JP2010208572A - Side-collision detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique capable of changing a determination to see whether a collision of such a degree that an occupant must be protected occurs or not according to the counterpart of the collision. <P>SOLUTION: This side-collision detection system mounted on a vehicle 10 acquires the traveling information of the other vehicle 20 nearby via an inter-vehicle communication, detects the vehicle 20 which has the highest possibility of collision with the vehicle 10, and determines whether the mating vehicle 20 is collided with the vehicle 10 or not by a threshold which is obtained based on the information of the detected mating vehicle 20. When a collision is detected by the determination of collision, an occupant crash protection device is operated according to the size and speed of the mating vehicle, a collision angle, and the like. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a side collision detection system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for starting an occupant protection device such as an air bag based on an object colliding with a side surface of a vehicle is known. In this technique, in order to determine that a collision that requires occupant protection has occurred on the side of the vehicle, a sensor (for example, an acceleration sensor or a pressure sensor) that detects an impact force to the side of the vehicle is used. The output and the output from the sensor (for example, camera, radar, sonar) which detects the position with respect to the vehicle of the object around the vehicle are used (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-253720 A

  However, when collision detection is performed using an autonomous sensor as described above, the details of what the collision partner's object is are unknown, so there is a collision that requires passenger protection. It is difficult to accurately determine whether it has occurred or not with respect to the collision partner.

  In view of the above points, the first object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of changing the determination of whether or not a collision that requires occupant protection has occurred according to the collision partner. .

  Similarly, when performing collision determination using an autonomous sensor as described above, it is not possible to know the details of what kind of object the collision partner is, so it is necessary to protect the passenger. Even when a collision occurs, it is difficult to accurately determine the content of passenger protection with respect to the collision partner.

  In view of the above, the second object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of changing the content of occupant protection in the event of a collision that requires occupant protection depending on the collision partner. And

  The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the first object is a side collision detection system mounted on a vehicle (10), wherein an amount corresponding to an impact force received by a side surface of the vehicle (10) is provided. Sensor (1, 2) output as a signal, occupant protection device (51, 52) protecting the occupant against a side collision of the vehicle (10), and the amount output by the sensor (1, 2) exceeds the threshold Based on the above, a wireless communication device that mediates wireless communication between the ECU (6) that activates the occupant protection device (5) and an external communication device that is outside the ECU (6) and the vehicle (10) ( 3), and the ECU (6) receives the information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) transmitted from the external communication device, the threshold is set based on the received information. It is characterized by changing.

  Thus, the collision determination according to the colliding opponent can be performed by changing the collision determination threshold based on the information of the nearby object obtained by communication with the outside of the vehicle (10).

  Moreover, as described in claim 2, the side collision detection system may include a host vehicle information acquisition device (4) that detects a current position and a traveling speed of the vehicle (10). In this case, when the ECU (6) receives information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10), information on the position of the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity and information on the moving speed are received from the received information. , Information on the position of the extracted nearby object (20, 22), information on the moving speed of the extracted nearby object (20, 22), and the vehicle (10) detected by the vehicle information acquisition device (4) Vehicle (10) and the object (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) based on the information on the position of the vehicle and the information on the traveling speed of the vehicle (10) detected by the vehicle information acquisition device (4). Based on the information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) during a period from the calculated start timing until a predetermined time elapses, The threshold value may be changed.

  Thus, when the side collision detection system receives information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) transmitted from the external communication device, the vehicle (10) and the objects in the vicinity of the vehicle (20, 22). 22) calculating a start timing of a period in which there is a high possibility of collision with the vehicle, and selecting a predetermined period from the start timing, and determining a threshold based on information on objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10). It is supposed to change. In this way, a period in which the vehicle (10) and the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle are highly likely to collide is selected, and a threshold corresponding to the information on the collision partner object (20, 22) is adopted. Thus, a more accurate collision determination can be performed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the side collision detection system includes a host vehicle information acquisition device (4) that detects a current position and a traveling direction of the vehicle (10), and the host vehicle information acquisition device (4) Further, map data including information on the structure of each road within a predetermined geographical area, information on the position of each intersection, and information on the connection relationship between the road and the intersection may be stored.

  In this case, the ECU (6) is information on the position of the vehicle (10) detected by the host vehicle information acquisition device (4) and information on the traveling direction of the vehicle (10) detected by the host vehicle information acquisition device (4). And the map data, the first forward intersection where the host vehicle (10) enters next is specified, and information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the host vehicle (10) When the travel information of the vehicle (20) is received, information on the second forward intersection where the other vehicle (20) enters next is acquired from the received travel information, and the first forward intersection and the second It is determined whether the host vehicle (10) and the other vehicle (20) are running toward the same intersection by comparing the front intersection of The traveling speed of the other vehicle (10) in the traveling information of the other vehicle (20) Based on the type of weight or size it may be adapted to change the threshold.

  In this way, based on the fact that the host vehicle (10) and the other vehicle (20) are traveling toward the same intersection, the possibility that the other vehicle (20) will collide with the host vehicle (10) is high. By making the threshold for collision determination suitable for the other vehicle (20), it is possible to perform collision determination with higher accuracy.

  Further, as described in claim 4, the ECU (6) uses the weight of the columnar body (22) standing upright on the road as information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10). When the information is received, it is determined whether or not the vehicle (10) is skidding. If the vehicle is skidding, the threshold value may be changed based on the weight information.

  Thus, based on the fact that the host vehicle (10) is skidding, it is highly possible that the host vehicle (10) will collide with the columnar body (22). ), It is possible to make a collision determination with higher accuracy.

  The invention according to claim 4 for achieving the second object is a side collision detection system mounted on the vehicle (10), and corresponds to an impact force received by a side surface of the vehicle (10). A sensor (1, 2) that outputs a quantity or a quantity corresponding to a relative position of an object around the vehicle (10) with respect to the vehicle (10) as a signal, and an occupant with respect to a side collision of the vehicle (10) Occupant protection devices (51, 52) that protect the vehicle and the amount output by the sensors (1, 2), determine whether a collision that should protect the occupant has occurred on the side of the vehicle (10), When it is determined that the vehicle has occurred, the wireless communication between the ECU (6) that activates the occupant protection device (51, 52) and the external communication device outside the vehicle (10) is mediated. A wireless communication device (3), and an ECU (6) Received when it was determined that a collision that should protect the occupant occurred on the side of the vehicle (10) after receiving information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) transmitted from the communication device Based on the information, the operation content of the occupant protection devices (51, 52) is changed.

  In this way, the operation content of the occupant protection devices (51, 52), that is, the content of the occupant protection, is changed based on information on nearby objects obtained through communication with the outside of the vehicle (10). The safety of passengers can be ensured according to the opponent.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis in the said and the claim shows the correspondence of the term described in the claim, and the concrete thing etc. which illustrate the said term described in embodiment mentioned later. .

It is a figure which shows the structure of the side collision detection system in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process for the side collision detection in 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the application scene of the side collision detection of 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the application scene of the side collision detection of 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the process for the side collision detection in 2nd Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the application scene of the side collision detection of 2nd Embodiment.

(First embodiment)
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, the side collision detection system according to the present embodiment is mounted on a vehicle 10, detects a collision of an object with a side surface of the vehicle, and protects an occupant of the vehicle 10 based on the detection. Realize the operation.

  More specifically, the side collision detection system includes a left collision sensor 1, a right collision sensor 2, a wireless communication device 3, a navigation device 4 (corresponding to an example of the vehicle information acquisition device), an occupant protection device 51, 52, And a side collision detection ECU 6.

  The left collision sensor 1 is attached to the vicinity of the left end of the vehicle 10 (for example, the left center pillar or the vicinity thereof), detects an impact force when an object collides with the left side surface of the vehicle 10, and responds to the detected impact force. A signal is output to the side collision detection ECU 6. The right collision sensor 2 is attached near the right end of the vehicle 10 (for example, the right center pillar or the vicinity thereof), detects an impact force in the vehicle width direction when an object collides with the right side surface of the vehicle 10, and detects the detected impact. A signal corresponding to the force is output to the side collision detection ECU 6. Each of the collision sensors 1 and 2 may be a known pressure sensor that detects a pressure in the vehicle width direction applied to the body of the vehicle 10 or a known pressure sensor that detects an acceleration in the vehicle width direction of the body of the vehicle 10. It may be an acceleration sensor.

  The wireless communication device 3 is a known wireless device that performs amplification, modulation, demodulation, frequency conversion, and the like for performing wireless communication with a communication device outside the vehicle 10. In the present embodiment, the side collision detection ECU 6 uses the wireless communication device 3 to perform inter-vehicle communication with other vehicles existing in the vicinity of the vehicle 10. The vicinity of the vehicle 10 is, for example, a range within a predetermined distance (for example, 100 meters) from the vehicle 10.

  The navigation device 4 is a device that calculates an optimal route from the current location of the vehicle 10 to a destination designated by the occupant and performs route guidance along the calculated route. The navigation device 4 uses various position detection sensors (for example, GPS reception) for detecting the current position (specifically, latitude and longitude) of the host vehicle, the direction of the vehicle body, the traveling direction, the traveling speed, the acceleration in the traveling direction, and the like. Machine, acceleration sensor, yaw rate sensor, vehicle speed sensor, steering angle sensor). The navigation device 4 has a storage medium, and the storage medium has map data as data for route calculation and route guidance. This map data includes information on the structure (position, shape, orientation, etc.) of each road within a predetermined geographic area (for example, within the country), information on the position of each intersection, and connection information between roads and intersections. Is included. As will be described later, the navigation device 4 outputs information requested from the side collision detection ECU 6 (for example, the current position of the vehicle 10) to the side collision detection ECU 6.

  The occupant protection devices 51 and 52 are devices for protecting an occupant from a collision when an object collides with the side surface of the vehicle 10. More specifically, the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 include a belt tensioner for the left seat, a belt tensioner for the right seat, a left side airbag, a right side airbag, a left curtain airbag, a right curtain airbag, and a left seat belt. Includes a tensioner and a belt tensioner for the right seat.

  The belt tensioner for the left seat is an actuator that presses the occupant against the backrest portion of the left seat by causing the seat belt of the left seat to closely contact the occupant of the left seat at the time of activation. The belt tensioner for the right seat is an actuator that presses the occupant against the backrest portion of the right seat by strongly bringing the seat belt of the right seat into close contact with the occupant of the right seat at the time of activation.

  The left side airbag is an airbag for softly receiving the left side of the left side of the occupant of the occupant of the left seat when inflated (that is, at the time of activation). For example, the left side airbag is built in the left side of the left seat of the vehicle 10. The right side airbag is an airbag for softly receiving the right side of the body of the occupant of the right seat when inflated. For example, the right side airbag is incorporated in the right side portion of the right seat of the vehicle 10.

  The left-curtain airbag is inflated so that almost the entire left glass portion of the vehicle is covered from the inside of the vehicle at the start-up, so that the passenger's head and neck of the left seat are softly received, and the head on the left center pillar of the vehicle 10 , And protects the occupant from broken glass even when the left glass part breaks. For example, the left curtain airbag is incorporated in the left end portion of the roof lining (ceiling lining) of the vehicle 10.

  The right curtain airbag softly receives the occupant's head and neck of the right seat by inflating so that almost the entire right side glass portion of the vehicle is covered from the inside of the vehicle at the time of start-up. Is prevented, and the occupant is protected from broken glass even when the right glass part is broken. For example, the right curtain airbag is incorporated in the right end portion of the roof lining (ceiling lining) of the vehicle 10.

  The side collision detection ECU 6 is a microcomputer equipped with a well-known CPU, RAM, ROM, etc., and the CPU executes a program recorded in the ROM and reads / writes information from / to the RAM at that time. Various arithmetic processes are executed. Further, the CPU acquires signals from the left collision sensor 1, the right collision sensor 2, and the navigation device 4 as necessary in the execution of the program, and uses the wireless communication device 3 to detect other vehicles (more specifically, other Wireless communication device (corresponding to an example of an external communication device) mounted on the vehicle of the vehicle, and controls the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 as necessary. Hereinafter, the process performed by the CPU will be described as the process performed by the side collision detection ECU 6 itself.

  FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the process 100 realized by the side collision detection ECU 6 executing the program. The side collision detection ECU 6 executes the processing 100 when the vehicle 10 is started (for example, when the ignition is turned on). In this process, the side collision detection ECU 6 first receives a wireless signal transmitted from the vicinity of the vicinity of the host vehicle using the wireless communication device 3 in step 105 and extracts information from the received wireless signal.

  Subsequently, in step 110, based on the information extracted from the radio signal, it is determined whether another vehicle exists in the vicinity of the host vehicle. Another vehicle is an example of an occupant protection target object. The occupant protection target object refers to an object that needs to protect the occupant from collision damage by operating the side collision detection ECU 6 if the object collides with the vehicle 10.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the case where the vehicle 10 is traveling on the road 11 toward the intersection 12 and the other vehicle 20 is traveling on the other road 13 toward the intersection 12 will be described. In this case, the vehicle 20 is in the vicinity of the vehicle 10 and the wireless communication device mounted on the vehicle 20 transmits a wireless signal, and the side collision detection ECU 6 of the vehicle 10 can receive the wireless signal. it can.

  The signal transmitted by the vehicle 20 includes travel information indicating the travel state of the vehicle 20. The traveling information of the vehicle 20 includes the type, weight, current position, traveling speed (corresponding to an example of the moving speed in the claims), traveling direction, acceleration in the traveling direction, front intersection (second front intersection). Identification information), and information such as the distance d2 along the road to the front intersection.

  Here, the type of the vehicle 20 refers to a type serving as an index of the size of the vehicle 20, such as a truck, a large vehicle, and a small vehicle. Moreover, the front intersection for the vehicle 20 is an intersection that is reached first when the vehicle 20 travels along the road as it is, that is, an intersection at which the vehicle 20 enters next.

  The wireless communication device of the vehicle 20 reads out information on the type and weight of the vehicle 20 recorded in advance in a storage medium mounted on the vehicle 20, thereby acquiring information on the type and weight to be transmitted as travel information. .

  Further, the same navigation device 4 as that mounted on the vehicle 10 is mounted on the vehicle 20, and the wireless communication device of the vehicle 20 is based on information from the position detection sensor of the navigation device 4 and travel information. To acquire information on the current position, traveling speed, and traveling direction to be transmitted. Further, the wireless communication device of the vehicle 20 acquires information such as the identification information of the front intersection to be transmitted as travel information and the distance d2 to the front intersection based on the information from the navigation device 4. Note that the navigation device 4 of the vehicle 20 creates the identification information of the front intersection and the information such as the distance d2 along the road to the front intersection is the same as the method adopted by the navigation device 4 of the vehicle 10 described later. It is.

  In step 110, whether or not there is another vehicle in the vicinity is determined based on whether or not traveling information is included in the information extracted from the received wireless signal. In the example of FIG. 3, the side collision detection ECU 6 has received travel information from the vehicle 20, and therefore determines in step 110 that there is another vehicle in the vicinity. If the determination result of step 110 is affirmative, step 115 is subsequently executed, and if negative, step 130 is subsequently executed.

  In step 115, it is determined whether the other vehicle detected in step 110 and the host vehicle 10 are heading for the same intersection. More specifically, it is determined whether or not the identification information of the front intersection for the other vehicle and the identification information of the front intersection (corresponding to the first front intersection) for the vehicle 10 are the same. Here, the forward intersection for the vehicle 10 means an intersection that is reached first when the vehicle 10 travels along the road as it is, that is, an intersection at which the vehicle 10 enters next.

  The identification information of the front intersection for other vehicles is determined based on the identification information of the front intersection included in the received travel information. The identification information of the front intersection for the host vehicle 10 is acquired from the navigation device 4 by requesting the navigation device 4.

  When the navigation device 4 receives the request for the identification information of the front intersection, the navigation device 4 specifies the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle 10 based on the position detection sensor, and further specifies the road to which the current position belongs based on the map data. Further, based on the map data, the first intersection that is reached when the identified road is traveled in the traveling direction is identified, and the identified intersection identification information is used as the identification information of the front intersection for the vehicle 10. Output to the collision detection ECU 6.

  In the example of FIG. 3, both the identification information of the front intersection transmitted from the vehicle 20 and the identification information of the identification information of the front intersection output from the navigation device 4 of the vehicle 10 to the side collision detection ECU 6 are both identified of the intersection 12. Since it is information, it is determined that the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 20 are heading to the same intersection. If the determination result of step 115 is affirmative, step 120 is subsequently executed, and if negative, step 130 is subsequently executed.

  In step 120, a time t1 required for the vehicle 10 to reach the front intersection and a time t2 required for the other vehicle to reach the front intersection are calculated.

  First, a method for calculating the time t1 will be described. The side collision detection ECU 6 requests the navigation device 4 to calculate the time t1, so that the travel speed v1 of the vehicle 10, the acceleration a1 in the traveling direction, and the road from the vehicle 10 to the front intersection are obtained. The information of the distance d1 along is acquired.

  The navigation device 4 that has received the request for the traveling speed v1 and the acceleration a1 identifies the traveling speed and the acceleration in the traveling direction of the vehicle 10 based on the signal from the position detection sensor, and the identified result is the traveling speed v1 and the acceleration a1. , Output to the side collision detection ECU 6. In addition, the navigation device 4 that has received the request for the distance d1 along the road to the front intersection identifies the current position based on the signal from the position detection sensor, and based on the road structure information of the map data, The distance along the road from the current position of the vehicle 10 to the front intersection is identified, and the identification result is output to the side collision detection ECU 6 as the distance d1.

  The side collision detection ECU 6 that has acquired the information about the traveling speed v1, the acceleration a1, and the distance d1 subsequently divides the distance d1 by the traveling speed v1, and determines the value of the division result until the vehicle 10 reaches the front intersection. It is assumed that this time t1. At this time, the information on the acceleration a1 may be used to correct the time t1 so that the time t1 becomes shorter as the acceleration a1 increases.

  Next, a method for calculating time t2 will be described. The side collision detection ECU 6 extracts the traveling speed v2, the acceleration a2 in the traveling direction, and the distance d2 along the road to the front intersection from the received traveling information of the other vehicle. Then, it is assumed that the distance d2 is divided by the traveling speed v2, and the value of the division result is the time t2 required for the vehicle 20 to reach the front intersection. At this time, the information on the acceleration a2 may be used to correct the time t2 so that the time t2 becomes shorter as the acceleration a2 increases.

  Subsequently, in step 125, it is determined whether there is a high possibility that the vehicle 10 and the other vehicle collide from the viewpoint of timing. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the absolute value | t1-t2 | of the difference between the times t1 and t2 calculated in step 120 is smaller than a threshold time α (for example, several seconds). If the absolute value | t1−t2 | is smaller than the threshold time α, it is determined that there is a high possibility of collision in timing, and the process proceeds to step 145. If the absolute value | t1−t2 | Therefore, it is determined that there is a low possibility of collision, and the process proceeds to step 130.

  In step 130, a collision with the side surface of the vehicle 10 is detected. The collision detection performed here is collision detection in the normal mode. The collision detection in the normal mode is collision detection that is performed without using information on the collision partner. The collision detection refers to detection of occurrence of a collision that should protect the occupant on the side surface of the vehicle 10.

  The collision detection in the normal mode is performed in step 130 when step 130 is executed when it is determined in step 110 that there is no vehicle in the vicinity (that is, there is no collision partner), or in step 115 other vehicles. If it is determined that the forward intersection of the vehicle and the forward intersection of the host vehicle 10 do not match (that is, the possibility of a collision is low due to the positional relationship), or the other vehicle and the host vehicle 10 collide with each other at the timing in step 125. This is because it is determined that the possibility of is low. In other words, the reason for detecting the collision in the normal mode in step 130 is that the collision partner cannot be predicted in advance even if there is a collision.

  In the collision detection in the normal mode, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the impact force on the left side of the vehicle based on the signal output from the left collision sensor 1, and when the impact force exceeds a predetermined threshold value FLn. It is determined that an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side of the vehicle. Further, in the collision detection in the normal mode, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the impact force on the right side of the vehicle based on the signal output from the right collision sensor 2, and when the impact force exceeds a predetermined threshold FRn. It is determined that an occupant protection target object has collided with the right side of the vehicle. The threshold values FLn and FRn may be values that change according to the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 or the like. However, the threshold values FLn and FRn are not changed based on the information on the occupant protection target object (that is, the collision partner object).

  Subsequently, in step 135, based on the detection result in step 130, it is determined whether or not an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side or the right side of the vehicle 10. Step 140 is executed, and if there is no collision, step 105 is executed again.

  In step 140, the occupant protection device 5 is operated in the normal mode. Specifically, the left side belt tensioner and the right side seat belt tensioner are operated, and the side airbag and the curtain air on the side (that is, the left side or the right side of the vehicle 10) on which the collision of the object to be protected by the passenger is detected. Inflate the bag. The operation contents of the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 in the normal mode may be changed according to the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 and the like. However, there is no change based on the information of the occupant protection target object (that is, the collision partner object). Following step 140, execution of process 100 ends.

  In step 145 after determining that there is a high possibility that the vehicle 10 and another vehicle will collide in step 125, the side collision detection ECU 6 waits for the arrival of the collision warning start timing. The collision warning start timing is a timing when a time shorter than the time t1 by a predetermined amount (for example, 1/5 of the time t1) has elapsed from the time when the times t1 and t2 are calculated in step 120. A few seconds after the collision warning start timing is a period in which the possibility of a collision with another vehicle determined in step 125 is the highest.

  When the collision warning start timing comes, subsequently, in step 150, a collision with the side surface of the vehicle 10 is detected. The collision detection performed here is collision detection in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode. The collision detection in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode is a collision detection in which a collision partner vehicle is specified and a detection threshold is changed based on information on the vehicle.

  In the collision detection in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the impact force on the left side of the vehicle based on the signal output from the left collision sensor 1, and when the impact force exceeds the threshold value FLv. It is determined that an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side of the vehicle. Further, in the collision detection in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the impact force on the right side of the vehicle based on the signal output from the right collision sensor 2, and the impact force exceeds a predetermined threshold FRv. In this case, it is determined that an occupant protection target object has collided with the right side of the vehicle.

  Note that the threshold values FLv and FRv are based on information on other vehicles determined in step 125 (that is, other vehicles determined to have a high possibility of colliding with the vehicle 10; hereinafter referred to as counterpart vehicles). Change.

  Specifically, the threshold values FLv and FRv are increased as the predicted energy of the collision between the vehicle 10 and the opponent vehicle increases. For example, the threshold values FLv and FRv are increased as the weight of the opponent vehicle acquired through the inter-vehicle communication in step 105 increases. Further, for example, the threshold values FLv and FRv are increased as the type of the partner vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication in step 105 indicates a larger vehicle type.

  Further, for example, based on the traveling speed of the partner vehicle and the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105, the absolute value of the relative speed of the partner vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated, and the threshold value increases as the absolute value increases. Increase FLv and FRv.

  Further, for example, the relative speed of the partner vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the travel speed of the partner vehicle and the travel speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105, and the partner with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the relative speed. The vehicle approach direction (that is, the collision direction) is calculated, and the threshold values FLv and FRv are increased as the absolute value of the angle θ formed by the approach direction and the width direction of the vehicle 10 is decreased.

  Subsequently, in step 155, based on the detection result of step 150, it is determined whether or not an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side or the right side of the vehicle 10. Step 165 is executed, and if there is no collision, step 160 is executed subsequently.

  In step 160, it is determined whether or not the predetermined time X has elapsed from the collision warning start timing. If it has not elapsed, the possibility of a collision with the opponent vehicle is still high, so step 150 is executed again. If the predetermined time X has elapsed, the possibility of a collision with the opponent vehicle has decreased, and the process returns to step 105. The predetermined time X may be reduced as the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 increases, or may be a certain time.

  In step 165, the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 are operated in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode. The operation of the occupant protection device 5 in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode is a collision detection that changes the operation content of the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 based on information of the opponent vehicle.

  Specifically, in step 165, the side collision detection ECU 6 increases the degree of occupant protection as the predicted energy of the collision between the vehicle 10 and the opponent vehicle increases.

  For example, if the weight of the opponent vehicle acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference weight, the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the occupant protection target object (that is, the opponent vehicle) is detected. If only the curtain airbag is inflated and the weight of the opponent vehicle exceeds a predetermined reference weight, both the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected are inflated. .

  Further, for example, when the type of the partner vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication in step 105 is a predetermined type or indicates a vehicle type smaller than the predetermined type, the side that detects the collision of the object to be protected by the passenger Of the side airbags and curtain airbags, only the curtain airbag is inflated, and when the opponent vehicle type indicates a vehicle type larger than the predetermined type, the side on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected Inflate both the airbag and the curtain airbag.

  Also, for example, based on the traveling speed of the opponent vehicle and the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105, the absolute value of the relative speed of the opponent vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated, and the absolute value is less than the reference value. If there is a side airbag and a curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected, only the curtain airbag is inflated, and if the absolute value exceeds the reference value, the object to be protected by the occupant is protected. Both the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision is detected are inflated.

  Further, for example, the relative speed of the partner vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the travel speed of the partner vehicle and the travel speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105, and the partner with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the relative speed. When the vehicle approach direction is calculated and the absolute value of the angle θ formed by this approach direction with the width direction of the vehicle 10 is equal to or less than the reference value, the side airbag and curtain air on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected. Of the bags, only the curtain airbag is inflated, and if the absolute value exceeds the reference value, both the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the occupant protection target object is detected are inflated.

  Alternatively, the side collision detection ECU 6 may change the timing of inflation of the side airbag and the curtain airbag in step 165 in accordance with the difference in predicted energy of the collision between the vehicle 10 and the opponent vehicle. .

  For example, if the weight of the opponent vehicle acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference weight, the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected are inflated at the same time. If the weight of the vehicle exceeds a predetermined reference weight, the curtain airbag is first inflated out of the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected, and then the side airbag is It may be inflated.

  Further, for example, when the type of the partner vehicle acquired by the inter-vehicle communication in step 105 is a predetermined type or indicates a vehicle type smaller than the predetermined type, the side that detects the collision of the object to be protected by the passenger Of the side airbags and curtain airbags, only the curtain airbag is inflated, and when the opponent vehicle type indicates a vehicle type larger than the predetermined type, the side on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected Of the airbag and curtain airbag, the curtain airbag may be inflated first, and then the side airbag may be inflated.

  Also, for example, based on the traveling speed of the opponent vehicle and the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105, the absolute value of the relative speed of the opponent vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated, and the absolute value is less than the reference value. If there is, the side airbag and curtain airbag on the side that detected the collision of the occupant protection object are inflated at the same time, and if the absolute value exceeds the reference value, the side that detected the collision of the occupant protection object Of these side airbags and curtain airbags, the curtain airbag may be inflated first, and then the side airbag may be inflated.

  Further, for example, the relative speed of the partner vehicle with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the travel speed of the partner vehicle and the travel speed of the vehicle 10 acquired by inter-vehicle communication in step 105, and the partner with respect to the vehicle 10 is calculated based on the relative speed. When the vehicle approach direction is calculated and the absolute value of the angle θ formed by this approach direction with the width direction of the vehicle 10 is equal to or less than the reference value, the side airbag and curtain air on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected. If the bag is inflated at the same time and the absolute value exceeds the reference value, the curtain airbag is first inflated out of the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the occupant protection target object is detected, and then The side airbag may be inflated. After step 165, execution of process 100 ends.

  As described above, the side collision detection ECU 6 according to the present embodiment acquires travel information of other nearby vehicles through inter-vehicle communication (see step 105), and may collide with the host vehicle 10 based on the travel information. Vehicle (that is, the opponent vehicle) is detected (see steps 110 to 125), and it is determined whether or not the opponent vehicle has collided with a threshold value (see step 105) based on the detected information on the opponent vehicle (step 105). 150), when a collision is detected in the collision determination (see step 155), the content (combination of operation / non-operation of each device, operation) according to information (size, speed, collision angle, etc.) of the opponent vehicle The occupant protection device 5 is operated in the order shown in FIG.

  Thus, the collision determination suitable for the colliding partner vehicle can be performed by changing the collision determination threshold of the partner vehicle based on the information on the partner vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication. Further, when the opponent vehicle collides with the side surface of the own vehicle 10, the operation content of the occupant protection device 5 is changed based on the information of the opponent vehicle obtained by the inter-vehicle communication, which is suitable for the colliding opponent vehicle. Crew safety can be ensured.

  Further, the side collision detection ECU 6 obtains information on the distance to the front intersection (that is, information on the position of the partner vehicle) and the traveling speed from the traveling information of the partner vehicle. Information on the distance to the front intersection (that is, information on the position of the vehicle 10) and travel speed is acquired, the collision warning start timing is calculated from the acquired information, and a predetermined time X has elapsed from the calculated start timing. Only during this period, the collision determination threshold is changed based on the travel information, and when it is determined that a side collision has occurred during that period, the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 are activated in the vehicle-to-vehicle mode.

  As described above, by selecting a period in which the vehicle and the opponent vehicle are most likely to collide and adopting a threshold corresponding to the travel information of the opponent vehicle, it is possible to perform a collision determination with higher accuracy. In addition, since the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 can be operated according to the travel information of the opponent vehicle by selecting the period when the vehicle and the opponent vehicle are most likely to collide with each other, a more appropriate occupant Protection can be performed.

  The side collision detection ECU 6 receives travel information from another vehicle (see step 110) in the process of detecting a vehicle that is likely to collide with the host vehicle 10 (see steps 110 to 125), and The own vehicle 10 and the other vehicle are traveling toward the same intersection in the map data (see step 115), and the approach timing of the other vehicle and the own vehicle 10 to the intersection is close ( In the case of step 125), the other vehicle is identified as a partner vehicle that is highly likely to collide with the host vehicle 10.

  Here, as in step 115, the significance of the fact that the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle are traveling toward the same intersection in the map data as a condition for identifying the other vehicle as the opponent vehicle. explain.

  Therefore, an example different from FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 4, the relative positional relationship between the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 and the traveling direction of the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle 20 are the same as in the example of FIG. Therefore, in view of only the relative position and the traveling direction of the two vehicles, it seems that there is a risk of a collision between the vehicle 10 and the vehicle 20. However, in the example of FIG. 4, in view of the road structure, there is actually no fear of a collision. This is because the front intersection 16 toward which the vehicle 10 is directed and the front intersection 18 toward which the other vehicle 20 is directed are different, and the host vehicle 10 and the other vehicle are traveling toward the same intersection in the map data. Because there is no.

  In the present embodiment, since the vehicle 10 and the other vehicle are traveling toward the same intersection in the map data as a condition for identifying the other vehicle as the opponent vehicle, in the example of FIG. Even if the vehicle 20 is specified as the opponent vehicle, the vehicle 20 is not specified as the opponent vehicle in the example of FIG. Therefore, it is possible to accurately identify a vehicle that may collide with the host vehicle 10.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the side collision detection ECU 6 performs road-to-vehicle communication with a roadside communication device that exists in the vicinity of the vehicle 10 using the wireless communication device 3, and the side collision detection ECU6. However, instead of the process 100 shown in FIG. 2, a process 200 shown in FIG. 5 is executed.

  FIG. 2 conceptually shows a typical scene to which this embodiment is applied. The roadside communication device 23 (corresponding to an example of an external communication device) transmits a radio signal including poll information regularly (for example, once every 0.1 second). The pole information is information including the weight and location of the columnar body 22 in the vicinity of the roadside communication device 23.

  A columnar body refers to an object that stands upright and is fixed in a columnar shape on a road, such as a standing tree, a power pole, or a pole for installing a traffic signal. The roadside communication device 23 reads out the information from the storage medium in which the weight information and the location information of the columnar body 22 are recorded in advance, and wirelessly transmits the read weight information and the location information as pole information. To do.

  Further, the roadside communication device 23 includes data indicating that the pole information is information on a columnar body, not a vehicle, in the pole information, and indicates that the moving speed and the moving acceleration of the columnar body are zero. Data (corresponding to an example of information on the moving speed of a nearby object) is included.

  Note that the data format of the pole information may be the same as the data format of the travel information of the first embodiment. That is, the pole information includes information such as type, weight, current position, travel speed, traveling direction, acceleration in the traveling direction, identification information of the front intersection, and distance d2 along the road to the front intersection. May be.

  In this case, the roadside communication device 23 adopts data indicating that it is not a vehicle but a columnar body as “type” information in the pole information, and data indicating that the traveling speed is zero as “traveling speed” information. And the data indicating that the traveling speed is zero as the “acceleration in the direction of travel”, and the “direction of travel”, “identification information of the front intersection”, and “the distance along the road to the front intersection” As the information of “d2”, predetermined meaningless dummy data may be adopted.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the side collision detection ECU 6 that executes the process 200 will be described. The side collision detection ECU 6 executes the process 200 when the vehicle 10 is started. In this process, the side collision detection ECU 6 first receives a wireless signal transmitted from the vicinity of the periphery of the host vehicle using the wireless communication device 3 in step 205 and extracts information from the received wireless signal.

  Subsequently, in step 210, it is determined based on the information extracted from the radio signal whether or not a columnar body exists in the vicinity of the periphery of the host vehicle. This columnar body is an example of an occupant protection target object. Whether or not a columnar body exists in the vicinity is determined by whether or not pole information is included in the information extracted from the received radio signal.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the vehicle 10 is traveling on the road 21 and enters the vicinity of the roadside communication device 23, the side collision detection ECU 6 of the vehicle 10 receives the pole information transmitted from the roadside communication device 23. Can be acquired via the wireless communication device 3, it is determined in step 210 that the columnar body 22 exists in the vicinity. If the determination result of step 210 is affirmative, step 215 is subsequently executed. If the determination result is negative, step 230 is subsequently executed.

  In step 215, it is determined whether or not the behavior of the host vehicle 10 is unstable. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the vehicle 10 is rotating due to skidding. If the vehicle 10 is rotating due to skidding, step 220 is subsequently executed, and if there is no skidding, step 230 is subsequently executed.

  As to whether or not the vehicle 10 is rotating due to skidding, for example, the steering angle of the vehicle 10 detected by the steering angle sensor of the navigation device 4 is acquired from the navigation device 4 and the vehicle 10 is estimated based on the steering angle. The yaw rate is calculated, the actual yaw rate of the vehicle 10 detected by the yaw rate sensor of the navigation device 4 is acquired from the navigation device 4, the calculated estimated yaw rate is compared with the acquired actual yaw rate, and the difference between them is calculated. If it is equal to or greater than the reference value, it is determined that skidding has occurred and the vehicle 10 is rotating due to skidding.

  In step 230, a collision with the side surface of the vehicle 10 is detected. The collision detection performed here is collision detection in the normal mode, and the content thereof is the same as step 130 in FIG. The collision detection in the normal mode is performed in Step 230 when Step 230 is executed when it is determined in Step 210 that there is no columnar body in the vicinity (that is, there is no collision partner) or in Step 215. This is because it is determined that the vehicle 10 is not skidding (that is, the possibility of colliding with the columnar body 22 is low). That is, the reason for detecting the collision in the normal mode in step 230 is that the collision partner cannot be predicted in advance even if there is a collision.

  Subsequently, in step 235, based on the detection result of step 230, it is determined whether or not an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side or right side of the vehicle 10. Step 240 is executed, and if there is no collision, step 205 is executed again.

  In step 240, the occupant protection device 5 is operated in the normal mode. The operation content is the same as the operation content in step 140 of FIG. Following step 240, execution of process 200 ends.

  In step 220 executed when the behavior of the vehicle 10 is unstable, a time TTC required for the vehicle 10 to reach the columnar body 22 is calculated. Here, a method for calculating the time TTC will be described. The side collision detection ECU 6 requests the navigation device 4 to calculate the time TTC, thereby obtaining information on the current position of the vehicle 10, the traveling speed v1 of the vehicle 10, and the acceleration a1 of the vehicle 10 from the navigation device 4. get. Further, the location and moving speed (specifically, zero speed) of the columnar body 22 are extracted from the received pole information of the columnar body 22. Then, a linear distance from the current position of the vehicle 10 to the location of the columnar body 22 is calculated. Further, the linear distance is divided by the sum of the moving speed (zero) of the columnar body 22 and the traveling speed v1 (= traveling speed v1), and the result of the division is defined as time TTC.

  At this time, the time TTC may be corrected using the information on the acceleration a1 so that the time TTC becomes shorter as the acceleration a1 becomes larger. In the calculation of the time TTC, instead of the travel speed v1 and the acceleration a1, the component of the travel speed vector of the vehicle 10 in the direction from the vehicle 10 to the columnar body 22 and the acceleration vector of the vehicle 10 from the vehicle 10 to the columnar shape. A component in the direction to the body 22 may be used.

  In step 245 following step 220, the side collision detection ECU 6 waits for the arrival of the collision warning start timing. The collision warning start timing in the present embodiment is a timing when a time shorter than a time TTC by a predetermined amount (for example, 1/5 of the time t1) has elapsed since the time TTC was calculated in Step 220. Several seconds after the collision warning start timing is a period in which the possibility of collision with the columnar body 22 detected in step 210 is the highest.

  When the collision warning start timing comes, subsequently, in step 250, a collision with the side surface of the vehicle 10 is detected. The collision detection performed here is collision detection in the vehicle-to-pole mode. The collision detection in the vehicle-to-pole mode is a collision detection in which the columnar body 22 of the collision partner is specified and the detection threshold is changed based on the vehicle information.

  In the collision detection in the vehicle-to-pole mode, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the impact force on the left side of the vehicle based on the signal output from the left collision sensor 1, and when the impact force exceeds the threshold value FLp. It is determined that an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side of the vehicle. Further, in the collision detection in the vehicle-to-pole mode, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the impact force on the right side of the vehicle based on the signal output from the right collision sensor 2, and the impact force exceeds a predetermined threshold FRp. In this case, it is determined that an occupant protection target object has collided with the right side of the vehicle.

  The threshold values FLp and FRp change based on the information on the columnar body 22 (that is, the columnar body that is determined to be highly likely to collide with the vehicle 10) detected in step 125.

  Specifically, the threshold values FLp and FRp are increased as the predicted energy of the collision between the vehicle 10 and the columnar body 22 increases. For example, the threshold values FLp and FRp are increased as the weight of the columnar body 22 acquired by road-to-vehicle communication in step 205 is larger.

  Further, the absolute value of the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 (or the component of the traveling speed vector of the vehicle 10 in the direction from the vehicle 10 to the columnar body 22) is calculated, and the threshold values FLp and FRp are increased as the calculated values are larger. .

  Subsequently, in step 255, based on the detection result of step 250, it is determined whether or not an occupant protection target object has collided with the left side or the right side of the vehicle 10. Step 265 is executed, and if there is no collision, step 260 is executed subsequently.

  In step 260, it is determined whether or not the predetermined time X has elapsed from the collision warning start timing. If not, the possibility of a collision with the columnar body 22 is still high, so step 250 is executed again. If the predetermined time X has elapsed, the possibility of a collision with the opponent vehicle has decreased, and the process returns to step 205. The predetermined time X may be reduced as the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 increases, or may be a certain time.

  In step 265, the occupant protection device 5 is operated in the vehicle-to-pole mode. The operation of the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 in the vehicle-to-pole mode is a collision detection that changes the operation content of the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 based on the information of the columnar body 22.

  Specifically, in step 265, the side collision detection ECU 6 increases the degree of protection of the occupant as the predicted energy of the collision between the vehicle 10 and the opponent vehicle increases.

  For example, if the weight of the columnar body 22 acquired by road-to-vehicle communication in step 205 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference weight, the side airbag and curtain on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the passenger (that is, the columnar body 22) is detected. If only the curtain airbag is inflated among the airbags and the weight of the columnar body 22 exceeds a predetermined reference weight, both the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the object to be protected by the occupant is detected. Inflates.

  Also, the absolute value of the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 (or the component of the traveling speed vector of the vehicle 10 in the direction from the vehicle 10 to the columnar body 22) is calculated, and if the calculated value is equal to or less than the reference value, the occupant protection target Of the side airbag and curtain airbag on the side that detected the collision of the other object, if only the curtain airbag is inflated and the calculated value exceeds the reference value, the side that detected the collision of the object to be protected by the passenger Both the side airbag and the curtain airbag are inflated.

  Alternatively, the side collision detection ECU 6 may change the timing of inflation of the side airbag and the curtain airbag in step 265 according to the difference in predicted energy of the collision between the vehicle 10 and the opponent vehicle. .

  For example, if the weight of the columnar body 22 acquired by road-to-vehicle communication in step 205 is equal to or less than a predetermined reference weight, the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the occupant protection target object is detected are simultaneously inflated, If the weight of the columnar body 22 exceeds a predetermined reference weight, the curtain airbag is first inflated out of the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the occupant protection target object is detected, and then the side airbag The bag may be inflated.

  Further, for example, the absolute value of the traveling speed of the vehicle 10 (or the component of the traveling speed vector of the vehicle 10 in the direction from the vehicle 10 to the columnar body 22) is calculated. If the side airbag and the curtain airbag on the side where the collision of the target object is detected are inflated at the same time and the calculated value exceeds the reference value, the side airbag and the side airbag on which the collision of the occupant protection target object is detected Of the curtain airbags, the curtain airbag may be inflated first, and then the side airbag may be inflated.

  As described above, the side collision detection ECU 6 of the present embodiment acquires pole information of the nearby columnar body 22 by road-to-vehicle communication (see step 205), and can collide with the host vehicle 10 based on the pole information. A highly columnar body (that is, the columnar body 22) is detected (see Steps 210 to 215), and whether or not there is a collision of the columnar body 22 with a threshold value based on the detected information on the columnar body 22 (see Step 205). When a determination is made (see step 250) and a collision is detected in the collision determination (see step 255), contents corresponding to the information (specifically, weight information) of the columnar body 22 (operation / non-operation of each device) The occupant protection devices 51 and 52 are operated by a combination of operations, a sequence of operations, and the like.

  Thus, the collision determination suitable for the colliding columnar body 22 can be performed by changing the collision determination threshold of the columnar body 22 of the collision partner based on the information of the columnar body 22 obtained by road-to-vehicle communication. it can. Further, when the columnar body 22 collides with the side surface of the host vehicle 10, the operation content of the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 is changed based on the information on the columnar body 22 obtained by road-to-vehicle communication, thereby colliding with the other party. A passenger's safety suitable for the vehicle can be ensured.

  Further, the side collision detection ECU 6 acquires information on the position of the columnar body 22 from the pole information of the columnar body 22, acquires information on the current position and traveling speed of the host vehicle 10 from the navigation device 4, and The collision warning start timing is calculated from the acquired information, and the collision determination threshold is changed based on the travel information only during the period from the calculated start timing until the predetermined time X elapses. When it determines with having generate | occur | produced, the passenger | crew protection apparatuses 51 and 52 are started in vehicle-to-pole mode.

  Thus, by selecting a period in which the vehicle and the columnar body 22 are most likely to collide and adopting a threshold value according to the pole information of the right collision sensor 2, a more accurate collision determination is performed. Can do. In addition, since it is possible to operate the occupant protection devices 51 and 52 according to the travel information of the columnar body 22 by selecting the period when the vehicle and the columnar body 22 are most likely to collide, High occupant protection can be performed.

  Further, based on the fact that the host vehicle (10) is skidding, it is highly possible that the host vehicle (10) will collide with the columnar body (22), and the threshold value for collision determination is set to the value of the other columnar body (22). By making it suitable for weight, more accurate collision determination can be performed.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, the scope of the present invention is not limited only to the said embodiment, The various form which can implement | achieve the function of each invention specific matter of this invention is included. It is.

  For example, in the above embodiment, an acceleration sensor and a pressure sensor are illustrated as the left collision sensor 1 and the right collision sensor 2 for detecting a collision on the side surface of the vehicle 10. In addition to these, a known displacement sensor, camera, radar, sonar, and the like may be used as the left collision sensor 1 and the right collision sensor 2.

  Among these listed sensors, the acceleration sensor, the pressure sensor, and the displacement sensor are sensors that output, as signals, amounts corresponding to the impact force that the side surface of the vehicle 10 receives. Actually, the acceleration output as a signal by the acceleration sensor is an acceleration applied to the side surface of the vehicle body in accordance with the impact force received by the side surface of the vehicle 10, and is an amount corresponding to the impact force. The pressure sensor also outputs the impact force itself received by the side surface of the vehicle 10 as a signal. Further, the displacement amount of the vehicle body side surface that is output as a signal by the displacement sensor is a displacement amount of the vehicle body side surface that deforms according to the impact force received by the side surface of the vehicle 10, and is therefore an amount corresponding to the impact force. Among the listed sensors, a camera, a radar, and a sonar are sensors that output signals corresponding to positions of objects around the vehicle 10 with respect to the vehicle 10.

  Further, the side collision detection ECU 6 performs vehicle-to-vehicle communication and road-to-vehicle communication using the wireless communication device 3, and simultaneously executes the operation of the first embodiment and the operation of the second embodiment in parallel. Also good. In this way, it is possible to determine whether an object that is highly likely to collide with the vehicle 10 is a vehicle or a pole, and to realize collision detection and occupant protection according to the determination result.

  Further, when the side collision detection ECU 6 receives new travel information from the opponent vehicle while waiting for the collision warning start timing in step 145 of the first embodiment, the side collision detection ECU 6 shifts the processing to step 110. May be. Thus, every time new driving information is received from the opponent vehicle, a determination and calculation (see steps 110 to 125) based on the information is performed, so that the occupant is highly accurate and can quickly respond to changes in the situation. Protection control can be realized.

  Similarly, when the side collision detection ECU 6 receives new pole information from the roadside communication device 23 while waiting for the collision warning start timing in step 245 of the second embodiment, the side collision detection ECU 6 moves the process to step 210. It may be. In this way, every time new pole information of the columnar body 22 is received from the roadside communication device 23, determination and calculation based on the information (see Steps 210 to 220) is performed, so that the accuracy is high and the situation It is possible to realize occupant protection control that can respond immediately to changes in the vehicle.

  Further, the side collision detection ECU 6 repeats the same processing as in steps 130, 135, 230, and 235 (that is, collision detection in the normal mode) while waiting for the collision warning start timing in steps 145 and 245. It may be. By doing so, appropriate occupant protection control can be realized even when another object collides with the host vehicle 10 immediately before the collision warning start timing.

  Moreover, in 1st Embodiment, the information of the front intersection of the other vehicle 20 is contained in the travel information transmitted from the other vehicle 20, and the side collision detection ECU 6 detects the other vehicle 20 from the travel information. Information about the front intersection is extracted.

  However, even if the travel information transmitted from the other vehicle 20 does not necessarily include the information on the front intersection of the other vehicle 20, the side collision detection ECU 6 determines the information on the front intersection of the other vehicle 20 from the travel information. Can be obtained. For example, when the current position (latitude, longitude) and traveling direction information of the other vehicle 20 is included in the travel information, the side collision detection ECU 6 uses the current position and traveling direction information as the own vehicle. By comparing with the map information in the navigation device 4 of 10, the information of the front intersection of the other vehicle 20 can be acquired.

  In the second embodiment, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects that the movement speed of the columnar pair 22 is zero by extracting information on the movement speed of the columnar pair 22 from the pole information. However, the side collision detection ECU 6 detects that the moving speed of the columnar pair 22 is zero based on the fact that the pole information includes data indicating that the columnar body information is not vehicle information. Also good. In this case, the data indicating that the information is not a vehicle but a columnar body corresponds to an example of information on the moving speed of a nearby object.

  Further, for example, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, even if the navigation device 4 is replaced with another device, the other device has map data, and the current position, vehicle speed, acceleration, yaw rate of the vehicle 10. Etc., as long as they can be detected.

  Further, in the above embodiment, each function realized by the side collision detection ECU 6 executing the program uses hardware having those functions (for example, an FPGA capable of programming a circuit configuration). It may be realized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Left side collision sensor 2 Right side collision sensor 3 Wireless communication apparatus 4 Navigation apparatus 5 Crew protection apparatus 6 Side collision detection ECU
10, 20 Vehicle 22 Columnar body 23 Roadside communication device

Claims (5)

A side collision detection system mounted on a vehicle (10),
Sensors (1, 2) for outputting as signals a quantity corresponding to the impact force received by the side surface of the vehicle (10);
An occupant protection device (51, 52) for protecting the occupant against a side collision of the vehicle (10);
An ECU (6) that activates the occupant protection device (5) based on the amount output by the sensors (1, 2) exceeding a threshold;
A wireless communication device (3) that mediates wireless communication between the ECU (6) and an external communication device outside the vehicle (10),
When the ECU (6) receives information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) transmitted from the external communication device, the ECU (6) changes the threshold based on the received information. Side impact detection system characterized by A host vehicle information acquisition device (4) for detecting the current position and travel speed of the vehicle (10);
When the ECU (6) receives the information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10), the information on the position and the moving speed of the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity is received from the received information. , Information on the position of the extracted nearby object (20, 22), information on the moving speed of the extracted nearby object (20, 22), and the vehicle information acquisition device (4) detected by the vehicle information acquisition device (4) Based on information on the position of the vehicle (10) and information on the traveling speed of the vehicle (10) detected by the vehicle information acquisition device (4), the vicinity of the vehicle (10) and the vehicle (10) The start timing of a period in which there is a high possibility that the object (20, 22) collides with the object (20, 22), and in the period until a predetermined time elapses from the calculated start timing, Based on the information of 22), the threshold value is changed. Side impact detection system according to claim 1, characterized in that to. A vehicle information acquisition device (4) for detecting a current position and a traveling direction of the vehicle (10);
The vehicle information acquisition device (4) stores map data including information on the structure of each road within a predetermined geographic area, information on the position of each intersection, and information on the connection relationship between the road and the intersection,
The ECU (6)
Information on the position of the vehicle (10) detected by the vehicle information acquisition device (4), information on the traveling direction of the vehicle (10) detected by the vehicle information acquisition device (4), and the map data And a first forward intersection where the vehicle (10) enters next,
When the traveling information of the other vehicle (20) is received as information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10), the other vehicle (20) enters next from the received traveling information. Get information on the second forward intersection,
By comparing the first forward intersection and the second forward intersection, it is determined whether the vehicle (10) and the other vehicle (20) are running toward the same intersection, and the same intersection. When the vehicle travels toward the vehicle, the threshold value is changed based on the travel speed, the weight, or the size of the other vehicle (10) in the travel information of the other vehicle (20). The side collision detection system according to claim 1.   When the ECU (6) receives information on the weight of the columnar body (22) standing upright on the road as information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10), the ECU (10) The side collision detection system according to claim 1, wherein the side threshold is changed based on the weight information. A side collision detection system mounted on a vehicle (10),
A sensor (1, 2) that outputs, as a signal, an amount corresponding to an impact force received by a side surface of the vehicle (10) or an amount corresponding to a relative position of an object around the vehicle (10) with respect to the vehicle (10). 2) and
An occupant protection device (51, 52) for protecting the occupant against a side collision of the vehicle (10);
Based on the amount output by the sensors (1, 2), it is determined whether or not a collision that should protect an occupant has occurred on the side of the vehicle (10). ECU (6) for starting (51, 52);
A wireless communication device (3) that mediates wireless communication between the ECU (6) and an external communication device outside the vehicle (10),
The ECU (6) receives the information on the objects (20, 22) in the vicinity of the vehicle (10) transmitted from the external communication device, and then the collision that should protect the occupant on the side surface of the vehicle (10). When it is determined that the vehicle has occurred, the operation content of the occupant protection device (51, 52) is changed based on the received information.

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