JP2009227021A - Occupant protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly operate a seat back with operation by an occupant for inclining rearward, and to promptly incline the seat back forward when a dangerous state is predicted. <P>SOLUTION: A solenoid actuator 30 is controlled when predicting collision and adjusting an angle of the seat back to a target angle to mesh a pinion gear 40, a gear 42 for seat adjustment and a gear 44 for assist, and the seat back is inclined by using driving force of a seat actuator 28 and working force previously stored in a winding spring 60 of a forward tilt assist mechanism 46. On the other hand, when collision is not predicted, that is, when the seat back is adjusted by operation of the occupant, the solenoid actuator 30 is controlled not to apply the working force of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 to the seat back, and the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is separated from the gear 42 for seat adjustment and pinion gear 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device, and more particularly, to an occupant protection device that protects an occupant by predicting an emergency state such as a collision.

  Various technologies have been proposed as protection devices for protecting an occupant in an emergency state such as a collision. For example, when a collision is predicted, there is a technology for adjusting a seat back to a safe angle. .

For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, an assist spring that biases the seat back in a forward tilt direction is provided, and a control unit that controls driving of the motor can be applied to two types of driving voltages, high and low. It is proposed that when a collision is predicted, the motor is driven at a high speed and the seat back is tilted forward using the biasing force of the assist spring when a collision is predicted.
JP 2007-276715 A

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, since the seat back is always urged forward by the assist spring, when the seat back is tilted backward by the operation of the occupant, the assist spring is always used. Since the forward biasing force acts on the seat back, there is room for improvement in view of adverse effects on operability and motor load.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and operates the seat back without inconvenience when the seat back is tilted backward by an occupant's operation, and when the emergency state is predicted, the seat back is tilted forward. The purpose is to incline quickly.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 provides a driving means for driving a seat back that can be tilted in the vehicle front-rear direction and an operating force so that the seat back tilts in a forward tilt direction. Possible changing means, a changing state for changing the state of the applying means to an applying state in which the applying means applies the operating force, and a standby state in which the applying means does not apply the operating force; A predicting unit that predicts an emergency state; and when the emergency state is predicted by the predicting unit, the driving unit is driven to incline the seat back in a forward tilt direction, and the state of the applying unit is the applying unit The changing unit is controlled so as to be in a state, and the changing unit is controlled so that the state of the providing unit becomes the standby state when an emergency state is not predicted by the prediction unit. It is characterized in that it comprises a control means, the.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the seat back can be tilted in the vehicle front-rear direction by driving the driving means.

  Further, in the applying means, an operating force can be applied so that the seat back is inclined in the forward tilt direction, and the changing means has a state between an applying state in which the operating force of the applying means is applied and a standby state in which the operating force is not applied. Be changed.

  In the prediction means, an emergency state for the host vehicle is predicted. For example, it is possible to predict an emergency state with respect to the host vehicle by detecting the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle, or to predict an emergency state with respect to the host vehicle by obtaining a collision prediction time of the host vehicle and the obstacle. It is.

  Then, in the control means, when an emergency state for the host vehicle is predicted by the prediction means, the seat back is inclined in the forward tilt direction (for example, the inclination angle of the seat back is moved within a predetermined range). ) The driving means is controlled, and the changing means is controlled so that the applying means is in the applying state in which the operating force is applied so that the seat back is tilted forward. That is, when an emergency state with respect to the host vehicle is predicted, the seat back can be tilted by the driving force by the driving means and the operating force by the applying means, and therefore within a predetermined range when the emergency state is predicted. The seat back can be moved quickly.

  On the other hand, when the emergency state for the host vehicle is not predicted by the prediction unit, the changing unit is controlled so that the state of the applying unit becomes the standby state. That is, in the case of adjusting the seat back by an occupant's operation or the like, the actuating force is not applied by the applying means, and there is no adverse effect such as the operability of the seat back and an increase in the motor load for driving the seat back.

  Therefore, the operating force by the applying means is applied only when the emergency state with respect to the host vehicle is predicted and the seat back is tilted in the forward tilt direction, so there is no harmful effect when the seat back is tilted backward by the occupant's operation. The seat back can be quickly tilted in the forward tilt direction when activated and an emergency condition is predicted.

  As described above, according to the present invention, when the seat back is driven by predicting an emergency state with respect to the own vehicle by providing the seat back with an applying means capable of applying an operating force to the seat back, the seat back is tilted forward. Since the operation force is applied so as to incline, and when the emergency state is not predicted, the operation force by the applying means is not applied, so when the seat back is inclined backward by the occupant's operation Therefore, the seat back can be quickly tilted in the forward tilt direction when an emergency state is predicted.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic vehicle mounting position of an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the occupant protection device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a front millimeter wave radar 12 for detecting a distance to a front obstacle, and a distance to the front side obstacle. Front side millimeter wave radar 14 for detection, stereo camera 16 for photographing the front side, rear millimeter wave radar 18 for detecting the distance to the rear obstacle, and distance to the rear side obstacle The rear side millimeter wave radar 20 and the collision determination ECU (Elecgtronic Control Unit) 22 are provided, and each is connected to a bus 24. The front millimeter wave radar 12, the front side millimeter wave radar 14, the stereo camera 16, the rear side millimeter wave radar 18, and the rear side millimeter wave radar 20 monitor the vehicle periphery and output the monitoring result to the collision determination ECU 22.

  The front millimeter wave radar 12 is provided, for example, near the center of the front grille, and the front side millimeter wave radar 14 is provided near both ends in the vehicle width direction in the bumper, and emits millimeter waves to the front and front sides of the vehicle, respectively. Thus, it is provided to receive the radio wave reflected from the object and measure the distance to the object, the relative speed with the own vehicle, and the like based on the propagation time and the frequency difference caused by the Doppler effect. Further, the rear millimeter wave radar 18 and the rear side millimeter wave radar 20 are provided in a rear bumper or the like, and receive the radio waves reflected from the object by emitting millimeter waves to the rear and rear sides of the vehicle, It is provided to measure the distance to the object, the relative speed with the host vehicle, and the like based on the propagation time and the frequency difference caused by the Doppler effect.

  The stereo camera 16 is provided in the vicinity of the center above the front windshield glass, and is provided for photographing the front of the vehicle to detect surrounding obstacles and to measure the distance to the obstacles. Note that the stereo camera 16 may be omitted.

  Then, the collision determination ECU 22 obtains detection results of the front millimeter wave radar 12, the front side millimeter wave radar 14, the stereo camera 16, the rear millimeter wave radar 18, and the rear side millimeter wave radar 20, and performs collision prediction. Since various known techniques can be applied to the collision prediction, detailed description is omitted.

  The occupant protection device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention further includes a seat control ECU 26 that adjusts the state of the seat back, and is connected to the bus 24.

  The seat control ECU 26 is connected to a seat actuator 28 for adjusting the inclination angle of the seat back. When a collision is predicted by the collision determination ECU 22, the seat control ECU 26 controls the seat actuator 28 to drive the seat reclining mechanism. Then, the angle of the seat back is adjusted to a predetermined appropriate state before the collision. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the reclining adjustment is performed so that the inclination angle of the seat back 36 of the seat 34 becomes a predetermined target angle (target angle range).

  Further, the seat control ECU 26 drives the seat actuator 28 according to the operation state of the switch when the state change of the seat 34 is instructed by a switch or the like (not shown), and adjusts the reclining angle or controls other actuators. Drive to change various states of the seat 34 such as a seat slide.

  Further, the seat control ECU 26 includes a solenoid actuator 30 for changing the state of the forward tilt assist mechanism between a state in which an operating force of a forward tilt assist mechanism, which will be described later, is applied, and a standby state in which it is not applied, and a forward tilt assist mechanism A solenoid actuator 32 is connected to move the position of the seat actuator 28 so that the actuation force is accumulated by the seat actuator 28 in the standby state.

  Here, the configuration of the drive unit that adjusts the tilt angle of the seat back including the forward tilt assist mechanism will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a drive unit that adjusts the inclination angle of the seat back.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the drive unit of the seat back 36 is provided on a rotating shaft of the seat back 36, and includes a seat back gear 52 for adjusting the inclination angle of the seat back 36. By rotating 52, the inclination angle of the seat back is adjusted.

  A seat adjustment transmission gear 50 meshes with the seat back gear 52, and the seat adjustment transmission gear 50 is engaged with the seat adjustment gear 42 via a rotating shaft 48. Corresponding to the seat adjustment gear 42, a pinion gear 40 provided on the rotation shaft of the seat actuator 28 is provided. That is, when the seat actuator 28 is driven in the state of FIG. 4A, the driving force of the seat actuator 28 causes the pinion gear 40, the seat adjusting gear 42, the rotating shaft 48, the seat adjusting transmission gear 50, and the seat. It is transmitted to the rotating shaft of the seat back 36 via the back gear 52, and the reclining of the seat back 36 is adjusted.

  Further, an assist gear 44 of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is provided corresponding to the pinion gear 40. The forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is a mechanism that assists the driving force of the seat actuator 28 when the seat back 36 is tilted in the forward tilt direction, and the operating force accumulated by winding the winding spring 60 is used. It is used to assist the driving force of the seat actuator 28.

  A winding spring 60 is connected to the assisting gear 44 via a rotating shaft, and when the seat actuator 28 is driven, the winding spring 60 is wound to accumulate operating force. . Further, when winding the winding spring 60, a stopper 62 is provided so that the operating force of the winding spring 60 is not released. The stopper 62 restricts the rotation of the assist gear 44 so that the assist gear 44 can rotate only in the winding direction of the winding spring 60.

  Furthermore, the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjustment gear 42 are engaged with the seat actuator 28 and the assist mechanism 46 (FIG. 4A), and the pinion gear 40, the sheet adjustment gear 42, and the assist gear 44 are engaged (FIG. 4). (B)) and solenoid actuators 30 and 32 are provided to shift to the three states (FIG. 4C) where only the pinion gear 40 and the assisting gear 44 are engaged.

  The solenoid actuator 32 moves the position of the seat actuator 28 so that the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjustment gear 42 are engaged with each other (FIGS. 4A and 4B), and the seat adjustment gear 42 is separated from the pinion gear 40. It changes to each state of the state (Drawing 4 (C)).

  Further, the solenoid actuator 30 moves the position of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 so that the assist mechanism 46 moves away from the seat adjustment gear 42 (FIGS. 4A and 4C), and the seat adjustment gear 42. The pinion gear 40 and the assisting gear 44 are changed to the respective states (FIG. 4B).

  Specifically, when the inclination angle of the seat back 36 is adjusted by an occupant's operation or the like, as shown in FIG. 4A, the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjustment gear 42 are engaged with each other, and the assist gear 44 is engaged. As shown in FIG. 4B, when the solenoid actuators 30 and 32 are driven so as to move away from each other and the seat back 36 is tilted forward in an emergency such as when a collision is predicted, as shown in FIG. When the solenoid actuators 30 and 32 are driven so that the seat adjustment gear 42, the pinion gear 40, and the assist gear 44 are engaged with each other and the operating force of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is accumulated, FIG. C), the solenoid actuators 30 and 32 are driven so that only the pinion gear 40 and the assisting gear 44 are engaged with each other.

  4C, when the operating force is accumulated in the assist mechanism 46 by driving the seat actuator 28, the stopper 62 acts to act only in the winding direction of the winding spring 60. The rotation of the assist gear 44 is regulated so that it can rotate, and the operating force accumulated in the take-up spring 60 is held without being released even in the state of FIG. 4B, when the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is moved by the solenoid actuator 30 and the assist gear 44 is separated from the stopper 62, the restriction of the stopper 62 is released. The operating force accumulated in the winding spring 60 is transmitted to the pinion gear 40.

  Next, processing performed by each ECU of the occupant protection device according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described.

  First, the process performed by the collision determination ECU 22 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a flow of processing performed by the collision determination ECU 22 of the occupant protection device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that the processing in FIG. 5 will be described as starting when an ignition switch (not shown) is turned on and ending when the ignition switch is turned off or a collision is detected.

  In step 100, the distance to the front obstacle is input, and the process proceeds to step 102. That is, detection results of the front millimeter wave radar 12, the front side millimeter wave radar 14, the stereo camera 16, the rear millimeter wave radar 18, the rear side millimeter wave radar 20, and the like are input.

  In step 102, the relative speed is calculated, and the routine proceeds to step 104. For example, the relative speed from the distance to the front object detected every predetermined time by a millimeter wave radar (front millimeter wave radar 12, front side millimeter wave radar 14, rear millimeter wave radar 18, rear side millimeter wave radar 20, etc.). Is calculated. Note that the relative speed may be calculated by obtaining the distance by performing image processing on the imaging result of the stereo camera 16.

  In step 104, the detection result of the millimeter wave radar is newly input, and the process proceeds to step 106.

  In step 106, a time t until the collision is calculated, and the process returns to step 100 and the above-described processing is repeated. That is, the distance to the obstacle with respect to the own vehicle detected by the front millimeter wave radar 12, the front side millimeter wave radar 14, the stereo camera 16, the rear side millimeter wave radar 18, the rear side millimeter wave radar 20, etc. is calculated in step 102. The time t until the collision is calculated from the relative speed, and the process returns to step 100 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  Next, processing performed by the seat control ECU 26 will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing performed by the seat control ECU 26 of the occupant protection device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The processing in FIG. 6 will be described as starting when an ignition switch (not shown) is turned on, and ending when the ignition switch is turned off or a collision is detected by a collision detection sensor (not shown) or the like.

  In step 200, the collision prediction time t calculated by the collision determination ECU 22 is input, and the process proceeds to step 202.

  In step 202, it is determined whether or not the predicted collision time t is less than a predetermined time t1, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 204, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 216.

  In step 204, it is determined whether or not the sheet is being adjusted. This determination determines whether or not the seat actuator 28 is already operating because it is less than the collision time t1, and if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 206. Transition.

  In step 206, the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is shifted to the application state (the state shown in FIG. 4B), and the flow proceeds to step 208. That is, the solenoids 30 and 32 are controlled to drive the solenoid 32 so that the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjustment gear 42 are engaged with each other, and the assist gear is engaged with the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjustment gear 42 engaged. Solenoid 30 is driven so that 44 meshes with pinion gear 40.

  In step 208, the seat actuator 28 is started to operate, whereby the sheet adjustment is started and the process returns to step 200. That is, the seat back angle is adjusted to the target angle (target angle range). At this time, when the position of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is moved in step 206, the stopper 62 is removed and the operating force accumulated in the take-up spring 60 is applied to the pinion gear 40, so that the seat back direction ( The seat back 36 can be quickly tilted in the forward tilt direction with respect to the load on the rear of the vehicle. It is assumed that the winding spring 60 of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is wound in advance and has accumulated operating force. Steps 206 and 208 will be described on the assumption that the angle of the seat back 36 is not within the target angle range and the seat back 36 needs to be tilted forward, but the angle of the seat back 36 is within the target angle range. If so, the process returns to step 200 as it is.

  In step 210, it is determined whether or not the target angle has been reached. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 212. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 214. Whether or not the target angle is determined may be determined from the driving amount of the seat actuator 28, or a sensor that detects the reclining angle may be provided and detected based on the detection value of the sensor. A limit switch may be provided at a predetermined appropriate angle to determine whether the switch is turned on.

  In step 212, it is determined whether or not the sheet adjustment has passed a predetermined time. In this determination, a predetermined time for preventing the sheet adjustment from being continued after the collision is set, and it is determined whether or not the predetermined time has elapsed. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 214. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  In step 214, the sheet adjustment is stopped, and the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is shifted to the standby state, and the process returns to step 200 to repeat the above processing. That is, the driving of the seat actuator 28 is stopped, and the solenoid actuator 30 is driven so that the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 moves to a position separated from the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjustment gear 42.

  On the other hand, if the determination in step 202 is negative and the process proceeds to step 216, it is determined whether or not the sheet is being adjusted. That is, it is determined whether or not the seat actuator 28 has already been operated. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 218. If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 200 and the above-described processing is repeated.

  In step 218, since the sheet adjustment is performed by the operation of the seat actuator 28, the operation is reset to stop the operation of the seat actuator 28, the process returns to step 200, and the above-described processing is repeated. In the present embodiment, as a reset, each solenoid actuator 30 is separated so that the pinion gear 40 is separated from the seat adjustment gear 42 and only the pinion gear 40 and the assist gear 44 are engaged (the state shown in FIG. 4C). 32, and the seat actuator 28 is driven to wind the take-up spring 60 to accumulate the operating force in the forward tilt assist mechanism 46, and then the solenoid actuator 32 is controlled to control the pinion gear 40 and the seat adjusting gear. The position of the seat actuator 28 is moved so that 42 is engaged, and the state shown in FIG. As the reset, the seat actuator 28 may be further operated so as to return to the state before the operation of the seat actuator 28.

  As described above, the occupant protection device 10 of the present embodiment is configured so that the angle of the seat back 36 becomes the target angle when a collision is predicted (when the predicted collision time t is less than the predetermined time t1). adjust. At this time, the angle of the seat back 36 is adjusted by the driving force of the seat actuator 28. In addition to the driving force of the seat actuator 28, the operating force accumulated in advance in the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is applied to the pinion gear 40. The seat back 36 can be quickly tilted in the forward tilt direction with respect to the load in the seat back direction (rear of the vehicle) to adjust the angle of the seat back 36.

  When a collision is not predicted, that is, when the angle of the seat back 36 is adjusted by an occupant's operation, the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 prevents the seat adjustment gear 46 from transmitting the operating force to the seat back 36. 42 and the pinion gear 40 are separated from each other, and the operating force of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is not applied to the inclination of the seat back 36, so that adverse effects such as an increase in motor load can be prevented. Further, even if a configuration in which the angle of the seat back 36 is manually adjusted is applied, adverse effects such as an increase in operating force due to the operating force of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 can be prevented.

  In the above-described embodiment, an example of the configuration of the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 has been described. However, the forward tilt assist mechanism 46 is not limited to the above configuration, and is operated in the forward tilt direction of the seat back 36. Other configurations may be applied as long as the configuration can be changed between a state in which power is applied and an operating force is applied and a state in which operation force is not applied.

  Moreover, in said embodiment, although the collision prediction time was calculated and the emergency state with respect to the own vehicle was estimated by judging whether the collision prediction time was less than the predetermined time, it is restricted to this. Instead, the emergency state for the host vehicle may be predicted according to the distance to the obstacle, or the emergency state for the host vehicle may be predicted using another parameter indicating the degree of emergency for the obstacle. May be.

It is a figure which shows the outline vehicle mounting position of the passenger | crew protection apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the passenger | crew protection apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating adjustment of the seat back at the time of collision prediction. It is a figure which shows the drive part which adjusts the inclination-angle of a seat back. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed in collision judgment ECU of the passenger | crew protection apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process performed by seat control ECU of the passenger | crew protection apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Crew protection device 12 Front millimeter wave radar 14 Front side millimeter wave radar 16 Stereo camera 18 Rear millimeter wave radar 20 Rear side millimeter wave radar 22 Collision judgment ECU
24 bus 26 seat control ECU
28 Seat actuator 30, 32 Solenoid actuator 36 Seat back 46 Forward tilt assist mechanism 60 Winding spring

Claims (1)

Drive means for driving a seat back that can tilt in the vehicle longitudinal direction;
An imparting means capable of imparting an operating force so that the seat back is tilted forwardly;
Changing means for changing the state of the applying means to an applying state in which the applying means applies the operating force and a standby state in which the applying means does not apply the operating force;
A predicting means for predicting an emergency state of the host vehicle;
When an emergency state is predicted by the prediction unit, the driving unit is driven so as to tilt the seat back in the forward tilt direction, and the changing unit is set so that the state of the applying unit becomes the applying state. Control means for controlling the changing means so that the state of the giving means becomes the standby state when an emergency state is not predicted by the prediction means;
An occupant protection device.

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