JP3105391B2 - Airbag system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag system for protecting a pedestrian by deploying it on the outer surface of the vehicle when a running vehicle collides with the pedestrian to absorb the impact of the collision. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a running vehicle collides with a pedestrian, it is known that the pedestrian who has collided has its lower body paid off by the front of the vehicle body and makes a secondary collision with the upper surface of the hood at the front of the vehicle body. I have. Therefore, the present applicants have already developed a method of deploying an airbag on a hood or the like at the front of a vehicle body and absorbing a shock at the time of a secondary collision on the hood or the like with the airbag to protect a pedestrian. is suggesting.

The position of the pedestrian on the hood where the secondary collision occurs varies depending on the vehicle speed, the height of the pedestrian, and the like.
Conventionally, by deploying the airbag so as to cover the entire hood in the front of the vehicle, no matter where the secondary collision occurs on the hood, the impact of the collision is absorbed by the airbag to protect the pedestrian. I was able to do it.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show Japanese Patent Application No. 5-294.
No. 636 (unknown before application), which shows a hood airbag 3 deployed on a hood 2 at a front portion of a vehicle body 1 when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian. The impact when the pedestrian collides with the hood 2 in a secondary collision is absorbed and mitigated by the hood airbag 3. The hood airbag 3 before being deployed is folded and stored together with the inflator 4 in an opening 5 formed near the front end of the vehicle body of the hood 2, and the opening 5 can be opened and closed by a hinge 2a. It is covered by the attached lid 2b.

When a collision with a pedestrian is detected by pedestrian collision detection means (not shown) provided in a front bumper or the like, an ignition current flows through the inflator 4 and gas generated by the ignited inflator 4 is generated. As a result, the hood airbag 3 is inflated, and the inflating pressure causes the lid 2
a is pushed up and opened against the elastic force of the spring 2c,
The hood airbag 3 is expanded so as to bulge out of the opening 5 so as to cover the hood 2, and the impact when a pedestrian collides secondary is absorbed and protected by the hood airbag 3. I have.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned conventional hood airbag 3 is formed in a large size so as to be spread over the hood 2 of the vehicle body 1 so as to cover substantially the entirety thereof, and has a large storage space. Need, and even
Lee Nfureta 3 also is required that a large capacity, also has a problem that the time required for inflation and deployment is prolonged.
Further, when the hood airbag 3 is deployed, it always covers almost the entirety of the hood 2 and is deployed so as to cover the entire area where a pedestrian on the hood 2 may collide secondaryly. There was a problem that it was bad and uneconomical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag system that can deploy an airbag only in a range necessary for protecting a pedestrian in collision.

[0008]

According to the present invention, as a means for solving the above problems, an airbag is deployed on an outer surface of a vehicle body when a collision with a pedestrian is detected, and the pedestrian is moved by the airbag. In an airbag system that protects a pedestrian, a pedestrian collision detection unit that detects a collision with a pedestrian, an airbag that is provided to be deployable on the outer surface of the vehicle body,
Vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed during traveling, and the detected vehicle speed
Detects a collision with a pedestrian when the speed is faster than the first set speed
When the airbag is deployed, the airbag is deployed and detected.
Vehicle speed is higher than the first set speed and the second
When the speed is lower than the constant speed, when the speed is higher than the second set speed,
In it is characterized in that it comprises an air bag control device for controlled so by varying at least one of the position and area of deployment of the previous SL airbag.

Further, in the airbag system, when a collision with a pedestrian is detected, an airbag is deployed on the outer surface of the vehicle body and the pedestrian is protected by the airbag.
Pedestrian collision detection means for detecting a collision with a pedestrian, an airbag provided to be deployable on the outer surface of the vehicle body, pedestrian detection means for detecting the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, and the detected pedestrian Height detecting means for detecting the height of the pedestrian, and an airbag control device for controlling to change at least one of a deployed position and an area of the airbag in accordance with the detected height of the pedestrian. Features.

[0010]

When the pedestrian collision detection means detects a collision with a pedestrian as described above, a pedestrian collision detection signal is input to the airbag control device as shown in the block diagram of FIG. Also, the vehicle speed signal detected by the vehicle speed detecting means is input.
It is. When the pedestrian collision signal is input, the vehicle speed
If it is faster than the constant speed, that is, if it is higher than the lower limit vehicle speed,
The airbag is deployed. Its deployment area depends on vehicle speed
So different. That is, the detected vehicle speed is set to the first setting.
The second setting, which is preset as a value greater than the constant speed,
Compared to a constant speed of V, the detected vehicle speed is a second set speed V
If it is faster, the detected vehicle speed is equal to the second set speed V
Than if good Ri slow, control is control to expand the area of the air bag becomes wider. As a result of the comparison, the detected vehicle speed is
If the second set speed V by Ri slow, the detected vehicle speed is first
The deployment area of the air bag from the case 2 of the set speed V by Ri fast and narrow, to limit the deployment of the unwanted part, only to be deployed in parts necessary for the protection of pedestrians. Responding to such vehicle speeds
To change the deployment position instead of changing the deployment area
Can also.

When the pedestrian collision detecting means detects a collision with a pedestrian, as shown in the block diagram of FIG.
The pedestrian collision detection signal is input to the airbag control device, and the height of the pedestrian detected in advance by the pedestrian detection means for detecting the pedestrian in front of the vehicle is detected by the height detection means and set in advance. When the height is higher than the set height H, control is performed such that the deployment position of the airbag is set backward or the deployment area is larger than when the detected height is lower than the set height H. By deploying the airbag in an appropriate range, the position and range of the secondary collision of the pedestrian that changes according to the height of the height are surely covered, so that the pedestrian can be reliably protected. Also, as a result of the comparison, if the detected height is lower than the set height H,
The deployment range of the airbag should be on the front side when it is higher, or the deployment area of the airbag should be narrowed, limiting deployment to unnecessary parts and deploying only to the areas necessary for protecting pedestrians. .

[0012]

1 to 10 show an embodiment in which the airbag system of the present invention is applied to a hood airbag device.
It will be described based on.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show an airbag system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. When an airbag system detects a collision with a pedestrian, the hood deploys near the rear end of a hood 12 of a vehicle 10. An airbag 13, a bumper sensor 15 buried in the front of a front bumper 14 at the front end of the vehicle body to detect a collision based on an input from the front of the vehicle, a lower surface of a front end of the hood 12, and an upper surface of a radiator support (not shown) on the vehicle body side. , A hood sensor 16 for detecting a pedestrian collision by an input on the hood 12, a vehicle speed sensor 17 for detecting the speed of the vehicle during traveling, the bumper sensor 15, the hood sensor 16, and the vehicle speed. When the signals output from the sensor 17 are input and each signal satisfies a predetermined condition, the airbag control device 19 outputs an ignition signal to the inflator 18. It is equipped with a.

The hood airbag 13 is housed together with a special inflator 18 in a right opening 12a formed on the rear right side of the hood 12, and is expanded so as to cover the right rear portion of the hood 12 when inflated. Right bag 1
3a and a left opening 1 formed on the rear left side of the hood 12
The left bag 13b which is housed in the inside 2b together with the exclusive inflator 18 and expands to cover the left portion of the hood 12 when inflated, and the central bag 12c formed in the center of the rear of the hood 12 together with the exclusive inflator 18 A central bag 13c that is stored and expanded so as to cover almost the entire surface of the windshield 11 when inflated is configured. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 20 denotes a right lid that covers the right opening 12a so that it can be opened and closed, 21 denotes a left lid that similarly closes the left opening 12b, and 22 denotes a central lid that similarly closes the central opening 12c.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2 and FIGS. 3 to 5.

When the control program of the airbag control device 19 is started, first, in step 1, the vehicle speed indicated by the vehicle speed signal constantly inputted from the vehicle speed sensor 17 is determined.
An airbag operation lower limit speed V0 (for example, about 15 km / h ) predetermined as a minimum speed at which pedestrian protection by the hood airbag 13 is required at the time of a pedestrian collision (claim)
(Corresponding to the first set speed in the item 1), and when the vehicle speed <V0, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling at a low speed to the extent that the hood airbag 13 does not need to be deployed.
Prohibiting the progress of the program from step 2 onward, the hood airbag 13 at the time of stopping or running at low speed, etc.
Malfunction is prevented. If it is determined in step 1 that the vehicle speed ≥ V0, that is, it is determined that the speed at which pedestrian protection is required by the hood airbag 13 at the time of a pedestrian collision, the process proceeds to step 2.

In step 2, the front bumper 1
It is checked whether the bumper sensor 15 is switched on due to a collision of a pedestrian, a vehicle, or the like, and if the bumper sensor 15 is not on, it is determined that no collision has occurred, and Return to And step 2
In the case where the bumper sensor 15 is turned on, it is determined that a collision with a vehicle or a pedestrian has occurred, and
Proceed to 3.

In step 3, it is checked whether or not the hood sensor 16 which is turned on by a load applied to the hood 12 when the colliding partner is a pedestrian is on, and the hood sensor 16 is on. If not, it is determined that there is no need to deploy the hood airbag 12 because of a collision with a vehicle other than a pedestrian, and the process returns to step 1. Then, if the hood sensor 16 is turned on in step 3, it is determined that a collision with a pedestrian has occurred, and the process proceeds to step 4.

In step 4, an experiment using a dummy or the like is performed in advance, and the relationship between the vehicle speed determined for each type of vehicle having a different vehicle size and the secondary collision position of the pedestrian colliding with the front end of the vehicle is determined. For example, a high-speed lower limit speed V 1 (second speed of the first embodiment) is set as a speed at which the secondary collision position reaches the vicinity of the rear end of the hood 12 or reaches the windshield 11 further behind . Set speed
A time corresponding to a), to compare the speed of collision which was obtained from the vehicle speed signal, in the case of vehicle speed <V1 is an air bag deployment range since towards the vehicle speed is slow can be up to the rear end portion of the hood 12 And proceeds to step 5, where the right bag 13a and the left
Ba Tsu grayed 13b only by expansion (the state of FIG. 4), and terminates the program.

Further, in the case of the vehicle speed ≧ V ₁ in step 4, the process proceeds to step 6, with the right bag 13a and the left bag 13b, the central bag 13c to expand the left and right bag 13a, the front end of the vehicle body than the 13b position far Is developed on the windshield 11 (the state shown in FIG. 5), and the program ends.

As a result, the deployment area of the airbag is increased by the extent that the central bag 13c is deployed on the windshield 11, and the impact is absorbed by a secondary collision on the windshield 11 to protect the pedestrian. it can.

Therefore, in the hood airbag system of this embodiment, the preset high speed lower limit speed V1
If the vehicle speed is slower than the
a, 13b, the windshield 11 prevents pedestrians from colliding at the vehicle speed.
Abolish anti-wasteful air bag deployment to the above Rutotomoni, the view of the front glass 11 part can be ensured. When the vehicle speed is higher than the high-speed lower limit speed V1, the airbag deployment area is expanded rearward by deploying the central bag 13c in addition to the left and right bags 13a and 13b. Pedestrians that collide secondarily can be reliably protected.

FIGS. 6 to 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention.
1 illustrates an airbag system according to an embodiment. When a collision with a pedestrian is detected, a hood airbag 33 that is deployed on a hood 32 of a vehicle 30 and a front bumper 34 at a front end of a vehicle body are buried in front. A bumper sensor 35 for detecting a collision based on an input from the front of the vehicle;
A pedestrian sensor 36 provided at a low position at the front of the vehicle body and irradiating light rays or ultrasonic waves forward in the horizontal direction and detecting the reflected waves to detect the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle. And is provided at a high position of the vehicle body, facing the front side in the traveling direction such as the front end of the roof 30a, and irradiates light rays or ultrasonic waves forward in the horizontal direction and detects reflected waves thereof to detect the reflected wave. An adult sensor 37 for detecting the presence of a pedestrian or the like having a high height, and a front grille or the like provided at the front of the vehicle body to irradiate light beams or ultrasonic waves at a predetermined elevation angle forward and obliquely upward, and generate reflected waves. A second adult sensor 38 for detecting the presence of a tall pedestrian or the like in front of the vehicle, and a vehicle speed sensor 39 for detecting the speed of the running vehicle; and the bumper sensor 35 and the pedestrian sensor 36
And an airbag control device 41 that outputs an ignition signal to the inflators 40 and 40 when signals input from the adult sensor 37 and the second adult sensor 38 satisfy predetermined conditions. Also, in FIG.
Is a short pedestrian such as a child, and the symbol P2 in FIG. 9 is a tall pedestrian such as an adult.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

When the control program of the airbag control device 41 is started, first, at step 1, the vehicle speed V indicated by the vehicle speed signal constantly inputted from the vehicle speed sensor 39 is obtained.
Is compared with a preset airbag operation lower limit speed of 15 km / h, and a vehicle speed <15 km / h
In the case of, it is determined that pedestrian protection by the hood airbag 13 is not necessary, and the program is not allowed to proceed from step 2 onward to prevent malfunction of the hood airbag 33 at the time of stopping or running at low speed. are doing. And
If the vehicle speed V ≧ 15 km / h in step 1, it is determined that pedestrian protection by the hood airbag 33 is necessary, and the process proceeds to step 2.

In step 2, the bumper sensor 35
It is checked whether or not a collision has been detected. If the bumper sensor 35 is not turned on, the process returns to step 1 because no collision has occurred. If the bumper sensor 35 is turned on in step 2, it is determined that a collision with the vehicle or the pedestrians P1, P2, etc. has occurred, and the process proceeds to step 3.

In step 3, the pedestrian sensor 36
Detects the pedestrians P1, P2, etc. ahead of the vehicle in advance and checks whether a detection signal has been input before the collision.
Step is determined to be erroneous detection of collision due to hitting
Return to 1. Then, if the pedestrian sensor 36 is turned on in step 3, it is determined that there is a collision with the pedestrians P1, P2, etc., and the process proceeds to step 4.

In step 4, the front bag 33 is adjusted in accordance with a secondary collision position that is determined in advance by an experiment using a dummy or the like and that differs depending on the height of the pedestrian.
a and the deployment range of the rear bag 33b are determined. Therefore, when neither the adult sensor 37 nor the second adult sensor 38 is switched on, it is determined that the detected pedestrian is only a short pedestrian P1 such as a child. Proceed to front bag 33
The program is terminated by expanding only a.

In step 4, the adult sensor 37
And if at least one of the second adult sensor 38 is turned on and the detection signal is input before the collision, the process proceeds to step 6, where it is determined that the tall pedestrian P2 has collided, The airbags of both the front bag 33a and the rear bag 33b are deployed on the hood 32 (the state of FIG. 10), and the program ends. In this case, when an adult and a child collide at the same time, the adult sensor 37 and the second adult sensor 38 detect only the adult who is the tall pedestrian P2, but the front bag 33a and the rear bag 33b are deployed. The short pedestrian P1 has no problem because it is protected by the front bag 33a.

As described above, according to the airbag system of this embodiment, when a collision with the short pedestrian P1 is detected, the front bag 33a is deployed so as to cover the front half of the hood 32. And rear bag 33 to the second half
Unnecessary deployment of b can be prevented. Then, when a collision with the tall pedestrian P2 is detected, both the front bag 33a and the rear bag 33b are deployed, so that the deployment area is increased by the amount of the rear bag 33b, and the pedestrian P2 is reliably located. I am able to protect it.

It should be noted, in this embodiment, bumper sensor 35 has detected a collision with at least one of an adult sensor 37 and the second adult sensor 38 detects the adult
In the case, but allowed to develop a front bag 33a and Li Yaba Tsu grayed 33b and increased the air bag deployment area, in the case in this way an adult is detected, by deploying only Li Yaba Tsu grayed 33b By changing the deployment position of the airbag, the adult can be protected. Further, by combining the signals of adults sensors 37, 38 and the vehicle speed sensor 39, for example, when the vehicle speed when at least one of an adult sensor 37 is turned on is equal to or higher than the set speed A, Li Yaba Tsu <br/> grayed 33b You may make it expand only. Further, while both the adult sensor 37 is off, when the vehicle speed is a predetermined speed B (set speed B> set speed A) above, Li Ya
Bas Tsu grayed 33b only may be allowed to expand.

Further, in this embodiment, as the pedestrian sensor 36, the adult sensor 37, and the second adult sensor 38, fixed ultrasonic sensors or the like which emit ultrasonic waves forward or obliquely upward in the horizontal direction are used. However, the irradiation direction of directional ultrasonic waves etc. was swung in the vehicle width direction,
It is also possible to detect a wide range of pedestrians in front of the vehicle traveling direction.

In both of the above embodiments, the number of airbags to be deployed is increased or decreased according to the difference in vehicle speed or pedestrian's height, but the deployment area is increased or decreased. By providing a partition to form a plurality of air sacs and selectively filling these air sacs with gas, the airbag deployment area can be changed.

[0034]

As described above, in the airbag system of the present invention, when the pedestrian collision detection signal is input to the airbag control device, the deployment area of the airbag is increased when the vehicle speed is higher than the set speed. If the vehicle speed is slower than the set speed, reduce the airbag deployment area or change the deployment position toward the front to increase the airflow according to the vehicle speed. By deploying the bag in an appropriate range, the pedestrian can be reliably protected, and the deployment of the airbag to unnecessary parts can be prevented.

Further, when a pedestrian collision detection signal is input to the airbag control device, the height and the like of the pedestrian in front of the vehicle are detected in advance, and a pedestrian taller than a predetermined height collides. In that case, expand the deployment area of the airbag, or control to change the deployment position to the rear, or reduce the deployment area of the airbag if a pedestrian shorter than a predetermined height collides, Since the deployment position is shifted to the front, it is possible to reliably protect short pedestrians to tall pedestrians, and to prevent deployment of the airbag to unnecessary parts.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram corresponding to the claims.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing control by an airbag control device in the airbag system according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the front part of the vehicle, showing the configuration and arrangement of the airbag system of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the vehicle showing a deployed state of the airbag when the vehicle speed ≧ V ₁ .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vehicle showing the deployed state of the airbag when the vehicle speed <V ₁ .

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing control by an airbag control device in an airbag system according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the front part of the vehicle, showing a pedestrian detection and a height detection operation by the airbag system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the front portion of the vehicle, showing a deployed state of the airbag when the detected height of the pedestrian is equal to or less than a set height.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the front part of the vehicle, showing a pedestrian detection and a height detection action by the airbag system of the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the front part of the vehicle, showing the deployed state of the airbag when the detected height of the pedestrian is higher than a set height.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a front portion of a vehicle showing an airbag deployment range of a conventional airbag device.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line XII-XII of FIG. 11;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 12 hood 13 hood airbag 13a right bag 13b left bag 13c central bag 15 bumper sensor 16 hood sensor 17 vehicle speed sensor 18 inflator 19 airbag control device 33a front bag 33b rear bag 35 bumper sensor 36 pedestrian sensor 37 adult sensor 38 second adult sensor 39 Vehicle speed sensor 40 Inflator 41 Airbag control device P1 Short pedestrian P2 Tall pedestrian

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hiroki Ohara 2-Achimichi Asamachi, Kariya City, Aichi Prefecture Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-7-108902 (JP, A) JP-A-6-239198 ( JP, A) JP-A-6-72284 (JP, A) JP-A-6-74533 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 21/34 693 B60R 21 / 16-21/32

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An airbag system in which when a collision with a pedestrian is detected, an airbag is deployed on an outer surface of a vehicle body and the pedestrian is protected by the airbag. A collision detection unit, an airbag provided to be deployable on the outer surface of the vehicle body, a vehicle speed detection unit for detecting a vehicle speed during traveling, and a first detected vehicle speed .
If a collision with a pedestrian is detected at a speed faster than the set speed
If the airbag is deployed, the detected car
Speed is higher than the first set speed and higher than the second set speed.
At least one of the position and area of deployment of the previous SL airbag slow if and when more than its second set vehicle velocity Ri
Air bag system, characterized by comprising an air bag control device for controlled so by varying the. 2. An airbag system for detecting a collision with a pedestrian by detecting an impact with the pedestrian by deploying an airbag on the outer surface of the vehicle body when the collision with the pedestrian is detected. Pedestrian collision detection means, an airbag provided to be deployable on the outer surface of the vehicle body, pedestrian detection means for detecting the presence of a pedestrian in front of the vehicle, and height detection means for detecting the height of the detected pedestrian; An airbag system comprising: an airbag control device that controls so as to change at least one of a deployed position and an area of the airbag according to the detected height of the pedestrian.