JP2007083759A - Collision protection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collision protection device for a vehicle capable of protecting even an object positioned in the rear of the vehicle from the impact of collision. <P>SOLUTION: Based on an image imaged by a rear camera 15 serving as a back guide monitor system 30, a control circuit 2 of a navigation device 1 determines whether or not the object existing in the rear of the vehicle collides with the vehicle. When it is determined that the object collides with the vehicle, the control circuit 2 controls to operate an air bag device 17 disposed in the rear. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle collision protection device that detects a situation in which a vehicle is expected to collide with a pedestrian and protects the pedestrian from the impact of a collision.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle collision protection device that detects a situation in which a vehicle is expected to collide with a pedestrian and protects the pedestrian from the impact of a collision. This technology detects a collision by deformation of a collision surface of a vehicle and estimates a collision target. A capacitance type collision detection sensor unit includes a counter electrode disposed on a collision surface at a predetermined interval, and a counter electrode. By detecting a change in electrostatic capacity caused by a collision with a dielectric made of an elastic body interposed between the opposing electrodes, an electric signal is output and the electric signal is created and stored in advance for each vehicle speed. By comparing with the data on the map, the collision target is determined from the strength of the collision. When the collision target is a pedestrian, the airbag is inflated to protect the pedestrian from the impact of the collision.
JP 2000-177514 A

However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is supposed only to protect an object such as a pedestrian located in front of the vehicle, and when the pedestrian is located behind the vehicle. There was a problem that it could not be protected.
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle collision protection device that can protect an object located behind the vehicle from the impact of a collision. .

  According to the vehicle collision protection device of the first aspect, the collision determination unit is configured such that an object existing on the rear side of the vehicle collides with the vehicle based on an image captured by the imaging unit included in the bag guide monitor system. It is determined whether or not to do. And when it determines with a target object colliding with a vehicle, an airbag control means will control to operate the airbag apparatus arrange | positioned at the back side. That is, by using the imaging means provided in the bag guide monitor system, it is possible to easily configure a device that protects an object located behind the vehicle from the impact of a collision.

  According to the vehicle collision protection device of the second aspect, the object discrimination means determines whether the object is a pedestrian or other object based on the image captured by the image capturing means provided in the bag guide monitor system. Determine. Then, when it is determined that the object is a pedestrian, the airbag control means operates the airbag device at the maximum gas pressure when the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is equal to or higher than the upper limit speed. Control. In other words, the higher the traveling speed of the vehicle, the greater the energy at the time of the collision. Therefore, the airbag device can be operated at the maximum gas pressure to more reliably protect pedestrians who need to protect from the impact of the collision. it can.

  According to the vehicle collision protection device of the third aspect, the airbag control means, when the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is less than the upper limit speed and exceeds the lower limit speed, the airbag is proportional to the traveling speed. Control the gas pressure to operate the device. In other words, if the airbag device is operated at the maximum gas pressure when the traveling speed of the vehicle is not so high and the impact at the time of collision is not so great, the impact due to the deployment of the airbag becomes stronger. It is also assumed. Therefore, by controlling as described above, it is possible to adjust the pressure when the airbag is deployed in accordance with the traveling speed of the vehicle.

  According to the vehicle collision protection device of the fourth aspect, the airbag device is provided with an electromagnetic valve between the inflator for deploying the airbag and the airbag, and depending on the open / closed state of the electromagnetic valve, It is configured to control the gas pressure. That is, the pressure of the gas generated when the inflator is ignited and flowing into the airbag is reduced when the opening / closing time of the solenoid valve is short, and is increased when the opening / closing time of the solenoid valve is long. Therefore, the pressure when the airbag is deployed can be easily adjusted by controlling the opening / closing time of the electromagnetic valve.

  According to the vehicle collision protection apparatus of the fifth aspect, the airbag control means controls the timing for operating the airbag apparatus according to the traveling speed. With such a configuration, when the traveling speed is less than the upper limit speed and exceeds the lower limit speed, if the traveling speed is fast, the operation timing is set to immediately before the collision so that the impact of the collision is absorbed, and the traveling speed is relatively slow. Can give a warning to pedestrians by operating the airbag device at a faster stage.

According to the vehicle collision protection device of the sixth aspect, the airbag control means waits for the operation of the airbag device when the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is equal to or lower than the lower limit speed. In other words, even if there is an object behind the vehicle, there is room for avoiding a collision when the vehicle speed is extremely low, so that the airbag device is not inadvertently activated. it can.
According to the vehicle collision protection device of the seventh aspect, the warning means warns the driver when the collision determination means determines that the object collides with the vehicle. Can actively take action to do.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment when a vehicle collision protection device of the present invention is configured using a vehicle navigation device will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the navigation apparatus. In FIG. 1, a car navigation device (vehicle collision protection device) 1 has a control circuit (collision determination means, airbag control means, object discrimination means, warning means) 2 having a function of controlling the navigation operation. Position detector (position acquisition means) 3, map database (collision determination means) 4, display device (display means) 5, operation switch group 6, voice output device (warning means) 7, voice recognition device 8, memory 9 VICS (Vehicle Information Communication System, registered trademark) receiver 10 is connected.

The control circuit 2 is constituted by a microcomputer provided with a CPU, ROM, RAM, I / O interface and a bus line (not shown) for connecting them. Among these, the ROM stores a car navigation program and the like, and the RAM stores road map data acquired from the map database 4 in addition to the processing data at the time of program execution, and the VICS receiver 10 uses the VICS infrastructure. The received road traffic information and the like are temporarily stored.
The position detector 3 includes, for example, a geomagnetic sensor 11, a gyro sensor 12, a vehicle speed sensor (speed detection means) 13, a GPS receiver 14, and the like, and is a part that calculates the current position information of the vehicle.

  The map database 4 is constructed using a large capacity information recording medium such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, or hard disk, and is used for map drawing data for map display, map matching and route search, In addition to road data necessary for various processes such as route guidance, intersection data consisting of detailed data of intersections, background data for background layers, place name data for displaying place names, etc., facility names are displayed in the order of, for example, 50 sounds. Various map data are stored, such as a lined facility name database and a telephone number database indicating correspondence between telephone numbers and facilities.

  The display device 5 includes, for example, a color liquid crystal display for displaying a map screen and the like, and is installed in the vicinity of the driver's seat of the vehicle. On the screen of the display device 5, a road map whose scale can be changed in a plurality of stages in normal times is displayed, and a pointer indicating the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle is displayed so as to be superimposed on the display. It has become. Further, when the route guidance function based on the route search result to the destination is executed, the guidance route to be traveled while being superimposed on the road map is displayed. Further, various menu screens and input screens for searching and inputting destinations by the user, various message information, help screens, and the like are also displayed.

The operation switch group 6 includes mechanical switches arranged around the display device 5, touch panel switches formed on the display of the display device 5, and the like, and controls commands related to operations such as various data and setting items. 2 is provided. The voice output device 7 includes a voice synthesis circuit, an amplifier, a speaker, and the like, and is configured to generate a voice output corresponding to voice information from the control circuit 2.
The speech recognition device 8 includes a microphone, a speech extraction unit that converts speech input by the microphone into digital data, a speech recognition unit that includes a comparison pattern candidate dictionary for speech recognition (none of which are shown). Thus, the control circuit 2 is provided with the result of recognizing the voice uttered by the user.

The memory 9 is composed of a data rewritable non-volatile memory such as a flash memory. The memory 9 stores history data indicating the input frequency of voice commands related to the gist of the present invention, and stores and recalls other specific data. It is provided to go.
The VICS receiver 10 includes a VICS sensor unit and an FM multiplex broadcast receiver (both not shown). For example, road traffic information or FM by optical / radio wave beacons received by the VICS sensor unit from the VICS station. The road traffic information from the FM multiplex broadcast received by the multiplex broadcast receiver is provided to the control circuit 2.

The control circuit 2 performs a well-known map display function, route calculation function, route guidance function, telephone number search function, zip code based on a command input through the operation switch group 6 or a voice command input through the voice recognition device 8. Various support functions such as a search function, a search function using a unique code such as a map code (registered trademark), a 50-sound search function, a search function by genre, a nearest facility search function, a destination registration function, and a point registration function It is comprised so that the process which concerns on may be performed.
The car navigation device 1 is connected with a rear camera (imaging means) 15 made up of a charge coupled device (CCD) or a CMOS image sensor that captures an image behind the vehicle (see FIG. 2). An image signal captured by the rear camera 15 is displayed on the display device 5 via the control circuit 2 and used as a back guide monitor, and image recognition processing is performed by software of the control circuit 2. Yes. That is, the rear camera 15, the control circuit 2, and the display device 5 constitute a back guide monitor system 30.

  Further, the control circuit 2 outputs a start signal to the three airbag devices 17L, 17M, and 17R arranged at the rear of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, these airbag devices 17L, 17M, and 17R are arranged on the left, center, and right, respectively, on the outside of the rear of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, the airbag device 17 includes an inflator 18, a solenoid valve 19, and an airbag 20. When the control circuit 2 outputs an activation signal to the airbag device 17, the internal inflator 19 is ignited. As a result, high-pressure gas is generated, and the gas is introduced into the airbag 20 via the electromagnetic valve 19 so that the airbag 20 is deployed. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the airbag 20 is deployed. The control circuit 2 can control the opening and closing of the electromagnetic valve 19, and the deployment pressure of the airbag 20 can be adjusted by the opening and closing time of the electromagnetic valve 19.
Further, in FIG. 2, although details will be described later, a control process of the airbag device 17 mainly performed by software of the control circuit 2 is shown in a functional block form.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents relating to the control of the airbag device 17 performed by the control circuit 2 of the car navigation device 1 during the reverse driving of the vehicle. The control circuit 2 processes the image for the back guide monitor imaged by the rear camera 15, and determines whether or not an object existing behind the vehicle collides with the rear part of the vehicle (step S1).

  The determination as to whether or not there is a collision in step S1 is performed as follows. First, the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is acquired from the vehicle speed sensor 13, and the distance between the rear portion of the vehicle and the object is detected from the image processing result. In the distance detection, road width information of the road reflected in the rear image is acquired from the map database 4, and the distance from the object subjected to image processing is obtained with reference to the road width. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, a collision determination curve (secondary curve) drawn with the traveling speed on the horizontal axis and the distance to the object on the vertical axis is stored in advance as data, and the current speed is obtained. If the two-dimensional coordinates plotted by the distance are in an area below the collision determination curve, it is determined that “collision” occurs, and if the two-dimensional coordinates are in an upper area, it is determined that “no collision”. The reason why the collision determination curve is a quadratic curve is that the braking distance of the vehicle becomes longer in proportion to the square of the speed.

  If it is determined in step S1 that “no collision” (“NO”), no particular processing is performed, and a rear image of the vehicle is displayed on the display device 5 as a bag guide monitor to be monitored by the driver (step S2). Return to S1. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1 that there is a collision (“YES”), the control circuit 2 outputs an alarm (for example, a voice message such as “collision”) from the voice output device 7 to warn the driver, Notification is performed (step S3).

  Then, the control circuit 2 estimates whether the collision location is likely to be the left part, the center part, or the right part of the rear part of the vehicle from the image processing result, and the airbag devices 17L, 17M, It is determined which of 17R is to be operated (step S4). However, two or more airbag devices 17 may be operated simultaneously according to the situation. Subsequently, the control circuit 2 determines whether or not the collision target is a pedestrian (step S5). The determination here is performed using a technique disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-216937. If the collision target is not a pedestrian (“NO”), the airbag device 17 to be operated is operated at the maximum gas pressure (P2 shown in FIG. 6) (step S7). Note that the operation timing of the airbag device 17 is immediately before the collision with the object.

  On the other hand, when the collision target is a pedestrian in step S5 ("YES"), the control circuit 2 detects the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time again (step S6), as shown in FIG. The operating state of the airbag device 17 is determined based on the data that defines the relationship between the vehicle speed and the operating gas pressure of the airbag device 17 (step S8).

In step S8, if the vehicle speed V is (V ≦ X1), it can be estimated that there is sufficient time to avoid the collision, so the airbag device 17 is not operated (gas pressure = 0), and step S8 is performed. Similar to S2, the driver continues monitoring by the bag guide monitor (step S9). Then, the process returns to step S1. If the vehicle speed V is (X2 ≦ V), the process proceeds to step S7, and the airbag device 17 is operated at the maximum gas pressure.
If the vehicle speed V is (X1 <V <X2), the gas pressure of the airbag device 17 is set to be proportional to the vehicle speed (step S10). That is, the gas pressure P is expressed by the following formula: P = (P2-P1) * V / (X2-X1) + P1
Calculate and determine based on That is, when the airbag device 17 is operated at the maximum gas pressure when the traveling speed of the vehicle is not so high and the impact at the time of collision is not so great, the impact caused by the deployment of the airbag 20 becomes stronger. It is also assumed that Therefore, the pressure when the airbag 20 is deployed is adjusted according to the traveling speed of the vehicle.

  In this case, the operation timing of the airbag device 17 is also changed according to the vehicle speed. FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the vehicle speed and the operation timing, and the vertical axis indicates the time before (past) the time when the collision (prediction) time is T = 0. For example, if the operation timing is TM, it means that the airbag device 17 is operated when the collision time is traced back by TM. That is, when the traveling speed is relatively fast, the operation timing is set immediately before the collision so as to absorb the impact of the collision. When the traveling speed is relatively slow, the airbag device 17 is operated at a faster stage, and the airbag 20 is deployed. To give a warning to pedestrians.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the control circuit 2 of the navigation device 1 determines that the object existing on the rear side of the vehicle is based on the image captured by the rear camera 15 as the bag guide monitor system 30. If the object collides with the vehicle, the airbag device 17 arranged on the rear side is controlled to operate. That is, by using the rear camera 15 provided in the bag guide monitor system 30, the vehicle collision protection device can be configured easily.

  Further, when the control circuit 2 determines that the object is a pedestrian based on the image captured by the rear camera 15, if the vehicle traveling speed at that time is equal to or higher than the upper limit speed, the control device 2 sets the airbag device 17 to the maximum gas. Since it is operated by pressure, it is possible to more reliably protect a pedestrian who is more required to protect from the impact of a collision. The control circuit 2 controls the gas pressure that operates the airbag device 17 in proportion to the traveling speed when the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is less than the upper limit speed and exceeds the lower limit speed. When the impact of the airbag 20 is not so large, the pressure when the airbag 20 is deployed can be adjusted appropriately.

In the airbag device 17, the electromagnetic valve 19 is provided between the inflator 18 and the airbag 20, and the gas pressure at the time of deployment is controlled according to the open / closed state of the electromagnetic valve 19. By controlling the opening / closing time, the pressure when the airbag 20 is deployed can be easily adjusted.
Further, the control circuit 2 absorbs the impact of the collision by setting the operation timing of the airbag device 17 immediately before the collision when the traveling speed is fast in the range where the traveling speed is less than the upper limit speed and exceeding the lower limit speed. Is relatively slow, the airbag device 17 can be operated at a faster stage to give a warning to the pedestrian.

  Further, since the control circuit 2 waits for the operation of the airbag device 17 when the vehicle traveling speed at that time is equal to or lower than the lower limit speed, the airbag circuit 17 is not prepared when there is room for avoiding a collision. Can be avoided. When the control circuit 2 determines that the object collides with the vehicle, the audio output device 7 warns the driver, so that the driver actively takes action to avoid the collision. Can be made.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above or shown in the drawings, and the following modifications are possible.
The number of airbag devices 17 is not necessarily three, and it is only necessary to determine how many airbag devices 17 are provided according to individual designs.
Control of the airbag apparatus 17 according to the vehicle speed when the collision target is a pedestrian may be performed as necessary. Therefore, it is not always necessary to determine whether or not the collision target is a person.
What is necessary is just to implement as needed about the function which gives a warning to a driver | operator when it determines with colliding.
In order to perform the collision determination, the configuration for detecting the distance from the object includes, for example, an imaging unit that is used in the back guide monitor system and an imaging unit that captures a rear image from another angle. The distance may be detected based on image information obtained from the two imaging means.
The vehicle collision protection device may be configured together with a device having at least the function of the back guide monitor system, not limited to the configuration using the vehicle navigation device.

1 is a functional block diagram showing an electrical configuration of a navigation device according to an embodiment when the vehicle collision protection device of the present invention is configured using a vehicle navigation device. The figure which shows schematically the structure centering on the airbag apparatus arrange | positioned at the rear part side of a vehicle Front view of the rear of the vehicle showing a state in which the airbags of the three airbag devices are deployed. The flowchart which shows the processing content regarding control of the airbag apparatus performed by the control circuit of a car navigation apparatus at the time of reverse driving of a vehicle The figure which shows an example of a collision judgment curve The figure which shows the relationship between vehicle speed and the operating gas pressure of an airbag apparatus The figure which shows the relationship between a vehicle speed and the operation timing of an airbag apparatus

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a car navigation device (vehicle collision protection device), 2 is a control circuit (collision determination means, airbag control means, object discrimination means, warning means), 4 is a map database (collision determination means), 5 is A display device (display means), 7 an audio output device (warning means), 18 an inflator, 19 an electromagnetic valve, 20 an air bag, and 30 a back guide monitor system.

Claims (7)

Image pickup means for picking up an image of the rear side of the vehicle, a bag guide monitor system for displaying the image on a display means installed in the vehicle interior,
A collision determination means for determining whether an object existing on the rear side of the vehicle collides with the vehicle based on the video;
An airbag device disposed on the rear side of the vehicle;
A vehicle collision protection device comprising: an airbag control unit that controls the airbag device to operate when the collision determination unit determines that the object collides with the vehicle. An object discriminating means for discriminating whether the object is a pedestrian or other object based on the video;
Speed detecting means for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle,
When the object determining unit determines that the object is a pedestrian, the airbag control unit sets the airbag device to the maximum when the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is equal to or higher than the upper limit speed. 2. The vehicle collision protection device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle collision protection device is controlled so as to be operated by a gas pressure.   The airbag control means controls the gas pressure for operating the airbag device in proportion to the traveling speed when the traveling speed of the vehicle at that time is less than the upper limit speed and exceeds the lower limit speed. The vehicle collision protection device according to claim 2.   The airbag device includes an inflator for deploying an airbag and an electromagnetic valve between the airbag, and is configured to control the gas pressure according to an open / close state of the electromagnetic valve. The vehicle collision protection device according to claim 3.   5. The vehicle collision protection device according to claim 3, wherein the airbag control means controls a timing for operating the airbag device in accordance with the traveling speed. 6.   The said airbag control means makes the operation | movement of the said airbag apparatus stand by, when the traveling speed of the said vehicle is less than the said minimum speed at the time. Vehicle collision protection device. The vehicle collision protection device according to claim 1, further comprising a warning unit that warns a driver when the collision determination unit determines that the object collides with the vehicle.

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