JP3891169B2 - Crew protection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device that winds up a webbing of a seat belt using a motor, and more particularly to a technique for changing webbing winding control in accordance with a visibility situation around a vehicle.

Conventionally, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-253317 (Patent Document 1), the vehicle travels forward using brake depression information (operation of the brake pedal, brake hydraulic pressure) operated by the occupant during driving. An occupant restraint device has been proposed in which an emergency state that may cause an abnormal approach to a vehicle or an obstacle is judged and the seat belt is wound up by a motor.
JP 2001-253317 A

  However, the conventional example disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above is configured to detect the emergency braking operation of the occupant, wind up the slack of the seat belt with a motor, and quickly restrain the occupant. No consideration is given to the surrounding environment of the vehicle, such as during snowfall, at night, or in a tunnel.

  In other words, in environmental conditions such as rainy weather, snowfall, nighttime driving, tunnel driving, etc., it is difficult to check the information around the vehicle during driving compared to when it is sunny or daytime. There is a possibility that the timing of stepping on the brake will be delayed and the timing at which the seat belt is wound by the motor will be delayed accordingly.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to take a situation of a field of view around the vehicle into consideration, and at a proper timing according to the quality of the field of view. It is an object of the present invention to provide an occupant protection device capable of performing the take-up control.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention restrains an occupant by winding up a webbing of a seat belt device when a predetermined detection amount correlated with a brake operation of a vehicle exceeds a preset emergency brake threshold. The occupant protection device includes an ambient condition detection unit that detects the visibility of the vehicle surroundings, and when the visibility is determined based on the information detected by the ambient condition detection unit, the emergency The brake threshold value is lowered.

  In the occupant protection device according to the present invention, the emergency brake threshold is lowered when the surrounding state detection means determines that the field of view around the vehicle is poor. Even in the case of a delay, the emergency brake operation is detected with a smaller brake operation and the webbing of the seat belt is taken up, so that the occupant can be restrained at a more appropriate timing.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an arrangement of an occupant protection device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram. As shown in FIG. 1, the occupant protection device 100 includes a webbing 2 that restrains an occupant 9 seated on a seat S, a motor 4 that winds one end of the webbing 2, and a retractor 3. Is fixed to the vehicle body via an anchor disposed on the door side of the seat S.

  Further, the tongue that is movably inserted in the intermediate portion of the webbing 2 is detachably engaged with the inner buckle 5 fixed to the vehicle body at the center of the vehicle body of the seat S, and the webbing is performed between the inner buckle 5 and the retractor 3. 2 is movably supported via a shoulder anchor 1 provided on the upper part of the center pillar.

  A brake pedal 6 and a brake pedal sensor 7 that detects a depression amount (predetermined detection amount) of the brake pedal 6 are provided below the occupant 9. Further, the steering column is provided with a headlight switch (ambient condition detecting means) 11 and a wiper switch (ambient condition detecting means) 10.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an ECU (Electronic Controll Unit) 8 for controlling the motor 4 for driving the webbing 2 is provided. The ECU 8 includes a wiper operation signal obtained from the wiper switch 10 and a headlight switch 11. A headlight lighting signal and a small light lighting signal obtained from the vehicle, a brake signal obtained from the brake pedal sensor 7, and a detection signal from the buckle switch 12 for detecting that a tongue has been inserted into the inner buckle 5 are provided. Further, a vehicle speed signal is given from a vehicle speed detection device mounted on the vehicle.

  Next, the operation of the occupant protection device 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process for changing the threshold value of the brake operation when performing the winding operation of the webbing 2 in accordance with the small light lighting signal given from the buckle switch 12 and the headlight switch 11. .

  As shown in the figure, first, in step S1, the on / off state of the buckle switch 12 is detected. If the buckle switch 12 is on, it is determined in step S2 whether an emergency brake has been detected. Furthermore, if it is determined in step S3 whether the small light is lit, an emergency brake operation is detected, and it is determined that the small light is lit (YES in step S3), webbing 2 The threshold value of the brake operation (emergency brake threshold value), which is a condition for performing the operation of winding the vehicle, is set to “threshold value B”. If the small light is not turned on (NO in step S3), the threshold value of the brake operation that is a condition for performing the operation of winding the webbing 2 is set to “threshold value A”.

  FIG. 7 is a characteristic diagram showing the relationship between the depression amount of the brake pedal 6, the depression speed of the brake pedal, and the threshold value when the webbing 2 is wound, and “threshold value B” is more than “threshold value A”. The webbing 2 is wound up with a small depression amount of the brake pedal.

  As a result, when the small light is turned on, that is, when the outside of the vehicle is dim, even if a delay in the brake operation due to the difficulty in confirming the surrounding situation occurs, the webbing 2 is taken up early. Therefore, the restraint of the passenger can be improved.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of changing the brake operation threshold when performing the winding operation of the webbing 2 in accordance with the wiper operation signal given from the wiper switch 10. Since the process before step S13 shown in the figure is the same as the process of steps S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 3, it is omitted.

  In this example, when the operation of the wiper is detected in the process of step S13, the threshold value of the brake operation that is a condition for performing the operation of winding the webbing 2 is set to “threshold C”, and the operation of the wiper is performed. Is not detected, the threshold value of the brake operation that is a condition for performing the operation of winding the webbing 2 is set to “threshold A”.

  Thereby, in the environment where the wiper is operated, that is, when it rains or snows, the threshold value A is changed to the threshold value C as shown in FIG. 2 will be performed, and even if the field of view is poor due to rain or snow, and the brake operation is delayed, the webbing 2 will be wound early so that the occupant will have more appropriate timing. Can be restrained.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process of changing the brake operation threshold when performing the winding operation of the webbing 2 in accordance with the headlamp lighting signal given from the headlamp switch 11. Since the process before step S13 shown in the figure is the same as the process of steps S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 3, it is omitted.

  In this example, when lighting of the headlamp is detected in the process of step S23, the threshold value of the brake operation that is a condition for performing the operation of winding the webbing 2 is set to “threshold value D”. When lighting of the lighting is not detected, the threshold value of the brake operation that is a condition for performing the operation of winding the webbing 2 is set to “threshold A”.

  As a result, in the environment in which the headlamp is turned on, that is, when traveling at night or traveling in a tunnel, etc., as shown in FIG. 7, the threshold value A is changed to “threshold value D”. The winding operation of the webbing 2 is performed by the amount of depression of the pedal 6, and even when the surroundings are dark and the brake operation is delayed, the webbing 2 is wound up early, so that a more appropriate timing can be obtained. The passengers can be restrained.

  FIG. 6 shows the change of the brake operation threshold when the webbing 2 is wound up in accordance with the wiper operation signal given from the wiper switch 10 and the headlight lighting signal given from the headlight switch 11. It is a flowchart which shows the process to perform. Since the process before step S13 shown in the figure is the same as the process of steps S1 and S2 shown in FIG. 3, it is omitted.

  In this example, when the operation of the wiper is detected in the process of step S33 and the lighting of the headlamp is detected in the process of step S34, the condition for performing the operation of winding the webbing 2 early Is set to “threshold E”.

  As a result, in an environment where the wiper is operated and the headlamp is turned on, for example, when it rains at night, as shown in FIG. 7, the threshold is set to be “threshold E”. Even if the brake operation is delayed due to the darkness of the surroundings and poor visibility due to rain, the webbing 2 is wound up with the stepping amount of 6. Thus, the occupant can be restrained at a more appropriate timing.

  Thus, in the occupant protection device 100 according to the present embodiment, the brake when the winding operation of the webbing 2 is performed according to the lighting state of the small light, the operation state of the wiper, and the lighting state of the headlamp. Since the threshold value of the operation can be changed, a threshold value suitable for the quality of the external field of view can be set, and the winding operation of the webbing 2 can be performed based on this threshold value. Accordingly, the occupant can be restrained at a more appropriate timing.

  In addition, when two or more conditions among the lighting state of the small light, the operating state of the wiper, and the lighting state of the headlight overlap, the winding operation of the webbing 2 is performed with a smaller depression amount of the brake pedal 6. Since a low threshold value is set as is done, the occupant can be restrained at a more appropriate timing.

  Further, when the small light is not turned on, the wiper is not operated, and the headlamp is not turned on, the threshold value is set to the largest “threshold value A”. The operation is not performed and the occupant does not feel bothered. In other words, when the visibility is good, the emergency brake threshold is higher than when the visibility is bad, so the probability that the webbing is taken up unnecessarily is reduced, and the annoyance of the occupant can be reduced.

  Although the occupant protection device of the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration of each part is replaced with an arbitrary configuration having the same function. Can do.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, “threshold values B, C, D” are all different values. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the same value may be used. Further, in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, when both the wiper operating state and the headlamp lighting state are detected, an example of setting “threshold E” lower than “threshold B, C, D” is set. Although described, it is also possible to set a threshold value lower than the “threshold values B, C, D” described above when both the wiper operation and the small light are turned on.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the wiper operation signal is given from the wiper switch 10 and the headlight and small light lighting signals are given from the headlight switch 11 has been described, but the wiper actually operated. It is also possible to detect this and use this detection signal as a wiper operation signal, detect lighting of the headlamp and the small light, and use this detection signal as a lighting signal.

  It is extremely useful for winding up the webbing in conjunction with the brake operation and restraining the occupant.

It is explanatory drawing which shows arrangement | positioning of the passenger | crew protection apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram showing composition of an occupant protection device concerning one embodiment of the present invention, and its peripheral equipment. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation at the time of changing a threshold value according to the lighting state of a small light. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation at the time of changing a threshold value according to the operation state of a wiper. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation at the time of changing a threshold value according to the lighting state of a headlamp. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation at the time of changing a threshold value when the wiper operates and the headlamp is lit. It is a characteristic view which shows each threshold value (threshold A-threshold value E).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Shoulder anchor 2 Webbing 3 Retractor 4 Motor 5 Inner buckle 6 Brake pedal 7 Brake pedal sensor 8 ECU
9 Crew 10 Wiper switch (Ambient condition detection means)
11 Headlight switch (Ambient condition detection means)
12 Buckle switch 100 Crew protection device

Claims (3)

In an occupant protection device that determines an emergency brake when a predetermined detection amount having a correlation with a brake operation of a vehicle exceeds a preset threshold value, winds up a webbing of a seat belt device and restrains the occupant,
Ambient condition detection means for detecting the visibility of the surroundings of the vehicle is provided.
The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the threshold value is lowered when it is determined that the field of view is poor based on the information detected by the surrounding state detection means.   The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the ambient condition detection unit detects at least one of the wiper operation information, the small light lighting information, and the headlight lighting information. The ambient condition detection means detects at least two pieces of information of wiper operation information, small light lighting information, and headlight lighting information, and the more information that is judged to have poor visibility among these pieces of information. The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein a decrease amount of the threshold is increased.

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