JP2018052446A - Vehicle occupant protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize an occupant protection function different from that of a present automobile when a vehicle like an automobile is in automatic operation.SOLUTION: A vehicle occupant protection device 10 includes: a seat 4 on which an occupant sits in an automobile 1; and an air bag device 14 having a front air bag 15 to be developed in front of an upper body of the occupant sitting on the seat 4. The developed front air bag 15 forms a contact surface 15S to be continuously inclined to an outer side in front of an inner side in a vehicle width direction of the automobile 1. Both shoulders of the upper body that move outside a seating position of the seat 4 are put between the continuously inclined contact surface 15S and a side surface of the automobile 1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for a vehicle such as an automobile.

  In recent years, research on autonomous driving has started in automobiles (Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-067483 A

By the way, in the automatic driving car, the running state of the car is controlled regardless of the intention of the driver such as the driver. In this case, for example, when the collision is automatically avoided, there is a possibility that the control is performed so that the vehicle travels near the limit performance of the vehicle as compared with the case where the driver operates the automobile. For example, in order to avoid a collision immediately before the collision, there is a possibility that control is performed so as to avoid the collision by performing steering at the limit performance.
And, for example, in a situation where traveling is controlled near the limit performance of the vehicle in this way, when collision can not be avoided in actuality, compared to when collision is avoided under driver's steering, Collisions can occur under different circumstances from current cars.
For example, in a situation where the vehicle is turning sharply in automatic driving, there is a possibility that the upper shoulder portion of the occupant seated on the seat has moved out of the seating position of the seat. And if a collision occurs in such a situation where the upper body has moved outside from the seating position of the seat before the collision, the upper body of the occupant will move greatly outward from the seating position of the seat. Become.
In addition to this, for example, an occupant who is distracted by things other than the collision and is not prepared for the collision, the upper body moves greatly beyond the normally assumed movement range at the time of the collision. There is a possibility.

  As described above, it is expected that a vehicle such as an automobile needs to have an occupant protection function different from that of a current automobile during automatic driving.

  A vehicle occupant protection device according to the present invention includes a seat on which an occupant is seated in a vehicle, and an airbag device having a front airbag that is deployed in front of an upper body of the occupant seated on the seat. The front airbag forms a continuous inclined surface where the outside of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction is the front, and both upper shoulders that have moved outward from the seating position of the seat, It is sandwiched between the continuous inclined surface and the side surface of the vehicle.

  Preferably, the continuous inclined surface is formed from the inner side in the vehicle width direction from the inner edge of the seat.

  Preferably, the deployed front airbag may have a front absorption surface symmetrical in the vehicle width direction formed on an outer portion in the vehicle width direction.

  Suitably, the said front absorption surface is good to be formed in the surface along the said vehicle width direction.

  Preferably, the surface of the continuous inclined surface has a coefficient of friction equivalent to that of the side surface of the vehicle.

  Preferably, the inclined surface is continuously inclined by a concave curved surface.

  Preferably, the inclined surface is continuously inclined by a convex curved surface.

  Preferably, the vehicle has a control unit that controls the operation of the airbag device in accordance with a traveling state of the vehicle, and the control unit is in a collision or a sudden turn during automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the vehicle. If there is a possibility of collision, the front airbag is deployed so as to form the continuous inclined surface, and otherwise, the front airbag is not formed so that the continuous inclined surface is not formed. It is preferable that the airbag is deployed to support the entire upper body at the seating position.

  Preferably, a detection unit that detects a position of an upper body of an occupant seated on the seat is provided, and the control unit is configured to control the detection unit during automatic traveling control including driving support for the vehicle or during a sudden turn. The position of the upper body is determined based on the detection, and when the upper body has moved out of the seating position, the front airbag is deployed so as to form the continuous inclined surface, When the upper body is in the seating position, the front airbag may be deployed so as not to form the continuous inclined surface.

  Preferably, when there is a possibility of a collision during steering control by automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the vehicle, the control unit forms the continuous inclined surface so as to form the inclined surface. In other cases, it is preferable that the front airbag is deployed so that the continuous inclined surface is not formed and the upper body in the seating position is supported as a whole.

  In the present invention, the deployed front airbag forms a continuous inclined surface with the outer side in front of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction being the front, and both shoulders of the upper body that have moved outward from the seating position of the seat Is sandwiched between the continuous inclined surface and the side surface of the vehicle body. Therefore, for example, even if the shoulders of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat during the automatic driving of the vehicle have moved greatly outside the seating position of the seat before the collision, the upper shoulders of the upper airbag The occupant can be protected by sandwiching and supporting between the continuous inclined surface and the side portion of the vehicle body.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an automobile to which a vehicle occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a normal occupant protection device in the automobile of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the vehicle occupant protection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of an operating state in which the front airbag of the front airbag device of FIG. 3 is deployed. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an occupant protection state when deployed as shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a front airbag device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a front airbag device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

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

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an automobile 1 to which a vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 1 shows an automobile 1 as viewed from above. The automobile 1 is an example of a vehicle.
The automobile 1 in FIG. 1 has a vehicle body 2. In the passenger compartment 3 of the vehicle body 2, a plurality of seats 4 on which the passengers sit are arranged. In front of the right front seat 4, a handle 5, an accelerator pedal (not shown), and a brake pedal are arranged. When the occupant seated on the seat 4 operates the handle 5 or the like, the automobile 1 makes forward, stop, reverse, right turn, and left turn.

By the way, in the automobile 1, research on autonomous driving has been started in recent years. There are some driving support types that simply warn or interpolate passenger operations, but in the future, for example, a fully automatic type that automatically travels to that destination by setting the destination, for example. Things are expected to be realized.
In the automatic driving, for example, the front imaging sensor 31 disposed forward in the passenger compartment 3, the rear imaging sensor 31 disposed rearward in the passenger compartment 3, Using the right imaging sensor 31 and the left imaging sensor 31 arranged on both sides, the surrounding environment of the traveling vehicle 1 is observed based on the captured images of these sensors, and a collision occurs when another vehicle 1 approaches. It is important to implement occupant protection control that avoids accidents.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a normal occupant protection device 10 in the automobile 1 of FIG. FIG. 2 illustrates a front airbag 15 that is deployed in front of the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat 4.
As shown in FIG. 2 (A), when the upper body of the occupant before the collision is positioned at a seating position with the seat 4 being turned back by being restrained by, for example, the seat belt 18, the state is separated from the upper body. Thus, the front airbag 15 can be deployed. Thereafter, when another automobile 1 or the like collides with the automobile 1, the upper body moves forward from the seating position, but the upper body that moves forward can be supported by the deployed front airbag 15. Thereby, a passenger | crew can be protected suitably.
However, for example, in the automobile 1 during automatic driving, the traveling state of the automobile 1 is controlled regardless of the intention of a passenger such as a driver. In this case, for example, when the collision is automatically avoided, there is a possibility that the control is performed so that the vehicle travels near the limit performance of the vehicle as compared with the case where the driver operates the automobile 1. For example, in order to avoid a collision immediately before the collision, there is a possibility of trying to avoid the collision by performing steering control with a marginal performance limit.

For example, in a situation where traveling is controlled near the limit performance of the vehicle as described above, when a collision cannot be avoided in practice, the collision is avoided by general driver steering. There is a possibility that a collision will occur in a situation different from the case of the collision.
For example, as shown in FIG. 2B, under the situation where the vehicle is turning sharply by automatic driving, the shoulder of the upper body of the passenger seated on the seat 4 moves greatly outside the seating position of the seat 4. there is a possibility. And in the state where the shoulder of the upper body is moving outside the normally assumed range, even if the front airbag 15 is deployed, the entire upper body cannot be applied to and supported by the front airbag 15 There is sex.
In addition to this, for example, in the case of a passenger who is distracted by things other than the collision and is not prepared for the collision, the upper shoulder of the occupant is larger than the normally assumed movement range at the time of the collision. There is also a possibility of moving outside.
As described above, it is expected that a vehicle such as the automobile 1 needs to have a passenger protection function different from that of the current automobile 1 during automatic driving.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Further, FIG. 3 shows an automatic operation control device 30 together with the occupant protection device 10. The automatic driving control device 30 includes the above-described various vehicle exterior imaging sensors 31, an automatic driving control unit 32, a steering actuator 33, a brake actuator 34, and a power source 35.
The steering actuator 33 steers the automobile 1 instead of the handle 5. The brake actuator 34 brakes the automobile 1 instead of the brake pedal. The power source 35 is, for example, a gasoline engine or an electric motor. The automatic operation control unit 32 controls the steering actuator 33, the brake actuator 34, and the power source 35, for example, according to the travel route to the destination. Further, an approaching object is specified based on the image of the outside-vehicle imaging sensor 31, and when a collision with the approaching object is expected, the steering actuator 33, the brake actuator 34, and the power source 35 are controlled so as to avoid the collision. To do.

  The occupant protection device 10 of FIG. 3 includes an occupant position sensor 11, a G sensor 12, an occupant protection control unit 13, a front airbag device 14, and a three-point seat belt 18.

  The occupant position sensor 11 detects the position of the head or upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4. Based on the seating position with the back on the seat 4, the amount of forward movement or the amount of movement to the left and right sides in the vehicle width direction is detected. The occupant position sensor 11 may be composed of, for example, a plurality of proximity sensors arranged in the detection direction.

  The G sensor 12 detects acceleration acting on the automobile 1. The direction of acceleration to be detected may be the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, or the up-down direction.

  The front airbag device 14 includes a front airbag 15 that is deployed in front of the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat 4, and an inflator 16 that discharges gas into the front airbag 15.

  The three-point seat belt device 17 includes a seat belt 18 that is stretched over both sides of a waist portion of an occupant seated on the seat 4 and one shoulder portion, and an actuator (not shown) that winds the seat belt 18.

The occupant protection control unit 13 is connected to an imaging sensor 31 outside the vehicle, an automatic operation control unit 32, a G sensor 12, an occupant position sensor 11, a front airbag device 14, and a three-point seat belt device 17.
Then, the occupant protection control unit 13 controls the operation of the occupant protection device 10 according to, for example, the traveling state of the automobile 1. Specifically, the operation of the front airbag device 14 and the three-point seat belt device 17 is controlled.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of an operating state in which the front airbag 15 of the front airbag device 14 of FIG. 3 is deployed.

The occupant protection control unit 13 determines the traveling state of the automobile 1 when an occupant is on the automobile 1. The occupant protection control unit 13 determines, for example, whether or not automatic driving is being performed based on an automatic driving signal from the automatic driving control unit 32.
In addition, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines the presence or absence of an approaching object based on the image of the vehicle exterior image sensor 31, and further determines the possibility of a collision with the approaching object.
Further, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines whether or not the automobile 1 is making a sudden turn based on the acceleration detected by the G sensor 12.
Further, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines whether or not the upper body of the occupant has moved greatly from the seating position based on the detection value of the occupant position sensor 11.
In addition, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines whether the upper body of the occupant has moved greatly from the seating position based on the detected value of the occupant position sensor 11 or the information on the automatic driving control status from the automatic driving control unit 32. Judgment or estimation of whether or not. Note that the occupant protection control unit 13 may determine this movement based on whether or not the range normally assumed in FIG.

When there is a possibility of collision during automatic traveling control or when there is a possibility of collision during a sudden turn, the occupant protection control unit 13 is As shown in FIG. 4A, the front airbag 15 is deployed.
In this case, the front airbag 15 forms a contact surface 15 </ b> S that is continuously inclined so that the outer side is the front side from the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the automobile 1 in the deployed state.
The contact surface 15S is formed in a range from the inner edge of the seat 4 with respect to the front airbag 15 to the center front of the seat 4 in the vehicle width direction. Here, the continuously inclined contact surface 15 </ b> S may have a friction coefficient equivalent to that of the side surface of the vehicle body 2.
Further, a front absorption surface 15F along the vehicle width direction is formed on the outer side of the contact surface 15S in the vehicle width direction.
The front absorption surface 15F may be formed symmetrically in the vehicle width direction, and is formed, for example, on a surface along the vehicle width direction. The front absorption surface 15F may be formed symmetrically in the vehicle width direction, for example, so as to have a convex shape rearward.

  On the other hand, when the upper body before the collision is in the seating position, not in any of the cases described above, the occupant protection control unit 13 deploys the front airbag 15 in a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG. Let In this case, the front airbag 15 is largely deployed so as not to form the inclined contact surface 15S.

  In addition to this, for example, the occupant protection control unit 13 may have a collision in a situation where the automatic driving control unit 32 is performing steering control in the automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the automobile 1. As shown in (A), the front airbag 15 may be deployed. In other cases, the occupant protection control unit 13 deploys the front airbag 15 in a substantially rectangular shape as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an example of an occupant protection state when deployed as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5 (A), the upper body before the collision has moved outward from the seating position.
And the front airbag 15 expand | deploys and the vehicle width direction outer surface of the front airbag 15 contacts the inner surface of a vehicle body. In front of the seat 4, an inclined contact surface 15 </ b> S is formed in a range from a position on the inner side in the vehicle width direction to the position substantially in front of the seat. A front absorption surface 15F along the vehicle width direction is formed between the inclined contact surface 15S and the inner surface of the vehicle body.

In this state, the upper body that has been moved outward from the seating position before the collision hits the inner surface of the vehicle body and the front airbag 15 as shown in FIG. The upper body moves so as to slide on the contact surface 15S that is continuously inclined, and moves forward with both shoulders being sandwiched between the front airbag 15 and the inner surface of the vehicle body. Thereby, the kinetic energy of the upper body can be absorbed while supporting the upper body.
After that, the slipped upper body hits the front absorption surface 15F. Thereby, the kinetic energy of the upper body can be absorbed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the deployed front airbag 15 forms a continuously inclined contact surface 15 </ b> S whose outer side is the front in the vehicle width direction of the automobile 1, and from the seating position of the seat 4. The shoulders of the upper body that has moved outward are sandwiched between the contact surface 15S that is continuously inclined and the side surface of the vehicle body 2. Therefore, for example, even if the shoulder portion of the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat 4 moves greatly outside the seating position of the seat 4 before the collision during the automatic driving of the vehicle, The occupant can be protected by being sandwiched and supported between the continuously inclined contact surface 15S of the bag 15 and the side portion of the vehicle body 2.

  In the present embodiment, in the deployed front airbag 15, the front absorption surface 15F formed at the outer portion in the vehicle width direction is formed on a surface along the vehicle width direction so as to be symmetric in the vehicle width direction. ing. In FIG. 5A, the surface shape is substantially symmetric with respect to the front-rear axis shown by the alternate long and short dash line. Therefore, when the shock cannot be absorbed only by being sandwiched between the contact surface 15S inclined continuously of the front airbag 15 and the side portion of the vehicle body 2, the shock can be further absorbed at the front absorption surface.

  In the present embodiment, the continuously inclined surface 15S of the deployed front airbag 15 has a friction coefficient equivalent to that of the side surface of the vehicle body 2. Thus, the upper body of the occupant is sandwiched between the continuously inclined contact surface 15S of the front airbag 15 and the side of the vehicle body 2, and then supported by the same frictional force on both shoulders, You can move between. As a result, it is possible to support the upper body after the collision, for example, while suitably suppressing the forward and outward movement.

  In the present embodiment, the inclined contact surface 15S is formed in a range from the inner edge of the seat 4 to the center front in the vehicle width direction of the seat 4 from the inner edge of the seat 4 in the deployed front airbag 15. The Therefore, even if the position of the upper body moved to the front and outside is slightly deviated from front to back and left and right, it can be sandwiched between the continuously inclined contact surface 15S of the front airbag 15 and the side portion of the vehicle body 2.

  In the present embodiment, the control unit 13 that controls the operation of the front airbag device 14 according to the traveling state of the automobile 1 is capable of a collision during automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the automobile 1 or a collision during a sudden turn. If there is a possibility, the front airbag 15 is deployed so as to form a continuously inclined contact surface 15S. In other cases, the front air bag 15S is not formed so that the continuously inclined contact surface 15S is not formed. The bag 15 is unfolded to support the upper body in the sitting position as a whole. Therefore, the front airbag 15 can be appropriately deployed in accordance with each state even when the upper body of the occupant before the collision is at the seating position of the seat 4 or when moving forward from the seating position. it can.

  Further, in a situation where the automatic driving control unit 32 is performing steering control in the automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the automobile 1, the occupant protection control unit 13 determines the deployment state of the front airbag 15 based on the possibility of a collision. The same applies to the control.

  In the present embodiment, the position of the upper body of the occupant seated on the seat 4 is detected by the detection unit. Therefore, the position of the upper body of the occupant before the collision can be actually detected, and the front airbag 15 can be appropriately deployed according to each position.

  As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to maintain reliable energy absorption by the protection device or low harm to the front input when the occupant's shoulder deviates from the seating position outward.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used for the same configurations, and differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the front airbag device 14 according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, the inclined contact surface 15S is continuously inclined by the concave curved surface.
As described above, the continuously inclined contact surface 15S is continuously inclined by the concave curved surface, so that the upper body and the contact surface 15S are easily brought into contact with each other with high local frictional force.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment are used for the same configurations, and differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a front airbag device according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

In the front airbag 15 of FIG. 7, the contact surface 15 </ b> S that is continuously inclined is formed in a convex curved surface as a whole.
In this way, when the contact surface 15S that is continuously inclined is inclined continuously by the convex curved surface, the upper body slides on the inclined contact surface 15S and moves forward. The effect of pressing against the side can be increased, and a high impact absorption effect during sliding can be expected.

  The above embodiment is an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

1 ... Automobile (vehicle)
2 ... Vehicle body 3 ... Passenger compartment 4 ... Seat 5 ... Handle 10 ... Passenger protection device 11 ... Passenger position sensor 12 ... G sensor 13 ... Passenger protection control unit 14 ... Front airbag device 15 ... Front airbag 15S ... Contact surface 15F ... Front absorbing surface 16 ... Inflator 17 ... Three-point seat belt device 18 ... Seat belt 30 ... Automatic operation control device 31 ... Imaging sensor 32 ... Automatic operation control unit 33 ... Steering actuator 34 ... Brake actuator 35 ... Power source

Claims (10)

A seat on which a passenger sits in the vehicle;
An airbag device having a front airbag deployed in front of an upper body of an occupant seated on the seat;
Have
The deployed front airbag forms a continuous inclined surface with the outer side in front of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction.
Sandwiching both shoulders of the upper body that has moved outward from the seating position of the seat between the continuous inclined surface and the side surface of the vehicle;
Vehicle occupant protection device. The continuous inclined surface is formed from the inner side in the vehicle width direction from the inner edge of the seat.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1. The front airbag that has been deployed has a front absorption surface that is symmetrical in the vehicle width direction formed on an outer portion in the vehicle width direction.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1. The front absorption surface is formed on a surface along the vehicle width direction.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 3. The continuous surface of the inclined surface has a coefficient of friction equivalent to the side surface of the vehicle;
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The inclined surface is continuously inclined by a concave curved surface,
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The inclined surface is continuously inclined by a convex curved surface,
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. A control unit for controlling the operation of the airbag device in accordance with the running state of the vehicle;
The controller is
When there is a possibility of a collision during automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the vehicle or a collision during a sudden turn, the front airbag is deployed so as to form the continuous inclined surface,
In other cases, the front airbag is deployed so that the continuous inclined surface is not formed, and the upper body in the sitting position is supported as a whole.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. A detection unit that detects the position of the upper body of an occupant seated on the seat;
The controller is
Determining the position of the upper body based on the detection of the detection unit during automatic travel control including driving assistance for the vehicle or during a sharp turn,
When the upper body has moved out of the seating position, the front airbag is deployed to form the continuous inclined surface,
When the upper body is in the sitting position, the front airbag is deployed so as not to form the continuous inclined surface;
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 8. The controller is
When there is a possibility of collision during steering control by automatic traveling control including driving assistance for the vehicle, the front airbag is deployed so as to form the continuous inclined surface,
In other cases, the front airbag is deployed so that the continuous inclined surface is not formed, and the upper body in the sitting position is supported as a whole.
The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 8 or 9.

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