JP2009126275A - Obstacle protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an obstacle protection device capable of mitigating a shock on an obstacle by preventing the obstacle from being collided with a peripheral edge of a hood when a vehicle is collided with the obstacle. <P>SOLUTION: The obstacle protection device comprises an actuator 2 for displacing a hood 1 of a vehicle in the upward direction and the transverse direction, a camera 5 for picking up an image of a forward side of the vehicle, an image processing unit 4 which performs the image processing of image pickup information from the camera 5, detects a collision of the vehicle with the obstacle, and predicts from the result of detection whether or not an upper part of the obstacle is collided with a peripheral edge of the hood 1, and a control unit 3 which controls the actuator 2 to displace the hood 1 in the colliding direction of an upper part of the obstacle when the image processing unit 4 predicts that the obstacle is collided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an obstacle protection device that can reduce an impact on an obstacle when the vehicle collides with the obstacle and the upper part of the obstacle falls on a hood.

  Generally, when a vehicle collides with an obstacle, the upper part of the obstacle hits the hood of the vehicle. In this case, a unit such as a hard engine is arranged under the hood, and if the upper part of the obstacle collides with the hood, the obstacle is likely to receive a large impact.

Therefore, when it is detected that the vehicle has collided with the obstacle, the hood is horizontally or tilted depending on the position of the obstacle and displaced upward, and the upper portion of the obstacle is received by the hood, thereby moving to the obstacle. There has been proposed an obstacle protection device that can mitigate the impact of (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2005-41391 A

  However, in the above conventional technique, the angle of the hood is simply displaced, so that when the upper part of the obstacle hits the rigid hood periphery, the impact on the obstacle cannot be sufficiently mitigated. There is a problem.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an obstacle protection device capable of preventing an obstacle from colliding with a peripheral edge of a hood when a vehicle collides with an obstacle and reducing an impact on the obstacle.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides an obstacle protection device including an actuator that detects that a vehicle has collided with an obstacle and displaces the hood of the vehicle upward. The actuator further includes at least the hood. Predicting means for predicting whether the obstacle hits the peripheral edge of the hood, and predicting that the obstacle hits the peripheral edge of the hood. In this case, the actuator includes control means for displacing the hood at least in the front-rear direction or the lateral direction so as to avoid the obstacle from hitting the peripheral edge of the hood.

  According to the above configuration, it is predicted whether the upper part of the obstacle hits the peripheral edge of the hood. If it is predicted that the obstacle hits, the hood is displaced in the direction in which the upper part of the obstacle hits. As a result, the upper part of the obstacle can be received by the hood itself, and the impact on the obstacle when the upper part of the obstacle hits the hood can be reduced.

  According to the present invention, when the vehicle collides with an obstacle, it is possible to avoid the obstacle from colliding with the peripheral edge of the hood, so that the impact on the obstacle can be reduced.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of an obstacle protection apparatus according to the present invention. This obstacle protection device includes an actuator 2 provided in an engine room E below a hood 1 of a vehicle, a control unit 3 connected to the actuator 2, an image processing unit 4 connected to the control unit 3, and an image. And a camera 5 connected to the processing unit 4. Here, the control unit 3 constitutes a control unit, and the image processing unit 4 and the camera 5 constitute a prediction unit. In FIG. 1, the hood 1 and the actuator 2 are shown only on the left side of the vehicle, and the right side has a configuration that is symmetrical with respect to the center axis of the vehicle.

  The actuator 2 displaces the hood 1 of the vehicle in the upward direction and the vehicle width direction. The camera 5 images the front of the vehicle. The image processing unit 4 captures imaging information from the camera 5 and performs image processing. The image processing unit 4 detects that the vehicle has collided with an obstacle (for example, a pedestrian) from the image processing result. It is predicted whether the upper part of the obstacle (the upper body of the pedestrian) hits the hood 1 or the periphery of the hood 1 (for example, the upper surface of the front fender 6). In addition, the actuator 2 is provided in two places of right and left of the rear side in the engine room E (refer FIG. 7).

  The control unit 3 captures the prediction result in the image processing unit 4 and, based on the prediction result, displaces the hood 1 in the direction in which the upper part of the obstacle collides, so that the obstacle is closer to the center of the hood 1. The actuator 2 is controlled so as to receive the upper part of the actuator 2.

  FIG. 2 shows a detailed structure of the actuator 2. The actuator 2 has an outer cylindrical body 7 having a square cross section, and a bottom plate 8 is provided at the lower portion of the outer cylindrical body 7. The outer cylindrical body 7 has four side walls, and the upper ends of the two opposite side walls 7A and 7B provided along the vehicle width direction (the left-right direction in the figure) of these side walls are inside each other. The locking portions 7C and 7D are formed at the respective portions by being bent.

  An inner cylinder 9 is provided inside the outer cylinder 7. The inner cylinder 9 has a rectangular substrate 10 at the bottom thereof, and the inner cylinder 9 is erected on the substrate 10. The inner cylindrical body 9 has four side walls, and of these side walls, the upper portions of the two opposite side walls 9A and 9B provided along the vehicle width direction are bent inward from each other. The cylinder 9 has an upper opening that is narrower than the back. Further, projections 9C and 9D having a triangular longitudinal section are formed on the lower inner surface of the side walls 9A and 9B.

  The peripheral edge of the substrate 10 of the inner cylinder 9 is in close contact with the inner surface of the outer cylinder 7 such as the side walls 7A, 7B. Further, a space is formed between the substrate 10 and the bottom plate 8 of the outer cylindrical body 7, and the first inflator 11 is accommodated in this space. The outer cylinder 7 is a storage member that stores the first inflator 11.

  The inner cylinder 9 is formed such that the distance between the outer surface of the side wall 9A and the outer surface of the side wall 9B is smaller than the distance between the locking portions 7C and 7D of the outer cylinder 7, and the side wall 9A, The portion 9B can pass between the engaging portions 7C and 7D of the outer cylindrical body 7.

  Further, a projection 10A is formed at the center of the upper surface of the bottom plate 10 of the inner cylinder 9 when viewed in the vehicle width direction, and a second space is formed in the space formed by the lower portion of the side wall 9A and the projection 10A. Similarly, the second inflator 13 is housed in a space formed by the lower portion of the side wall 9B and the protrusion 10A. The inner cylinder 9 is a storage member that stores the second inflators 12 and 13.

  A movable body 14 is provided inside the inner cylinder 9. The movable body 14 has a semi-cylindrical shape in the upper half and an inverted triangle with the lower half in the longitudinal sectional shape, and the semi-cylindrical portion and the inverted triangle portion are integrally formed. The semi-columnar part has an upper surface formed on the cylindrical surface 14A, and the inverted triangular part has side surfaces formed on the inclined surfaces 14B and 14C, respectively. Then, both side portions of the cylindrical surface 14A are in contact with upper portions of the inner surfaces of the side walls 9A and 9B of the inner cylindrical body 9, and the lower end of the inverted triangular portion having the inclined surfaces 14B and 14C is in contact with the upper surface of the projection 10A. The movable body 14 is rotatable in the directions of arrows A1 and A2 inside the inner cylindrical body 9.

  A rod 15 is fixed at the center of the cylindrical surface 14 </ b> A of the movable body 14. The rod 15 is usually arranged in the vertical direction, and a cylindrical member 16 is attached to the upper end portion of the rod 15.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, a connecting member 17 is attached to a connecting portion with the rod 15 on the lower surface of the hood 1.

  FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the connecting member 17 as viewed from below, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the rod 15 and the columnar member 16 as viewed from below. 4A is a view in the middle of connecting the rod 15 to the connecting member 17, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SA-SA in FIG. FIG. 4B is a view when the rod 15 is connected to the connecting member 17, and is a cross-sectional view taken along the line SA-SA in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the connecting member 17 forms a rectangular parallelepiped as a whole, and a fitting hole 18 is formed at the center of the lower surface thereof. The opening of the fitting hole 18 is substantially rectangular. The first groove 19 is formed on both short sides (left and right sides in the drawing), and the second groove is formed on both long sides (upper and lower sides in the drawing). The grooves 20 are respectively formed. The first groove 19 is formed toward the back of the fitting hole 18, and the second groove 20 is formed toward the outer surface of the connecting member 17.

  On the other hand, a cylindrical member 16 is attached to the top end of the rod 15. The central axis of the cylindrical member 16 and the central axis of the rod 15 are orthogonal to each other. In addition, protrusions 16 </ b> A are formed on both end surfaces of the cylindrical member 16 in parallel with the central axis of the rod 15. When the rod 15 is connected to the connecting member 17, the protrusion 16 </ b> A of the columnar member 16 is fitted into the first groove 19 of the connecting member 17 as shown in FIG. 4A. Thereby, the rotation of the cylindrical member 16 around its central axis is restricted, and the rotation of the rod 15 relative to the connecting member 17 is also restricted. The protrusion 16A and the first groove 19 constitute a restricting means.

  The inner side of the fitting hole 18 of the connecting member 17 (the inner side of the first groove 19) is wider than the opening. That is, the first groove 19 is not formed on the back side, and the length along the long side of the fitting hole 18 on the back side is the length L of the entire columnar member 16 including the protrusion 16A. It is formed slightly longer than (see FIG. 3B). In addition, the rear side of the fitting hole 18 is formed such that the left and right ends are circular in FIG. 3A (see FIG. 4A), and the intermediate upper surface between the left and right ends is formed in a semi-cylindrical surface. When the rod 15 is completely connected to the connecting member 17, as shown in FIG. 4B, the columnar member 16 enters the space behind the fitting hole 18, and the protrusion 16 </ b> A and the first groove 19. And disengagement. Thereby, the cylindrical member 16 is allowed to rotate around its central axis. At this time, since the rod 15 is fitted in the second groove 20 of the connecting member 17, the rod 15 can freely rotate with respect to the connecting member 17 as indicated by arrows B 1 and B 2.

  Next, the effect | action of a present Example is demonstrated using FIGS.

  Normally, in the actuator 2, as shown in FIG. 6A, the movable body 14 is in an established state in the inner cylindrical body 9 with the lower end of the inverted triangular portion abutting against the protrusion 10 </ b> A. For this reason, the rod 15 provided on the movable body 14 faces upward as shown in FIG. At this time, the rod 15 is located at a position where the columnar member 16 at the upper end of the rod 15 is separated from the connecting member 17 on the lower surface of the hood 1 by a predetermined distance.

  When the vehicle travels, the camera 5 (see FIG. 1) always captures an image in front of the vehicle, and transmits the imaging result to the image processing unit 4 (see FIG. 1). Image the results. Then, the image processing unit 4 detects whether or not the vehicle has collided with an obstacle (pedestrian) based on the image processing result (step S1 in FIG. 8).

  If the vehicle does not collide with the obstacle, the process is terminated. However, when the vehicle collides with the obstacle, the control unit 3 (see FIG. 1) transmits a control signal to the actuator 2 to 1 inflator 11 is ignited. When the first inflator 11 ignites, the first inflator 11 releases a large amount of combustion gas, and pushes up the substrate 10 of the inner cylindrical body 9 with the pressure of this combustion gas. When the substrate 10 is pushed up, the inner cylinder 9 rises in the outer cylinder 7 together with the movable body 14, whereby the cylindrical member 16 at the upper end of the rod 15 is fitted into the fitting hole 18 (FIG. 3 (FIG. 3 ( While fitting to (a), the hood 1 is lifted and the entire hood 1 is displaced upward as shown in FIG. 5B (step S2 in FIG. 8).

  When the inner cylinder 9 moves up in the outer cylinder 7 and the substrate 10 of the inner cylinder 9 reaches the upper portion of the outer cylinder 7, the peripheral edge of the substrate 10 is the locking portion of the outer cylinder 7. 7C and 7D (see FIG. 2), the rising amount of the inner cylindrical body 9 is regulated to a predetermined value, and the inner cylindrical body 9 does not come out of the outer cylindrical body 7.

  Next, the image processing unit 4 detects whether or not the part where the upper part of the obstacle collides is not the central part of the hood 1 (step S3 in FIG. 8). If the hit location is the central portion of the hood 1, it is not necessary to displace the hood 1 in the lateral direction (vehicle width direction), and thus the process ends.

  If the hit location is not the central portion of the hood 1, it is subsequently detected whether or not the hit location is on the left side of the hood 1 (step S4 in FIG. 8). When the collision part is on the left side of the hood 1, the control unit 3 subsequently transmits a control signal to the actuator 2, and as shown in FIG. 6B, the second inflator 12 (second inflator 12 (See FIG. 6 (a)). A large amount of combustion gas is generated by the ignition of the second inflator 12, and the pressure of the combustion gas acts on the inclined surface 14B of the movable body 14, so that the movable body 14 is counterclockwise as shown in FIG. Rotate in the direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5C, the hood 1 is displaced leftward (step S5 in FIG. 8).

  When the collision part is not on the left side of the hood 1, that is, on the right side, the control unit 3 ignites the second inflator 13 and rotates the movable body 14 clockwise in FIG. Displace to the right (step S6 in FIG. 8).

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the actuator 2 is provided at the left and right two places on the rear side in the engine room E, and the hood 1 is connected to the front portion of the vehicle body 26 by the hook portion H. When the hood 1 is displaced upward by the left and right actuators 2, the hood 1 is in a state where the rear part is inclined and the front part is low. When the hood 1 is displaced in the vehicle width direction, the hood 1 is rotated in the directions of the arrows C1 and C2 around the hook portion H at the front end portion of the hood 1.

  According to the present embodiment, the upper part of the obstacle is predicted to collide with the hood 1 or the vicinity of the hood 1, and the hood 1 is displaced in the direction in which the upper part of the obstacle collides based on the prediction result. It is possible to prevent the upper part of the obstacle from hitting the periphery of the hood 1. In addition, since the upper part of the obstacle is received at a position closer to the center of the hood 1, the impact on the obstacle when the upper part of the obstacle hits the hood 1 can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the first inflator 11 and the second inflators 12 and 13 are housed in the same actuator 2, the actuator 2 can be made compact.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the protrusions 16A are provided on both end surfaces of the cylindrical member 16 at the tip of the rod 15 in the actuator 2, and the groove 19 is formed in the fitting hole 18 of the connecting member 17, so that the cylindrical member 16 is fitted. When the fitting hole 18 is fitted, the protrusion 16A enters the groove 19, so that the rod 15 can be prevented from falling before the connection between the rod 15 and the connecting member 17 is completed.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since a space wider than the opening on the inlet side is provided on the back side of the fitting hole 18 of the connecting member 17, when the rod 15 is completely connected to the connecting member 17, The rod 15 can be freely rotated in the vehicle width direction.

  FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the second inflator for displacing the hood 1 in the vehicle width direction is not housed in the actuator 2 and is provided separately. That is, a pedestal 30 is installed beside the actuator 2, and a separately placed actuator 31 is provided on the pedestal 30.

  The separately placed actuator 31 has a rectangular cylindrical body 32, and a rectangular columnar pressing member 33 is provided inside the cylindrical body 32. The pressing member 33 has a flange 33A on one end side (right side in the figure), and the peripheral edge of the flange 33A is in close contact with the inner surface of the side wall 32A of the cylindrical body 32. A space is formed between the flange 33A and the inner surface of the bottom wall 32B of the cylindrical body 32, and the second inflator 34 is accommodated in this space.

  A pressed member 35 that is long in the vertical direction is attached to the lower surface side of the hood 1, and the side surface of the pressed member 35 is in contact with the end surface of the other end side (left side in the drawing) of the pressing member 33.

  In the above configuration, the operation when the hood 1 is displaced upward is the same as in the first embodiment. When the hood 1 is displaced in the vehicle width direction, the second inflator 34 is ignited, the pressing member 33 is driven by the pressure of the combustion gas when the second inflator 34 burns, and the pressed member 35 is moved. Press and thereby displace the hood 1 in the vehicle width direction

  In this embodiment, the separately placed actuator 31 and the like are also provided on the right side of the vehicle. In this case, if the entire hood 1 is connected, the hood 1 cannot move in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, in the present embodiment, of the left and right separately placed actuators 31, the actuator on which the force that pushes the pressing member 33 into the cylindrical body 32 acts is detached from the pedestal 30.

  According to the present embodiment, since the separate actuator 31 directly presses the hood 1 in the vehicle width direction, there is no waste in transmitting the pressing force, and the hood 1 can be efficiently used even if the amount of the inflator 34 is reduced. Can be displaced well.

  FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment. In the present embodiment, the actuator 2 in the first embodiment is also provided at the rear part of the engine room and the front part of the engine room (near the hook part H).

  In this embodiment, when the hood 1 is displaced upward, the connection between the hood 1 and the front portion of the vehicle body 26 at the hook portion H is released. Further, in this embodiment, the hood 1 is displaced in the vehicle front-rear direction after the hood 1 is displaced in the vehicle width direction.

  According to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the hood 1 can be displaced in the vehicle width direction D1, D2 and the front-rear direction E1, E2, and the range for receiving the obstacle is further widened.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the drawings, each of the above embodiments is only an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited only to the configuration of each of the above embodiments. . Needless to say, changes in design and the like within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention.

  For example, as means for detecting that the vehicle has collided with an obstacle, it is possible not only to perform image processing on the image information captured by the camera 5, but also to detect the information from the sensor by attaching a sensor to a bumper or the like. It is.

  Further, as a driving source for displacing the hood 1, not only the inflator but also an electromagnetic force generated by applying a strong current to the coil may be used.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of an obstacle protection device according to the present invention. It is sectional drawing which showed the detail of the actuator. (A) is the perspective view which looked at the connection member from the lower side, (b) is the perspective view which looked at the rod and the column member from the lower side. (A) is a figure in the middle of connecting a rod to a connection member, Comprising: Sectional drawing along the SA-SA line of FIG. 3 (a), (b) is a figure when it has finished connecting a rod to a connection member. And it is sectional drawing along the SA-SA line of Fig.3 (a). 1A and 1B show the first embodiment, in which FIG. 1A shows a normal state of the actuator, FIG. 2B shows the state when the hood is displaced upward by the actuator, and FIG. It is a figure which shows a state when moving to the vehicle width direction. (A) is a diagram showing a normal state of the movable body, (b) is a diagram showing a state when one of the inflators is ignited, and (c) is a state where the movable body is rotated by ignition of the inflator. FIG. It is a figure which shows a mode that a hood displaces to a vehicle width direction. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the obstruction protection apparatus of FIG. FIGS. 2A and 2B show a second embodiment, in which FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a normal state of the actuator, FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a state when the hood is displaced upward by the actuator, and FIG. It is a figure which shows a state when moving to the vehicle width direction. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a third embodiment and showing how the hood is displaced in the vehicle width direction and the front-rear direction.

Explanation of symbols

1 Hood 2 Actuator 3 Control Unit (Control Unit)
4 Image processing unit (prediction means)
5 Camera (prediction means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 1st inflator 12, 13 2nd inflator 14 Movable body 15 Rod 16 Cylindrical member 16A Projection (regulation means)
17 connecting member 18 fitting hole 19 first groove (regulating means)
31 Actuator

Claims (6)

In an obstacle protection device comprising an actuator that detects that a vehicle has collided with an obstacle and displaces the hood of the vehicle upward,
The actuator further allows the hood to be displaced at least in the front-rear or lateral direction,
Predicting means for predicting whether the obstacle hits the peripheral edge of the hood;
When the predicting means predicts that the obstacle hits the peripheral edge of the hood, the hood is at least in the front-rear or lateral direction so as to avoid the obstacle from hitting the obstacle against the peripheral edge of the hood. An obstacle protection device comprising: a control means for displacing to any of the above.   The obstacle protection device according to claim 1, wherein the actuator displaces the hood in a vehicle front-rear direction after displacing the hood in a vehicle width direction.   The actuator includes a first inflator that displaces the hood upward, and a second inflator that displaces the hood laterally, and both the inflators are housed in the same housing member. The obstacle protection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that   The actuator includes a first inflator that displaces the hood upward, and a second inflator that displaces the hood laterally, and the second inflator houses the first inflator. The obstacle protection device according to claim 1, wherein the obstacle protection device is stored in a storage member different from the storage member.   The actuator is provided with a rod that moves upward by the combustion gas of the first inflator when the vehicle collides with an obstacle, and has a tip connected to the lower surface of the hood. The obstacle protection device according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising a restricting means for restricting the rod from falling in a lateral direction until the connection is completed. A cylindrical member whose central axis is orthogonal to the central axis of the rod is provided at the tip of the rod, and a quadrangle in which the cylindrical member can be fitted to a connection portion of the lower surface of the hood with the tip of the rod. A connecting member having a hole portion of
A protrusion is formed on the end surface of the cylindrical member in parallel with the central axis of the rod, and on the inlet side of the hole of the connecting member, a first groove into which the protrusion can be fitted, and the rod A second groove that can be fitted to each other, and an inner space that is longer than the cylindrical member is formed on the back side of the hole, including the protrusions,
When the columnar member is fitted into the hole, the protrusion is fitted into the first groove, thereby restricting the rotation of the rod about the central axis of the columnar member. When the member is pushed into the internal space, the rod is fitted into the second groove to allow the rod to rotate around the central axis of the columnar member. Item 5. An obstacle protection device according to Item 5.

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