JP2017087765A - Occupant protective device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant protective device for a vehicle capable of enhancing initial restraint performance for an operator, while preventing or suppressing any impact from being applied to driving operation.SOLUTION: An occupant protective device 10 for a vehicle comprises a knee restraint device 18 having a knee restraint part 28 and an actuator 30, and disposed in front of a driver seat 14. In response to a warning of collision predicted using a collision prediction sensor, the knee restraint device 18 activates the actuator 30 to move the knee restraint part 28 toward a rear side of the vehicle to restrain a left knee LK of a driver D by the knee restraint part 28 without restraining a right knee RK of the driver D.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection device.

  In the invention described in Patent Document 1 below, left and right active knee bolsters are disposed in front of an occupant seated on a front seat of a vehicle. The left and right active knee bolsters include left and right lower limb restraint portions disposed in front of the left and right lower limbs of the occupant and left and right actuators that move the left and right lower limb restraint portions in the vehicle front-rear direction. The left and right actuators are actuated when a vehicle collision is detected, and move the left and right lower limb restraining portions toward the vehicle rear side, that is, the left and right lower limbs.

JP 2005-297839 A

  In the active knee bolster having the above configuration, the actuator is operated after the vehicle actually collides. In this regard, for example, based on the output signal of a collision prediction sensor for predicting a vehicle collision, if the actuator is operated when it is determined that the collision is inevitable, the initial restraining performance of the occupant when the collision actually occurs is Can be improved. However, it is necessary to prevent the driver's occupant (driver) from affecting the driving operation.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle occupant protection device that can improve the initial restraint performance of the driver while preventing or suppressing the influence on the driving operation.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vehicle occupant protection device comprising: a collision prediction sensor for predicting a collision between a vehicle and an object; a knee restraint portion and an actuator disposed in front of a driver seat of the vehicle. And when the collision is predicted using the collision prediction sensor, the actuator is operated to move the knee restraint part to the vehicle rear side, and the left knee of the driver's occupant is restrained by the knee restraint part. And a knee restraint device that does not restrain the right knee of the occupant.

  In the invention according to claim 1, when the knee restraint device predicts a collision between the vehicle and the object using the collision prediction sensor (for example, when it is determined that the possibility of the collision between the vehicle and the object is high), The actuator is actuated to move the knee restraint to the vehicle rear side. As a result, the left knee of the driver's seat occupant (hereinafter referred to as the driver) is restrained by the knee restraining portion, so that the initial restraining performance of the driver when a collision actually occurs can be improved. In addition, in this case, the knee restraint device does not restrain the driver's right knee, so that it does not affect the operation of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal by the right foot. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent or suppress the influence on the driving operation.

  A vehicle occupant protection device according to a second aspect of the present invention is the vehicle occupant protection device according to the first aspect, wherein, when the knee restraint device no longer predicts the collision, the actuator is actuated to move the knee restraint portion to the front side of the vehicle. Move to.

  In the invention according to claim 2, the knee restraint device operates the actuator to move the knee restraint portion to the vehicle front side when the collision of the vehicle is not predicted, that is, when the collision is avoided. Thereby, the restraint of the left knee can be released in a situation where a collision is avoided.

  A vehicle occupant protection apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the vehicle occupant protection device according to the first or second aspect, wherein the collision prediction sensor includes a side slip sensor for detecting a side slip of the vehicle.

  In the invention described in claim 3, when the knee restraint device predicts the collision between the vehicle and the object using the side slip sensor, that is, for example, there is a possibility of the collision between the vehicle and the object due to excessive slip of the vehicle. When it determines with becoming high, an actuator is operated and a driver | operator's left knee is restrained by a knee restraint part. As a result, the initial restraint performance of the driver can be improved against a collision caused by a side slip of the vehicle.

  The vehicle occupant protection device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the knee restraint device is moved by moving the knee restraint portion toward the vehicle rear side. Knee detecting means for detecting contact or approach to the left knee is provided, and when the contact or approach is detected using the knee detecting means, the actuator is stopped.

  In the invention described in claim 4, when the knee restraint device detects that the knee restraint portion is in contact with or approaches the left knee when the knee restraint portion is moved to the vehicle rear side by the actuator, Stop. Thus, for example, even when the driver's seat is located at the front most position in the seat slide range, the driver's left knee can be prevented from being pushed more than necessary to the vehicle rear side by the knee restraint portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent or suppress the influence on the driving posture of the driver.

  As described above, in the vehicle occupant protection device according to the present invention, the initial restraint performance of the driver can be improved while preventing or suppressing the influence on the driving operation.

It is the perspective view which looked at the structure around the instrument panel of the vehicle to which the vehicle occupant protection device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied from the driver's seat side. It is the top view which looked at the crew member seated in the driver's seat from the vehicles upper side. It is the fragmentary sectional view which looked at the knee restraint device with which the passenger protection device for vehicles is provided from the vehicles upper part side. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the rod and gear which are the structural members of the knee restraint apparatus. It is the fragmentary sectional view which looked at the rear end part of the rod and the knee restraint part with which the knee restraint device is provided from the vehicle width direction center side.

  Hereinafter, a vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that arrows FR, UP, and OUT appropriately shown in the drawings respectively indicate the front direction (traveling direction), the upward direction, and the outward direction in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle. Hereinafter, when simply using the front-rear, left-right, and up-down directions, unless otherwise specified, the front-rear direction of the vehicle, the left-right direction of the vehicle left-right direction (vehicle width direction), and the up-down direction of the vehicle are shown. To do.

(Constitution)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to the present embodiment includes a knee restraint device 18 and a collision prediction sensor 20 (not shown except in FIG. 3). A vehicle (automobile) 12 to which the vehicle occupant protection device 10 is applied is an automatic driving vehicle equipped with an automatic driving system that can automatically perform acceleration, steering, and braking operations. It is said to be a car.

  The knee restraint device 18 controls the operation of the active knee bolster 24 (not shown in FIG. 1) disposed on the lower side of the instrument panel 16 in front of the driver seat 14 of the vehicle 12 and the active knee bolster 24. It is comprised by the control apparatus 26 (illustration omitted except FIG. 3). The active knee bolster 24 is disposed at a position facing the left knee LK of the driver D, who is an occupant seated in the driver's seat 14, from the front side of the vehicle, and on the center side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the steering wheel 17. positioned. The active knee bolster 24 includes a knee restraining portion 28 for restraining the left knee LK of the driver D, and an actuator 30 (see FIG. 3) for moving the knee restraining portion 28 back and forth relative to the vehicle 12. Has been.

  The knee restraint portion 28 is a plate-like member that constitutes a part of the lower panel 32 that is the lower portion of the instrument panel 16, and the plate thickness direction is substantially directed in the vehicle front-rear direction. The knee restraining portion 28 is normally disposed inside the opening 34 (see FIG. 1) formed in the main body portion 32A of the lower panel 32, and constitutes a part of the design surface of the lower panel 32. .

  The actuator 30 is disposed inside the instrument panel 16 on the vehicle front side of the knee restraint portion 28. The actuator 30 includes a case 38 disposed below the instrument panel reinforcement 36. The case 38 includes a front wall 38A, a rear wall 38B, a left wall 38C and a right wall 38D, and an upper wall and a lower wall (not shown), and is fixed to the instrument panel reinforcement 36 via a pair of left and right brackets 40. Yes.

  A motor 42 is disposed on the vehicle front side of the case 38. The motor 42 is fixed to the front wall 38A of the case 38 by means such as a screw, and the front end side of the output shaft 42A extending substantially in the vehicle front-rear direction passes through the front wall 38A and protrudes into the case 38. A pinion 46 is fixed to the distal end side of the output shaft 42A. This pinion 46 meshes with another gear 48 accommodated in the case 38.

  The gear 48 has a larger number of teeth than the pinion 46 and is longer in the axial direction. The gear 48 is positioned on one side in the radial direction of the pinion 46 (here, in the vehicle width direction) with the axial direction approximately along the vehicle longitudinal direction. (Inside). The gear 48 is formed in a cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 4 and has a gear main body 48A having outer teeth formed on the outer periphery. At both ends in the axial direction of the gear body 48A, cylindrical shaft support portions 48B are formed so as to protrude coaxially and integrally. The shaft support portions 48B are fitted inside bearings 50 attached to the front wall 38A and the rear wall 38B of the case 38, respectively. Thereby, the gear 48 is supported with respect to the case 38 so as to be rotatable around an axis line substantially along the vehicle front-rear direction. The gear 48 rotates when the rotation of the output shaft 42 </ b> A of the motor 42 is transmitted through the pinion 46.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the gear 48 is formed with a through hole 52 that penetrates the central portion in the axial direction. Both end portions in the axial direction of the through hole 52 are opened to the outside of the case 38. A rod 54 formed in a long cylindrical shape is coaxially inserted into the through hole 52. The rod 54 has an axial direction substantially along the vehicle front-rear direction, a front end portion located on the vehicle front side with respect to the case 38, and a rear end portion located on the vehicle rear side with respect to the case 38.

  The rear end portion of the rod 54 is fixed to the knee restraining portion 28 by being inserted into a fixing hole 28 </ b> A formed on the front side of the knee restraining portion 28 described above. Further, the front end portion of the rotation stopping rod 56 is fixed to the front surface of the knee restraining portion 28. The rotation stopping rod 56 is arranged in parallel with the rod 54, extends from the knee restraining portion 28 toward the case 38 described above, and is inserted into a rotation stopping hole 58 formed in the rear wall 38 </ b> B of the case 38. . Thereby, the rotation of the knee restraining portion 28 and the rod 54 around the axis of the rod 54 is restricted.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a spiral recess 60 is formed on the outer periphery of the rod 54. A cylindrical projection 62 projecting from the inner periphery of the through hole 52 is fitted into the recess 60. As a result, when the gear 48 rotates, the rod 54 moves relative to the gear 48 substantially in the vehicle front-rear direction (see arrow M in FIG. 3).

  Specifically, when the output shaft 42A of the motor 42 rotates in the forward direction (forward rotation) and the gear 48 rotates around one axis, the rod 54 moves relative to the gear 48 toward the vehicle rear side. Thereby, the knee restraint part 28 connected with the rear-end part of the rod 54 moves to the vehicle rear side (driver's D left knee LK side). When a stopper portion (not shown) attached to the front end side of the rod 54 comes into contact with the front wall 38A of the case 38, the movement of the rod 54 to the vehicle rear side is restricted, and the knee restraining portion 28 is arranged at the restraining position. The In this state, the knee restraint portion 28 faces or approaches the driver D's left knee LK from the front side of the vehicle, and the left knee LK is restrained by the knee restraint portion 28 (free movement to the front side of the vehicle). Is restricted).

  On the other hand, when the output shaft 42A of the motor 42 rotates (reversely rotates) in the reverse direction and the gear 48 rotates around the axis to the other, the rod 54 moves relative to the gear 48 toward the vehicle front side. Thereby, the knee restraint part 28 connected with the rear-end part of the rod 54 moves to the vehicle front side (lower panel 32 side). When a stopper portion (not shown) attached to the rear end side of the rod 54 comes into contact with the rear wall 38B of the case 38, the movement of the rod 54 toward the vehicle front side is restricted, and the knee restraining portion 28 is in the above-mentioned storage position. Are arranged (return).

  The motor 42 is electrically connected to a control device 26 that controls the rotation of the motor 42, that is, the operation of the actuator 30. The control device 26 includes a microcomputer as a main part, and includes a current detection circuit 64 for detecting a current flowing through the motor 42. The current detection circuit 64 constitutes “knee detection means” according to the present invention. The control device 26 is electrically connected to a collision prediction sensor 20 for predicting a collision of the vehicle 12.

  The collision prediction sensor 20 includes a front monitoring sensor 21 for monitoring the front of the vehicle 12 and a side slip sensor 22 for detecting a side slip of the vehicle 12. The forward monitoring sensor 21 includes at least one of, for example, a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, a monocular camera, a stereo camera, an infrared camera, and the like, and detects an object existing in front of the vehicle 12.

  The skid sensor 22 includes, for example, a yaw rate sensor that detects the yaw rate of the vehicle 12 and a G sensor that detects front-rear and left-right accelerations near the center of gravity of the vehicle 12. In the present embodiment, the skid sensor 22 is also used as a component of a vehicle stability control system (Vehicle Stability Control) mounted on the vehicle 12. This vehicle stability control system is a system that ensures the stability of the vehicle by automatically controlling the braking force of each of the four wheels and the output of the engine when the side slip of the vehicle is detected using the side slip sensor 22.

  The control device 26 predicts the collision of the vehicle 12 based on the output signal of the front monitoring sensor 21, that is, for example, there is a high possibility of a collision between an object such as another vehicle and the vehicle 12, or an object such as another vehicle and the vehicle. When it is determined that the collision with the motor 12 is inevitable, the motor 42 of the actuator 30 is rotated forward. Further, the control device 26 predicts the collision of the vehicle 12 based on the output signal of the skid sensor 22, that is, for example, when the vehicle 12 excessively skids (including spin), the object around the road and the vehicle 12 The motor 42 is also rotated forward when it is determined that the possibility of the collision is increased.

  When the motor 42 rotates forward, the rod 54 and the knee restraining portion 28 are moved to the vehicle rear side as described above. When the knee restraining portion 28 reaches the restraining position and the movement of the rod 54 to the rear side of the vehicle is restricted, the rotation of the motor 42 is prevented and the current flowing through the motor 42 increases. When this increase in current is detected by the current detection circuit 64, the control device 26 is configured to stop the motor 42.

  The control device 26 also detects that an increase in the current flowing through the motor 42 is detected by the current detection circuit 64 even when the knee restraint portion 28 contacts the left knee LK of the driver D before reaching the restrained position. Thus, the motor 42 is stopped. In the state where the rotation of the gear 48 is stopped by the stop of the motor 42, the relative movement of the rod 54 with respect to the gear 48 is restricted by the engagement between the protrusion 62 and the recess 60.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the collision of the vehicle 12 is avoided, that is, when it is determined that the collision of the vehicle 12 is avoided based on the output signals of the forward monitoring sensor 21 and the skid sensor 22, the control device 26 reverses the motor 42. . When a collision detection sensor (such as an acceleration sensor) that detects a collision of the vehicle 12 is electrically connected to the control device 26, it is determined using the collision detection sensor whether or not the motor 42 is reversed. It may be configured. In other words, when the collision is not detected within a predetermined time from when the control device 26 predicts the collision of the vehicle 12, it may be determined that the collision has been avoided and the motor 22 is reversed. When the motor 42 rotates in the reverse direction, as described above, the rod 54 and the knee restraining portion 28 are moved to the front side of the vehicle. When the knee restraint portion 28 reaches the storage position and the movement of the rod 54 toward the front side of the vehicle is restricted, the rotation of the motor 42 is prevented and the current flowing through the motor 42 increases. When this increase in current is detected by the current detection circuit 64, the control device 26 is configured to stop the motor 42.

  In the vehicle occupant protection device 10 configured as described above, the active knee bolster 24 that is activated when the control device 26 predicts a collision of the vehicle 12 is disposed only on the vehicle front side of the left knee LK of the driver D. The right knee RK is not disposed on the vehicle front side. Therefore, when the control device 26 predicts a collision of the vehicle 12, the left knee LK of the driver D is restrained by the knee restraining portion 28 of the active knee bolster 24, while the right knee RK of the driver D is not restrained. It has become.

(Function and effect)
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described.

  In the vehicle occupant protection device 10 configured as described above, the control device 26 of the knee restraint device 18 operates the actuator 30 of the active knee bolster 24 when predicting a collision of the vehicle 12 based on the output signal of the collision prediction sensor 20. The knee restraint part 28 is moved to the vehicle rear side. Thereby, since the left knee LK of the driver D is restrained by the knee restraining portion 28, the initial restraining performance of the driver D when a collision actually occurs can be improved. That is, since the left knee LK is restrained by the knee restraining portion 28 before the impact of the collision is applied, it is effective that the waist B (see FIG. 2) of the driver D is inertially moved to the front side of the vehicle by the impact of the impact. Can be suppressed. In addition, in this case, the knee restraint device 18 does not restrain the right knee RK of the driver D, so that it does not affect the operation of the accelerator pedal 70 and the brake pedal 72 by the right foot RL. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent or suppress the influence on the driving operation.

  In addition, when the collision of the vehicle 12 is not predicted based on the output signal of the collision prediction sensor 20, that is, when the collision of the vehicle 12 is avoided, the control device 26 operates the actuator 30 to move the knee restraint portion 28 to the vehicle. Move forward. Thereby, in the situation where the collision of the vehicle 12 is avoided, the restraint of the left knee LK can be released.

  In the present embodiment, the collision prediction sensor 20 includes the skid sensor 22, and even when the control device 26 predicts a collision caused by the skid of the vehicle 12, the actuator 30 is activated and the driver D left The knee LK is restrained by the knee restraining portion 28. As a result, the initial restraint performance of the driver D can be improved against a collision caused by the skidding of the vehicle 12.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the knee restraint device 18 moves the knee restraint portion 28 to the vehicle rear side by the actuator 30, if the current detection circuit 64 detects an increase in the current flowing through the motor 42, The motor 42, that is, the actuator 30 is stopped. As a result, for example, when the driver's seat 14 is positioned at the front most position in the seat slide range, the left knee LK of the driver D is positioned near the instrument panel 16, the left knee LK. Can be prevented from being pushed to the vehicle rear side more than necessary by the knee restraining portion 28. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent or suppress the influence of the driving posture of the driver D.

  Further, in the present embodiment, even when the control device 26 predicts a collision of the vehicle 12 during the automatic driving of the vehicle 12, the actuator 30 is activated and the left knee LK of the driver D is restrained by the knee restraining portion 28. The Thereby, even when the driver D is not focused on driving when a collision is predicted, the initial restraint performance of the driver D can be improved.

<Supplementary explanation of the embodiment>
In the above embodiment, the current detection circuit 64 is configured as the knee detection means, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a capacitance sensor (not shown) attached to the front side of the knee restraining portion 28 is used as the knee detecting means. In this case, the control device 26 is configured to detect that the knee restraining portion 28 is in contact with or approaches the left knee LK based on an output signal from the capacitance sensor.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the collision prediction sensor 20 was comprised by the front monitoring sensor 21 and the skid sensor 22, this invention is not limited to this. For example, a configuration in which the skid sensor 22 is omitted, or a sensor device other than the skid sensor may be included in the collision prediction sensor.

  The actuator 30 according to the above embodiment is merely an example, and can be changed as appropriate. However, the actuator according to the present invention preferably uses a motor. For example, a linear actuator that drives a ball screw mechanism with a motor, a linear actuator that drives a rack and pinion mechanism with a motor, and the like may be applied as the actuator according to the present invention.

  Furthermore, although the said embodiment demonstrated the case where the vehicle 12 was made into the automatic driving vehicle, it is not restricted to this, This invention is applicable also to vehicles other than an automatic driving vehicle. In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the right-hand drive vehicle 12 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the present invention can also be applied to a left-hand drive vehicle. In this case, the knee restraining portion 28 and the actuator 30 are arranged on the outer side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the steering wheel 17.

  In addition, the present invention can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention. It goes without saying that the scope of rights of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Vehicle occupant protection device 12 Vehicle 14 Driver's seat 18 Knee restraint device 20 Collision prediction sensor 22 Side slip sensor 28 Knee restraint part 30 Actuator 64 Current detection circuit D Driver LK Left knee RK Right knee

Claims (4)

A collision prediction sensor for predicting a collision between a vehicle and an object;
A knee restraint portion and an actuator disposed in front of the driver's seat of the vehicle, and when the collision is predicted using the collision prediction sensor, the actuator is operated to move the knee restraint portion toward the vehicle rear side. A knee restraint device that moves and restrains a left knee of an occupant in the driver's seat by the knee restraining portion, while not restraining the right knee of the occupant;
A vehicle occupant protection device.   2. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the knee restraint device operates the actuator to move the knee restraint portion forward of the vehicle when the collision is no longer predicted.   The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the collision prediction sensor includes a skid sensor for detecting a skid of the vehicle. The knee restraint device has knee detection means for detecting that the knee restraint portion is in contact with or approaching the left knee due to movement toward the vehicle rear side, and the knee detection means is used to The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the actuator is stopped when contact or approach is detected.

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