JP2016120867A - Collision detection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a collision detection device for a vehicle improving resistance against external force in a tube type collision detection device for a vehicle.SOLUTION: A collision detection device 1 for a vehicle includes: a tube member 2 for detection which is disposed in a bumper of the vehicle and has a hollow section 2a formed inside; and a pressure sensor for detecting pressure in the hollow section 2a, and detects a collision of an object such as a pedestrian against the bumper on the basis of the pressure detection result by the pressure sensor. The tube member 2 for detection is configured to have a body section 20 which has the hollow section 2a and is disposed on a vehicle front side of a bumper reinforcement, and a connection section 21 which is connected to an end section of the body section 20 by integral molding, is formed into a hollow shape for communicating the hollow section 2a with the inside and has the pressure sensor connected to an end section on an opposite side of the body section 20. In the connection section 21, thickness t1 of a peripheral wall on at least a vehicle front outer peripheral side is set to be thicker than thickness t2 of a peripheral wall of the body section 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle collision detection device for detecting a collision with a pedestrian or the like of a vehicle.

  Conventionally, there is a vehicle including a pedestrian protection device for reducing an impact on a pedestrian when the pedestrian collides with the vehicle. In this vehicle, a bumper unit is provided with a collision detection device, and when this sensor detects that a pedestrian or the like has collided with the vehicle, the pedestrian protection device is activated to reduce the impact on the pedestrian. It has a configuration. This pedestrian protection device includes what is called a pop-up hood, for example. This pop-up hood raises the rear end of the engine hood when a vehicle collision is detected, increases the clearance (clearance) between the pedestrian and hard parts such as the engine, and uses that space to the pedestrian's head. It absorbs collision energy and reduces the impact on the head.

  In the above-described vehicle collision detection device, a chamber member having a chamber space formed therein is disposed in front of a bumper reinforcement in a vehicle bumper, and the pressure in the chamber space is detected by a pressure sensor. There is something like that. With this configuration, when an object such as a pedestrian collides with the bumper (bumper cover), the chamber member is deformed along with the deformation of the bumper cover, and a pressure change is generated in the chamber space. A pressure sensor detects this pressure change to detect a collision of a pedestrian or the like.

  In recent years, a tube-type vehicle collision detection device that detects a collision using a tube member that is smaller and more easily mounted than the chamber-type vehicle collision detection device has been proposed. The vehicle collision detection device includes a bumper absorber that is a shock absorbing member disposed in a bumper of the vehicle, a hollow tube member that is mounted in a groove formed in the bumper absorber along the vehicle width direction, And a pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in the tube member. When a pedestrian or the like collides in front of the vehicle, the bumper absorber is deformed while absorbing the impact, and at the same time, the tube member is also deformed. At this time, the pressure in the tube member rises, and the collision with the pedestrian of the vehicle is detected based on detecting this pressure change by the pressure sensor.

Special table 2014-505629 gazette

  However, in the tube-type vehicle collision detection device having the above-described configuration, since the pressure sensor is disposed outside the left and right side surfaces of the bumper reinforcement, an object such as a pedestrian is located near the left and right ends of the bumper. In the case of a collision, there is a problem that a sharply shaped portion on the back surface of the bumper cover may damage the end side portion of the tube member with the deformation of the bumper cover.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicular collision detection device with improved resistance to external forces in a tube-type vehicular collision detection device.

  The vehicle collision detection device (1) according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-described object, is provided for detection in which a hollow portion (2a) is formed inside a vehicle bumper (6). It has a tube member (2) and a pressure sensor (3) for detecting the pressure in the hollow part, and detects the collision of an object with the bumper based on the pressure detection result by the pressure sensor. The tube member for detection has a hollow part and is connected to the main body part (20) disposed on the front side of the vehicle of the bumper reinforcement (9) by an integral molding and the hollow part. It is formed to have a connecting portion (21, 22, 23) that is formed in a hollow shape that communicates with the inside and that is connected to a pressure sensor at an end opposite to the main body. The connecting portion is characterized in that at least the thickness (t1) of the peripheral wall on the front outer periphery side of the vehicle is set to be thicker than the thickness (t2) of the peripheral wall of the main body portion.

  According to this configuration, since the connecting portion connected to the end portion of the main body portion of the tube member for detection is set so that at least the thickness of the peripheral wall on the front outer peripheral side of the vehicle is thicker than the thickness of the peripheral wall of the main body portion. Even if a collision with an object such as a pedestrian occurs in the vicinity of the connecting portion, it is possible to prevent the connecting portion from being damaged by colliding with a sharp-shaped portion on the back surface of the bumper cover. Thereby, the tolerance with respect to the external force of the collision detection apparatus for vehicles can be improved with a simple structure. Further, since the connecting portion is connected to the end portion of the main body portion by integral molding, there is no need to provide a separate member for connecting the main body portion and the connecting portion, and the main body portion and the connecting portion having different thicknesses with a simple configuration. Can be arranged. Thereby, the intensity | strength of a connection part can be raised, aiming at the simplification of a manufacturing process. In addition, the code | symbol in the bracket | parenthesis of each means described in this column and the claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later.

1 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a vehicle collision detection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is an enlarged view of the bumper part of FIG. FIG. 3 is a III-III cross-sectional view of the bumper portion of FIG. 2. It is a top view which shows the arrangement structure of the tube member for a detection of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the external dimension of the main-body part of a tube member for a detection, and a connection part. It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional shape of the main-body part of the tube member for a detection. It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional shape of the connection part of the tube member for a detection. It is sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of a pressure sensor. FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in the second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 in the second embodiment. It is XI-XI sectional drawing of the main-body part of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 4 in a third embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 in the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows the cross-sectional shape of the main-body part of the tube member for a detection of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the arrangement structure of the tube member for a detection.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, a vehicle collision detection apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle collision detection device 1 of this embodiment includes a hollow detection tube member 2, a pressure sensor 3, a speed sensor 4, a collision detection ECU 5, and the like. The vehicle collision detection device 1 detects a collision of an object such as a pedestrian with a bumper 6 provided in front of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, the bumper 6 is mainly composed of a bumper cover 7, a bumper absorber 8, and a bumper reinforcement 9.

  The detection tube member 2 has a hollow portion 2a formed therein, and has a main body portion 20 and a connection portion 21 as shown in FIGS. The main body 20 is a member that is disposed on the vehicle front side (front surface 9a) of the bumper reinforcement 9 and extends in the vehicle width direction (vehicle left-right direction). The main body 20 is mounted in a groove 8a formed on the center side of the rear surface of the bumper absorber 8 (see FIG. 3).

  The connection part 21 is a part for connecting between the main body part 20 and the pressure sensor 3, and is provided at both left and right ends of the main body part 20 in the vehicle width direction. The connecting portion 21 is connected to the end portion of the main body portion 20 by integral molding, and is formed in a hollow shape in which the hollow portion 2a of the main body portion 20 communicates with the inside. The pressure sensor 3 is connected to the end of the connection portion 21 opposite to the main body portion 20. The main body portion 20 and the connection portion 21 are integrally formed by, for example, extrusion molding or blow molding.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the main body portion 20 and the connection portion 21 of the detection tube member 2 have a circular cross-sectional shape and are made of a synthetic rubber such as ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM). The cross-sectional shape of the detection tube member 2 is not limited to a circle, but may be a polygon such as a quadrangle. In addition, as a material of the tube member for detection 2, silicone rubber or the like may be used, or a mixture of silicone rubber and EPDM may be used.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the thickness of the peripheral wall of the connecting portion 21 is set to be greater than the thickness of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20 over the entire circumference. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, when the thickness of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20 is t2, the thickness of the peripheral wall of the connection portion 21 is set to t1 larger than t2. Here, the thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body 20 is 2 mm or less, and the example of FIG. 5 shows the case of 1 mm. Further, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connecting portion 21 is larger than 2 mm, and the case of 3 mm is shown in the example of FIG. Thus, the thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connection part 21 is made thicker than the thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body part 20, thereby increasing the rigidity of the connection part 21 and improving the resistance to external forces.

  The wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body 20 is preferably 1 mm to 3 mm, and more preferably 1 mm to 2 mm. Further, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connection portion 21 is a dimension that satisfies t2 <t1, and is preferably 2 mm to 4 mm, and more preferably 2 mm to 3 mm. Among these, in this embodiment, t1 = 3 [mm] and t2 = 1 [mm] are employed.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the outer diameter of the main-body part 20 and the connection part 21 is equivalent. Specifically, the outer diameter D2 of the main body portion 20 and the outer diameter D1 of the connection portion 21 are both about 8 mm. In addition, it is preferable that the outer diameter D2 of the main-body part 20 is 8 mm-12 mm, and if it is 8 mm-10 mm, it is more preferable. Moreover, it is preferable that the outer diameter D1 of the connection part 21 is 8 mm-12 mm, and if it is 8 mm-10 mm, it is more preferable.

  On the other hand, the inner diameters of the main body portion 20 and the connection portion 21 are different sizes. Specifically, the inner diameter d2 of the main body portion 20 is about 6 mm, and the inner diameter d1 of the connection portion 21 is about 2 mm. In addition, it is preferable that the internal diameter d2 of the main-body part 20 is 2 mm-8 mm, and if it is 4 mm-6 mm, it is more preferable. Further, the inner diameter d1 of the connecting portion 21 satisfies the condition of t2 <t1, and is preferably 2 mm to 8 mm, more preferably 4 mm to 6 mm. Among these, in this embodiment, d1 = 2 [mm] and d2 = 6 [mm] are employed.

  Further, the connecting portion 21 has a curved portion 21 a that is curved in a substantially U-shape between the main body portion 20 and the pressure sensor 3 and outside the end portion in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement 9. Yes. The curvature radius of the curved portion 21a is 30 mm or more. Since the connecting portion 21 has a circular cross section, it is easy to bend. In addition, it is preferable that the curvature radius of the curved part 21a is 30 mm-50 mm, and if it is 30 mm-40 mm, it is more preferable.

  The pressure sensor 3 is disposed on the vehicle rear side with respect to the front surface 9 a of the bumper reinforcement 9. Specifically, two pressure sensors 3 are installed on the rear surface 9b of the left and right ends of the bumper reinforcement 9, and are fixedly attached by fastening bolts (not shown). In this embodiment, redundancy and detection accuracy are ensured by installing two pressure sensors 3 in this way.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the pressure sensor 3 is connected to one end of the connection portion 21 and configured to detect the pressure in the hollow portion 2 a of the main body portion 20 of the detection tube member 2. ing. Specifically, the pressure sensor 3 is a sensor device that detects a change in the pressure of gas, and detects a change in the pressure of air in the hollow portion 2 a of the main body 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the pressure sensor 3 is electrically connected to a collision detection ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 5 via a transmission line, and outputs a signal proportional to the pressure to the collision detection ECU 5. The collision detection ECU 5 detects a pedestrian collision with the bumper 6 based on the pressure detection result by the pressure sensor 3.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the pressure sensor 3 includes a main body portion 30, a sensor portion 31, a pressure introduction pipe 32, and a connector portion 33. The main body 30 is a box-shaped case for housing the sensor unit 31. The sensor unit 31 is made of a substrate or the like on which a sensor element for detecting pressure is provided. The pressure introduction tube 32 is a substantially cylindrical tube that introduces the pressure in the hollow portion 2 a of the detection tube member 2 into the sensor portion 31, and is inserted into the connection portion 21 from the main body portion 30. The sensor part 31 detects a pressure change in the hollow part 2 a of the main body part 20 through the pressure introduction pipe 32. The sensor unit 31 is electrically connected to a connector 34 provided in the connector unit 33, and transmits a signal proportional to the pressure to the collision detection ECU 5 via the connector 34 and the signal line (see FIG. 1).

  The speed sensor 4 is a sensor device that detects the speed of the vehicle, and is electrically connected to the collision detection ECU 5 via a signal line. The speed sensor 4 transmits a signal (speed data) proportional to the vehicle speed to the collision detection ECU 5.

  The collision detection ECU 5 is composed mainly of a CPU and controls the overall operation of the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1, and is electrically connected to each of the pressure sensor 3, the speed sensor 4, and the pedestrian protection apparatus 10. (See FIG. 1). The collision detection ECU 5 receives a pressure signal (pressure data), a speed signal (speed data), and the like from the pressure sensor 3 and the speed sensor 4. The collision detection ECU 5 executes a predetermined collision determination process based on the detection results by the pressure sensor 3 and the speed sensor 4, and when a collision of an object such as a pedestrian with the bumper 6 is detected, the pedestrian protection device 10. Is activated.

  The bumper 6 is for reducing an impact at the time of a vehicle collision, and includes a bumper cover 7, a bumper absorber 8, a bumper reinforcement 9, and the like. The bumper cover 7 is provided so as to cover the components of the bumper 6 and is a resin member such as polypropylene. The bumper cover 7 constitutes the appearance of the bumper 6 and at the same time constitutes a part of the appearance of the entire vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the bumper absorber 8 is provided on the front surface 9 a of the bumper reinforcement 9 and is disposed so as to surround the main body portion 20 of the detection tube member 2. The bumper absorber 8 is a member responsible for shock absorption in the bumper 7 and is made of, for example, foamed polypropylene. On the rear surface of the bumper absorber 8, a groove 8a for mounting the detection tube member 2 is formed. The groove 8a has a rectangular cross section and is formed along the vehicle width direction. In addition, the groove part 8a shall have a bending part in the middle of the vehicle width direction. The cross-sectional shape of the groove 8a is not limited to a rectangle, and may be, for example, a circle or a polygon.

  The bumper reinforcement 9 is a rigid member made of metal such as aluminum that is disposed in the bumper cover 7 and extends in the vehicle width direction. As shown in FIG. 3, a hollow member having a front face (front face 9a) and a rear face (rear face 9b), and having a sun-shaped cross section provided with a beam in the center of the interior. is there. The bumper reinforcement 9 is attached to the front end of a side member 11 which is a pair of metal members extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction (see FIG. 2).

  Usually, in a vehicle collision accident, there are many cases where the vehicle collides with a pedestrian or a vehicle existing in the traveling direction of the vehicle (front of the vehicle). For this reason, in this embodiment, the pressure sensor 3 is disposed on the rear surface 9b of the bumper reinforcement 9, and an impact (external force) due to a collision with a pedestrian or vehicle in front of the vehicle is provided in front of the vehicle. Direct transmission from the bumper cover 7 or the like to the pressure sensor 3 is protected by the presence of the bumper reinforcement 9.

  For example, a pop-up hood is used as the pedestrian protection device 10. This pop-up hood instantly raises the rear end of the engine hood after a vehicle collision is detected, increases the clearance (clearance) between the pedestrian and hard parts such as the engine, and uses that space to make the pedestrian's head The impact energy on the pedestrian is absorbed and the impact on the pedestrian's head is reduced. Instead of the pop-up hood, a cowl airbag or the like that cushions a pedestrian's impact by deploying the airbag from the engine hood outside the vehicle body to the lower part of the front window may be used.

  Next, the operation | movement at the time of the collision of the collision detection apparatus 1 for vehicles in this embodiment is demonstrated. When an object such as a pedestrian collides with the front of the vehicle, the bumper cover 7 of the bumper 6 is deformed by an impact caused by the collision with the pedestrian or the like. Subsequently, at the same time as the bumper absorber 8 is deformed while absorbing the impact, the main body portion 20 of the detection tube member 2 is also deformed. At this time, the pressure in the hollow portion 2 a of the main body portion 20 rapidly increases, and a pressure change is transmitted to the pressure sensor 3 through the connection portion 21.

  The collision detection ECU 5 of the vehicle collision detection device 1 executes a predetermined collision determination process based on the detection results of the pressure sensor 3 and the speed sensor 4. In this collision determination process, specifically, the effective mass of the collision object is calculated based on the detection results of the pressure sensor 3 and the speed sensor 4, and when this effective mass is larger than a predetermined threshold, the collision with the pedestrian Is determined to have occurred. Furthermore, when the vehicle speed is within a predetermined range (for example, a range of 25 km to 55 km / h), it is determined that a collision with a pedestrian requiring the operation of the pedestrian protection device 10 has occurred.

  Here, the “effective mass” refers to a mass calculated using the relationship between momentum and impulse from the detection value of the pressure sensor 3 at the time of collision. When a collision between a vehicle and an object occurs, the value of the detected pressure sensor 3 is different for a collision object having a mass different from that of a pedestrian. For this reason, by setting a threshold value between the effective mass of the human body and the mass of another assumed collision object, it is possible to classify the types of the collision object. The effective mass is calculated by dividing the constant integral value of the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 3 at a predetermined time by the vehicle speed value detected by the speed sensor 4 as shown in the following equation.

M = (∫P (t) dt) / V (Expression 1)
M is an effective mass, P is a value detected by the pressure sensor 3 at a predetermined time, t is a predetermined time (for example, several ms to several tens of ms), and V is a vehicle speed at the time of collision. As another method for calculating the effective mass, it is possible to calculate using an equation E = 1/2 · MV ² representing the kinetic energy E of the collided object. In this case, the effective mass is calculated by M = 2 · E / V ² .

  When the collision detection ECU 5 determines that a collision has occurred with a pedestrian that requires the pedestrian protection device 10 to operate, the collision detection ECU 5 outputs a control signal for operating the pedestrian protection device 10 to operate the pedestrian protection device 10. To reduce the impact on the pedestrian as described above.

  In the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1 of the first embodiment described above, the detection tube member 2 disposed in the vehicle bumper 6 and having the hollow portion 2a formed therein, and the pressure in the hollow portion 2a are measured. And a pressure sensor 3 for detecting the collision of an object (pedestrian) to the bumper 6 based on a pressure detection result by the pressure sensor 3. The tube member for detection 2 has a hollow portion 2a and is disposed on the vehicle front side of the bumper reinforcement 9, and is connected to an end portion of the main body portion 20 by integral molding and the hollow portion 2a. It is formed to have a connection portion 21 that is formed in a hollow shape that communicates with the inside and that is connected to the pressure sensor 3 at the end opposite to the main body portion 20. The connecting portion 21 is characterized in that at least the thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the front outer peripheral side of the vehicle is set to be thicker than the thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20.

  According to this configuration, the connecting portion 21 connected to the end portion of the main body portion 20 of the detection tube member 2 has at least the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the front outer periphery side of the vehicle more than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20. Since it is set thick, even if a collision with an object such as a pedestrian occurs in the vicinity of the connection portion 21, the connection portion 21 may be damaged due to a collision with a sharp-shaped portion on the back surface of the bumper cover 7. Can be prevented. Thereby, the tolerance with respect to the external force of the collision detection apparatus 1 for vehicles can be improved with a simple structure.

  Further, since the connecting portion 21 is connected to the end portion of the main body portion 20 by integral molding, it is not necessary to provide another member for connecting the main body portion 20 and the connecting portion 21, and the thickness of the peripheral walls is reduced by a simple configuration. Different main body portions 20 and connection portions 21 can be provided. Thereby, the intensity | strength of the connection part 21 can be raised, aiming at the simplification of a manufacturing process.

  Further, the connecting portion 21 is characterized in that the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall is thicker than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20 over the entire circumference. According to this configuration, the thickness of the peripheral wall of the connection portion 21 is made thicker than the thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20 over the entire circumference, whereby the strength of the entire connection portion 21 can be increased. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the connection portion 21 from being damaged due to contact with peripheral parts during assembly, contamination with foreign matter, galling by a small animal, or the like. Further, when the bumper cover 7 is deformed in the event of a collision, an external force is applied to the connection portion 21, so that the inner peripheral side of the connection portion 21 that protrudes from the groove portion 8 a of the bumper absorber 8 to the outside in the vehicle width direction is bumper reinforcement 9. By contacting the corners or the like of the end portion, it can be prevented from being damaged or cut.

  Further, the outer diameter D1 of the connecting portion 21 is equal to the outer diameter D2 of the main body portion 20. According to this configuration, since the outer diameter D1 of the connecting portion 21 and the outer diameter D2 of the main body portion 20 are made equal, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connecting portion 21 can be made thicker than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20. Further, it is possible to save space on the vehicle width direction end portion (corner portion) side of the vehicle collision detection device 1.

  The wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the main body 20 is 2 mm or less, and the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connecting portion 21 is larger than 2 mm. According to this configuration, it is possible to reliably improve the resistance against the external force of the connection portion 21 while ensuring the accuracy of collision detection by the main body portion 20 of the detection tube member 2.

  Moreover, the curvature radius of the curved part 21a is 30 mm or more. According to this configuration, when the connecting portion 21 is bent from the end side of the tube member for detection 2 toward the rear surface 9b side of the bumper reinforcement 9, the bending portion 21a of the connecting portion 21 causes buckling or the like. It is possible to prevent the collision detection by the collision detection apparatus 1 from being adversely affected.

  Further, the pressure sensor 3 is arranged on the vehicle rear side (rear surface 9 b) with respect to the front surface 9 a of the bumper reinforcement 9. According to this configuration, since the pressure sensor 3 is fixed to the rear side (rear surface 9 b) of the bumper reinforcement 9, an object such as a pedestrian collides with the vicinity of the left and right ends of the bumper 6. However, the impact is absorbed by the bumper reinforcement 9 and the impact from the bumper cover 7 is not directly transmitted to the pressure sensor 3. For this reason, it can prevent that external force is added to the pressure sensor 3 by deformation | transformation of the bumper cover 7, and the pressure sensor 3 will be damaged by external force. Thereby, while being able to improve the tolerance of the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1, the reliability of the collision detection by the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1 can be improved.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different parts are described.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the connecting portion 22 is curved outside the end in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement 9 between the main body portion 20 and the pressure sensor 3. It has a curved portion 22a (including the vehicle front side portion of the connecting portion 22). As shown in FIG. 11, the wall thickness t <b> 1 of the outer peripheral side of the curved portion 22 a is set to be thicker than the wall thickness t <b> 2 of the peripheral wall of the main body 20. Further, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion 22a is set to be thicker than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall on the inner peripheral side of the curved portion 22a.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side of the bending portion 22a is about 3 mm. On the other hand, the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body 20 is about 1 mm. Thus, in 2nd Embodiment, the rigidity of the outer peripheral side of the curved part 22a is made high by making thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the outer peripheral side of the curved part 22a thicker than thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main-body part 20. Thus, resistance to external force is improved. The wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion 22a is preferably 1 <t1 ≦ 3 [mm], and more preferably 1 <t1 ≦ 2 [mm].

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the connection portions 22 are provided at both left and right ends of the main body portion 20 in the vehicle width direction, and one end is connected to the main body portion 20 so that the hollow portions 2a communicate with each other. The pressure sensor 3 is connected to the other end. Moreover, the outer diameter D1 of the connection part 22 and the outer diameter D2 of the main-body part 20 are equivalent at about 8 mm.

  In the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment described above, the connecting portion 22 is located outside the end in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement 9 between the main body portion 20 and the pressure sensor 3. The connecting portion 21 is characterized in that the thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side of the bending portion 21a is set to be thicker than the thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20.

  According to this configuration, the connection portion 22 of the tube member for detection 2 has the thickness t1 of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side of the bending portion 22a larger than the thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20. When a collision with an object such as a pedestrian occurs in the vicinity, it is possible to prevent the connecting portion 22 from being damaged due to a collision with a sharp-shaped portion on the back surface of the bumper cover 7. Thereby, the tolerance with respect to the external force of the collision detection apparatus 1 for vehicles can be improved with a simple structure.

  Further, even if the connecting portion 22 is bent from the end side of the detection tube member 2 toward the rear surface 9b side of the bumper reinforcement 9, the bending portion 22a of the connecting portion 22 causes buckling or the like, which adversely affects collision detection. Can be suppressed. Thereby, the reliability of the collision detection by the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1 can be improved.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIGS. 12 to 14, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different parts will be described.

  In 3rd Embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 12-14, the point from which the outer diameter D1 of the connection part 23 is larger than the outer diameter D2 of the main-body part 20 differs from 1st Embodiment. It has a configuration. Specifically, the outer diameter D2 of the main body portion 20 is about 8 mm, whereas the outer diameter D1 of the connection portion 23 is about 12 mm. The inner diameter d2 of the main body 20 and the inner diameter d1 of the connecting portion 23 are both about 6 mm. In addition, it is preferable that the outer diameter D1 of the connection part 23 is 10 mm-14 mm, and if it is 10 mm-12 mm, it is more preferable. Further, the inner diameter d1 of the connecting portion 23 is preferably 2 mm to 8 mm, and more preferably 4 mm to 6 mm.

  Moreover, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connection part 23 is set thicker than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main-body part 20 over the perimeter like 1st Embodiment (refer FIG. 13). Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 14, the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connection portion 23 is 3 mm, and the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20 is 1 mm. The wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connecting portion 23 is a dimension that satisfies t2 <t1, and is preferably 2 mm to 4 mm, and more preferably 2 mm to 3 mm.

  Similarly to the first embodiment, the connection portions 23 are provided at both left and right ends in the vehicle width direction of the main body portion 20, and are formed in a hollow shape in which the hollow portion 2 a of the main body portion 20 communicates with the inside. . The connecting portion 23 is connected to the end portion of the main body portion 20 by integral molding, and the pressure sensor 3 is connected to the end portion on the opposite side to the main body portion 20. Further, the connecting portion 23 has a curved portion 23 a that is curved in a substantially U shape between the main body portion 20 and the pressure sensor 3, outside the end portion in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement 9. Yes.

  In the vehicle collision detection apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment described above, the connection portion 23 is set such that the wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall is thicker than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body 20 over the entire circumference. 23 has an outer diameter D1 larger than an outer diameter D2 of the main body 20.

  According to this configuration, as in the first embodiment, it is possible to improve the resistance due to the external force of the vehicle collision detection device 1 and sufficiently ensure the cross-sectional area of the hollow portion 2a in the connection portion 23. The wall thickness t1 of the peripheral wall of the connecting portion 23 can be made thicker than the wall thickness t2 of the peripheral wall of the main body portion 20. Thereby, since the cross-sectional area of the hollow part 2a in the connection part 23 becomes narrow, the flow of air in the hollow part 2a of the connection part 23 deteriorates, and the pressure change in the hollow part 2a at the time of collision is detected by the pressure sensor. 3 can be prevented from being adversely affected by collision detection by the tube-type vehicle collision detection device 1.

[Other Embodiments]
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications or expansions can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, you may change the arrangement | positioning position of the groove part 8a of the bumper absorber 8 with which the main-body part 20 of the tube member 2 for a detection is mounted | worn. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, the groove portion 8 a in which the main body portion 20 is mounted may be disposed at the center upper portion of the bumper absorber 8 on the vehicle front side of the bumper reinforcement 9.

  Further, in the collision determination, when the effective mass is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that a collision with a pedestrian that requires the operation of the pedestrian protection device 10 has occurred, but is not limited thereto, for example, A pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 3, a pressure change rate, or the like may be used as a collision determination threshold value.

  In the above-described embodiment, two pressure sensors 3 are disposed on the left and right ends of the rear surface 9b of the bumper reinforcement 9, but the position and number of the pressure sensors 3 can be changed as appropriate. . For example, the structure which arrange | positions one pressure sensor 3 in either one of the right-and-left both ends of the tube member 2 for a detection may be sufficient. Moreover, you may attach the pressure sensor 3 to the inner wall face of the bumper reinforcement 9 which is a hollow member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle collision detection apparatus 2 Detection tube member 2a Hollow part 20 Main body part 21,22,23 Connection part 21a, 22a, 23a Bending part 3 Pressure sensor 5 Collision detection ECU
6 Bumper 7 Bumper cover 8 Bumper absorber 8a Groove 9 Bumper reinforcement 9a Front 9b Rear 10 Pedestrian protection device

Claims (8)

A detection tube member (2) disposed in a bumper (6) of a vehicle and having a hollow portion (2a) formed therein, and a pressure sensor (3) for detecting a pressure in the hollow portion; In a vehicle collision detection device (1) for detecting a collision of an object with the bumper based on a pressure detection result by the pressure sensor,
The detection tube member has the hollow portion and is connected to the main body portion (20) disposed on the vehicle front side of the bumper reinforcement (9) by an integral molding with the end portion of the main body portion; The hollow portion is formed in a hollow shape that communicates with the inside and has a connection portion (21, 22, 23) to which the pressure sensor is connected at the end opposite to the main body portion.
In the vehicle collision detection device, at least the thickness (t1) of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side in front of the vehicle is set to be thicker than the thickness (t2) of the peripheral wall of the main body. The connecting portion has curved portions (21a, 22a, 23a) that are curved outside the end in the vehicle width direction of the bumper reinforcement between the main body portion and the pressure sensor,
2. The vehicle collision detection according to claim 1, wherein at least the thickness (t1) of the peripheral wall on the outer peripheral side of the curved portion is set to be thicker than the thickness of the peripheral wall of the main body portion. apparatus.   The connection portion (21, 23) is characterized in that the wall thickness (t1) of the peripheral wall is set to be thicker than the wall thickness (t2) of the peripheral wall of the main body portion over the entire circumference. The vehicle collision detection device according to claim 1.   The vehicle collision according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an outer diameter (D1) of the connection portion (21, 22) is equal to an outer diameter (D2) of the main body portion. Detection device.   The vehicle collision according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an outer diameter (D1) of the connection portion (23) is larger than an outer diameter (D2) of the main body portion. Detection device. The wall thickness of the peripheral wall of the main body is 2 mm or less,
The vehicle collision detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a thickness of a peripheral wall of the connection portion is larger than 2 mm.   The vehicle collision detection device according to claim 2, wherein a radius of curvature of the curved portion is 30 mm or more.   The collision detection device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the pressure sensor is disposed on the vehicle rear side with respect to the front surface (9a) of the bumper reinforcement.

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