JP2011218857A - Protection control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To stably reduce collision damage with a simple control constitution.SOLUTION: A protection device is controlled so that an inflated airbag may come into contact with a bicycle rider at a height symmetrical to the height of a collision position with respect to the height of the center of gravity of the bicycle rider, on the basis of the height in the collision position, predetermined from a structure of a vehicle, and the estimated height of the center of gravity of an obstacle. This brings about the same effect as when a collision height is set as the height of the collision position, thereby preventing serious damage.

Description

  The present invention relates to a protection control device, and more particularly, to a protection control device that controls to protect a pedestrian or an occupant of a two-wheeled vehicle when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian or two-wheeled vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a technique related to protection of pedestrians and bicycle / motorcycle occupants, a technique for mitigating collision by deploying an airbag on the outer surface of a vehicle is known (Patent Document 1). In addition, a technique is known in which a shock absorber is provided at the front of a two-wheeled vehicle to control the vehicle body collision behavior when the two-wheeled vehicle collides with a structure (Patent Document 2). Furthermore, a technique for improving the protection performance of pedestrians, bicycle / two-wheeled vehicle occupants by making the shock absorption characteristics at the time of collision uniform in the vehicle width direction is known (Patent Document 3).

  In addition, in response to the problem that it is difficult to deploy the airbag along the vehicle body surface without a gap when the airbag is deployed, the airbag is attached to the vehicle body surface by disposing the knob portion on the airbag. There is known a technique that can be developed along the line (Patent Document 4).

  In addition, when a two-wheeled vehicle or the like collides with a structure, a technique is known in which occupant protection is achieved by suppressing a pitching (front turning) phenomenon that occurs in the two-wheeled vehicle by an impact absorbing structure disposed at the front of the two-wheeled vehicle (patent) Reference 5).

  In addition, since a collision of a pedestrian, a bicycle, or a two-wheeled vehicle occurs in a wide range in the vehicle width direction, a technique that improves protection performance by obtaining uniform impact relaxation characteristics in the width direction is described (patent) Reference 6).

JP 2003-11754 A JP 2002-264869 A JP 2009-29296 A JP 2003-11754 A JP 2002-264869 A JP 2009-29296 A

  As a result of analysis of accident data of pedestrians and bicycles / motorcycles by the present inventor, it has become clear that the damage situation of pedestrians, bicycles / motorcycles is affected by various impact factors. Furthermore, as a result of study using a calculation model, it became clear that there is a collision factor aimed at reducing damage. For example, it was found that the collision damage changes depending on the height of the collision.

  However, in the prior art, when changing the height of the collision, it is necessary to acquire a lot of information about the collision situation, and it is necessary to change the height of the collision before the collision. The height is limited due to a collision factor predicted in advance, and there is a problem that it is not easy to change the height of the collision.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a protection control device that can reduce collision damage stably with a simple control configuration.

  In order to achieve the above object, the protection control device according to the present invention includes a relative position detection means for detecting a relative position of a two-wheeled vehicle on which a pedestrian or an occupant is on the vehicle, and a direction speed for detecting the moving direction and speed of the vehicle. Detecting means; center-of-gravity estimating means for estimating the height of the center of gravity of the pedestrian or the occupant; contact means having a contact portion disposed at the front of the vehicle body and capable of controlling the height of the contact portion; Whether to collide with a pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle based on relative position information indicating the relative position detected by the relative position detecting means and information indicating the moving direction and speed of the vehicle detected by the directional speed detecting means. The vehicle and the pedestrian or the two with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center-of-gravity estimation unit. In height the collision position and the symmetry of the vehicle, the contact portion of said contact means is configured to include a control means for controlling said contact means to contact the pedestrian or the passenger.

  According to the present invention, the relative position detecting means detects the relative position of the two-wheeled vehicle on which the pedestrian or occupant gets on the vehicle. The moving speed and speed of the vehicle are detected by the direction speed detecting means. The center of gravity estimation means estimates the height of the center of gravity of the pedestrian or occupant.

  Further, based on the relative position information indicating the relative position detected by the relative position detection means by the collision determination means and the information indicating the moving direction and speed of the vehicle detected by the direction speed detection means, the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle Whether or not to collide with. Then, when it is determined by the control means that the collision is determined by the collision determination means, a height that is symmetrical to the height of the collision position between the vehicle and the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center of gravity estimation means. Thus, the contact means is controlled so that the contact portion of the contact means comes into contact with the pedestrian or the passenger.

  In this way, by controlling the contact means so that the contact portion of the contact means comes into contact with the pedestrian or the occupant at a height that is symmetrical to the height of the collision position with respect to the estimated height of the center of gravity, With a simple control configuration, collision damage can be reduced stably.

  The above two-wheeled vehicle includes a bicycle.

  The contact means according to the present invention includes an airbag bag body that includes a contact portion and is housed in the front portion of the vehicle body, and an inflator that deploys the airbag bag body, and the control means is determined to collide by the collision determination means. In this case, the contact portion of the deployed airbag bag body is symmetrical with the height of the collision position between the vehicle and the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center of gravity estimating means. The inflator can be controlled so as to come into contact with a pedestrian or an occupant. As a result, the airbag bag body can be deployed to prevent the pedestrian or occupant from being flipped up or pushed down, and the impact at the time of collision can be reduced.

  The contact means according to the present invention includes a plate-like member that includes a contact portion and is provided on the vehicle body surface at the front of the vehicle body, and elastically deforms, and a drive means that flips or pushes up the contact portion of the plate-like member. The control means, when it is determined that the collision is determined by the collision determination means, is symmetric with the height of the collision position between the vehicle and the pedestrian or the motorcycle with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center of gravity estimation means. The driving means can be controlled such that the contact portion of the plate-like member that is flipped up or pushed up contacts the pedestrian or the occupant. Accordingly, the pedestrian or the occupant is prevented from being pushed up or pushed down by pushing up the plate-like member, and the impact at the time of collision can be reduced.

  The center-of-gravity estimation means is based on an image picked up by an image pickup means that picks up the front of the vehicle, or a measurement result by a laser radar that measures the distance to the position irradiated with the laser by scanning the laser around the surroundings. Thus, the height of the pedestrian, occupant, or motorcycle can be estimated, and the height of the center of gravity can be estimated based on the estimated height of the pedestrian, occupant, or motorcycle.

  As described above, according to the protection control device of the present invention, the contact portion of the contact means is a pedestrian or an occupant at a height that is symmetrical to the height of the collision position with respect to the estimated height of the center of gravity. By controlling the contact means so as to come into contact with each other, it is possible to stably reduce collision damage with a simple control configuration.

It is a block diagram showing a pedestrian occupant protection control device of a 1st embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control apparatus of the pedestrian occupant protection control apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a graph which shows the relationship between a collision height and a collision speed. It is a figure which shows a calculation model. It is a figure which shows the condition of the passenger | crew according to the collision height. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a collision height and a head collision speed. (A) The figure which shows the case where a collision height is high and the case where it is low, and (B) A mode that a passenger | crew and an airbag are made to contact with the height symmetrical with a collision height with respect to the height of a gravity center. FIG. It is a side view which shows the structure of a protective device. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the sub airbag developed. (A) A side view showing a state where three chambers of the sub airbag are deployed, (B) a side view showing a state where two chambers of the sub airbag are deployed, and (C) one chamber of the sub airbag. It is a side view which shows the state which expand | deployed. It is a side view which shows the state in which the main airbag and the sub airbag were accommodated in the vehicle body front part. It is a top view which shows the state which the protection apparatus developed. It is a front view which shows the state which the protection apparatus developed. It is a flowchart which shows the collision object protection control processing routine in the pedestrian occupant protection control apparatus of this Embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that the protective device was expand | deployed so that a passenger | crew and an airbag may contact with the height which is symmetrical with collision height with respect to the height of a gravity center. It is a side view which shows the state in which the main airbag and the sub airbag were accommodated in the vehicle body front part. It is an enlarged view which shows the state in which the main airbag and the sub airbag were accommodated. It is a side view which shows the structure of the protection apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is an enlarged view which shows the structure of the protection apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a top view which shows the structure of the protection apparatus of 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows the structure of the protective device of another example. It is an enlarged view which shows the structure of the protective device of another example. It is a top view which shows the structure of the protective device of another example. It is a front view which shows the structure of the protection apparatus of another example.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  In the first embodiment, the protection control device of the present invention is applied to a pedestrian occupant protection control device. As shown in FIG. 1, the pedestrian occupant protection control device includes a sensor group mounted on the vehicle as a means for detecting the traveling state of the host vehicle, a sensor group mounted on the vehicle as a means for detecting an external environment state, And the control apparatus 24 which controls the protection apparatus 40 mounted in the own vehicle based on the detection data from these sensor groups is provided. The protection device 40 is an example of a contact unit.

  As a group of sensors that detect the traveling state of the host vehicle, a vehicle speed sensor 10 that detects a vehicle speed, a yaw rate sensor 12 that detects a yaw rate, and a steering angle sensor 14 that detects a steering angle are provided. A sensor for detecting the pitch angle of the vehicle and a sensor for detecting the occupant's boarding may be further provided.

  In addition, as a sensor group for detecting the external environment state, a camera 18 that captures the front and sides of the host vehicle and a laser radar 20 that detects an obstacle in front of the host vehicle are provided. A millimeter wave radar may be provided instead of the laser radar or together with the laser radar. This laser radar may be provided with a laser radar that detects the side of the vehicle and the rear of the vehicle in addition to the laser radar that detects the front of the vehicle.

  The camera 18 includes a front camera attached to an upper part of the front window of the vehicle so as to photograph the front of the vehicle, and a side camera attached to a door mirror so as to photograph the side of the vehicle. The front camera and the side camera are composed of a small CCD camera or a CMOS camera. The front camera and the side camera shoot a region including road conditions in front and side of the host vehicle, and output image data obtained by the shooting. The output image data is input to the control device 24 constituted by a microcomputer or the like. In addition to the front camera and the side camera, a front infrared camera, a front infrared camera and a rear infrared camera, or a front infrared camera, a side infrared camera and a rear infrared camera are preferably used as the camera. By using an infrared camera, pedestrians and bicycles can be reliably detected. Note that a near-infrared camera can be used instead of the above-described infrared camera, and in this case as well, pedestrians and bicycles can be reliably detected.

  The laser radar 20 receives a light emitting element composed of a semiconductor laser that scans in the horizontal direction by irradiating an infrared light pulse, and a light receiving device that receives an infrared light pulse reflected from a front obstacle (pedestrian, vehicle ahead, etc.). And is attached to the front grille or bumper of the vehicle. In the laser radar 20, the distance from the own vehicle to the obstacle ahead and the distance of the obstacle based on the arrival time of the reflected infrared light pulse until the light receiving element receives the light from the light emitting element as a reference. The direction of presence can be detected. Data indicating the distance to the obstacle and the direction of the obstacle detected by the laser radar 20 are input to the control device 24.

  The control device 24 includes a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM that stores a program for executing a collision target protection control processing routine described later, and is functionally configured as follows. As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 24 includes an information acquisition unit 30 that acquires information indicating the traveling state of the host vehicle from each of the vehicle speed sensor 10, the yaw rate sensor 12, and the steering angle sensor 14, and a front image from the camera 18. The image acquisition unit 32 that acquires the image and the side image and the detection result by the laser radar 20, and the collision that determines whether or not to collide with the obstacle that exists in front or side is calculated. A collision target recognition unit 36 that recognizes the type of an obstacle determined to collide and estimates the height of the center of gravity of the obstacle based on the determination unit 34 and a front image or a side image acquired from the camera 18 And a control unit 38 that controls the protection device 40 based on the estimated height of the center of gravity.

  The collision determination unit 34 detects an obstacle existing in the front or side based on the front image or the side image acquired from the camera 18 and the detection result by the laser radar 20, and also acquires the self acquired from various sensors. Based on the information indicating the running state of the vehicle, the relative position and relative speed with respect to the obstacle are detected. Further, the collision determination unit 34 calculates TTC (time to collision) as an index indicating the risk of collision based on the detected relative position and relative speed. The collision determination unit 34 determines that the vehicle collides with the obstacle when the TTC is equal to or less than the threshold value.

  The collision target recognition unit 36 recognizes the type of obstacle (pedestrian, motorcycle, bicycle, etc.) determined to collide based on the front image or the side image acquired from the camera 18. Note that the type of obstacle may be recognized based on the size, moving direction, moving speed, and the like of the obstacle detected by the laser radar 20. For example, if the moving speed is high, it can be estimated that the obstacle is likely to be a bicycle or a two-wheeled vehicle, and it is possible to further improve the estimation accuracy by using information such as width and height together. .

  Further, the collision target recognition unit 36 estimates the height of the center of gravity of the obstacle based on the front image or the side image acquired from the camera 18 and the recognized type of the obstacle.

  Next, the principle of this embodiment will be described.

  First, FIG. 3 shows the relationship between the collision height when the vehicle and the bicycle collide and the speed when the bicycle occupant collides with the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, the occupant's collision speed varies depending on the collision height. From the result of FIG. 3, if a vehicle with a collision height of H3 collides with a bicycle, the collision speed of the bicycle occupant can be lowered by changing the collision height to H1, resulting in a collision. It is thought that it leads to damage reduction.

  Note that FIG. 3 is an example of a bicycle collision with a vehicle, but it has also been clarified that the collision factor affects the collision speed of the pedestrian to the vehicle in the same manner.

  Next, using the calculation model shown in FIG. 4, the collision situation between the occupant head and the vehicle at the time of the collision was confirmed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that a situation in which the occupant greatly jumps to the vehicle side is avoided as the collision height increases. This is because the waist does not move upward as the collision height increases as shown in the results of FIG. In addition, since there is no significant jumping up, the collision speed when the head collides with the vehicle is lowered as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, increasing the collision height leads to damage reduction. However, when the collision height is higher than the vicinity of the waist, which is the center of gravity of the occupant, the occupant is splashed forward of the vehicle, and the head collides with the road surface. For this reason, there is a suitable value for the collision height, which is roughly a value in a range of about ± 0.2 to 0.3 m with respect to the position of the center of gravity of the occupant (waist, seat position) when riding.

  Thus, in the protection of the bicycle occupant, by setting the collision height to the height of the occupant's center of gravity, at the time of the collision, the occupant is (1) not jumped up to the vehicle side, and (2) jumped forward of the vehicle. Damage reduction can be realized.

  Here, in the case where the collision height is P1 shown in FIG. 7 (A), the bicycle is jumped forward and the occupant who is weakly restrained with the bicycle is almost located in the space at the time of the collision due to inertia. It will be flipped up to the side. On the other hand, when the collision height is P2, the occupant is jumped forward of the vehicle, and the bicycle is almost located in the space at the time of the collision due to inertia.

  In order to prevent the occupant from jumping to the vehicle side, for example, as shown in FIG. 7B, it may collide at the position P1, and contact the occupant by the airbag or the like at the position P2. At this time, if the height of the position of P1 and the height of the position of P2 are made symmetric with respect to the height of the occupant's center of gravity position, the same effect as when the collision height is set to the center of gravity position can be obtained.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 38 determines the collision position with respect to the center of gravity of the occupant based on the height of the collision position obtained in advance from the structure of the vehicle and the estimated center of gravity of the obstacle. The protection device 40 is controlled such that the protection device 40 comes into contact with an obstacle at a height that is symmetrical with the obstacle.

  Next, the configuration of the protection device 40 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the protection device 40 desires an airbag bag body 48, a gas generator (inflator) 50 for injecting a gas for deploying the airbag bag body 48, and a specific gas generator 50. And a selector (not shown) for selectively operating at the injection pressure and the injection time. The gas generator 50 and the selector are signal-connected. In addition, the selector is connected in signal to the control device 24.

  The airbag bag body 48 is inflated and deployed by the gas injected from the gas generator 50. The airbag bag body 48 includes a main airbag 48A that presses against a pedestrian or the like to mitigate an impact, and a sub airbag 48B that changes the deployment angle θ of the main airbag 48A. As shown in FIG. 9, the sub airbag 48B has a triangular prism shape, and one surface (bottom surface) is joined to the vehicle body, and the other surface (upper surface) facing each other is joined to the main airbag 48A. The interior of the sub-air bag 48B is divided into three rooms from room I to room III as shown in FIG. 9, and the bottom surface is also divided into three areas. Since the inflator outlet is provided and each chamber is airtight, it can be expanded and deployed for each individual chamber by gas injection. A gas generator different from the gas generator joined to the sub airbag 48B is joined to the main airbag 48A, and the main airbag 48A is deployed and inflated under different deployment conditions from the sub airbag 48B. The

  As shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C, the deployment state of the main airbag 48A can be changed to three types of inclination angles θ depending on whether or not the three chambers of the sub airbag 48B are deployed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the end height (height of the contact portion) of the main airbag 48A becomes H1, H2, and H3 according to each θ.

  The control unit 38 of the control device 24 selects the gas generator 50 that generates gas via the selector, selects the sub airbag 48B to be deployed, and controls the height of the contact portion of the main airbag 48A. To do.

  Further, at the time of storage, as shown in FIG. 11, the main airbag 48A and the sub airbag 48B are folded and stored in the front part of the vehicle body.

  Also, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, when the airbag bag body 48 is deployed, the main airbag 48A is deployed forward of the vehicle with a width similar to the vehicle body width, and the sub airbag 48B is deployed. The height of the front front end (contact portion) of the main airbag 48A is controlled.

  The shape of the main airbag can be a cube or a bowl. Although the example using one main airbag has been described above, a plurality of main airbags may be used.

  Next, a collision target protection control processing routine stored in the control device 24 of the pedestrian occupant protection control device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in step 100, a sensor group for detecting the traveling state of the host vehicle and data detected by the laser radar 20 are captured, and in step 101, an image captured by the camera 18 is acquired.

  In step 102, the traveling direction and traveling speed of the host vehicle are detected based on the traveling state of the host vehicle acquired in step 100. In step 103, the detection result of the laser radar 20 acquired in step 100 and Based on the image acquired in step 102, the obstacle is detected, and the moving direction and moving speed of the obstacle are detected. Then, the relative position and relative speed of the detected obstacle are detected based on the traveling direction and traveling speed of the host vehicle detected in step 102 and the detected moving direction and moving speed of the obstacle.

  In step 104, TTC is calculated as an index indicating the collision risk of the detected obstacle based on the relative position and relative speed of the obstacle detected in step 103.

  In step 106, it is determined whether or not the TTC calculated in step 104 is equal to or smaller than a threshold value. If the TTC is larger than the threshold value, it is determined that there is no risk of collision, and the collision target protection control is performed. The processing routine ends. On the other hand, if the TTC is equal to or less than the threshold, it is determined that the risk of collision is high, and in step 108, based on the image acquired in step 101 and the detection result of the laser radar 20 acquired in step 100. The type of the collision object is recognized using the obstacle detected in step 104 as the collision object. For example, by using an image recognition processing technique such as pattern matching, it is recognized whether the type of the collision target is a pedestrian, a bicycle, or a two-wheeled vehicle.

  In step 110, the height of the center of gravity of the collision target is determined based on the type of the collision target recognized in step 108, the image acquired in step 101, and the detection result of the laser radar 20 acquired in step 100. Estimate. For example, when the collision target is a pedestrian, the height is measured from the captured image, and the height of the center of gravity is estimated based on the height. In the case of a two-wheeled vehicle, the saddle position of the two-wheeled vehicle is measured from the captured image, or the tire diameter of the two-wheeled vehicle is measured from the captured image to estimate the saddle height. Based on the saddle height, Estimate.

  Then, the protection device 40 is configured such that the protection device 40 comes into contact with the collision object at a height that is symmetrical to the height of the estimated collision position (for example, bumper position) with respect to the estimated center of gravity height. To control the collision target protection control processing routine. An air bag deployment signal including information such as the deployment pressure and deployment time of the main airbag 48A, the presence / absence of deployment of the three chambers of the sub airbag 48B, and the deployment time is output from the control device 24 to the gas generator 50. Then, the protection device 40 is controlled. As a result, as shown in FIG. 15, the main airbag 48A and the main airbag 48A are arranged so that the height of the front end of the vehicle body is symmetrical to the collision position with respect to the estimated center of gravity. The sub airbag 48B is deployed. The collision object collides with the collision position of the vehicle body, and comes into contact with the main airbag 48A at a height symmetrical to the height of the collision position with respect to the height of the center of gravity.

  Further, the collision target protection control processing routine is repeatedly executed every predetermined time.

  As described above, according to the pedestrian occupant protection control device according to the first embodiment, the airbag bag has a height that is symmetric to the height of the collision position with respect to the estimated height of the center of gravity. By controlling the protective device so that the contact part of the body comes into contact with the pedestrian or bicycle occupant, the same effect as when the collision height is set to the height of the center of gravity can be obtained. Thus, collision damage can be reduced. Further, when the deployed airbag bag body and the pedestrian or the occupant are in contact with each other, the pedestrian or the occupant is prevented from being flipped up or pushed down, and the impact at the time of the collision can be reduced. .

  In addition, the air bag characteristics can be appropriately changed and used with respect to the collision factor, and the protection characteristics higher than those of the prior art can be obtained, so that the protection performance of pedestrians and bicycle / bicycle occupants is improved.

  In addition, even if the collision factor such as collision speed, collision direction, vehicle shape, pedestrian height and weight, type of bicycle or motorcycle changes, the collision factor should be changed so that suitable protection characteristics can be obtained. Therefore, it can be expected to have an excellent protective effect that has never been achieved. For example, even when pedestrians have different heights, the height of the contact portion of the airbag bag body can be selected according to the height. The height of a pedestrian affects the behavior at the time of a vehicle collision. When the relative collision height with respect to the height is low, the pedestrian is lifted up, and when the collision height is high, the pedestrian is pushed down. Although it becomes a behavior, by controlling the height of the contact portion of the airbag bag body, it is possible to obtain the same effect as when the collision height becomes the height of the center of gravity, and serious damage is caused. Can be avoided.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the main airbag 48A and the sub airbag 48B are folded and stored in the front part of the vehicle body is described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 17, the main airbag 48 </ b> A and the sub airbag 48 </ b> B may be stored in the front portion of the vehicle body in a wound state.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. In addition, about the part which becomes the structure similar to 1st Embodiment, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the front grille of the vehicle body is flipped up and brought into contact with the object to be collided.

  As shown in FIGS. 18 to 20, the protection device 40 of the pedestrian occupant protection control device according to the second embodiment is attached to the front grill 248 provided on the vehicle body surface at the front of the vehicle body and the front grill 248. A shaft 250, a front grill 248, a fastening part 252 that fastens the shaft, a shaft support 254, a first gear 256, a second gear 258, and a motor 260 that drives the first gear 256. . The front grill 248 is an example of a plate-like member, and the shaft 250, the fastening component 252, the shaft support portion 254, the first gear 256, the second gear 258, and the motor 260 are driving means. It is an example.

  By transmitting the rotation of the motor 260 to the second gear 258 via the first gear 256, the fastening component 252 rotates and the front grill 248 is flipped up. As a result, the front front end of the vehicle body of the front grille 248 protrudes forward of the vehicle, and the height of the front front end (contact portion) of the front grille 248 that contacts the pedestrian is adjusted.

  In the first embodiment, the impact force is reduced by the airbag. In the second embodiment, the collision is reduced by the elastic deformation of the front grill 248. For this reason, it is desirable that the front grill 248 be formed of a material having a larger elastic characteristic than other body parts. Further, since the front grille 248 is in pressure contact with a pedestrian or bicycle occupant, it is desirable that the front grill 248 be modified such that the pressure contact area increases with the deformation.

  In addition, about the other structure and effect | action of a pedestrian occupant protection control apparatus which concern on 2nd Embodiment, since it is the same as that of 1st Embodiment, description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As described above, according to the pedestrian occupant protection control device according to the second embodiment, the front grille has a height that is symmetric to the height of the collision position with respect to the estimated height of the center of gravity. By controlling the protective device so that the contact portion comes into contact with a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant, collision damage can be stably reduced with a simple control configuration. In addition, the elastically deformed front grille and the pedestrian or occupant in contact with each other prevent the pedestrian or occupant from being flipped up or pushed down, and reduce the impact at the time of collision. can do.

  In addition, since the height of the contact portion of the front grill is changed with respect to the height of the pedestrian, the behavior when the pedestrian collides with the vehicle can be easily led to a behavior that can avoid serious damage. Moreover, since the front grill can be reset to the initial position even after the protection device is operated, it can be used without replacement of parts.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the front grille is flipped up using two gears has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the front grille is flipped up using a pulley and a timing belt. You may comprise so that it may raise.

  Moreover, you may comprise so that a front grill may be pushed up. For example, as shown in FIGS. 21 to 24, the protection device 40 includes a front grill 248, a shaft 280 attached to the front grill 248, a shaft support portion 281, a wheel 282, a piston 284, and a linear motion motor 286. You may comprise so that.

  Driving the linear motion motor 286 causes the piston 284 to extend, and the wheel 282 rolls along the inside of the front grill 248 to push up the front grill 248. As a result, the height of the contact position between the front front end of the vehicle body of the front grill 248 and the pedestrian is adjusted. In the above example, a hydraulic mechanism or a spring mechanism may be used instead of the direct acting motor.

  Further, as a driving force for jumping up or pushing up the vehicle body surface, driving by an air bag may be used as in the first embodiment.

  Further, the case where the front grill is flipped up or pushed up has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the vehicle body surface in the vicinity of the front grill may be flipped up or pushed up.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle speed sensor 12 Yaw rate sensor 14 Steering angle sensor 18 Camera 20 Laser radar 24 Control apparatus 30 Information acquisition part 32 Image acquisition part 34 Collision determination part 36 Collision object recognition part 38 Control part 40 Protection apparatus 48 Air bag body 50 Gas generator 248 Front grill 260 Motor 286 Direct acting motor

Claims (4)

A relative position detecting means for detecting a relative position of a two-wheeled vehicle on which a pedestrian or an occupant is on the vehicle;
Direction speed detecting means for detecting the moving direction and speed of the vehicle;
Center of gravity estimation means for estimating the height of the center of gravity of the pedestrian or the occupant;
A contact means disposed at the front part of the vehicle body, and a contact means capable of controlling the height of the contact part;
Whether to collide with a pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle based on the relative position information indicating the relative position detected by the relative position detecting means and the information indicating the moving direction and speed of the vehicle detected by the directional speed detecting means. A collision determination means for determining whether or not
When it is determined that the collision is determined by the collision determination unit, the height is symmetrical to the height of the collision position between the vehicle and the pedestrian or the motorcycle with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center of gravity estimation unit. Control means for controlling the contact means so that a contact portion of the contact means contacts the pedestrian or the occupant;
Including protection control device. The contact means includes an airbag bag body that includes the contact portion and is housed in a vehicle body front portion, and an inflator that deploys the airbag bag body,
The control means is symmetrical with the height of the collision position between the vehicle and the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center-of-gravity estimation means when it is determined that the collision is judged by the collision judgment means. The protection control device according to claim 1, wherein the inflator is controlled so that the contact portion of the deployed airbag bag body contacts the pedestrian or the occupant at a height of The contact means includes the plate-like member that includes the contact portion and is provided on the vehicle body surface of the front portion of the vehicle body and elastically deforms, and driving means that flips up or pushes up the plate-like member,
The control means is symmetrical with the height of the collision position between the vehicle and the pedestrian or the two-wheeled vehicle with respect to the height of the center of gravity estimated by the center-of-gravity estimation means when it is determined that the collision is judged by the collision judgment means. The protection control device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is controlled such that the contact portion of the plate-like member that is flipped up or pushed up at a height that comes into contact with the pedestrian or the occupant. .   The center-of-gravity estimation means is based on an image picked up by an image pickup means that picks up the front of the vehicle, or a measurement result by a laser radar that measures the distance to the position irradiated with the laser by scanning the laser around the surroundings. The height of the center of gravity is estimated based on the estimated height of the pedestrian, the occupant, or the two-wheeled vehicle, and the height of the pedestrian, the occupant, or the two-wheeled vehicle is estimated. 4. The protection control device according to any one of items 3.

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