JP2588886Y2 - Shock detector - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an impact detection device for detecting an impact due to a collision or the like in order to operate an airbag device or the like at the time of a collision or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It has been considered to operate an airbag device even in the case of a collision from the side of a vehicle.

For this purpose, an impact detecting device which detects an impact due to a side collision and outputs a detection signal to the airbag device is required.

[0004] As an impact detecting device, a membrane switch and a pressure receiving plate located outside of the vehicle in the lateral direction of the vehicle are provided in the door of the vehicle, facing the membrane switch.
When another vehicle collides with the door from the lateral direction, the pressure receiving plate is pressed and elastically deforms inward in the lateral direction of the vehicle,
It is conceivable that the membrane switch is operated by being pressed by this elastic deformation.

[0005]

By the way, in such an impact detecting device, when a vehicle collides with a door,
The part of the vehicle body that first contacts the door is usually a bumper part. The height of the bumper differs depending on the type of vehicle, and is, for example, low for a sports car and high for a truck, a bus and the like.

Therefore, an impact load acts on the pressure receiving plate of the impact detecting device not only from the side, but also obliquely upward or obliquely downward.

Therefore, in order to cope with various vehicles having different bumper height positions, the shock detecting device is allowed to operate in a wide range in the direction of the impact load applied to the shock detecting device in its operation. Good.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and has as its object to provide an impact detection device that allows an impact load to act in a wide range in operation.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a base member and a base member provided on the base member are separated from the base member over the entire dimension in one direction, and are pressed when pressed. Tomo When elastically deformed in proximity to the base member
In addition, a protrusion protruding in the one direction is provided at an end of the one direction.
Is formed, and a switch member is disposed between the pressure receiving member and the base member, is disposed on the base member along the one direction, and is operated by being pressed by elastic deformation of the pressure receiving member. The present invention proposes an impact detection device characterized by the following.

[0010]

According to the shock detecting device of the present invention, even if the pressure receiving member is pressed at any position over the entire dimension in one direction, elastic deformation close to the base member can be obtained. A protrusion is formed at one end in one direction so that an impact load is applied from an oblique direction between the one direction and a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the pressure receiving member approaches and separates from the base member. However, the impact load from the oblique direction is received by one end of the pressure receiving member, and at the one end of the pressure receiving member,
Even if the direction of impact load acting on the pressure receiving member is the above-described oblique direction, the impact load acts on the pressure receiving member in the same direction as the case where the impact load acts on the pressure receiving member. Can be caused to undergo a predetermined elastic deformation.

As described above, even if the action direction of the impact load is different, the switch member operates with the same magnitude of the impact load.

Therefore, the operating direction of the impact load is allowed over a wide range to operate the impact detection device.

[0013]

1 shows an impact detecting device according to one embodiment of the present invention.
6 through FIG. In each figure, the arrow FR
Is forward of the vehicle, arrow OUT is laterally outward of the vehicle, and arrow U is
P indicates the upper part of the vehicle, respectively.

First, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a side impact beam 14 is provided in a door 12 of a vehicle. The side impact beam 14 is formed in a long tubular shape having a longitudinal direction in the vehicle longitudinal direction, extends over the dimension of the door 12 in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the door is reinforced against a collision from the vehicle lateral direction. I have.

A secondary sensor 16 is provided outside the side impact beam 14 in the vehicle lateral direction. In the secondary sensor 16, as shown in FIG.
Is fixed to the peripheral surface of the side impact beam 14, a concave portion 20 is formed on the substrate 18 outward in the vehicle lateral direction, a membrane switch 22 is fixed to the bottom of the concave portion 20, and the concave portion 20 is It is closed at 24. Substrate 1
8, recess 20, membrane switch 22, lid plate 24,
Each of the secondary sensors 16 extends over the length of the side impact beam 14 in the vehicle front-rear direction, and the overall appearance of the secondary sensor 16 is formed in a long plate shape having a vehicle front-rear direction as a longitudinal direction and a vehicle vertical direction as a width direction. .

According to the secondary sensor 16, the cover plate 24
When an impact load is applied to the vehicle from the outside in the lateral direction of the vehicle, the lid plate 24 is pressed inward in the lateral direction of the vehicle and the shape of the concave portion 20 is crushed, and the membrane switch 22 in the concave portion 20 is pressed by the lid plate 24. Operate. Membrane switch 22
When pressed, the occupant protection device (not shown) is connected to the membrane switch 22 and connected to the front end of the vehicle at the front end of the vehicle via a terminal piece 26 formed in an L-shape.
For example, an electric signal is output to the airbag device side.

The secondary sensor 16 is set to operate under a high load, and is operable at any position along the vehicle front-rear direction even if it receives an impact load.

As shown in FIG. 3, the secondary sensor 16 is provided with a plurality of primary sensors 28 (3 in FIG. 3) constituting the impact detecting device according to the present embodiment at predetermined intervals in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Are shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1, 4, 5 and 6, the primary sensor 28 constitutes a switch member between a lower plate 30 constituting a base member and an upper plate 32 constituting a pressure receiving member. Membrane switch 34
Are arranged and configured. The lower plate 30 is formed by bending a vertical back piece 36 and a pair of horizontal opposed pieces 38 into a U-shape, and the back piece 36 comes into surface contact with the vehicle laterally outer surface of the secondary sensor 16, and the two opposed pieces are formed. Reference numeral 38 holds the vehicle vertical end of the secondary sensor 16. The outer surface of the bent portion 40 of the back piece 36 and the opposing piece 38 is chamfered in an arc shape (FIG. 4), and the tip of each opposing piece 38 is divided and formed by two foot pieces 42 separated in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Have been. Each foot piece 42 is formed to be bent inwardly in an inward shape, and is elastically engaged with both ends of the secondary sensor 16 in the vehicle vertical direction,
The primary sensor 28 is detachable from the secondary sensor 16. Thus, the primary sensor 28 can be mounted at any position along the vehicle front-rear direction with respect to the secondary sensor 16, and the mounting interval and the number of the primary sensors can be easily changed.

As shown in FIG. 5, the upper plate 32
Is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the vehicle lateral direction, and is arranged on the outer surface of the back plate 36 of the lower plate 30 in the vehicle lateral direction, with a small portion of the periphery of the back plate 36 left. A pressure receiving portion 44 is formed at the center of the upper plate 32 in the vehicle front-rear direction. The pressure receiving portion 44 is swelled outward in the vehicle lateral direction so as to be separated from the lower plate 30 over the entire dimension (entire area) in the vehicle vertical direction as one direction, and a gentle circle around the vehicle vertical direction line. It is curved in an arc (FIG. 6). A rear end portion of the upper plate 32 is fixed to the back piece 36 by spot welding via a pressure receiving portion 44. The fixed portion 32A is fixed to the back piece 36 by a spot welding. The contactable free portion 32B is provided. When an impact load is applied to the pressure receiving portion 44 of the upper plate 32 from outside in the lateral direction of the vehicle, the vehicle front end of the upper plate 32 slides against the back piece 36 in front of the vehicle, and the pressure receiving portion 44 expands its curved shape. Is elastically deformed close to the back piece 36 (shown by a chain line in FIG. 6). When the impact load is removed, the front end portion of the upper plate 32 slides against the back piece 36 to the rear of the vehicle and returns to the original position by the elastic restoring force.
Is returned and deformed in the original shape direction.

Further, at both ends in the vehicle vertical direction of the pressure receiving portion 44, concave portions 46 are cut out on both sides in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and convex portions 48 obtained between the concave portions 46 project vertically. The protruding tip of the projection 48 extends to a position that does not reach the upper and lower ends of the lower plate 30 by a distance L1 (FIG. 5).

The membrane switch 34 is attached to the lower plate 30, and is formed in a long plate shape as shown in FIG.
And is inserted between the upper plate 32 and the lower plate 36. The upper and lower ends of the membrane switch 34 are opposed to the pressure receiving portion 44, and the lower plate 30
, And extend vertically upward and downward, respectively.
A total of four claw pieces 50 are erected in an L-shape on the lower plate 30 on the front and rear sides of the vehicle via the respective protrusions 48,
Both ends in the vehicle front-rear direction of the membrane switch 34 corresponding to the respective claw pieces 50 are sandwiched by the claw pieces 50, and the membrane switch 34 is mounted. The claw piece 50 is located at a position corresponding to the recess 46 when viewed from the outside in the lateral direction of the vehicle. According to this, even when the size of the claw piece 50 in the direction facing the pressure receiving section 44 is large, the pressure receiving section 44 is When the elastic member is elastically deformed, the pressure receiving portion 44 does not abut on the claw pieces 50 and the claw pieces 50 do not hinder the elastic deformation of the pressure receiving portion 44. Of course, when the pressure receiving portion 44 reaches the amount of elastic deformation required for the operation of the membrane switch 34 and the dimensions of the respective portions are set so that the pressure receiving portion 44 does not contact the claw pieces 50, the concave portion 46 is formed. No need.

Further, according to the concave portion 46, even after the upper plate 32 is attached to the lower plate 30 (particularly, when the upper plate 32 is fixed to the lower plate 30 by welding), the membrane by the claw pieces 50 from the concave portion 46. The switch 34 can be clamped, and the operation of attaching the membrane switch 34 becomes easy.

Although not shown, the membrane switch 34 has a pair of phosphor bronze electrodes spaced apart in the lateral direction of the vehicle via an insulator made of synthetic resin.
These are accommodated in an insulating casing made of synthetic resin such as polyester, and an actuator 52 is fixed to an outer surface of the casing in the vehicle lateral direction. The actuator 52 is formed in a square rod shape having a longitudinal direction in the vehicle vertical direction, is disposed at a position facing the top of the curved portion 44, and the upper and lower ends of the actuator 52 are vertically outward from the tip of each convex portion 48. At a distance L2, and also from the upper and lower ends of the lower plate 30 vertically and outwardly by a distance L3.

When the upper plate 32 is elastically deformed, the actuator 52 is pressed inward in the lateral direction of the vehicle. As a result, the casing of the membrane switch 34 is compressed, the electrodes come into contact with each other, and an electric signal is output to the airbag device side via the terminal piece 54 extending in an L-shape from the upper end of the membrane switch 34 in the vehicle. Is done. When the upper plate 32 is returned and deformed and there is no pressing on the actuator 52, the electrodes, the insulator, and the casing constituting the membrane switch 32 including the actuator 52 are returned to the original shape, and the membrane switch 32 obtains the original shape again as a whole. .

The primary sensor 28 is set to operate under a low load. Further, if only one of the plurality of primary sensors 28 operates, the airbag device does not operate, and the primary sensor 28 does not operate. When a plurality of primary sensors 28 are activated, the airbag device is activated. Therefore, when only one primary sensor 28 is activated, the primary sensor 28 stops its operation when the load is removed, and prepares for a subsequent collision.

The secondary sensor 16 operates under a high load to operate the airbag device, while the primary sensor 28 operates under a low load, and a plurality of primary sensors 28 operate. If not activated, the airbag device will not be activated.
It corresponds to various impact forms. For example, when the impact load is distributed on the door 12, the impact load is not high enough to partially activate the secondary sensor 16, but it is necessary to operate the airbag device as a whole. When the load is applied, the airbag device is activated by activating a plurality of primary sensors 28.

Conversely, when the impact load is concentrated on the portion where the door 12 is located, if the impact load is a high load that needs to operate the airbag device, the primary sensor 28 is activated and deactivated. Regardless, secondary sensor 1
6 is operated to operate the airbag device.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When another vehicle collides with the door from the side of the vehicle, an impact load acts on the upper plate 32 via the outer plate of the door. The upper plate 32 is separated from the lower plate 30 over the entire vertical dimension of the vehicle, so that elastic deformation close to the lower plate 30 is obtained even when the pressure receiving portion 44 is pressed at any position in the vertical direction of the vehicle. . As shown in FIG. 4, for example, due to the difference in bumper height depending on the vehicle type,
An oblique direction between the vehicle lateral direction and the vehicle vertical direction (arrow A,
(Indicated by B), even if the impact load acts on the pressure receiving portion 44, the impact load from an oblique direction is received by the end portion of the pressure receiving portion 44 in the vehicle vertical direction. That is, the impact load from diagonally above (arrow A) is received by the upper end of the pressure receiving portion 44, and the impact load from diagonally below (arrow B) is received by the lower end of the pressure receiving portion 44. A convex portion 48 protrudes from an end of the pressure receiving portion 44 in the vehicle vertical direction.
At the end of the vehicle in the vertical direction, elastic deformation is possible to expand the curved shape, and even if the impact load acts in the above-mentioned oblique direction, the impact load is just beside (arrow C).
As in the case of acting on the curved portion 44 from the (horizontal direction indicated by), a predetermined elastic deformation can be caused in the pressure receiving portion 44.

As described above, even when the direction of application of the impact load to the pressure receiving portion 44 is different, the membrane switch 34 operates with the same magnitude of impact load. Experimentally, the direction of application of the impact load was approximately 45 ° up and down from the horizontal direction indicated by arrow C.
When the ratio is within the range, extremely good results were obtained.

Therefore, upon operation of the shock detection device,
The action direction of the impact load is allowed over a wide range.

When the actuator 52 is pressed by the upper and lower ends of the pressure receiving portion 44, even if the primary sensor 28 is bent at the bent portion 40 between the back piece 36 and the opposing piece 38 of the lower sensor 30, it is bent. Since the outer surface of the portion 40 is formed in an arc shape, the primary sensor 28 is bent along the arc shape to prevent the occurrence of plastic deformation that cannot return to the original shape. In particular, the membrane switch 34 is effective in that it is formed of a soft material.

Further, the actuator 52 is connected to the lower sensor 3.
0 protrudes upward and downward from the upper and lower ends.
The bending of the membrane switch 34 at the bending portion 40 between the counter piece 6 and the opposing piece 38 is suppressed.

In the above-described embodiment, since the actuator 52 of the membrane switch 34 extends outward in the vehicle vertical direction from the pressure receiving portion 44, the actuator 52 is elastically deformed at the vehicle lateral end of the pressure receiving portion 44. 52 is reliably pressed, and the membrane switch 22 is properly operated.

On the other hand, in the structure in which the actuator 52 of the membrane switch 34 extends outward in the vehicle vertical direction from the pressure receiving portion 44, the outer plate of the vehicle door 12 is very close to the upper and lower ends of the actuator 52. In such a case, with the deformation of the outer plate of the door 12 caused by the collision, the outer plate of the door 12 abuts on the upper and lower ends of the actuator 52, and the actuator 52 is pressed without being elastically deformed by the pressure receiving portion 44. Is also expected. In order to avoid such a situation, the actuator 52 (and thus the membrane switch 34 itself) should not extend outwardly in the vehicle vertical direction from the pressure receiving portion 44 as much as possible, or the upper and lower ends of the actuator 52 should be connected to the pressure receiving portion. It is preferable that the upper and lower ends of the actuator 52 coincide with the upper and lower ends of the pressure receiving portion 44, and the upper and lower ends of the actuator 52 enter the pressure receiving portion 44 inward in the vehicle vertical direction. Either of these structures does not reduce the operation and effect of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the impact detection device for activating the airbag device as the occupant protection device at the time of a side collision of the vehicle has been described. However, the impact detection device is not limited to the side collision of the vehicle. Further, the airbag device is not limited to the one mounted in the door provided with the impact detection device, but may be one for a driver's seat or a passenger seat. It may be used to activate other occupant protection devices such as a preloader that winds up the webbing in an emergency, or something other than the occupant protection device. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to a low-load type, and a single unit may be used without providing a plurality of units.

Further, in the above embodiment, when an impact load acts on the upper plate 32 from an oblique direction between the vehicle lateral direction and the vehicle vertical direction, the direction of the impact load can be handled in a wide range. However, the direction range of the operation direction is not limited to the range of the above embodiment.

Further, the shape of the upper plate 32 is not limited to a curved shape.

[0039]

As described above, according to the shock detecting device of the present invention, the direction of the impact load can be allowed to operate over a wide range to operate the shock detecting device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an impact detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the impact detection device according to the embodiment in a door of the vehicle, as viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the impact detection device according to the embodiment in a door of the vehicle, as viewed from above the vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a view of the impact detection device according to the embodiment as viewed from the rear of the vehicle.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of the impact detection device according to the present embodiment as viewed from the outside in the lateral direction of the vehicle.

FIG. 6 is a view of the impact detection device according to the embodiment as viewed from below the vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 Lower plate (base member) 32 Upper plate (pressure receiving member) 34 Membrane switch (switch member) 44 Pressure receiving portion

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Tamotsu Horiba 1st character Noda, Toyota, Oguchi-machi, Oguchi-machi, Niwa-gun, Aichi Prefecture Inside Tokai Rika Electric Works, Ltd. (72) Inventor Makoto Shiota 1st Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor: Tomoyuki Fukatsu 1st Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Within Toyota Motor Corporation (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B60R 21/16-21/32 H01H 13/00-13/76 G01P 15/135

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] And 1. A base member, as well as the provided in the base member when it is pressed are spaced apart from the base member over the entire dimension of the one direction close to the base member elastically deformable, the one-way end The department
A pressure receiving member having a convex portion protruding in one direction; and a pressure receiving member disposed between the pressure receiving member and the base member along the one direction and being pressed by elastic deformation of the pressure receiving member to operate. An impact detection device, comprising: a switch member.