JP2659625B2 - Starting device for vehicle occupant protection device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a starting device for a vehicle occupant protection system for detecting occupant protection by detecting a collision state of a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an apparatus of this type, there is an "air bag activation control apparatus" of Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-8574, which is provided with an acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration at the time of a vehicle collision and generating an acceleration signal. The acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor is integrated for a predetermined integration period, and when it is determined that the integrated value is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the airbag is activated. Also, in this device, when the integral value becomes equal to or higher than the predicted start level during the integration period, the integration period is automatically extended so that the generation of the acceleration signal for the collision is accurately detected to improve the collision determination accuracy. I try to improve.

[0003]

However, in this case, no matter at which point in the integration period an acceleration signal is generated, if the acceleration signal is equal to or higher than the predicted startup level, the integration period is lengthened. When integrating the acceleration signal generated when the vehicle is traveling on rough roads,
When the integration result exceeds the activation predicted level, the integration is further performed by extending the integration period, so that the integration evaluation considering extra information is performed.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above problem, and even if an acceleration signal is generated as in the case where the vehicle is traveling on a rough road, the integral evaluation for the acceleration signal is not changed, and
It is another object of the present invention to improve the collision determination accuracy by accurately detecting the generation of an acceleration signal for a vehicle collision.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration of a vehicle and generating an electric acceleration signal. and integrating means for integrating said acceleration signal for each predetermined integral period, resulting integral value is determine by the integrating means
A vehicle occupant protection device comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a collision state of a vehicle when the vehicle collision state is greater than a predetermined level; and activation unit configured to activate an occupant protection device of the vehicle when the determination unit determines the collision state of the vehicle. A starting device, wherein the integrating means updates acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor in each of the divided periods obtained by dividing the integration period into a plurality of updated ones, from the latest one; A plurality of acceleration signals stored in the acceleration storage means in accordance with the update storage in the means for obtaining an integrated value in the integration period.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2,
An acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration of the vehicle and generating an electrical acceleration signal; an integrating means for integrating the acceleration signal for each predetermined integration period; and a vehicle based on the integrated value obtained by the integrating means. And a starter for activating an occupant protection device of the vehicle when the collision state of the vehicle is judged by the judgment means. Integrating means for updating and storing a plurality of acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor in each divided period obtained by dividing the integration period into a plurality, from the latest one; First adding means for adding a first number of acceleration signals correspondingly stored in the acceleration storage means to obtain an integrated value in a first integration period; and the acceleration signal storing means. Different second from the first number stored in the acceleration storing means in correspondence with the definitive update storage
And a second adding means for obtaining an integrated value in a second integration period by adding the number of acceleration signals. The discriminating means includes an integrated value obtained by the first integrating means. First determining means for determining the collision state of the first vehicle based on the second condition, and second determination for determining the collision state of the second vehicle based on the integrated value obtained by the second integrating means. Means, and the activation means comprises the first and second means.
The vehicle occupant protection device is activated when any one of the determination means determines a collision state of the vehicle.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the acceleration sensor detects the acceleration of the vehicle to generate an electric acceleration signal, and the integrating means integrates the acceleration signal for each integration period. Here, the integration means updates and stores a plurality of acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor in each of the divided periods obtained by dividing the integration period into a plurality,
In response to this update storage, the stored acceleration signals are added to obtain an integrated value in the integration period. Therefore, the integration means can obtain the integration value of the integration period sequentially shifted for each of the divided periods. Then, the integrated value obtained by the integrating means is determined as a determination level.
By making the comparison, the collision state of the vehicle is determined, and the occupant protection device of the vehicle is activated.

Further, in the invention according to claim 2,
The above integrated value is obtained for each different integration period, that is, for each of the first and second integration periods, and a collision determination of a different collision mode is performed based on the integration value for each integration period.

[0009]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 1, the acceleration of the vehicle is detected by an acceleration sensor 1. The acceleration sensor 1 includes a transducer 1a for generating a signal corresponding to acceleration, and an amplifier 1b for amplifying a signal from the transducer 1a to generate an acceleration signal. The acceleration signal from the acceleration sensor 1 is A / D converted by the A / D converter 2, and the A / D converted acceleration data is input to the first-stage shift register G ₀ in the storage device 3. Note that this shift register G
Prior to data input to _0, the acceleration data stored in the shift register G ₀ ~G _x-1 in the storage device 3 is shifted by one toward sequential subscript values. Therefore,
The shift registers G _{0 to} G _x−1 store the latest x pieces of acceleration data. The input to the shift and A / D converted shift register G ₀ of the acceleration data of the data between the shift register is performed according to the timing of the system clock.

The acceleration data stored in the shift registers G _{0 to} G _x−1 is added by the adder 4. The added data indicates the integrated value of the acceleration data in a period of x × h based on the number x of the shift registers and the cycle h of the system clock. The acceleration data stored in the shift registers G _{0 to} G _y-1 (where x> y) is added by the adder 5. The added data indicates an integrated value of the acceleration data in a period of y × h based on the number y of the shift registers and the cycle h of the system clock. The reason why the integration is performed by providing two integration periods will be described below.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show acceleration (G) waveforms generated during a vehicle collision. FIG. 2 shows a waveform at the time of a high-speed collision, and FIG. 3 shows a waveform at the time of a low-speed collision. At the time of a low-speed collision, since the level of acceleration is lower than at the time of a high-speed collision, accurate collision determination cannot be performed unless an integrated value is obtained over a relatively long period. On the other hand, since a G waveform as shown in FIG. 2 appears at the time of a high-speed collision, if the collision determination is performed with good responsiveness during the same integration period as at the time of a low-speed collision, the determination is made at a lower determination level than at the time of the low-speed collision. Must. However, lowering the determination level is not preferable because it leads to erroneous determination. Therefore, instead of lowering the determination level, the integration period is shortened to improve the responsiveness of the determination.

The data (integrated data) added by the adder 4 is compared by a comparator 6 at a first determination level corresponding to a low-speed collision, and the integrated data added by the adder 5 Are compared by the comparator 6 at the second determination level corresponding to the high-speed collision. One of the comparators determines that the integral data has exceeded the determination level, and when an ignition signal is generated, turns on the ignition transistor 9 via the OR circuit 8 and supplies a starting current to the squib 10 to supply the airbag with the starting current. Expand 11 The power supply path to the squib 10 is provided with a mechanical switch (for example, a mercury switch) 12 that operates at a low acceleration in order to keep the operation safe. Since the mechanical switch 12 operates at a low acceleration, it is closed before the comparator 6 or 7 generates an ignition signal.

As described above, according to the embodiment, the integration period is divided into a plurality of periods, a plurality of acceleration signals in each of the divided periods are updated and stored from the latest one, and the plurality of updated and stored acceleration signals are added. In order to sequentially obtain the integral values during the integration period, it is possible to improve the collision determination accuracy by accurately detecting the generation of an acceleration signal with respect to the collision of the vehicle without extending the integration period, and to improve the collision determination accuracy. Even if a temporary acceleration signal such as when traveling on a rough road is generated, the integration period is sequentially shifted in units of the above-described divided period, so that even if such a temporary acceleration signal is generated, the influence thereof is reduced by time. And can be removed.
Therefore, unlike the Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-8574, the integration period is not extended by a temporary acceleration signal, so that the integration evaluation is not changed.
In addition, the collision determination accuracy within the integration period can be improved.

Next, a description will be given of a second embodiment in which the storage device 3, adders 4 and 5, comparators 6 and 7, and OR circuit 8 in the first embodiment are configured using a microcomputer 100. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration, and is the same as the configuration shown in FIG. 1 except that a microcomputer 100 is used. The operation of the microcomputer 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

First, at the start of the operation of the vehicle, power is supplied from a vehicle-mounted battery (not shown) to each circuit shown in FIG. 4 by turning on a key switch of the vehicle. Then, the arithmetic processing is started.

Thereafter, the operation proceeds to the arithmetic processing of step 102, in which the contents of the data areas G ₁ [K] and G ₂ [J] in the memory are all cleared to zero. Also in step 103, the contents of the data areas S ₁ and S _{2 in} the memory are cleared to zero. Further, in step 104, the pointers GP, H
Set P to 0. Here, acceleration data for obtaining integral data for high-speed collision is stored in the data area G ₁ [K], and acceleration data for obtaining integral data for low-speed collision is stored in G ₂ [J]. The pointer GP points to one specific data area in the data area G ₁ [K],
The pointer HP is for indicating one specific data area in the data area G ₂ [J]. The data area S ₁ stores integral data for a high-speed collision, and S ₂
Stores integral data for low-speed collision.

In the next step 105, the interruption period of the interruption timer built in the microcomputer 100 is set to the above-mentioned h, and the routine proceeds to step 106, where the interruption timer is started. Therefore, the microcomputer 10
At 0, the interrupt timer operates to periodically execute the interrupt routine shown in FIG. In the main routine indicated by 107, processing such as a failure check of the airbag device is performed.

When an interrupt is generated by the interrupt timer, the microcomputer 100 executes an interrupt calculation process shown in FIG. First, in step 201, the A / D converter 2 outputs A
/ D converted acceleration data Gi is input. This is followed by a process of updating the integral data S ₁ at step 202 and 203. That is, the oldest stored acceleration data of G ₁ [GP] is removed, the latest acceleration data input in step 201 is added, and the data is replaced.
This makes it possible to obtain the integrated data S ₁ the most recent integration period displaced by dividing the period indicated above. Incidentally, the acceleration data G _i input at step 204 At step 201 in order to perform the update processing described above in the next interruption is stored in the area of G ₁ [GP], and increments the pointer GP by one. Since the data area G ₁ [K] is 0 to n−1, it is necessary to take a value between the pointer GP and the pointer GP. Perform at

In the next steps 208 to 216, processing for updating and storing acceleration data and integral data for a low-speed collision is performed. For a low-speed collision, as described above, the integration period needs to be longer than that for a high-speed collision, so that it is necessary to store more acceleration data during that period. However, if the acceleration data is stored in the memory every time the acceleration data is input, the number of memories becomes very large. Therefore, the temporary storage data G _si acceleration data provided, performs addition of the acceleration data 10 times (step 208), each time 10 times the interrupt occurs, the acceleration data G by using the temporary storage data G _si
2 [HP] and integration data S ₂ are updated. Therefore, steps 210 to 215 are the same processing as steps 202 to 207 described above. Note that G
_Since the number of data areas of ₂ [HP] is m, and the above processing is performed every ten interruptions, the integration period for this low-speed collision is 10 × m × h. Step 216
In order to temporarily store the next 10 times of acceleration data,
The temporary storage data G _si is reset to 0.

Then, the integration data S ₁ ,
The judgment level S _th1 set for each of S ₂ ,
It is determined in steps 217 and 218 whether or not S _th2 is exceeded. If any one of the determinations becomes YES, an ignition signal is generated in the ignition transistor 9 in step 219. As a result, a starting current flows through the squib 10, and the airbag 10 is deployed.

In the second embodiment, step 20
As shown in 2, 203, the oldest stored acceleration data is removed, the latest acceleration data is added, and the integrated data S ₁ and S ₂ are updated. All of the data may be added and obtained. Hereinafter, the third embodiment will be described.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show an interrupt operation process according to the third embodiment. The same parts as those in the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. Also in this embodiment, the latest acceleration data is updated and stored in the area G ₁ [GP] where the oldest acceleration data is stored in step 204, and the pointer GP is incremented in step 205.
In the area of G ₁ [k], the latest n pieces of acceleration data are stored. These stored acceleration data are subjected to addition processing in an addition routine of steps 220 to 224,
Integrated data S ₁ for high-speed collision is calculated. Likewise, it obtained in the process of step 225 to 229 shown in FIG. 8 with respect to integrated data S ₂ for the low-speed collision. The collision determination for these integrated data S ₁ and S ₂ is the same as in the second embodiment.

In each of the above embodiments, an airbag as an occupant protection device is shown. However, the present invention is also applied to an occupant protection device in which a seatbelt is passively operated using a squib. Alternatively, the present invention may be applied to a device using both of them.

[0024]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an integral value of an integration period which is sequentially shifted for each of a plurality of divided integration periods. The accuracy of the collision determination can be improved by accurately detecting the generation of an acceleration signal for a vehicle collision without extending the vehicle, and a temporary acceleration signal is generated as when the vehicle is traveling on a rough road. Even by sequentially shifting the integration period in units of the divisional period, it is possible to remove the influence of such a temporary acceleration signal with time and prevent a decrease in the integration evaluation due to such a temporary acceleration signal. There is an excellent effect that it can be done.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, different integral values can be obtained for each of the first and second integration periods, and based on the integral values for each of the integration periods. Since the collision determination is performed, there is an excellent effect that a collision determination in a different collision mode can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a waveform chart for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a waveform chart for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the microcomputer according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt process of the microcomputer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt process of a microcomputer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a timer interrupt process of the microcomputer in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Acceleration sensor 2 A / D converter 3 Storage device 4 Adder 5 Adder 6 Comparator 7 Comparator 9 Ignition transistor 10 Squib 11 Airbag

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masahito Muto 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Motor Corporation (72) Inventor Koichi Fujita 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Motor Corporation ( 72) Inventor Norifumi Iyoda 1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture Inside Toyota Motor Corporation (56) References JP-A-4-224439 (JP, A) JP-A-4-78640 (JP, A) 63-51 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration of a vehicle to generate an electric acceleration signal, integrating means for integrating the acceleration signal for each predetermined integration period, and integration obtained by the integrating means. A vehicle occupant protection system comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a collision state of a vehicle when the value is greater than a determination level; and activation unit configured to activate an occupant protection device of the vehicle when the determination unit determines the collision state of the vehicle. A starting device of the device, wherein the integrating means updates acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor in each of the divided periods obtained by dividing the integration period into a plurality of pieces, from the latest one; Adding means for adding a plurality of acceleration signals stored in the acceleration storage means in correspondence with update storage in the signal storage means to obtain an integrated value in the integration period. A starting device for a vehicle occupant protection device, characterized in that: 2. An acceleration sensor for detecting an acceleration of a vehicle and generating an electric acceleration signal, integrating means for integrating the acceleration signal for each predetermined integration period, and integration obtained by the integrating means. A starting device for an occupant protection device for a vehicle, comprising: a determination unit configured to determine a collision state of a vehicle based on a value; and a startup unit configured to activate an occupant protection device of the vehicle when the determination unit determines the collision state of the vehicle. An acceleration signal storage means for updating and storing a plurality of acceleration signals from the acceleration sensor in each of the divided periods obtained by dividing the integration period into a plurality of pieces; First adding means for adding a first number of acceleration signals stored in the acceleration storage means in correspondence with update storage in the means to obtain an integrated value in a first integration period; A second number of acceleration signals different from the first number stored in the acceleration storage means are added in correspondence with the update storage in the signal storage means to obtain an integrated value in a second integration period. An addition unit, wherein the determination unit determines a collision state of the first vehicle based on the integrated value obtained by the first integration unit; And a second determining means for determining a collision state of the second vehicle based on the integrated value obtained by the integrating means.
An activation device for an occupant protection device for a vehicle, wherein the activation device activates an occupant protection device for the vehicle when any one of the first and second determination means determines a collision state of the vehicle.