further improved.
Further, on the fp map indicating the correlation between the equivalent load f and the time change p of the strain energy ED, each threshold value of the time change p of the strain energy ED indicating the increasing tendency of the energy, which is a state quantity indicating the severity of the collision. p ₀ . It is determined whether or not the various occupant protection devices 12 and pedestrian protection devices 14 need to be operated by the threshold values f ₀ and f ₁ of p ₁ and the equivalent load f, and further, the required operation mode (for example, , Operation timing, etc.) can be determined appropriately.
In particular, unlike the above-described embodiment, the division is not performed when obtaining the equivalent load f, and the addition / subtraction using the second-order differential value of ρ (n) is performed without using other parameters such as the deflection total sum w _sum. Therefore, the division operation is not required and the calculation load is reduced and the calculation speed can be increased. In addition, when the division is used at the initial stage of the collision, the denominator becomes close to zero, so that it is not necessary to set the minimum value, and the calculation accuracy can be secured in this respect.

  Since it is not necessary to directly obtain the equivalent speed ν, the calculation load is reduced and the calculation speed can be increased.

  In the other embodiments described above, the device drive determination unit 42 also determines that the history line indicating the temporal change p of the equivalent load f and the strain energy ED has reached the third region γ ′ on the fp map. Although it is determined that the collision requires operation of various occupant protection devices 12, the present invention is not limited to this. In addition to the detection signal output from the deformation sensor 11, as shown in FIG. Based on the detection signal output from the acceleration sensor 71 provided in the control unit 15, it may be determined whether or not the collision requires the operation of various occupant protection devices 12. Based on a detection signal output from an acceleration sensor (not shown) constituting the sensor, it may be determined whether the collision requires operation of various occupant protection devices 12 or not.

In addition, as described above, in the other embodiments described above, the equivalent relative velocity ν appears as a phase angle on the fp map, but as a function of the amount of change in curvature at the beginning of the collision where the geometric deflection θ is small. Can be represented.
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, assuming that ρ is changed to ρ ′ and θ is changed to θ ′ when a minute time has passed, ρθ = ρ′θ ′ = (ρ−dρ) × (ρ + dρ ) = Ρθ−θdρ + ρdθ−dρ · dθ
Therefore, θdρ≈ρdθ Therefore, θ · dρ / dt≈ρ · dθ / dt
Also, w = ρ (1−cos θ (θ / 2)) = 2ρsin ² θ≈2ρθ ² (θ << 1)
Therefore, dw / dt≈2 · (θ ² · dρ / dt + 2ρ · θ · dθ / dt)
= 6θ ² dρ / dt w: Deflection Here, θ ² is regarded as a constant.
ν = dw / dt∝ξ [dρ / dt]
That is, the equivalent relative speed (speed state quantity) is a function of the amount of change in curvature over time.
However, as described above, since the range where θ is very small is limited to the initial stage of the collision, there is a limitation on the time during which this approximation can be used, but the processing can be performed at high speed because only the curvature is used. Therefore, it can be used as the equivalent relative speed in the above-described embodiment or actively used in other embodiments.
Here, when used in another embodiment, f and ν in FIG. 13 are replaced, and determination is performed using a two-dimensional map in which the horizontal axis is equivalent velocity ν and the vertical axis is energy transition state quantity p. In this case, the equivalent load f is expressed as a slope of a straight line passing through the origin.

It is a block diagram which shows typically the front part of the vehicle carrying the vehicle collision determination apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part disassembled perspective view of the load sensor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the load sensor shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the differentiation circuit with which a deformation | transformation sensor is equipped. FIG. 5 is a graph showing an example of a relationship between a frequency f corresponding to a resistance value R of a first resistor of the differentiating circuit shown in FIG. 4 and a gain V _{f = f} / V _{f = ∞} . It is a lineblock diagram of a collision judging device for vehicles concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of the some piezoelectric element at the time of deform | transforming so that a front bumper face may become depressed toward the inside of a vehicle at the time of a collision. It is a figure which shows an example of the positional relationship of the adjacent piezoelectric element at the time of deform | transforming so that a front bumper face may become depressed toward the inside of a vehicle at the time of a collision. fν each threshold value _TH which is set on the map _1, TH _2, TH _f, is a diagram illustrating an example of a TH _[nu. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the vehicle collision determination apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the collision determination apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the collision determination apparatus for vehicles which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. Each set on fp map threshold _{f 0, f 1, p 0} , p 1, ν 0, is a diagram illustrating an example of a [nu _1. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the collision determination apparatus for vehicles which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a geometric explanatory drawing for calculating | requiring an equivalent relative velocity. It is a geometric explanatory drawing for calculating | requiring an equivalent relative velocity.

Explanation of symbols

2 Front bumper face (member)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle collision determination apparatus 11 Deformation sensor (detection means)
14 Pedestrian protection device (protection device)
41 Energy state quantity calculation unit (collision state quantity detection means)
42 Device drive determination unit (collision state determination means, object detection means)
43 Drive command output unit (drive control means)

Claims (7)

Detecting means for detecting a curvature of the member related to deformation of the member constituting the outer surface of the vehicle and a state quantity relating to at least one of the time variation of the curvature;
When an object touches or collides with the vehicle, the speed state amount related to the relative speed between the vehicle and the object and the vehicle and the object act based on the state amount detected by the detection means. A collision state quantity detecting means for detecting a load state quantity related to the load;
A vehicle collision determination device comprising: a collision state determination unit that determines a collision state according to the speed state amount and the load state amount detected by the collision state amount detection unit. Detecting means for detecting the curvature of the member related to the deformation of the member constituting the outer surface of the vehicle and a state quantity relating to the time change of the curvature;
Based on the state quantity detected by the detection means when an object contacts or collides with the vehicle, the load state quantity relating to the load acting between the vehicle and the object, the curvature, and the time variation of the curvature are changed. A collision state quantity detecting means for detecting an energy transition state quantity composed of such state quantities;
A vehicle collision determination apparatus comprising: a collision state determination unit that determines a collision state according to the load state amount and the energy transition state amount detected by the collision state amount detection unit. Detecting means for detecting the curvature of the member related to the deformation of the member constituting the outer surface of the vehicle and a state quantity relating to the time change of the curvature;
Based on the state quantity detected by the detection means when an object contacts or collides with the vehicle, the speed state quantity related to the relative speed between the vehicle and the object, and the state quantity related to the curvature and the time change of the curvature A collision state quantity detecting means for detecting an energy transition state quantity comprising:
A vehicle collision determination device comprising: a collision state determination unit that determines a collision state according to the speed state amount and the energy state amount detected by the collision state amount detection unit.   The vehicle collision determination device according to claim 1, further comprising: an object detection unit that detects a type of the object according to the speed state quantity and the load state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection unit. .   The object detection means for detecting the type of the object according to either the energy transition state quantity detected by the collision state quantity detection means and the load state quantity or the speed state quantity. The vehicle collision determination device according to claim 2 or claim 3.   6. The vehicle collision according to claim 4, further comprising drive control means for controlling drive of a protection device that protects the object according to the type of the object detected by the object detection means. Judgment device.   Included in the vehicle is an acceleration detection means for detecting an acceleration acting on the vehicle, wherein the collision state determination means determines the collision state in consideration of the acceleration state quantity obtained by the acceleration detection means. The vehicle collision determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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