JP3910885B2 - Vehicle occupant protection device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an occupant protection device that can restrain and protect an occupant when a vehicle collides with something or rolls over.
[0002]
[Prior art]
For example, when a vehicle rolls over or a side collision occurs, the occupant receives large accelerations in the vertical and horizontal directions, and as a result, the head is often struck against the ceiling, side glass, pillar, etc. of the vehicle and injured in many cases. Conventionally, the occupant is protected by a three-point seat belt, an airbag device, or the like. However, there are cases where the occupant cannot be sufficiently protected only by these devices.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
That is, the three-point seat belt can effectively exert an occupant restraining action with respect to the longitudinal acceleration, but cannot effectively exert an occupant restraining action with respect to the vertical and lateral accelerations. This also applies to the case of a normal airbag device equipped for the purpose of a forward collision.
[0004]
Therefore, it has been proposed to equip the side of the seat with a side airbag or a curtain airbag that deploys on the inner surface of the side glass so that it can deal mainly with side collisions. Even in this case, it was impossible to prevent the passenger from jumping upward.
[0005]
In consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an occupant protection device capable of preventing an occupant from jumping upward during a rollover or a side collision, and preventing a head from hitting a vehicle ceiling. The purpose is to provide.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 relates to an occupant protection device for a vehicle, and includes a multi-joint mechanism that is driven and controlled by a controller in a backrest portion of a seat, and a form is changed by bending of each joint. Thus, the upper support member that restrains the shoulder portion of the occupant seated on the seat from the side is equipped, and the upper support member is held in a retracted form in a normal state and a drive signal given from the controller in an abnormal state Thus, the multi-joint mechanism is driven to restrain the upper support member from the shoulder of the occupant.
[0007]
In the apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, when an abnormality such as the previous stage of rollover is detected, the upper support member is controlled to the occupant restraint form and the shoulder portion of the occupant is pressed from above. Can be prevented from popping out. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an accident that hits the head against the ceiling of the vehicle. Further, since the upper support member is normally held in the retracted form, it does not get in the way. It should be noted that abnormality detection such as the stage before rollover is performed based on abnormal fluctuations such as lateral / vertical acceleration and angular velocity acting on the vehicle.
[0008]
The invention according to claim 2 relates to a vehicle occupant protection device, wherein the seat backrest includes a multi-joint mechanism that is driven and controlled by a controller, and the form changes depending on the bending of each joint. a shoulder portion of the seated occupant equipped with side support member that restrains from the side, in the normal holds the side support member to the retracted configuration, the abnormality by a drive signal given from the controller the articulated mechanism is driven, it is characterized that you have made to the configuration for restraining a shoulder of an occupant of the side support member.
[0009]
In the apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the shoulder portion of the occupant is restrained from the side by the side support member when an abnormality is detected, the occupant can be safely protected even when the vehicle collides sideways or skids. it can.
[0010]
The invention according to claim 3 relates to the vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the multi-joint mechanism includes a wire for changing a bending angle of each joint. by a driving force provided, it is characterized in that morphological changes in posture that restrains from said retracted position.
[0011]
In the apparatus according to the third aspect of the invention, since the upper support member or the side support member is configured by the multi-joint mechanism that changes its shape by bending the joint by driving the wire , delicate control can be performed by changing the bending angle of the joint. It can be performed. For example, a constraining shape matched to the shape of the passenger's shoulder can be easily taken.
[0014]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
Drawing 1 is an explanatory view of a crew member protection device (shoulder support device) of an embodiment. This apparatus is equipped with an upper support member 3 and a side support member 4 at the upper positions of the backrest portions 1 and 2 of the driver's seat and the passenger seat.
[0015]
The upper support member 3 is for restraining the shoulder portion of the occupant M seated on the seat from above, and is provided at a position corresponding to the shoulder portion on the side opposite to the side on which the seat belt 5 is hung (window side). . The side support member 4 is for restraining the shoulder portion of the occupant M seated on the seat from the side, and is provided at a side portion of the shoulder portion on the side (window side) where the seat belt 5 is hung. . These support members 3 and 4 are normally held in a retracted position that does not interfere with the occupant M, and are equipped to move to a position that restrains the shoulder of the occupant M when an abnormality is detected. In the drawing, the upper support member 3 of A is in the retracted position, the upper support member 3 of B is in the restraining position, and the side support member 4 of C is in the restraining position.
[0016]
FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram of an occupant protection system including the occupant protection device (shoulder support device) of the above embodiment. A signal from the abnormality detection sensor 11 is input to the controller 10 which is the center of control of this system. As the abnormality detection sensor 11, an acceleration sensor, an angular velocity sensor, or the like is used. The controller 10 determines whether the vehicle is in a pre-rollover stage or a collision pre-stage by analyzing acceleration, angular velocity, and the like acting on the vehicle. When it is determined that the vehicle is in the pre-rollover stage or the pre-collision stage, the seatbelt pretensioner device 12 and the shoulder support device 13 are operated to protect the occupant.
[0017]
FIG. 3 is a front view of a multi-joint mechanism 20 suitable for constituting the upper support member 3 and the side support member 4 described above, and FIG. 4 is a side view. The multi-joint mechanism 20 has a hand shape having four fingers 30, and each finger 30 has a first joint 31, a second joint 32, and a third joint 33 from the distal end side, and each joint 31, 32. , 33 so that it can freely bend forward. The directions in which the four fingers 30 bend are all on the same front side. The four fingers 30 are arranged in substantially the same plane, and all the fingers 30 constitute a surface for pressing the shoulder of the occupant. These fingers 30 are connected to the base housing 40 via the third joint 33.
[0018]
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the finger 30. The finger 30 is formed by sequentially connecting a distal end bar 36, an intermediate bar 37, and a proximal end bar 38 with pins 34 (simply shown by lines in FIG. 3) constituting the first and second joints 31 and 32. The three joints 33 are connected to the base housing 40 by pins 35 constituting the three joints 33. A spring 39 is incorporated in each of the joints 31, 32, and 33, and each finger 30 is urged toward a position where the finger 30 extends straight by the spring 39. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a soft pad 60 having flexibility is put on each finger 30 or common to all fingers 30.
[0019]
Each finger 30 is passed with a wire 50 for bending the first, second, and third joints 31, 32, 33 forward against the spring 39. The distal end of the wire 50 is coupled to the distal end bar 36, and the proximal end is passed through the wire insertion holes 51, 52, 53, 54 formed in the distal end bar 36, the intermediate bar 37, the proximal end bar 38, and the base housing 40. It is introduced into the base housing 40. Then, the positions of the wire insertion holes 51, 52, 53, 54 are set in front of the rotation centers of the joints 31, 32, 33 so that the finger 30 bends forward by pulling the proximal end portion of the wire 50. Has been.
[0020]
The base housing 40 incorporates a slide member 41 having a longitudinal direction in a direction orthogonal to the pulling direction of each wire 50, and the base end portion of each wire 50 is all locked to the slide member 41. Yes. The slide member 41 is slidably mounted in the pulling direction of the wire 50, and a pinion shaft 44 of the motor 43 is screwed into a gear hole (internal screw hole) 42 formed in the slide member 41. Therefore, when the motor 43 is rotated, the slide member 41 which cannot be rotated by the lead action of the pinion shaft 44 and the gear hole 42 is displaced along the pulling direction of the wire 50.
[0021]
The slide member 41 is biased by the spring 46 to one side in the axial direction of the pinion shaft 44 (the side on which the pulling force is applied to the wire 50), and thereby the gear meshing portion between the pinion shaft 44 and the gear hole 42. The backlash is prevented. Further, the action of the spring 46 allows the slide member 41 to move elastically by the amount of play of the gear meshing portion, so that the joints 31 to 33 of the finger 30 can be bent even in a somewhat restrained state. It becomes.
[0022]
Next, an operation when the multi-joint mechanism 20 is used as the support members 3 and 4 described above will be described.
The multi-joint mechanism 20 normally stands by in a retracted posture (retracted form) in which each finger 30 is extended. When in this retracted position, it does not interfere with the passenger. Next, when an abnormality such as the previous stage of rollover is detected, the motor 43 is rotated by the drive signal given from the controller 10, and the slide member 41 is displaced in the direction of arrow F in FIG. Thus, each wire 50 is drawn into the base housing 40. Then, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4, the joints 31, 32, and 33 of the finger 30 are bent, and the multi-joint mechanism 20 is changed into a restraint posture (restraint form). The configured pressing surface restrains the occupant's shoulder. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the occupant from jumping upward, and to prevent an accident such as hitting the head against the ceiling of the vehicle. In addition, since the side support member 4 restrains the occupant from the side, it is possible to prevent an accident in which the head is hit against the side glass or the like.
[0023]
At that time, since the occupant's shoulder is restrained by the multi-joint mechanism 20 whose form is changed by bending the joints 31 to 33, subtle control can be performed by changing the bending angle of the joints 31 to 33. For example, the restraint shape matched to the shape of the occupant's shoulder can be easily taken, and an unreasonable sense of restraint is not given.
[0024]
If an airbag that inflates and deploys when an abnormality is detected is disposed on the side of the support members 3 and 4 configured by the multi-joint mechanism 20 that comes into contact with the occupant, the shoulder of the occupant can be restrained more flexibly.
[0026]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when an abnormality such as the previous stage of rollover is detected, the support member is controlled to the occupant restraint mode and the occupant's shoulder is pressed from above. Can be prevented, and accidents such as hitting the head against the ceiling of the vehicle can be prevented.
[0027]
In addition, if the seat back is equipped with a side support member that can restrain the occupant's shoulder from the side, the occupant can be safely protected even when the vehicle collides sideways or skids. Can do. In addition, by configuring the support member with a multi-joint mechanism, it is possible to easily take a constraining shape that matches the shape of the shoulder portion of the occupant, thereby avoiding an excessive sense of restraint. In addition, by including an airbag in the support member, it is possible to urgently restrain the passenger's shoulder when an accident occurs.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an occupant protection system including an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a front view of an articulated mechanism constituting a support member of the occupant protection device.
FIG. 4 is a side view of the multi-joint mechanism.
FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a finger of the multi-joint mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
1, 2 Seat back 3 Upper support member 4 Side support member 13 Shoulder support device (occupant protection device)
20 Articulated mechanism

Claims (3)

Equipped with a multi-joint mechanism that is driven and controlled by the controller in the seat back, and by changing the form by bending each joint, it is equipped with an upper support member that restrains the shoulder of the occupant seated on the seat from above, in normal holds the upper support member to the retracted configuration, the abnormality by a drive signal given from the controller, the articulated mechanism is driven, restraining a shoulder of an occupant of the upper support member occupant protection device for a vehicle, characterized by being made to the configuration to. Equipped with a multi-joint mechanism that is driven and controlled by the controller in the seat back, and equipped with a side support member that restrains the shoulder of the occupant seated on the seat from the side by changing the form by bending each joint In a normal state, the side support member is held in the retracted form, and in an abnormal state , the multi-joint mechanism is driven by a drive signal supplied from the controller, so that the side support member is moved by the occupant. occupant protection apparatus for a vehicle characterized that you have made to the configuration for restraining the shoulder. 2. The multi-joint mechanism includes a wire that changes a bending angle of each joint, and when an abnormality occurs, the multi-joint mechanism changes in shape from the retracted posture to a posture restrained by a driving force applied to the wire. Or the vehicle occupant protection device according to 2;

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