JP2017074920A - Pop-up control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pop-up control device which controls an operation of a front pop-up device so as to properly protect a person who collides with a vehicle.SOLUTION: An ECU 1 includes an image recognition part F2, a collision object specifying part F31, a person pattern specifying part F33 and an operation instruction part F5. The image recognition part F2 recognizes an object existing in front of a vehicle based on image data imaged by a camera, and detects a position of a head of a person who collides with the vehicle (hereafter, colliding person). Then, the person pattern specifying part F33 determines whether or not a body part of the colliding person is at the risk of coming into contact with a front end part of a hood, according to the position of the head of the colliding person. In the case where there is the risk of the colliding person's body part coming into contact with the front end part of the hood, not only the front end part of the hood is raised but also a hood rear end part is raised so that an angle of the hood front end part with respect to a vehicle height direction becomes, for example, around 60 degrees.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a pop-up control device that controls the operation of a protection device for protecting a person colliding with a vehicle.

  When the front end of a vehicle such as a front bumper collides with a pedestrian (so-called primary collision), the pedestrian falls to the vehicle side and the pedestrian's head and chest collide with the vehicle body (that is, Next collision).

  As a device for reducing damage to pedestrians due to such secondary collisions, a device that lifts the front end of a bonnet (hereinafter, a front pop-up device) has been proposed. By lifting the front end of the bonnet, a space is formed between the hood and a relatively hard member such as an engine or radiator that is placed under the bonnet, reducing the impact on the person who collides with the vehicle. be able to.

JP 2006-522713 A

  By the way, the behavior when a person who collides primarily with a vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a collider) falls to the vehicle side varies depending on the height of the collider and the posture at the time of the primary collision. As a result, when the front pop-up device is operated, the body part of the collider may contact the front end of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture. When the body part of the collider is in contact with the front end of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture, the bonnet is not easily deformed, and an unexpected impact may be applied to the collider.

  The present invention has been made based on this situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a pop-up control device that controls the operation of the front pop-up device so that a person who collides with a vehicle can be more appropriately protected. There is.

  To achieve the object, the present invention is used in a vehicle equipped with a front pop-up device (41) for lifting the front end side of the bonnet, and an operation control unit (F5) for controlling the operation of the front pop-up device, the vehicle The object recognition unit (F2) that acquires information about the object existing in front of the vehicle, and the collision target that determines whether the object that collides with the vehicle is a person based on the information acquired by the object recognition unit When the colliding person who collides with the vehicle falls on the bonnet due to the collision with the vehicle when the object colliding with the vehicle is determined to be a person by the specifying unit (F31) and the collision target specifying unit In addition, the torso contact person pattern, which is a pattern of a person who may come into contact with the front end of the bonnet when the front pop-up device is operated, is from the waist to the shoulder. A person pattern determination unit (F33) that determines whether or not the image corresponds to the scene, and the motion control unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the torso contact person pattern by the person pattern determination unit. The front pop-up device is operated so that the front end portion of the bonnet does not come into contact with the body portion at a perpendicular angle, or the front pop-up device is not operated.

  In the above configuration, the person pattern determination unit corresponds to the body part contact person pattern that is a person pattern in which the front end part of the bonnet and the body part may be in contact with each other when the front pop-up device is operated. It is determined whether or not. If the person pattern determination unit determines that the collider is a torso contact person pattern, the motion control unit sets the front pop-up device so that the front end of the bonnet does not come into contact with the body part in a vertical posture. Either operate or do not operate the front pop-up device.

  According to the above configuration, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the body part of the collider is in a vertical posture with respect to the front end part of the lifted bonnet. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility that an unexpected impact is applied to the body part of the collider by lifting the front end part of the bonnet. Therefore, according to the above configuration, a person who collides with the vehicle can be more appropriately protected.

  In addition, the code | symbol in the parenthesis described in the claim shows the correspondence with the specific means as described in embodiment mentioned later as one aspect, Comprising: The technical scope of this invention is limited is not.

It is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of protection device control system 100 concerning this embodiment. It is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of ECU1 concerning this embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement aspect of the pop-up system 4 corresponding to a 1st person pattern. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement aspect of the pop-up system 4 corresponding to a 2nd person pattern. It is a figure which shows an example of the operation | movement aspect of the pop-up system 4 corresponding to a 3rd person pattern. It is a flowchart which shows the schematic flow of the process which ECU1 implements. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the pedestrian pattern specific process. It is a flow chart for explaining crew member pattern specific processing. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement aspect according to the person pattern in the modification 1.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a protection device control system 100 according to the present embodiment. This protection device control system 100 is mounted on a vehicle. For convenience, the vehicle on which the protection device control system 100 is mounted is assumed to be the host vehicle.

  The protection device control system 100 is a system for protecting a person who falls on a hood (in other words, an engine hood) of the own vehicle as a result of a collision with the own vehicle. As a person to be protected here, for example, a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant is assumed. As another aspect, a passenger of a two-wheeled mobile body other than a bicycle, such as a motorbike or a motorcycle, may be assumed as a protection target.

<Configuration of Protection Device Control System 100>
As shown in FIG. 1, the protection device control system 100 in this embodiment includes an ECU 1, a camera 2, a collision sensor 3, and a pop-up system 4. Note that ECU is an abbreviation for Electronic Control Unit. The ECU 1 is connected to each of the camera 2, the collision sensor 3, and the pop-up system 4 via a local area network built in the vehicle.

  The ECU 1 controls the operation of the pop-up system 4 based on data provided from the camera 2 and the collision sensor 3. The ECU 1 corresponds to the pop-up control device described in the claims. Details of the ECU 1 will be described after the camera 2, the collision sensor 3, and the pop-up system 4 are described.

  The camera 2 is an optical camera, and for example, a CMOS camera or a CCD camera can be used. The camera 2 should just be installed in the windshield upper end part vicinity (for example, vicinity of a room mirror) so that the predetermined range ahead of the own vehicle may be image | photographed. Image data taken by the camera 2 is sequentially provided to the ECU 1.

  Of course, the installation position of the camera 2 is not limited to the vicinity of the rearview mirror, and may be attached to a position that does not block the driver's field of view in front of the vehicle. As another aspect, the camera 2 may be an infrared camera, a near-infrared camera, or the like. Furthermore, the camera 2 may be a stereo camera.

  The collision sensor 3 is a sensor for detecting a first collision (so-called primary collision) between a front end portion of the own vehicle and an object other than the own vehicle, and is provided on a front bumper of the vehicle. The collision sensor 3 outputs a value corresponding to the magnitude of the impact of the collision to the ECU 1.

  The collision sensor 3 may be realized using, for example, a tube disposed in the front bumper or a pressure sensor for sensing the pressure in the pressure chamber. Of course, the collision sensor 3 is not limited to a pressure sensor. For example, it may be of a type that detects a collision based on a change in the amount of light output from an optical fiber arranged along the vehicle body. An acceleration sensor may be used as the collision sensor 3.

  The pop-up system 4 is an apparatus for alleviating the impact given to the person colliding with the own vehicle by lifting the bonnet instantaneously. In other words, by lifting the bonnet, a space is formed between the hood and a relatively hard member such as an engine, battery, radiator, etc. arranged under the bonnet, and the impact given to the person colliding with the host vehicle is given. ease. Hereinafter, for convenience, members disposed under the hood, such as an engine, a battery, and a radiator, are also referred to as built-in members.

  In this embodiment, as an example, the pop-up system 4 includes a front lifting device 41 that lifts the hood front end side and a rear lifting device 42 that lifts the bonnet rear end side.

  The specific configuration of the front lifting device 41 and the rear lifting device 42 may be a known configuration. For example, the front lifting device 41 may be realized by providing a rod-shaped member and an actuator having a predetermined length for lifting the hood on the left and right of the front end portion of the bonnet. By operating the actuator, the front end of the bonnet is lifted through the rod-shaped member.

  Here, the front end portion of the bonnet is not only an edge portion of the bonnet on the vehicle front side (hereinafter referred to as a front end edge) but also a region within a certain distance (for example, 0.2 meters) from the front end edge to the rear side. Shall be included. The amount by which the front lifting device 41 lifts the bonnet front end is a fixed value.

  Similarly to the front lifting device 41, the rear lifting device 42 may be realized by disposing various members such as actuators on the left and right sides of the rear end portion of the bonnet. However, in the present embodiment, as an example, the rear lifting device 42 is configured to operate by selecting one of two types of lifting amounts prepared in advance.

  Of the two types of lifting amounts, the smaller lifting amount is configured to be approximately the same as the amount by which the front lifting device 41 lifts the bonnet front end. Further, the relatively large lifting amount is configured to have a height corresponding to an operation mode in a case where the person colliding with the host vehicle described later is a second person pattern described later.

  In addition, although this embodiment shows the aspect in which two types of lifting amounts of the rear lifting device 42 are prepared as an example, the present invention is not limited to this. As another aspect, the lifting amount of the rear lifting device 42 may be fixed to one type. Moreover, although the pop-up system 4 has illustrated the aspect provided with the back lifting apparatus 42 as an example in this embodiment, it does not necessarily need to be provided with the back lifting apparatus 42.

  The pop-up system 4 described above operates based on an instruction from the ECU 1. The front lifting device 41 corresponds to the front pop-up device described in the claims, and the rear lifting device 42 corresponds to the rear pop-up device described in the claims.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the ECU 1 will be described. The ECU 1 is configured as a normal computer, and includes a CPU 11, a RAM 12 as a main storage device (so-called memory), a ROM 13 as an auxiliary storage device (so-called storage), an I / O, a bus line connecting these configurations, and the like It has.

  The ROM 13 stores a program (hereinafter referred to as a control program) for causing a normal computer to function as the ECU 1 in the present embodiment. Note that the above-described control program only needs to be stored in a non-transitory tangible storage medium such as a flash memory or a ROM. The execution of the control program by the CPU 11 corresponds to the execution of a method corresponding to the control program.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ECU 1 includes a collision detection unit F1, an image recognition unit F2, a collision target information acquisition unit F3, an operation mode selection unit F4, as function blocks realized by the CPU 11 executing the control program. And an operation instruction unit F5. The collision target information acquisition unit F3 includes a collision target identification unit F31, a relative speed acquisition unit F32, and a person pattern identification unit F33 as finer functional blocks. Note that the various functional blocks provided in the ECU 1 may be realized in hardware by one or a plurality of ICs.

  The collision detection unit F1 acquires the output value of the collision sensor 3, and detects a collision (that is, a primary collision) between an object other than the host vehicle and the front end of the host vehicle based on the output value. Specifically, it is determined that a primary collision has occurred when the output value of the collision sensor 3 is equal to or greater than a collision determination threshold value for determining whether or not the object has collided. And the collision detection signal which shows that the collision in the front-end part had arisen is provided to the collision object information acquisition part F3.

  The image recognition unit F2 analyzes the image data input from the camera 2, and detects an object preset as a detection target and specifies its type. For example, the image recognition unit F2 performs known image processing such as edge detection on the image data, and extracts the contours of all objects included in the image. Then, by performing pattern matching processing on the image data that has undergone image processing, an object that is a detection target is detected and the type of the object is specified.

  The object to be detected may be appropriately designed. In the present embodiment, pedestrians and bicycle occupants are registered as detection targets. Setting a bicycle occupant as a detection target corresponds to setting a bicycle on which the occupant is riding (hereinafter, a bicycle with a passenger) as a detection target. The object to be detected is not limited to that described above. Other types of moving bodies such as a motorbike, a motorcycle, an automobile, and the like may be set as detection targets. A structure such as a utility pole may also be set as a detection target.

  Note that data (hereinafter, image recognition data) used for the image recognition unit F2 to detect these detection target objects from the image data may be stored in the ROM 13. The image recognition data corresponds to data representing the shape pattern of an object to be detected, for example.

  Moreover, when the pedestrian is detected and the occupant of the bicycle is detected, the image recognition unit F2 also specifies the position of the head of the detected person. Note that the position of the waist may be specified instead of the position of the head, or the positions of both the head and the waist may be specified. The position of the person's head or waist may be realized with the aid of known techniques such as HOG features.

  Further, the image recognition unit F2 estimates the relative distance between the detected object and the host vehicle from the position and size of the detected object in the image data. Further, once detected objects are tracked with the aid of a well-known object tracking method. Thereby, the relative moving direction and moving speed of the detected object are estimated from the degree of change in position and size between a plurality of consecutive frames.

  If the camera 2 is a stereo camera, the relative position may be estimated based on the position difference of the same object in each image data. The result of the image recognition processing by the image recognition unit F2 is provided to the collision target information acquisition unit F3. The image recognition unit F2 corresponds to the object recognition unit described in the claims.

  The collision target information acquisition unit F3 acquires the result of the image recognition process by the image recognition unit F2 as information about the object existing in front of the host vehicle. Specifically, the relative position for each detected object, the relative speed, the type as a moving body, and the like are acquired.

  The relative position may be expressed by coordinates in a plane coordinate system (XY coordinate system) having the vehicle longitudinal direction as the X axis and the vehicle width direction as the Y axis. The origin of the XY coordinate system may be, for example, the center point in the vehicle width direction in the front end portion of the vehicle. The X-axis has a positive direction from the front end to the rear end of the vehicle, and the Y-axis has a positive direction from the left side to the right side of the vehicle.

  Then, the collision target information acquisition unit F3 identifies an object (hereinafter referred to as a collision target) that has collided with the host vehicle based on the result of the image recognition processing by the image recognition unit F2. The collision target identification unit F31, the relative speed acquisition unit F32, and the person pattern identification unit F33 included in the collision target information acquisition unit F3 acquire information about the collision target based on the result of the image recognition processing by the image recognition unit F2. Is a functional block.

  When the collision detection unit F1 detects the occurrence of a collision, the collision target specifying unit F31 specifies an object that has collided with the host vehicle based on the information about the objects existing ahead of the host vehicle that are sequentially collected.

  Here, as an example, the collision target specifying unit F31 determines that, among the detection objects existing in front of the host vehicle, the detection object present at the position closest to the host vehicle at the time of the collision is the collision target. Here, the collision occurrence time point includes immediately before the collision (for example, 0.5 seconds before).

  However, when the object closest to the host vehicle is a certain distance (for example, 3 m) or more from the host vehicle, there is a possibility that the object is in contact with an object other than the detected object. Therefore, when the distance between the detected object present at the position closest to the host vehicle and the host vehicle is a certain distance or more, it is determined that the collision target is an undetected object.

  If the detected object that is closest to the vehicle at the time of the collision is a bicycle with an occupant, the collision target is regarded as the occupant of the bicycle.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, although it is set as the aspect which determines the collision object by using as a trigger that the collision detection part F1 detected generation | occurrence | production of the collision, it is not restricted to this. Among the detected objects detected by the image recognition unit F2, an object whose collision surplus time as a remaining time until it collides with the host vehicle determined from the relative speed is less than a certain time (for example, 0.5 seconds) The target of collision may be determined at the point in time when In other words, the collision target may be not only an object that has actually undergone a primary collision, but also an object that will undergo a primary collision in the future.

  The relative speed acquisition unit F32 is a functional block that acquires a relative approaching speed (that is, a relative speed) of the collision target with respect to the host vehicle of the collision target specified by the collision target specifying unit F31. The relative speed may be specified by the image recognition unit F2 being implemented, and the relative speed acquisition unit F32 may be configured to acquire the estimation result from the image recognition unit F2.

  A known method can be used as a method for estimating the relative speed from the image data captured by the camera 2. For example, the relative speed may be specified from the amount of change in the position and size of the collider for each successive frame.

  The person pattern specifying unit F33, when the collision target specifying unit F31 determines that the collision target is a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant, the position of the head of the person who collided with the own vehicle (hereinafter, the collider) Based on the above, it is determined which of the plurality of preset person patterns the colliding person corresponds to.

  In the present embodiment, three person patterns are defined: a first person pattern, a second person pattern, and a third person pattern. The person corresponding to the first person pattern means that the position of the head at the time of the primary collision is the front end of the bonnet in a state where the pop-up system 4 lifts the front end of the bonnet by the impact of the collision with the own vehicle (hereinafter, It is a person who has a high possibility of contact with the lifting front end).

  The person corresponding to the second person pattern is a person who has a possibility that the body part from the waist part to the shoulder part is brought into contact with the front end part in the process of the person falling on the bonnet. The person corresponding to the third person pattern is a person whose waist is sufficiently high so that the body part does not come into contact with the front end part in the process of falling down on the hood. For example, in the process in which the person falls on the hood, a person who is tall enough to raise the lower body of the person and come into contact with the front end corresponds to the third person pattern. The lower body here refers to a portion on the leg side of the waist.

  Specific determination criteria for the person pattern specifying unit F33 to determine which of the first to third person patterns the collision person will be described later separately. The first person pattern corresponds to the head contact person pattern according to the claims, the second person pattern corresponds to the torso contact person pattern according to the claims, and the third person pattern exceeds the waist part according to the claims It corresponds to a person pattern. The person pattern specifying unit F33 corresponds to the person pattern determining unit described in the claims.

  The identification result by the person pattern identification unit F33 described above is provided to the operation mode selection unit F4. Note that the position of the head of the collision person may be provided from the image recognition unit F2. Moreover, the process which specifies a person pattern may be implemented in the stage before a pedestrian and the passenger | crew of a bicycle are decided as a collision object. For example, from the point in time when the image recognition unit F2 detects a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant, the process of specifying the person pattern of the detected person may be sequentially performed. In that case, the person pattern specifying unit F33 may adopt the specifying result at the time when it is determined as the collision target.

  The operation mode selection unit F4 acquires the person pattern specified by the person pattern specification unit F33 when the collision target determination unit F31 determines that the collision target is a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant. Then, as an operation mode of the pop-up system 4, an operation mode corresponding to the person pattern determined to correspond to the collision person is selected. The operation mode of the pop-up system 4 for each person pattern may be set in advance. The operation mode of the pop-up system 4 for each person pattern will be described later separately.

  The operation instruction unit F5 operates the pop-up system 4 in the operation mode selected by the operation mode selection unit F4. Specifically, a control signal that instructs the pop-up system 4 to operate in the operation mode selected by the operation mode selection unit F4 is output. The pop-up system 4 operates in a manner corresponding to the control signal input from the operation instruction unit F5. The operation instruction unit F5 corresponds to the operation control unit described in the claims.

<About the operation mode of the pop-up system 4>
Next, the operation mode of the pop-up system 4 for each person pattern will be described with reference to FIGS. First, an operation mode corresponding to the first person pattern will be described.

  In the present embodiment, as an operation mode corresponding to the first person pattern, a mode is set in which the front end portion of the bonnet is lifted while the rear end portion of the bonnet is not lifted as shown in FIG. That is, when the collision person corresponds to the first person pattern, the operation instruction unit F5 operates only the front lifting device 41 without operating the rear lifting device 42.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the operation mode corresponding to the second person pattern is to lift the front end of the bonnet, and the angle α of the front end of the bonnet with respect to the vehicle height direction is a predetermined angle (hereinafter referred to as a reference angle). It is the aspect which lifts a bonnet rear-end part so that it may become less. That is, when the colliding person corresponds to the second person pattern, the operation instruction unit F5 is configured so that the angle α of the bonnet front end with respect to the vehicle height direction is less than a predetermined reference angle. It is assumed that the rear lifting device 42 is operated.

  When the front end of the bonnet is streamlined, for example, the angle between the tangent at the front edge of the bonnet in the cross section perpendicular to the vehicle width direction and the axis parallel to the vehicle height direction is less than the reference angle. Just lift the back of the bonnet. Of course, you may measure the angle (alpha) in a lift state on the basis of another position.

  The reference angle applied here is sufficient when the front end of the hood hits the front end of the bonnet in the lifted state with the body parallel to the vehicle height and the impact applied to the front end of the bonnet An angle that can be transformed into The reference angle may be determined by an actual test or simulation. For example, the reference angle may be 70 ° or the like. It is only necessary that the angle of the bonnet front end portion is not considered to be perpendicular to the vehicle height direction. In addition, what is necessary is just to assume about 75 degrees-90 degrees as an angle considered vertical.

  Finally, as an operation mode corresponding to the third person pattern, a mode in which the front end portion and the rear end portion of the bonnet are lifted to the same extent is set as shown in FIG. That is, when the collision person corresponds to the third person pattern, the operation instruction unit F5 operates the front lifting device 41 and lifts the rear end by an amount equal to the lifting amount of the front lifting device 41. The rear lifting device 42 is operated.

<Control flow of pop-up system 4>
Next, processing for controlling the operation of the pop-up system 4 performed by the ECU 1 (hereinafter, pop-up system control processing) will be described using the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 6 may be started when, for example, the collision detection unit F1 detects a primary collision.

  First, in step S1, the collision target specifying unit F31 specifies a collision target. When the collision target is a pedestrian as a result of the specifying process in step S1, an affirmative determination is made in step S2, and the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the collision target is not a pedestrian, the determination in step S2 is negative and the process proceeds to step S4.

  In step S3, the person pattern specifying unit F33 performs a pedestrian pattern specifying process, and proceeds to step S6. This pedestrian pattern specifying process is a process for specifying to which person pattern a pedestrian as a collider corresponds. Specific contents of the pedestrian pattern specifying process will be described later. By performing the pedestrian pattern specifying process, it is determined which of the first to third person patterns the pedestrian as the collision person corresponds to.

  In step S4, the collision target specifying unit F31 determines whether or not the collision target is a bicycle occupant. If the collision target is a bicycle occupant, an affirmative determination is made in step S4 and the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, if the collision target is not a bicycle occupant, a negative determination is made in step S4, and this flow ends.

  In step S5, the person pattern specifying unit F33 performs an occupant pattern specifying process, and proceeds to step S6. This occupant pattern specifying process is a process for specifying to which person pattern an occupant as a collision corresponds. Specific contents of the passenger pattern specifying process will be described later. By performing the occupant pattern specifying process, it is determined which of the first to third person patterns the occupant as the collision person corresponds to.

  In step S6, an operation mode corresponding to the person pattern specified by the person pattern specifying unit F33 in step S3 or step S5 is selected. In step S7, the operation instruction unit F5 operates the pop-up system 4 in the operation mode selected by the operation mode selection unit F4, and ends this flow.

<Pedestrian pattern identification processing>
Here, the pedestrian pattern specifying process performed by the person pattern specifying unit F33 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 7 may be started when the process proceeds to step S3 in the flowchart shown in FIG. As another aspect, even when the image recognition unit F2 detects a pedestrian, the person pattern identification unit F33 cooperates with the image recognition unit F2 to sequentially perform the pedestrian. good.

  First, in step S301, the height Hhd of the head of the collider identified by the image recognition unit F2 is acquired, and the process proceeds to step S302. In step S302, it is determined whether or not the head height Hhd is lower than the first pedestrian threshold Ha1. When the head height Hhd is lower than the first pedestrian threshold Ha1, an affirmative determination is made in step S302 and the process proceeds to step S303. On the other hand, if the head height Hhd is equal to or greater than the first pedestrian threshold Ha1, a negative determination is made in step S302 and the process proceeds to step S304.

  The first pedestrian threshold value Ha1 used in the determination in step S302 is the height of the head at which the head of a pedestrian that has collided with the host vehicle can be brought into contact with the front end due to the impact of the collision with the host vehicle. This is a value corresponding to the upper limit value. The head height Hhd and the first pedestrian threshold Ha1 are heights based on the road surface.

  The first pedestrian threshold Ha1 may be specified by a test using a dummy doll or the like, or may be designed by applying a well-known concept of WAD (Wrap Around Distance). In any case, the first pedestrian threshold value Ha1 is a characteristic for each vehicle model (hereinafter referred to as a vehicle characteristic) such as the height of the front edge of the bonnet and the shape near the front edge of the vehicle when the front lifting device 41 is operated. ). In addition, what is necessary is just to determine threshold value Ha1 for 1st pedestrians as a pedestrian attitude | position at the time of a collision supposing a standard walking attitude | position.

  In step S303, it is determined that the pedestrian as the collider corresponds to the first person pattern, and this flow is finished.

  In step S304, it is determined whether the head height Hhd is higher than the second pedestrian threshold Ha2. If the head height Hhd is higher than the second pedestrian threshold Ha2, step S304 is affirmed and the process proceeds to step S305. On the other hand, if the head height Hhd is equal to or smaller than the second pedestrian threshold Ha2, a negative determination is made in step S304 and the process proceeds to step S306.

  The second pedestrian threshold value Ha2 used in the determination of step S304 is such that the head is sufficiently high so that the body part does not come into contact with the front end part when the person colliding with the host vehicle falls on the hood. This is a threshold value for determining whether or not the person is located.

  The second pedestrian threshold Ha2 may also be specified by a test using a dummy doll or may be designed by applying the concept of WAD. The second pedestrian threshold Ha2 is also a value corresponding to the vehicle characteristics.

  In step S305, it is determined that the pedestrian as the collision person corresponds to the third person pattern, and this flow is finished. In step S306, it is determined that the pedestrian as the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, and this flow ends.

  When the pedestrian pattern specifying process described above is completed, the process proceeds to step S6 of the flowchart shown in FIG.

<Pattern identification processing for passengers>
Next, an occupant pattern specifying process performed by the person pattern specifying unit F33 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 8 may be started when the process proceeds to step S5 in the flowchart shown in FIG. As another aspect, when the image recognition unit F2 detects a bicycle with an occupant, the person pattern specifying unit F33 cooperates with the image recognition unit F2 to sequentially carry out the occupant of the bicycle. May be.

  The schematic flow of the occupant pattern specifying process shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the pedestrian pattern specifying process shown in FIG. 7 described above. That is, each of steps S501 to S506 shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to each of steps S301 to S306 in FIG.

  In the occupant pattern specifying process, the first occupant threshold value Hb1 is used instead of the first pedestrian threshold value Ha1, and it is determined whether or not the occupant as the collision corresponds to the first person pattern. Moreover, it is determined whether the passenger | crew as a collision person corresponds to a 3rd person pattern or a 2nd person pattern using the 2nd passenger | crew threshold value Hb2 instead of the 2nd pedestrian threshold value Ha2.

  The first occupant threshold value Hb1 is a value corresponding to the upper limit of the height of the head at which the head of a bicycle occupant colliding with the host vehicle can be brought into contact with the front end by the impact of the collision with the host vehicle. . Further, the second occupant threshold Hb2 is such that the head is positioned at a sufficiently high position so that the body part does not come into contact with the front end part in the process in which the bicycle occupant colliding with the host vehicle falls on the hood. It is a threshold value for determining whether or not a person.

  In this embodiment, as an example, the first occupant threshold Hb1 is set to a value higher than the first pedestrian threshold Ha1, and the second occupant threshold Hb2 is higher than the second pedestrian threshold Ha2. Is set to a value. This is due to the following reason.

  When the collision person is a pedestrian, since the leg part is in direct contact with the front end of the vehicle, the body of the pedestrian is pulled downward, and the waist part of the pedestrian is in contact with the vehicle body in a state where it is slightly sank. On the other hand, when the colliding person is a bicycle occupant, the occupant moves independently of the bicycle on which he was riding, so the occupant's waist is in contact with the vehicle body while maintaining the height before the collision according to the law of inertia. The tendency to do is strong.

  That is, the behavior of the human body after the collision differs depending on whether the collision person is a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant. Therefore, it is preferable that the threshold value for specifying the person pattern of the collision person is different depending on whether the collision person is a pedestrian or a bicycle occupant.

  Specifically, in view of the above-described differences, the first occupant threshold Hb1 is preferably set to a value higher than the first pedestrian threshold Ha1. This is because, when the collision person is a bicycle occupant, unlike the pedestrian, the position of the upper body is less likely to fall below the height before the collision. Similarly, it is preferable that the second occupant threshold Hb2 is higher than the second pedestrian threshold Ha2. According to such an aspect, a person pattern can be specified more appropriately according to the type of the collision person as the moving body.

<Summary of this embodiment>
In the above configuration, the person pattern specifying unit F33 determines which one of the first to third person patterns the person colliding with the host vehicle corresponds to. Then, the operation instruction unit F5 operates the pop-up system 4 in an operation mode corresponding to the person pattern specified by the person pattern specifying unit F33.

  Specifically, when the collision person is a pedestrian and the height Hhd of the head at the time of the collision of the pedestrian (including immediately before) is less than a predetermined first pedestrian threshold Ha1. Determines that the collision person corresponds to the first person pattern. And the operation | movement instruction | indication part F5 operates the front lifting apparatus 41 as shown in FIG. 3 as an operation | movement aspect of the pop-up system 4 corresponding to a 1st person pattern.

  The person corresponding to the first person pattern here is a person who has a high possibility that the head is lifted and brought into contact with the front end due to the impact of the collision with the own vehicle as described above. Therefore, by operating the front lifting device 41, a space is formed between the bonnet and the built-in member, and the impact on the head of the collider can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, as an example, the operation mode corresponding to the first person pattern is a mode in which the rear lifting device 42 is not operated, but is not limited thereto. The rear lifting device 42 may also be operated.

  Further, the collision person is a pedestrian, and the height Hhd of the head at the time of the collision of the pedestrian is equal to or greater than the first pedestrian threshold value, and a predetermined second pedestrian threshold value. If it is less than Ha2, it is determined that the colliding person falls under the second person pattern. The person corresponding to the second person pattern here is a person who, as described above, has a possibility that the body part may be lifted and come into contact with the front end part when the person falls on the hood.

  Then, when the person pattern specifying unit F33 determines that the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, the motion instruction unit F5 is configured so that the angle α of the bonnet front end with respect to the vehicle height direction is less than the reference angle. The front lifting device 41 and the rear lifting device 42 are operated.

  According to such an aspect, it is possible to reduce a risk that the body part of the collision person contacts the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture. That is, it is possible to reduce the possibility that an unexpected impact is applied to the body part of the collision by lifting the front end part of the bonnet. The reason why the body part of the bonnet may be subjected to an unexpected load when the body part of the collider is in contact with the front end part of the bonnet in a substantially vertical position is that the front end part of the bonnet is against the body part of the human body. This is because the bonnet is not easily deformed when contacting in a substantially vertical posture.

  Furthermore, when the collision person is a pedestrian and the height Hhd of the head at the time of the collision of the pedestrian is higher than the second pedestrian threshold Ha2, the collision person It is determined that it corresponds to a person pattern. Then, as the operation mode of the pop-up system 4 corresponding to the third person pattern, the operation instruction unit F5 operates the front lifting device 41 as shown in FIG. 5 and the amount equal to the lifting amount of the front lifting device 41. The rear lifting device 42 is operated so as to lift the rear end only.

  The person corresponding to the third person pattern here is a person whose waist is sufficiently high so that the body part does not come into contact with the front end part in the process of falling on the hood at the time of collision.

  When the collision person is such a person, even if the front end of the bonnet is lifted, there is a low possibility that the body part of the collision person will contact the front end of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture. That is, it is unlikely that an unexpected impact will be applied to the body part of the collision by lifting the front end of the bonnet.

  Further, if the front end portion of the bonnet is lifted as in the present embodiment, the gap between the bonnet and the built-in component can be made larger than when only the rear end portion is lifted. Therefore, the collision person can be protected more appropriately.

  In the present embodiment, when the collision person corresponds to the third person pattern, the front lifting device 41 is operated and the rear end portion is lifted by an amount equal to the lifting amount of the front lifting device 41. Although it is set as the aspect which operates the back lifting apparatus 42, it is not restricted to this. As in the case of the second person pattern, the front lifting device 41 and the rear lifting device 42 may be operated so that the angle α of the bonnet front end with respect to the vehicle height direction is less than the reference angle. . That is, the amount by which the rear lifting device 42 lifts the rear end of the bonnet need not be prepared in two stages, and may be only one stage. The lifting amount in that case should be sufficiently high so that the angle α of the bonnet front end with respect to the vehicle height direction is less than the reference angle.

  In the present embodiment, when the colliding person corresponds to the third person pattern, the front lifting device 41 is operated. However, the present invention is not limited to this. When the collision person corresponds to the third person pattern, the front lifting device does not have to be operated. Furthermore, if the vehicle is equipped with an airbag device (a so-called pedestrian airbag) that is deployed near the cowl top, and the collision person corresponds to the third person pattern, The pedestrian airbag may be operated instead of the lifting device 42.

  In the above configuration, when the collision person is a bicycle occupant, the occupant threshold value is used instead of various threshold values (hereinafter referred to as the pedestrian threshold value) used when the collision person is a pedestrian. Thus, it is determined that the colliding person corresponds to any of the first to third person patterns. Then, the operation instruction unit F5 operates the pop-up system 4 in an operation mode corresponding to the person pattern specified by the person pattern specifying unit F33.

  When the collision person is a bicycle occupant, the person pattern is more appropriately used by using a threshold value that is different from the threshold value for the pedestrian considering the difference in behavior at the time of collision with the case where the collision person is a pedestrian. Can be specified. Then, by specifying a person pattern using a threshold value that considers the type of the collision object as a moving body, the operation instruction unit F5 operates the pop-up system 4 in an operation mode corresponding to the actual behavior at the time of the collision. Will be able to. As a result, it is possible to protect the collision person more appropriately.

  In the above, when the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, the operation instruction unit F5 lifts forward so that the angle α of the bonnet front end with respect to the vehicle height direction is less than a predetermined reference angle. Although the apparatus 41 and the rear lifting apparatus 42 are operated, the present invention is not limited to this. When the relative approach speed (that is, relative speed) of the collision person with respect to the own vehicle is equal to or less than a predetermined speed threshold, even if the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, the third person pattern or the second person pattern You may operate | move by the operation | movement aspect similar to one person pattern.

  The speed threshold used here is such that even if the body part of the collider is in contact with the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture, the impact applied to the body part is within a predetermined allowable range. Speed. If the relative speed is sufficiently low, even if the body part of the collider collides with the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture, the impact applied to the body part is reduced. This is because it can be expected. The speed threshold may be appropriately designed by a test or the like. For example, the value may be about 15 km / h.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, The various modifications described below are also contained in the technical scope of this invention, and also in addition to the following However, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Modification 1]
In the above-described embodiment, when the collision person is the second person pattern, the front lifting device 41 and the rear lifting device 42 are set so that the angle α of the bonnet front end with respect to the vehicle height direction is less than the reference angle. Although the example which reduces the possibility that the trunk | drum part of an impactor will contact with the front-end part of the lifted bonnet in the substantially perpendicular | vertical attitude | position by operating is illustrated, it does not restrict to this.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 9, by delaying the timing at which the front lifting device 41 is operated by a predetermined time Tdr with respect to the detection of the collision, the body part of the collision person is placed at the front end of the lifted bonnet. On the other hand, the risk of contact in a substantially vertical posture may be reduced.

  9A shows the operation of the front lifting device 41 over time when the start of the operation of the front lifting device 41 is not delayed with respect to the detection of the collision (that is, during normal operation). T10 in the figure represents the time when the operation of the front lifting device 41 is completed. Further, Twk in the figure is a time required from the start of the operation of the front lifting device 41 to the completion thereof. The start point of the time axis represents the time when a collision is detected. The collision detection time point may be a time point when the collision detection unit F1 detects a collision, or may be a time point when a person occurs whose collision margin time is less than a certain time (for example, 0.5 seconds).

  FIG. 9B shows the operation of the front lifting apparatus 41 over time when the timing for operating the front lifting apparatus 41 is delayed by a certain time Tdr. Time T20 represents the timing for starting the operation of the front lifting device 41, and time T21 represents the timing for completing the operation of the front lifting device 41.

  Usually, a person who collides with the vehicle falls to the vehicle side with the legs and lower body as the axis of rotation. Therefore, when the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, if the start timing of the operation of the front lifting device 41 is delayed by a predetermined time Tdr, the collision person's front end part and the body part are brought into contact with each other when It can be expected that the body is sufficiently slanted with respect to the vehicle body. That is, the operation mode of the first modification can also reduce the possibility that the body part of the collision person contacts the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture.

  In the first modification, by adjusting the operation timing of the front lifting device 41, the possibility that the body part of the collision person contacts the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture is reduced. To do. That is, it is not necessary to operate the rear lifting device 42 as in the embodiment.

  Of course, as another mode, while the operation of the front lifting device 41 is delayed, the rear lifting device 42 may be operated as usual. The lifting amount of the bonnet rear end at that time is arbitrary. That is, according to the aspect of the first modified example, when the colliding person is the second person pattern, whether or not to operate the rear lifting device 42 may be either.

  Further, as a further modification of the first modification, when the relative speed of the collision person is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed threshold, even if the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, no delay is applied. As usual, the front lifting device 41 may be operated as soon as a primary collision is detected. When the relative speed is equal to or less than a predetermined speed threshold, even if the body part of the collision person comes into contact with the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture, the impact applied to the body part is This is because it can be expected to be small.

[Modification 2]
Further, the operation mode when the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern may be set so as not to lift the front end portion of the bonnet (this is referred to as Modification 2). According to such an aspect, there is no possibility that the body part of the collision person contacts the front end part of the lifted bonnet in a substantially vertical posture.

  However, the fact that the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern suggests that there is a high possibility that the upper body and the head will fall on the hood. Therefore, when the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern, it is preferable to operate the rear lifting device 42 to lift the rear of the hood. When the vehicle includes the pedestrian airbag described above, the pedestrian airbag may be operated instead of operating the rear lifting device 42.

  Further, as a further modification of the second modification, when the relative speed of the collision person is equal to or lower than a predetermined speed threshold, the forward lifting device 41 is used even if the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern. May be operated.

[Modification 3]
In the embodiment described above, the aspect of determining the person pattern from the height of the head of the collision person is exemplified, but the present invention is not limited to this. The person pattern may be determined from the height of the waist of the collision person. In that case, a threshold value for specifying the person pattern from the waist height may be set as appropriate.

  Further, the person pattern may be specified by using both the height of the head and the height of the waist. For example, whether or not the colliding person corresponds to the first person pattern is determined based on the height of the head. On the other hand, when the colliding person does not correspond to the first person pattern, the collision occurs depending on the height of the waist of the colliding person. It may be determined whether the person corresponds to the second person pattern or the third person pattern.

[Modification 4]
In the above embodiment and modification, although the person pattern specific | specification part F33 illustrated the aspect which specifies which colliding person corresponds to any of the 1st-3rd person pattern, it is not restricted to this. The person pattern specifying unit F33 does not need to determine whether the collision person corresponds to the first person pattern or the third person pattern. That is, the person pattern specifying unit F33 only needs to have a function of determining whether or not the collision person corresponds to the second person pattern (in other words, the body part contact person pattern).

  Further, the person pattern of the collider does not necessarily need to be classified into three, and may be classified into two, that is, a person pattern corresponding to the above-described second person pattern and another person pattern.

[Modification 5]
In the above, although the aspect which pinpoints a collision target from the image data image | photographed with the camera 2 was shown, it is not restricted to this. The detection result of a distance measuring sensor such as a well-known millimeter wave radar or laser radar may be used in combination with the image recognition result for the captured image of the camera 2. According to such an aspect, it is possible to increase the accuracy of identifying the type of collision target.

  In the above-described embodiment, the relative speed acquisition unit F32 acquires the relative speed estimated from the image data generated by the camera 2, but the present invention is not limited thereto. When the ECU 1 can acquire the detection result of the distance measurement sensor, the relative speed acquisition unit F32 may acquire the relative speed of the collision person from the distance measurement sensor.

100 Protection Device Control System, 1 ECU, 11 CPU, 12 RAM, 13 ROM, 2 Camera, 3 Collision Sensor, 4 Pop-up System, 41 Front Lifting Device, 42 Back Lifting Device, F1 Collision Detection Unit, F2 Image Recognition Unit F3 Collision target information acquisition unit, F31 Collision target identification unit, F32 Relative speed acquisition unit, F33 Person pattern identification unit (person pattern determination unit), F4 Motion mode selection unit, F5 Motion instruction unit

Claims (9)

Used in vehicles equipped with a front pop-up device (41) that lifts the front end side of the bonnet,
An operation control unit (F5) for controlling the operation of the front pop-up device;
An object recognition unit (F2) for acquiring information about an object existing in front of the vehicle;
A collision target specifying unit (F31) for determining whether or not the object colliding with the vehicle is a person based on the information acquired by the object recognition unit;
When the collision target identifying unit determines that the object colliding with the vehicle is a person, the collider who is the person colliding with the vehicle falls on the bonnet due to the collision with the vehicle. Determine whether the torso from the waist to the shoulder corresponds to a torso contact person pattern, which is a pattern of a person that may come into contact with the front end of the bonnet when the front pop-up device is operated A person pattern determination unit (F33)
When the person pattern determination unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the body contact person pattern, the motion control unit does not contact the front end of the bonnet at an angle perpendicular to the body part. The pop-up control device is characterized in that the front pop-up device is operated or the front pop-up device is not operated. In claim 1,
The operation control unit does not operate the front pop-up device when the person pattern determination unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the torso contact person pattern. In claim 2,
A relative speed acquisition unit (F32) for acquiring a relative speed of the collision person with respect to the vehicle;
When the relative speed acquired by the relative speed acquisition unit is equal to or less than a predetermined speed threshold, the motion control unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the body part contact person pattern by the person pattern determination unit. A pop-up control device that operates the front pop-up device even if it is performed. In claim 1,
The operation controller is
If it is not determined by the person pattern determination unit that the collision person corresponds to the torso contact person pattern, the front pop-up device is operated upon detection of a collision with the collision person,
When it is determined by the person pattern determination unit that the collision person corresponds to the torso contact person pattern, the front pop-up device at a timing when a predetermined delay time has elapsed since the collision with the collision person is detected. Pop-up control device characterized by operating In claim 4,
A relative speed acquisition unit (F32) for acquiring a relative speed of the collision person with respect to the vehicle;
When the relative speed acquired by the relative speed acquisition unit is equal to or less than a predetermined speed threshold, the motion control unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the body part contact person pattern by the person pattern determination unit. A pop-up control device that operates the front pop-up device as soon as a collision with the collider is detected. In claim 1,
The vehicle is equipped with a rear pop-up device (42) for raising the rear end side of the bonnet higher than the front end portion of the bonnet in a state where the front pop-up device is operated,
The operation control unit operates the front pop-up device and the rear pop-up device when the person pattern determination unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the torso contact person pattern. Control device. In any one of Claim 1 to 6,
The pop-up control device characterized in that the person pattern determination unit determines whether or not the body pattern contact person pattern corresponds to the height of at least one of the head and waist of the collider . In claim 7,
In the case where the collision target specifying unit determines that the object colliding with the vehicle is a person based on the information acquired by the object recognition unit, the type of the person as a moving body is walking Whether it corresponds to a passenger or a passenger of a two-wheeled vehicle,
The pop-up control device according to claim 1, wherein the person pattern determination unit determines whether or not the body part contact person pattern corresponds to the collision person as a moving body. In any one of Claim 1 to 8,
The person pattern determination unit is a head pattern in which the collider is likely to come into contact with the front end of the bonnet in a state where the head operates the front pop-up device due to the impact of the collision with the vehicle. Determine whether it corresponds to the part contact person pattern,
The operation control unit operates the front pop-up device when the person pattern determination unit determines that the collision person corresponds to the head contact person pattern.

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