JP2020069871A - Occupant protection device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve the occupant restraint performance in a case where a seat back is in the backward tilting state.SOLUTION: An occupant protection device 10 for a vehicle includes: a seat belt 14; a lock mechanism (electric lock part) 52 which locks the withdrawal of a shoulder belt part 14B or releases locking; a tilt sensor 54 which detects the tilt angle to the vehicle rear side of the seat back 42; an air bag 18 which is provided on the seat back 42 and unfolded between the seat back 42 and an upper body 24B of an occupant 24; and a control part 20 which unfolds the air bag 18 to raise the upper body 24B of the occupant 24 when it is determined that the occurrence of the front collision of the vehicle is inevitable and the tilt angle θ of the seat back 42 is equal to or greater than a prescribed angle α, does not lock the withdrawal of the shoulder belt part 14B by the lock mechanism 52 until the prescribed time elapses from the unfolding start of the air bag 18 and locks the withdrawal of the shoulder belt part 14B by the lock mechanism 52 after the elapse of the prescribed time.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection device.

  When a vehicle collision is predicted by the collision determination ECU, when the seat back is largely tilted backward from the vehicle vertical direction toward the vehicle rear side, movement of the occupant forward of the vehicle during a vehicle front collision is suppressed. In order to do so, it is necessary to raise the upper body of the occupant and put them in an appropriate state.

  In order to raise the occupant's upper body in a short time after a vehicle collision is predicted, for example, the following vehicle occupant restraint device is disclosed (see Patent Document 1).

  That is, when a vehicle collision is predicted by the ECU, the buckle device is retracted by the first pretensioner mechanism in the direction of increasing the tension of the lap belt portion corresponding to the occupant's waist, and the occupant's waist is restrained. Next, the airbag provided on the seat back is inflated and deployed between the seat back and the occupant to raise the upper body of the occupant. Further, it is proposed that the shoulder belt portion of the seat belt is wound by the second pretensioner mechanism so that the upper body of the occupant is more restrained and the occupant is more likely to receive a reaction force from the shoulder belt portion.

JP, 2018-135036, A

  However, in the vehicle occupant restraint system described above, when the airbag is inflated and deployed (that is, before the upper body of the occupant is raised), the drawer of the shoulder belt portion of the seat belt is locked, and the upper body of the occupant is sufficiently raised. There was a risk that it could not be done.

  That is, there is room for improvement in raising the upper body of the occupant.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle occupant protection device that can improve the occupant restraint performance even when the seat back is tilted backward.

  An occupant protection device for a vehicle according to one aspect is a seat belt that restrains a occupant seated on a seat, and an electric lock that locks or unlocks a drawer of a shoulder belt portion of the seat belt that corresponds to the upper body of the occupant. Section, a tilt angle detecting section for detecting a tilt angle of the seat back of the seat toward the vehicle rear side with respect to the vehicle vertical direction, and a seat angle of the seat provided to the seat back of the seat, the seat back and the occupant receiving gas supply. The inclination angle detected by the inclination angle detection unit, which is determined to be inevitable by the collision prediction sensor and the airbag which is deployed between the upper body and the airbag to raise the upper body, and which is detected by the collision prediction sensor. Is a predetermined angle or more, the airbag is deployed between the occupant's upper body and the seat back to raise the occupant's upper body, Without the locking of the drawer shoulder belt portion by an electric lock portion from the open start until the predetermined time has elapsed, after the predetermined time, and a control unit for locking the drawer in the shoulder belt portion by the electric locking unit.

  In this vehicle occupant protection system, the collision prediction sensor determines that a frontal collision of the vehicle is unavoidable, and the inclination angle of the seat back toward the vehicle rear side detected by the inclination angle detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle. In this case, the airbag provided in the seat back is deployed between the seat back and the upper body of the occupant to raise the upper body of the occupant. Compared with the case where a motor-driven seat back is caused, the upper body of the occupant can be swiftly raised within a limited time from the prediction of the frontal collision to the actual occurrence of the frontal collision.

  Further, the control unit does not lock the drawer of the shoulder belt unit by the electric lock unit for a predetermined time from the start of the airbag deployment. As a result, the withdrawal of the shoulder belt portion due to the rise of the upper body due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag is not restricted, and the upper body of the occupant can be reliably raised.

  On the other hand, since the control unit locks the drawer of the shoulder belt unit by the electric lock unit after a predetermined time has elapsed, it is possible to prevent the shoulder belt unit from being pulled out excessively due to the inertial movement of the occupant.

  According to the vehicle occupant protection device of the present invention, the occupant restraint performance can be improved even when the seat back is tilted backward.

It is a side view and a block diagram showing a passenger protection device for vehicles concerning this embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows occupant restraint control by the occupant protection device for vehicles concerning this embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the arrow FR indicates the front of the vehicle and the arrow UP indicates the upper side of the vehicle.

  1, a vehicle occupant protection device 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes a seat belt 14, a buckle device 16, a first pretensioner mechanism 11, a second pretensioner mechanism 12, an airbag 18, and a control unit. 20 and 20.

  The seat belt 14 is a non-stretchable webbing for restraining the occupant 24 seated on the seat 22. One end (not shown) of the seat belt 14 is coupled to, for example, a vehicle compartment floor (not shown) outside the seat 22 in the vehicle width direction.

  When the occupant is not wearing the seat belt 14, the seat belt 14 extends from one end toward the upper side of the vehicle, is passed through a shoulder belt anchor 26 provided at a side portion of the vehicle, and extends from the shoulder belt anchor 26 toward the lower side of the vehicle. The other end of the seat belt 14 is connected to a retractor 28 that is a winding device for the seat belt 14.

  A tongue 30 is attached to the seat belt 14. The position of the tongue 30 on the seat belt 14 can be adjusted to correspond to the difference in the physique of the occupant 24, etc., and the tongue 30 is movable along the seat belt 14.

  The seat belt 14 when worn by an occupant can be divided into a lap belt portion 14A and a shoulder belt portion 14B. The lap belt portion 14A refers to a portion of the seat belt 14 that passes from the tongue 30 to the front of the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24. The shoulder belt portion 14B refers to a portion of the seat belt 14 that extends from the tongue 30 in front of the upper body 24B of the occupant 24 and extends to the retractor 28 via the shoulder belt anchor 26.

  The buckle device 16 is provided on the vehicle width direction inner side of the seat 22 and has a structure with which the tongue 30 is engaged. The tongue 30 is inserted into and engaged with the buckle device 16 when the seat belt 14 is worn. When the seat belt 14 is removed, the engagement of the tongue 30 can be released by the release button of the buckle device 16.

  Further, the tongue 30 includes a lock portion 56 that locks the seat belt 14 when an excessive load acts on the lap belt portion 14A. The lock portion 56 is normally unlocked so that the seat belt 14 can pass through the tongue 30.

  The first pretensioner mechanism 11 is a device that retracts the buckle device 16 in a direction to increase the tension of the lap belt portion 14A of the seat belt 14 corresponding to the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the first pretensioner mechanism 11 is, for example, provided below the seat cushion 40 and has a motor driven structure, and includes a spool 32 and a cable 36. The spool 32 is a tubular body that is rotationally driven by an electric motor 34 controlled by the control unit 20. The cable 36 is a flexible non-stretchable member, and has one end coupled to the buckle device 16 and the other end coupled to the spool 32. The cable 36 is guided by a guide roller 38. The first pretensioner mechanism 11 is capable of retracting the buckle device 16 by rotating the spool 32 by the electric motor 34 and winding the cable 36.

  The second pretensioner mechanism 12 is a device that winds up the shoulder belt portion 14B of the seat belt 14 corresponding to the upper body 24B of the occupant 24. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the second pretensioner mechanism 12 has a retractor 28 and an electric motor 39. The electric motor 39 is controlled by the control unit 20. By rotating the spool 29 of the retractor 28 with the electric motor 39, the shoulder belt portion 14B can be wound up.

  The lock mechanism 52 is an electromagnetic lock mechanism, which drives an electromagnet in response to a drive signal input from the control unit 20 to lock the rotation of the spool 29 (lock the spool 29) or lock the spool 29. The configuration is such that the spool 29 is released (the spool 29 is unlocked). The lock mechanism 52 corresponds to the "electric lock part".

  The airbag 18 is a bag body that is provided on the seat back 42 of the seat 22, inflates between the seat back 42 and the upper body 24B of the occupant 24 by receiving gas supply, and raises the upper body 24B. The airbag 18 is normally folded and stored in the seat back 42. The seat back 42 is provided with an inflator 50 as a gas supply source for the airbag 18.

  The inflator 50 supplies the stored compressed gas to the airbag 18 via an orifice. Therefore, while the normal inflation time for occupant restraint such as a driver airbag and a curtain airbag is several tens of ms, the airbag 18 inflated and expanded by the inflator 50 is inflated. The development time is about 100 times as long as several seconds (seconds).

  The inflator 50 is merely an example, and the inflator 50 is not particularly limited as long as the inflation and deployment time of the airbag 18 can be set to several seconds.

  As will be described later, in the deployment area of the airbag 18, the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24 is restrained by the lap belt portion 14A so that the movement of the airbag portion is restricted. The airbag 18 is deployed at the upper portion of 42. Further, the airbag 18 is deployed between the headrest 44 of the seat 22 and the head 24C of the occupant 24 in order to suppress the rearward inclination of the head 24C when the occupant rises.

  The drive means in each of the first pretensioner mechanism 11 and the second pretensioner mechanism 12 is not limited to being driven by a motor, and may be a configuration that uses gas generated by combustion of explosive (explosive type). In the case of the explosive type, a so-called micro gas generator can be used.

  The seat 22 is provided with a tilt sensor 54 that detects a tilt angle (a tilt angle from the vehicle vertical direction to the vehicle rear side) θ of the seat back 42. The detection signal of the tilt sensor 54 is output to the control unit 20 described later. The tilt sensor 54 corresponds to the “tilt angle detection unit”.

  The control unit 20 is, for example, an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), and performs occupant restraint control when it is determined by the detection signal of the collision prediction sensor 46 that a frontal collision of the vehicle is inevitable. That is, when the inclination angle θ of the seat back 42 detected by the inclination sensor 54 is larger than the predetermined angle (threshold value) α, first, the first pretensioner mechanism 11 is operated to retract the buckle device 16, Secondly, the airbag 18 is deployed to raise the upper body 24B of the occupant 24, and the output prohibition process of the drive signal to the lock mechanism 52 is performed. Thirdly, the second pretensioner mechanism 12 is operated to operate the shoulder belt portion 14B. It is designed to be wound up. The winding of the shoulder belt portion 14B is completed before the frontal collision actually occurs.

  When the inclination angle θ of the seat back 42 is less than or equal to the predetermined angle (threshold value) α, the airbag 18 is not deployed, the first pretensioner mechanism 11 is operated, and then the lock mechanism 52 is driven. Lastly, the second pretensioner mechanism 12 is operated.

  As the collision prediction sensor 46, various sensors such as a camera, a millimeter wave radar and an infrared laser can be used. The collision type detected by the collision prediction sensor 46 is a frontal collision, and includes a frontal collision, a minute lap collision, an oblique collision, and the like. Here, the minute lap collision refers to, for example, a collision outside the front side member (not shown) of the vehicle in the vehicle width direction. The oblique collision refers to a collision from the diagonally front side with respect to the front part of the vehicle.

(Action)
The present embodiment is configured as described above, and its operation will be described below. In FIG. 1, in the vehicle occupant protection system 10 according to the present embodiment, when the control unit 20 determines that the occurrence of a frontal collision of the vehicle is unavoidable based on the detection signal of the collision prediction sensor 46 (FIG. 2, step S10). The occupant restraint control is performed on Y (hereinafter, omitted from FIG. 2). In this case, the control unit 20 determines whether the tilt angle θ of the seat back 42 detected by the tilt sensor 54 is larger than a predetermined angle α that is a threshold value (steps S11 and S12).

  When the tilt angle θ is larger than the predetermined angle α, that is, when the seat back 42 is tilted (back tilted) more than the predetermined angle α, the control unit 20 operates the first pretensioner mechanism 11. Then, the buckle device 16 is retracted (step S14).

  Specifically, the control unit 20 outputs a drive signal to the electric motor 34 to operate the electric motor 34. As a result, the spool 32 rotates and the cable 36 is wound from one end side thereof. Since the other end of the cable 36 is connected to the buckle device 16, the buckle device 16 is pulled in along with the winding of the cable 36 (direction of arrow A). As a result, the tension of the lap belt portion 14A increases, so that the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24 is more restrained.

  The control unit 20 then outputs a drive signal to the inflator 50 to deploy the airbag 18 provided on the seat back 42 between the seat back 42 and the upper body 24B of the occupant 24, and the occupant 24 Raise the upper body 24B (direction of arrow B) (step S16). At this time, since the waist portion 24A, which is the center of tilting of the upper body 24B, is more constrained by the lap belt portion 14A, the movement of the waist portion 24A toward the front of the vehicle is suppressed. Therefore, the upper body 24B is likely to be raised by the deployment of the airbag 18. Further, as compared with the case where the seat back 42 is raised by driving the motor, the upper body 24B of the occupant 24 can be raised quickly within a limited time from the prediction of the frontal collision to the actual frontal collision. it can.

  At this time, the control unit 20 prohibits the output of the drive signal to the lock mechanism 52 for a predetermined time (prohibition time) T from the start of deployment of the airbag 18 (output of the drive signal to the inflator 50) (step S18, N at S20). Therefore, when the upper body 24B of the occupant 24 rises due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 18, the lock mechanism 52 restricts (locks) the withdrawal of the seat belt 14 (shoulder belt portion 14B), and the upper body is restrained from rising. Is prevented

  Further, since the tongue 30 is provided with the lock portion 56, the lock portion 56 locks the seat belt 14 when an excessive load acts on the lap belt portion 14A when the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed, The restraint of the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24 by the lap belt portion 14A is prevented from being reduced or suppressed.

  The control unit 20 outputs a drive signal to the lock mechanism 52 to stop the rotation of the spool 29 (spool 29 when the prohibition time T elapses from the start of deployment of the airbag 18 (output of a drive signal to the inflator 50)). Is locked) (Y in step S20, S22). The prohibited time period T is a time period from the start of the inflation and deployment of the airbag 18 to the completion of the occupant 24 standing up due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 18. As a result, it is possible to prevent the shoulder belt portion 14B from being unnecessarily pulled out by the inertia of the occupant 24 after the inflation and deployment of the airbag 18 is completed.

  On the other hand, since the airbag 18 uses the inflator 50, the time required to complete the inflation and deployment is about 100 times that of a normal type airbag. Therefore, the reaction force input from the shoulder belt portion 14B of the seat belt 14 to the occupant 24 when the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed is suppressed, and the injury value is reduced.

  The control unit 20 then operates the second pretensioner mechanism 12 to wind the shoulder belt portion 14B (direction of arrow C) (step S24). Specifically, when the control unit 20 operates the electric motor 39 of the second pretensioner mechanism 12, the spool 29 of the retractor 28 rotates and the shoulder belt portion 14B is wound up. This increases the restraint of the upper body 24B by the shoulder belt portion 14B, so that the upper body 24B easily receives the reaction force from the shoulder belt portion 14B when a frontal collision occurs.

  When the inclination angle θ of the seat back 42 is equal to or smaller than the threshold value α (N in step S12), the control unit 20 determines that it is not necessary to raise the upper body 24B of the occupant 24 and does not inflate and deploy the airbag 18. .. That is, the control unit 20 operates the first pretensioner mechanism 11 to increase the tension of the lap belt portion 14A and increase the restraint of the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24 (step S26).

  Next, the control unit 20 outputs a drive signal to the lock mechanism 52 to stop the rotation of the spool 29 (locks the spool 29) (step S28).

  Further, the second pretensioner mechanism 12 is operated to wind the shoulder belt portion 14B (direction of arrow C) (step S24).

  As described above, in the vehicle occupant protection device 10 of the present embodiment, the occupant 24 can be reliably raised even when the seat back 42 is tilted backward by more than the predetermined angle α, so that the occupant restraint performance is improved. Can be improved.

  Since the vehicle occupant protection device 10 is the lock mechanism 52 that locks the spool 29 by driving the electromagnet, the spool 29 can be locked (locked) and unlocked (unlocked) at any timing. it can. Therefore, it is prohibited to output a drive signal from the control unit 20 to the lock mechanism 52 from the start of the deployment of the airbag 18 to the completion of the deployment. As a result, the rising of the occupant 24 due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 18 is not hindered by the drawer lock of the shoulder belt portion 14B. That is, the occupant 24 can be reliably raised.

  Further, since the airbag 18 is inflated by the inflator 50 that supplies compressed gas to the airbag through the orifice, the deployment speed is about 100 times slower than that of a normal airbag. As a result, the reaction force input from the shoulder belt portion 14B to the occupant 24 when the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed is reduced, and the injury value is reduced.

  Further, in the vehicle occupant protection device 10, since the control unit 20 causes the lock mechanism 52 to immediately lock the spool 29 after the prohibition time T has elapsed, the inertia of the occupant 24 causes the shoulder belt portion 14B to be pulled out excessively. Is prevented.

  Further, the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed between the upper side of the occupant's upper body 24B and the upper portion of the seat back 42, so that the occupant 24 is restrained by the lap belt portion 14A except for the waist portion 24A. The occupant 24 can be satisfactorily raised. At this time, the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed between the head portion 24C and the headrest 44, so that the head portion 24C can be prevented from being repelled when the occupant 24 gets up.

  Further, in the vehicle occupant protection device 10, when the occupant restraint control is performed, the inclination angle θ of the seat back 42 is detected by the inclination sensor 54. Therefore, only when the inclination angle of the seat back 42 is large, the airbag 18 is detected. Can be inflated and deployed to raise the occupant 24.

  Further, since the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24 is restrained by the lap belt portion 14A by the first pretensioner mechanism 11 before the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed, the airbag 24 is inflated and deployed so that the waist portion 24A of the occupant 24 is moved forward of the vehicle. It is possible to prevent the occupant 24 from moving and to wake up the passenger 24 satisfactorily.

  In particular, since the tongue 30 includes the lock portion 56, the lock portion 56 locks the seat belt 14 when an excessive load acts on the lap belt portion 14A when the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed, so that the lap belt portion 14A is restrained. It is possible to prevent the deterioration of the sex.

  After the shoulder belt portion 14B is locked, the slack of the shoulder belt portion 14B is removed by winding the shoulder belt portion 14B by the second pretensioner mechanism 12.

[Other Embodiments]
Although the vehicle occupant protection device 10 of the present embodiment is configured to include the first pretensioner mechanism 11 and the second pretensioner mechanism 12, it may be configured to include only the airbag 18 and the lock mechanism (electric lock portion) 52. . In this case, when the control unit 20 determines that the occurrence of the collision is unavoidable, the output of the drive (lock) signal is prohibited to the lock mechanism 52 from the time when the airbag 18 is inflated and deployed until a predetermined time elapses. Any configuration may be used as long as the drive signal is output after a lapse of time.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the output of the drive signal to the lock mechanism 52 of the control unit 20 is prohibited for a predetermined time from the start of the inflation and deployment of the airbag 18, but the sensor detects the inclination angle of the upper body 24B of the occupant 24. The inclination angle of the occupant may be equal to or less than the threshold value.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the retractor 28 and the shoulder belt anchor 26 are described as being provided on the vehicle body side, but a so-called seated seat in which the retractor and the shoulder belt anchor (shoulder guide) are provided in the seat back. It is also applicable to a belt device.

10 Vehicle Occupant Protection Device 14 Seatbelt 14B Shoulder Belt 18 Airbag 20 Control 22 Seat 24 Crew 24B Upper Body 42 Seatback 46 Collision Prediction Sensor 52 Lock Mechanism (Electrical Lock)
54 Tilt sensor (tilt angle detector)

Claims (1)

A seat belt that restrains the occupant seated on the seat,
Of the seat belt, an electric lock part for locking or unlocking the drawer of the shoulder belt part corresponding to the upper body of the occupant,
An inclination angle detection unit that detects an inclination angle of the seat back of the seat with respect to the vehicle vertical direction toward the vehicle rear side,
An airbag provided on the seat back of the seat, deployed between the seat back and the upper body of the occupant upon receiving gas supply, and raising the upper body,
When it is determined that a frontal collision of the vehicle is inevitable by a collision prediction sensor, and the tilt angle detected by the tilt angle detection unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle, the airbag is set as the upper body of the occupant. The seat belt is deployed between the seat back and the upper body of the occupant, and the electric lock does not lock the drawer of the shoulder belt until a predetermined time elapses from the start of the airbag deployment. A control unit for locking the drawer of the shoulder belt unit by the electric lock unit,
Vehicle occupant protection device.