JP2022037156A - Occupant protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant protection device which suppresses injury of an occupant.

SOLUTION: An occupant protection device protects an occupant P seated on a seat 200 having a seat surface 210 and a seat back 220. The occupant protection device includes: a collision sign detection device 20; upper body inclination means 50 which inclines an upper body UB in a rear inclination direction according to detection of a sign of a collision; a thigh part restraining means which deploys a first airbag B1 for restraining a thigh part F to the seat surface; and an upper body restraining means which deploys a second airbag B2 for allowing a rising behavior of the upper body of the occupant and restraining relative forward movement of the upper body with respect to a vehicle body when the rising behavior occurs.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

COPYRIGHT: (C)2022,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device that protects an occupant and suppresses injury in the event of a vehicle collision.

In vehicles such as automobiles, it is known to use occupant restraint devices such as seat belts and various airbags in order to restrain occupants in the event of a collision and suppress injuries.
For example, a frontal collision airbag that deploys from the steering wheel, instrument panel, etc. to the front side of the occupant, a knee protection airbag (knee bag) that deploys from the lower part of the steering column, and a side collision that deploys from the seat side to the occupant side. Various airbag devices such as airbags and curtain airbags that deploy along the side door glass are widespread.
In addition, a seatbelt pretensioner that pulls in the seatbelt in the event of a collision to increase the binding force is also widely used.

It has also been proposed to use the behavior of the seat back to suppress occupant injuries in the event of a collision.
For example, in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent a seated person from being pinched between the steering wheel or the like and the seat back in the event of a frontal collision, the reclining adjuster is automatically set when an impact load exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the vehicle. The vehicle seat to be released is described in.
Further, in Patent Document 2, when the sensor detects an impact at the time of a frontal collision and activates the control means, the backrest portion can rotate only in the backward tilting direction, and the bulge of the air bag and the driver side such as the steering wheel can be reached. A shock absorbing sheet is described in which the backrest portion, together with the upper body and the head, is tilted backward only when approaching.

Jitsukaihei No. 7-5897 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-280805

In the existing occupant protection device (occupant restraint device) that starts the expansion and expansion of the airbag after detecting the impact of the collision by the acceleration sensor mounted on the vehicle body, for example, the maximum restraint in a short time of 20 msec or less. It is necessary to expand and expand the airbag so that it exerts its power.
However, when the airbag is expanded and expanded rapidly and at high speed, there is a concern that a sudden increase in the binding force may induce a pressure injury to the occupant.
Further, all of the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 suppress the pressure on the occupant by reclining the seat back against the expansion and expansion of the airbag due to the collision and the retreat of the steering wheel and the like. However, since the seat back operates in response to the pressure applied to the occupant, it is inevitable that the occupant will be burdened to some extent.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an occupant protection device for suppressing an occupant's injury.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems by the following solution means.
The invention according to claim 1 is a occupant protection device that protects an occupant seated on a seat having a seat surface that holds the thighs and buttocks of the occupant and a seat back that holds the upper body of the occupant. A collision precursor detection device that detects the precursor of a collision, an upper body tilting means that tilts the upper body in the backward tilting direction in response to the detection of the precursor of the collision, and the thigh portion in response to the detection of the precursor of the collision. The thigh restraining means for deploying the first air bag that restrains the seat surface, and the rising behavior of the upper body of the occupant are allowed in response to the detection of the collision, and the rising behavior occurs. The occupant protection device is provided with an upper body restraining means for deploying a second air bag that restrains the relative forward movement of the upper body with respect to the vehicle body.
According to this, the upper body of the occupant is tilted backward prior to the collision, so that the upper body of the occupant rises due to the inertial force at the time of the collision and rotates in the forward tilting direction. At this time, the energy when the occupant's upper body rises against the gravitational acceleration contributes to the energy absorption, so that the energy absorption performance can be enhanced without causing local damage to the occupant's body.
In addition, by restraining the thighs of the occupants to the seating surface of the seat, it is possible to suppress the movement of the thighs and hips with respect to the seat and stably generate the rising behavior of the upper body, thereby ensuring the occupants. And it can be properly protected.

The occupant according to claim 1, wherein the occupant according to claim 1 is provided with a thigh tilting means for tilting the thigh in a direction in which the buttocks side rises in response to the detection of a precursor of the collision. It is a protective device.
According to this, the angle between the occupant's upper body and the thigh is reduced, and the spine is aligned with the input direction of the energy input from the leg as the axial force, so that the injury due to the input from the leg is caused. It is possible to prevent deterioration.

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an occupant protection device that suppresses an occupant injury.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 1st Embodiment of the occupant protection device to which this invention is applied. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which looked at the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle which has the occupant protection device of 1st Embodiment from the side, and shows the normal state. It is a timing chart which shows the operation at the time of a collision of the occupant protection device of 1st Embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which looked at the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle which has the occupant protection device of 1st Embodiment from the side, and is the figure which shows the state immediately after the pre-crash determination is established. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which looked at the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle which has the occupant protection device of 1st Embodiment from the side, and is the figure which shows the state just before a collision. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which looked at the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle which has the occupant protection device of 1st Embodiment from the side, and is the figure which shows the state immediately after a collision. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state which the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle which has the occupant protection device of 1st Embodiment is seen from the side, and is the figure which shows the state which the occupant restraint is completed after a collision. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state just before a collision in the vehicle which has the 2nd Embodiment of the occupant protection device to which this invention is applied.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the occupant protection device to which the present invention is applied will be described.
The occupant protection device of the first embodiment protects an occupant seated in the front seat (driver's seat or passenger seat) of an automobile such as a passenger car, for example.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the occupant protection device of the first embodiment.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the front part of the passenger compartment of the vehicle having the occupant protection device of the first embodiment is viewed from the side, and shows a normal state (a state in which a collision or a precursor thereof is not detected). Is.
In FIG. 2, the left side shows the front side of the vehicle. (Same in FIGS. 4 to 7)

As shown in FIG. 1, the occupant protection device includes a stereo camera device 10, an environment recognition unit 20, an occupant protection device control unit 30, a first inflator 41, a second inflator 42, a third inflator 43, and a seat back tilting device 50. It has a seat tilting device 60, a seatbelt pretensioner 70, and the like.

The stereo camera device 10 includes a camera LH11, a camera RH12, a stereo image processing unit 13, and the like.
The stereo camera device 10 functions as a collision precursor detection device according to the present invention in cooperation with the environment recognition unit 20.
The camera LH11 and the camera RH12 are image pickup devices having an optical system such as a lens group, a solid-state image pickup element such as CMOS, a drive device thereof, an image processing engine, an input / output interface, and the like.
The camera LH11 and the camera RH12 are attached toward the front of the vehicle in a state of being separated from each other in the left-right direction.
The camera LH11 and the camera RH12 are suspended from the front end of the roof 130 into the vehicle interior, and are adapted to capture an image of the front of the vehicle through the windshield 140, for example.
The data related to the images captured by the cameras LH11 and the camera RH12 are sequentially provided to the stereo image processing unit 13.

The stereo image processing unit 13 performs known stereo image processing on the image data sequentially transmitted from the camera LH11 and the camera RH12, recognizes a subject existing in front of the own vehicle, and recognizes the recognized subject relative to the own vehicle. Is detected by using the pixel position on the image, the parallax between the camera LH11 and the camera RH12, and the like.
Further, the stereo image processing unit 13 can determine the type and attribute of the recognized subject by the known image processing and image recognition technology.

The stereo image processing unit 13 corresponds to a subject such as another vehicle, a pedestrian, a bicycle, a building, a guardrail, a curb, an electric pole, a sign, a traffic light, or the like from the images captured by the camera LH11 and the camera RH12. It is possible to extract a group of pixels and calculate the relative position of each subject with respect to the own vehicle in substantially real time.
Further, the stereo image processing unit 13 can calculate the relative speed of each subject with respect to the own vehicle based on the history of the relative position of each subject.

The environment recognition unit 20 recognizes the environment in front of the own vehicle by using the object detection result in front of the own vehicle by the stereo image processing unit 13.
Among other vehicles, buildings, etc. recognized by the stereo image processing unit 13, the environment recognition unit 20 recognizes a risk object having a high possibility of colliding with the own vehicle from the relative position, the relative speed, and the like with respect to the own vehicle.

When the environment recognition unit 20 determines that a collision between the risk object and the own vehicle is unavoidable based on the relative position of the risk object with respect to the own vehicle, the relative speed (approach speed), etc. (when the pre-crash determination is established). ), The information about the risk object is transmitted to the occupant protection device control unit 30.
Here, examples of the information regarding the risk object include the type of the risk object, the predicted collision location, the input direction of the collision energy, the expected time until the collision, the expected relative velocity at the time of the collision, and the like.

The occupant protection device control unit 30 includes each airbag inflator 41 to 43, a seat back tilting device 50, a seat surface tilting device 60, and the like, depending on the precursor of a frontal collision with a risk object (other vehicle, etc.) of the own vehicle. It issues commands to the seatbelt pretensioner drive device 70 and controls them.
An acceleration sensor 31 is connected to the occupant protection device control unit 30.
The accelerometer 31 has, for example, an acceleration pickup that detects anteroposterior acceleration in the front part of the vehicle body (for example, inside the bumper face).
The acceleration sensor 31 functions as a means for detecting that the own vehicle actually collides with a risk object such as another vehicle.
The functions and operations of the occupant protection device control unit 30 will be described in detail later.

The first inflator 41, the second inflator 42, and the third inflator 43 generate high-temperature and high-pressure deploying gas using, for example, explosives, and the thigh restraint airbag B1 (see FIGS. 4 to 7 and the like) and the upper body. It is introduced into the restraint airbag B2 (see FIGS. 6 and 7 and the like) to expand and expand them.
The deploying gas generated by the first inflator 41 and the second inflator 42 is introduced into the thigh restraint airbag B1.
The deploying gas generated by the third inflator 43 is introduced into the upper body restraint airbag B2.
The first inflator 41, the second inflator 42, and the third inflator 43 start the generation of the deploying gas in response to the gas generation command signal from the occupant protection device control unit 30.

In response to the backward tilt command signal from the occupant protection device control unit 30, the seat back tilting device 50 retracts the seat back 220 of the seat 200 with respect to the lower end portion with respect to the state during normal traveling. It rotates (tilts backward) in the direction.
The seat back tilting device 50 functions as an upper body tilting means for tilting the upper body UB of the occupant P in the backward tilting direction.
The seat back tilting device 50 includes an electric or explosive type actuator that drives the seat back 220 in the backward tilting direction.

The seat surface tilting device 60 lowers the seat surface 210 of the seat 200 with respect to the rear end portion in response to the tilt command signal from the occupant protection device control unit 30. It is tilted in the direction (forward tilt).
The seat tilting device 60 functions as a thigh tilting means for tilting the thigh F of the occupant P in a direction in which the buttocks side is raised (the knee side is lowered).
The seat surface tilting device 60 includes an electric or explosive type actuator that drops or breaks a support member such as a pin that supports the front end portion of the seat surface 210 to invalidate the support member.
By disabling the support member, the seat surface 210 is tilted in the forward tilting direction due to its own weight and the load from the occupant P.

The seatbelt pretensioner 70 pulls in the seatbelt 230 in response to a pull-in command signal from the occupant protection device control unit 30.
The seatbelt pretensioner 70 winds up and pulls in the webbing of the seatbelt 230 by, for example, an electric actuator or an actuator using the pressure of the gas generated by the explosive, and enhances the occupant binding force by the seatbelt 230.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle interior 100 includes a floor 110, a toe board 120, a roof 130, a windshield 140, an instrument panel 150, and the like.
The floor 110 is a portion constituting the floor surface portion of the vehicle interior.
The floor 110 is arranged substantially horizontally along the lower part of the vehicle interior 100.

The toe board 120 is a portion constituting the front surface portion in the lower portion of the vehicle interior 100.
The toe board 120 is formed so as to rise upward from the front end portion of the floor 110.
The toe board 120 functions as a partition wall between the vehicle interior 100 and the engine room (not shown).

The roof 130 is a portion constituting the ceiling portion of the vehicle interior 100.
The roof 130 is arranged substantially horizontally along the upper part of the passenger compartment 100.

The windshield 140 is provided in front of the upper body UB of the occupant P in the front part of the passenger compartment 100.
The windshield 140 is arranged so as to be tilted backward so that the upper end portion is on the rear side with respect to the lower end portion.
The upper end of the windshield 140 is attached to the front end of the roof 130.
The lower end of the windshield 140 is attached to a cowl (not shown) in the vicinity of the upper end of the instrument panel 150.

The instrument panel 150 is an interior member provided with, for example, instruments, an air conditioner, a navigation device, a glove box, and the like.
The instrument panel 150 is formed so as to project from the upper part of the toe board 120 to the rear side (occupant P side).
The instrument panel 150 is provided with an accommodation portion (not shown) in which the thigh restraint airbag B1, the upper body restraint airbag B2, and the first to third inflators 41 to 43 are accommodated, respectively.

In the passenger compartment 100, a seat 200 on which a front seat occupant is seated is provided.
The seat 200 is fixed to the upper part of the floor 100 in a state where the position can be adjusted in the front-rear direction via a seat rail (not shown).
The seat 200 has a seat surface 210 and a seat back 220, and is provided with a seat belt 230.
The seat surface 210 and the seat back 220 are configured by providing a cushion portion made of a spring, urethane foam, or the like on a frame formed in a metal frame shape, and covering the seat surface 210 and the seat back 220 with a skin such as cloth or leather.

The seat surface 210 is a substantially flat plate-like portion on which the thigh portion F to the buttocks portion of the occupant P is placed.
The upper surface portion of the seat surface 210 in contact with the occupant P is normally slightly inclined along the horizontal direction and slightly inclined so that the front end portion side is higher than the rear end portion side.

The seat back 220 is a backrest that holds the back of the upper body UB of the occupant P.
The seat back 220 is raised upward from the vicinity of the rear end portion of the seat surface 210.
The front portion of the seat back 220 in contact with the occupant P is slightly tilted backward so that the upper end portion is on the rear side of the vehicle with respect to the lower end portion.

The seat belt 230 restrains the occupant P by a webbing made of cloth.
The seat 200 is provided with a buckle, a retractor, etc. of the seat belt 230 (not shown), and the restraining function of the seat belt 230 is established only by the seat 200 configured as a so-called integral seat.
The seatbelt 230 has a shoulder belt portion that is hung on the front portion (chest) of the upper body UB of the occupant P and a wrap belt portion that is laid across the waist portion of the occupant P in the left-right direction.

Next, the function and operation at the time of a collision in the occupant protection device of the first embodiment will be described in more detail.
FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the operation of the occupant protection device of the first embodiment at the time of a collision.
Hereinafter, the explanation will be given in chronological order.

First, based on the recognition result in the environment recognition unit 20, there is a risk object (for example, another vehicle) in which the risk possibility leading to a frontal collision is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value and the collision is considered to be practically inevitable. In that case, the pre-crash determination is established.

When the pre-crash determination is established, the occupant protection device control unit 30 first gives a gas generation command signal to the first inflator 41 to start preliminary expansion and expansion of the thigh restraint airbag B1.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a state in which the front portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle having the occupant protection device of the first embodiment is viewed from the side, and is a diagram showing a state immediately after the pre-crash determination is established.
The thigh restraint airbag B1 is an airbag that expands and expands from the rear end of the instrument panel 150 to the rear side (occupant P side) and downward side of the vehicle.
The lower surface of the thigh restraint airbag B1 abuts on the upper surface (front surface) of the thigh F of the occupant P and presses it downward (seat surface 210 side) to reserve the thigh F. Restrain.
The restraining force at this time is set so as to be weak against the main restraint, which will be described later, so that when the occupant P is a driver, a driving operation (brake operation or the like) for avoiding a collision can be performed.
Such setting of the binding force can be realized by making the pressure of the developing gas generated by the first inflator 41 relatively smaller than the pressure of the developing gas generated by the second inflator 42.

Further, according to the establishment of the pre-crash determination, the occupant protection device control unit 30 gives an inclination command signal to the seat surface tilting device 60 and tilts the seat surface 210 in the forward tilting direction.
As a result, the thigh portion F of the occupant P is inclined (rotated) in the direction in which the knee portion side is lowered and the buttock portion side is raised.

Next, the occupant protection device control unit 30 gives a first backward tilt command signal to the seat back tilt device 50, and tilts the seat back 220 backward to a predetermined first tilt angle.
The first inclination angle is set to such an extent that steering operation for collision avoidance is possible when the occupant P is a driver.
When the pre-crash determination is established, but the actual collision is avoided by the subsequent avoidance operation or the like, the thigh restraint airbag B1 is retracted into the instrument panel 150, and the seat surface 210 and the seat are seated. The back 220 may also be returned to the initial state.

Then, immediately before the collision (for example, after less than 10 msec until the scheduled collision time), the occupant protection device control unit 30 gives a second backward tilt command to the seat back tilt device 50, and sets the seat back 220 to a predetermined second position. Tilt backward to the tilt angle of 2.
FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a state in which the front portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle having the occupant protection device of the first embodiment is viewed from the side, and is a diagram showing the state immediately before the collision.
As shown in FIG. 5, the second tilt angle is set larger than the first tilt angle.
The second tilt angle is set in consideration of the fact that the upper body UB surely rises (rotates in the forward tilt direction around the lumbar region) due to the longitudinal acceleration acting on the occupant P due to the collision.

The above series of processes are performed before an actual collision occurs, based on the establishment of the pre-crash determination.
When the acceleration sensor 31 detects an impact due to a collision, the occupant protection device control unit 30 gives a gas generation command signal to the second inflator 42, and the thigh restraint air expanded and expanded in the preliminary restraint state by the first inflator 41. A higher pressure deploying gas is introduced into the bag B1.
As a result, the restraining force of the thigh F by the thigh restraint airbag B1 is strengthened, and when the upper body UB of the occupant P rises up and behaves due to the acceleration due to the collision, the thigh is strong enough not to lift the waist. It is in the main restraint state that restrains the part F.

After that, the occupant protection device control unit 30 gives a pull-in command signal to the seatbelt pretensioner 70, causes the seatbelt pretensioner 70 to start pulling in the seatbelt 230, and strengthens the binding force by the seatbelt 230.
Next, the occupant protection device control unit 30 gives a gas generation command signal to the third inflator 43 to start the expansion and expansion of the upper body restraint airbag B2.
FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a state in which the front portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle having the occupant protection device of the first embodiment is viewed from the side, and is a diagram showing the state immediately after the collision.
The upper body restraint airbag B2 expands and expands from the rear end of the instrument panel 150 to the rear side (occupant P side) and the upper side of the vehicle.
In the state shown in FIG. 6, the upper body restraint airbag B2 is in the state of being inflated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the upper body UB of the occupant P exhibits a behavior of rotating around the lumbar region in the forward rotation direction and rising in response to the generation of acceleration due to the collision.
At this time, the energy required for the rising behavior of the upper body UB (upper body UB against the gravitational acceleration)
Since a part of the inertial force acting on the occupant P due to the collision is used as the energy), the energy absorption (EA) that absorbs a part of the energy received by the occupant P due to the collision due to such a rising behavior. The effect is obtained.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a state in which the front portion of the passenger compartment of the vehicle having the occupant protection device of the first embodiment is viewed from the side, and is a diagram showing a state in which the occupant restraint is completed after the collision.
Finally, the head H and the upper body UB of the occupant P are restrained by the upper body restraint airbag B2 that has completed the expansion and expansion, and are fixed so as not to be excessively advanced with respect to the vehicle body.

According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Prior to the collision, the thigh F of the occupant P is restrained by the seat surface 210 of the seat 200, and the upper body UB is tilted backward. The UB rises and rotates in the forward tilting direction. At this time, the energy when the upper body UB of the occupant P rises against the gravitational acceleration contributes to the energy absorption, so that the energy absorption performance can be enhanced without causing local damage to the body of the occupant P. ..
(2) The angle between the upper body UB of the occupant P and the thigh F is determined by inclining the thigh F in the direction in which the buttocks side rises (the direction in which the knee side lowers) in response to the detection of the precursor of a collision. By making the size smaller and keeping the spine along the input direction of the energy input from the legs as the axial force, it is possible to prevent the aggravation of the injury due to the input from the legs.
(3) By providing the upper body restraint airbag B2 that restrains the upper body UB after the upper body UB of the occupant P has risen, even if the upper body UB of the occupant P has completely risen, the energy cannot be completely absorbed and the upper body UB is raised. Even when the body UB tries to move further forward with respect to the vehicle body, the injury of the occupant P can be suppressed by restraining the upper body UB by the upper body restraint airbag B2.
(4) From the establishment of the pre-crash judgment to the occurrence of the collision, the restraint of the thigh F by the thigh restraint airbag B1 is limited to the preliminary restraint by a relatively weak force to avoid the collision. It is possible to enable the driving operation for the purpose.
On the other hand, after the collision actually occurs, the above-mentioned impact absorption effect can be surely obtained by increasing the binding force of the thigh portion F.
(5) From the establishment of the pre-crash judgment to just before the occurrence of a collision, the steering operation for avoiding a collision can be performed by keeping the inclination of the upper body UB to a relatively gentle preliminary inclination. can.
On the other hand, immediately after the occurrence of the collision, the above-mentioned impact absorption effect can be surely obtained by increasing the inclination of the upper body UB.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the occupant protection device to which the present invention is applied will be described.
In the second embodiment, the parts substantially in common with the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, the description thereof will be omitted, and the differences will be mainly described.
FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a state immediately before a collision in a vehicle having a second embodiment of a occupant protection device to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 8A is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the own vehicle and another vehicle colliding with the own vehicle.
FIG. 8B is a schematic view showing the left-right inclination of the occupant when the own vehicle is viewed from the front (cross-sectional view taken along the line bb of FIG. 8A).

In the second embodiment, the seat left-right tilting device 80 for tilting the seat 200 in the left-right direction (around the axis along the vehicle front-rear direction) is provided.
The seat left-right tilting device 80 has a function of tilting the seat 200 in the left-right direction by, for example, an electric actuator.
The seat left-right tilting device 80 functions as the occupant tilting means according to the present invention.
The occupant protection device control unit 30 tilts the seat 200 to the side where the impact in the left-right direction is input to the seat left-right tilt device 80 according to the input direction of the impact due to the collision with the own vehicle V1.

For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8A, another vehicle V2 collides with the own vehicle V1 from diagonally forward to the right.
In this case, the occupant protection device control unit 30 tilts the seat 200 in a direction in which the head H of the occupant P is displaced to the right with respect to the buttocks, as shown in FIG. 8 (b).
The inclination angle of the seat 200 at this time is set so as to increase in accordance with the increase in the angle θ formed by the traveling direction of the other vehicle V2 with respect to the front-rear direction of the own vehicle V1.
Such an input direction can be obtained by detecting the relative speed (vector) of the other vehicle V2 with respect to the own vehicle by the stereo camera device 10 and the environment recognition unit 20.
The stereo camera device 10 and the environment recognition unit 20 function as input direction detecting means according to the present invention.

Further, the thigh restraint airbag B1 is independently provided on the left and right thighs (B1L and B1R in FIG. 8B).
The left and right thigh restraint airbags B1L and B1R are large even when the heights of the left and right thighs F are different due to the seat left and right tilting device 80 tilting the seat 200 in the left and right direction. By making the internal pressures of the thigh restraint airbags B1L and B1R different, it is possible to give substantially the same restraining force to the left and right thigh portions F.
For example, the inflator of each airbag can be controlled so that the internal pressure of the thigh restraint airbags B1L and B1R on the side whose height is lowered due to the inclination is higher than that of the other.
Such left and right independent thigh restraint airbags B1L and B1R function as a restraining force balancing means for suppressing variation in the binding force of the left and right thighs.

According to the second embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects substantially the same as the effects of the first embodiment described above.
(1) By tilting the seat 200 in the left-right direction together with the occupant P according to the input direction of the impact due to the collision, the upper body of the occupant is placed on the waist even when the energy due to the collision is input from the diagonally front side. On the other hand, it is possible to prevent the vehicle from falling in the shoulder width direction and appropriately obtain the above-mentioned effect.
(2) Left and right independent thigh restraint airbags B1L and B1R restrain the left and right thighs with substantially equal restraining force even when the occupant P is tilted, thereby restraining the thigh F. It can be properly restrained and the above-mentioned effects can be ensured.

(Modification example)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes can be made, and these are also within the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The configuration of each part constituting the occupant protection device is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed.
For example, in the embodiment, the precursor of a collision is detected by a stereo camera device 10 or the like, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various sensors such as a millimeter wave radar, a laser radar, a monocular camera, and a road are used as a means for detecting the precursor of a collision. Information obtained by vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, or the like may be used.
(2) In the embodiment, the upper body restraint airbag B2 is expanded and expanded after the acceleration sensor 31 detects an impact due to an actual collision, but the upper body restraint airbag B2 is also a thigh restraint airbag. Similar to B1, it may be expanded and expanded according to the detection of a sign of collision (establishment of pre-crash determination).
Further, in the embodiment, the seatbelt pretensioner 7 that is operated after the actual collision occurs.
0 may be activated according to the establishment of the pre-crash determination.
(3) In the embodiment, the thigh portion F is tilted in the direction in which the buttocks side is raised by lowering the front end portion of the seat surface of the seat, but instead of such a configuration or such a configuration. At the same time, the rear end portion of the seat surface may be raised.
Further, instead of inclining the seat surface itself, or together with the inclination of the seat surface itself, for example, the airbag built in the seat is expanded and expanded under the region on the rear side of the thigh portion F to expand and expand the thigh portion. F may be tilted.
(4) The inclination angle at which the upper body UB of the occupant P is tilted forward, the inclination angle at which the thigh F is tilted backward, the binding force of each airbag B1, 2 and the like are optimal according to the physique, weight, etc. of the occupant P. It can be changed as appropriate so that it can be changed.
The physique of the occupant P is, for example, the front-rear position of the seat 200, the output of the load sensor provided on the seat 200 (the weight of the occupant), the recognition result of the occupant monitoring system having an image pickup device such as a camera, and the seat belt in normal times. It can be estimated from the withdrawal amount of 230 and the like.
(5) The occupant protection device of the embodiment is mounted on an automobile such as a passenger car, but the present invention can be applied to vehicles other than automobiles.
(6) In the embodiment, the inclination angle of the upper body is increased immediately before the actual collision, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the inclination angle of the upper body may be increased after the collision occurs. Further, in the embodiment, the restraint of the lower body is strengthened after the collision occurs, but the restraint of the lower body may be strengthened immediately before the collision.
(7) In the embodiment, the thigh restraint airbag B1 and the upper body restraint airbag B2 are deployed from the instrument panel 150, but the present invention is not limited to this, and each airbag is deployed from another location. May be good.
For example, when the occupant protection device is provided in the driver's seat, the thigh restraint airbag may be deployed from below the steering column, and the upper body restraint airbag may be deployed from the steering wheel.
Further, the upper body restraint airbag may be expanded and expanded downward from the roof.
Further, an airbag other than the thigh restraint airbag and the upper body restraint airbag may be provided.
(8) In the second embodiment, the left and right independent thigh restraint airbags are used to evenly restrain the left and right thighs when the occupant is tilted, but the binding force of the left and right thighs varies. The binding force balancing means for suppressing the above is not limited to this, and other methods may be used to balance the binding force.

10 Stereo camera device 11 Camera LH 12 Camera RH
13 Stereo image processing unit 20 Environment recognition unit 30 Crew protection device Control unit 31 Acceleration sensor 41 First inflator 42 Second inflator 43 Third inflator 50 Seat back tilting device 60 Seat belt tilting device 70 Seat belt pretensioner 80 Seat left and right tilting device B1 Thigh Restraint Airbag B2 Upper Body Restraint Airbag 100 Vehicle Room 110 Floor 120 Toeboard 130 Roof 140 Windshield 150 Instrument Panel 200 Seat 210 Seat 210 Seat Back 230 Seat Belt P Crew H Head UB Upper Body F Large Thigh V1 own vehicle V2 other vehicle

Claims (2)

A occupant protection device that protects an occupant seated on a seat having a seat surface that holds the thighs and buttocks of the occupant and a seat back that holds the upper body of the occupant.
A collision precursor detection device that detects collision precursors, and
The upper body tilting means for tilting the upper body in the backward tilting direction in response to the detection of the precursor of the collision, and the upper body tilting means.
A thigh restraining means for deploying a first airbag that restrains the thigh to the seat surface in response to the detection of a precursor of the collision.
The upper body restraint that allows the occupant to raise the upper body in response to the detection of the collision and deploys a second airbag that restrains the relative forward movement of the upper body with respect to the vehicle body when the rising behavior occurs. An occupant protection device characterized by providing means. The occupant protection device according to claim 1, further comprising a thigh tilting means for tilting the thigh in a direction in which the buttocks side rises in response to detection of a precursor of a collision.

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