JP4206804B2 - Body protection device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a protection device for a front portion of a vehicle body, and more particularly to a protection device for a front portion of a vehicle body that is mounted on a front portion of a vehicle body such as an automobile and protects a collision body.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, as a protection device for a front part of a vehicle body that is mounted on the front part of a vehicle body such as an automobile and protects a collision body, a front side frame is provided with a protruding member, and the front part of the protruding member has a smaller load than the protruding member. An energy absorbing member that absorbs the collision energy is disposed so as to protrude forward from the bumper reinforcement, and when the collision body collides with the vehicle body, the energy absorption member collides with the lower portion of the collision body to A configuration is known in which a collision body is placed on a bonnet without damaging the lower portion of the collision body by paying the lower part (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-171448
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in this structure, an energy absorbing member that absorbs collision energy with a small load, that is, a protruding member that has a small deformation amount at the time of collision is disposed on the vehicle body rear side of the energy absorbing member that has a large deformation amount at the time of collision. As a result, it becomes difficult to increase the longitudinal length of the energy absorbing member due to the storage space in the vehicle body and the like, and the deformable region of the energy absorbing member at the time of collision is reduced.
[0005]
In view of the above facts, the present invention has an object to obtain a protection device for the front part of a vehicle body that can enlarge the deformable region of the energy absorbing member during a collision.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention according to claim 1 is a collision object determination means for determining a collision object;
A plurality of actuators whose operation and non-operation are selected based on the determination result of the collision object determination means;
A plurality of energy absorbing members that are moved forward of the vehicle body by the plurality of actuators, and whose one rigidity is set higher than the other rigidity ;
A protective device supported from behind the vehicle body by the plurality of energy absorbing members;
Have
When the plurality of actuators determine that the collision body collides with a vehicle or a building larger than the own vehicle by the collision body determination unit , the energy absorption member having higher rigidity among the plurality of energy absorption members are moved to the front of the vehicle body, when the collision object is determined to be a small vehicle from pedestrians or own vehicle is the vehicle forward only the energy absorbing member towards low rigidity of the plurality of energy absorbing members It is made to move to.
[0007]
Therefore, when the collision object determination unit determines that the collision object collides with a vehicle or a building larger than the own vehicle at the time of the vehicle collision , the plurality of actuators are configured such that one rigidity is set higher than the other rigidity. The energy absorbing member having higher rigidity among the energy absorbing members is moved forward of the vehicle body. On the other hand, when it is determined that the collision body is a pedestrian or a vehicle smaller than the own vehicle, the plurality of actuators move only the energy absorbing member having the lower rigidity among the plurality of energy absorbing members to the front of the vehicle body. Make it. Further, the protection device supported by these energy absorbing members from the rear of the vehicle moves to the front of the vehicle and collides with the collision body.
[0008]
As a result, energy can be effectively absorbed by the energy absorbing member suitable for the collision object. Further, the longitudinal length of each energy absorbing member can be set to the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body between each actuator and the protection device. For this reason, the deformable area | region of the energy absorption member at the time of a collision can be enlarged.
[0009]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle body front portion protection device according to the first aspect, the plurality of energy absorbing members are a plurality of cylindrical members that overlap each other.
[0010]
Therefore, in addition to the content of the first aspect, by arranging the plurality of energy absorbing members as a plurality of overlapping cylindrical members, the arrangement space of the plurality of energy absorbing members can be reduced, and the apparatus can be downsized.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
An embodiment of a protection device for a vehicle body front portion according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0012]
In the figure, the arrow FR indicates the vehicle body front direction, the arrow IN indicates the vehicle width inside direction, and the arrow US indicates the vehicle body upward direction.
[0013]
As shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, a sensor 12 that constitutes a collision object discrimination unit is disposed at the front end central portion 10 </ b> A of the vehicle body 10, and this sensor 12 includes, for example, a millimeter wave radar and a camera. Yes. Further, the sensor 12 is connected to a control device 14 that constitutes a collision object discrimination means, and the control device 14 determines the type of collision object (pedestrian, vehicle, building) and collision based on input data from the sensor 12. The relative speed between the body and the vehicle body 10 is determined and calculated.
[0014]
A protection device 18 for protecting a collision object such as a pedestrian is disposed along the vehicle width direction at a lower portion of the front bumper 16 in the vehicle body 10, and a front wall portion 18A of the protection device 18 is a bumper cover. Part of.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 4, bumper reinforcements 21 are installed at the front end 20A of the left and right front side members 20 (only the front side member on the left side of the vehicle is shown in FIG. 4) in the vehicle body 10, An upper end edge 24A of the bracket 24 is fixed to the front portion 20B of the front side member 20 by a fixing member 26 such as a bolt. A cylindrical actuator unit 30 extending in the vehicle body front-rear direction is fixed to the lower portion of the bracket 24.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 1, the actuator unit 30 has a cylindrical shape with the same axis P overlapping, and the inner cylindrical member is the first actuator 32 and the outer cylindrical member is the second actuator 34. A gas generator 36 is disposed on the bottom 32 </ b> A of the first actuator 32, and the gas generator 36 is connected to the controller 14. A gas generator 38 is disposed on the bottom 34 </ b> A of the second actuator 34, and the gas generator 38 is connected to the controller 14.
[0017]
A cylindrical first energy absorbing member 40 is inserted into the first actuator 32 from the front side of the vehicle body, and the first energy absorbing member 40 is made of a highly rigid member such as steel. The front end portion 40A of the first energy absorbing member 40 is closed with a lid member 42, and is configured by the first energy absorbing member 40 and the first actuator 32 when the gas generator 36 is activated. The first energy absorbing member 40 is moved forward (in the direction of arrow A) by the gas pressure in the chamber 44. A positioning pin 46 is erected toward the front of the vehicle body at the center of the lid member 42 as viewed from the front of the vehicle body.
[0018]
A second energy absorbing member 50 having a cylindrical shape is inserted into the second actuator 34 from the front side of the vehicle body. The second energy absorbing member 50 is made of a member having low rigidity, such as resin or aluminum. Yes. The front end portion 50A of the second energy absorbing member 50 is closed by the rear wall portion 18B of the protection device 18, and when the gas generator 38 is activated, the second energy absorbing member 50 and the second actuator 34 are used. The second energy absorbing member 50 is moved forward (in the direction of arrow A) by the gas pressure in the chamber 54 configured by A recess 56 is formed in the rear wall portion 18B of the protection device 18, and the positioning pin 46 is engaged with the recess 56.
[0019]
Further, the front wall portion 18A of the protection device 18 has a double structure of the base material 18C of the protection device 18 and the bumper cover cover 18D so as not to impair the appearance of the lower portion of the front bumper 16 in a normal use state. It has become.
[0020]
Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
[0021]
In the present embodiment, at the time of a vehicle collision, the control device 14 determines and calculates the type of collision object (pedestrian, vehicle, building) and relative speed based on input data from the sensor 12.
[0022]
As a result, when the control device 14 determines that the vehicle collides with a vehicle larger than the own vehicle or a building such as a rigid wall at a predetermined relative speed or higher, as shown in FIG. The gas generator 36 is activated. When the gas generating device 36 of the first actuator 32 is activated, the first energy absorbing member 40 is moved forward (in the direction of arrow A) by the gas pressure in the chamber 44 constituted by the first energy absorbing member 40 and the first actuator 32. ) To move the protective device 18 forward of the vehicle body. At this time, the second energy absorbing member 50 fixed to the protection device 18 also moves forward of the vehicle body.
[0023]
As a result, the load input to the protection device 18 from the impact body, high rigidity relatively rigid member, be received by the first energy absorbing member 40 is composed of such as steel or the like possible. For this reason, the deceleration of the own vehicle can be accelerated and the own vehicle can be protected.
[0024]
On the other hand, when the control device 14 determines that the vehicle collides with a pedestrian or a vehicle smaller than the own vehicle at a predetermined relative speed or more, the gas generation device 38 of the second actuator 34 is turned on as shown in FIG. Operate. When the gas generating device 38 of the second actuator 34 is activated, only the second energy absorbing member 50 is moved forward (arrow A) by the gas pressure in the chamber 54 constituted by the second energy absorbing member 50 and the second actuator 34. The protective device 18 is moved forward of the vehicle body.
[0025]
As a result, the load input to the protection device 18 from the impact body, the rigidity is low relatively soft member, for example a resin, be received by the second energy absorbing member 50 is composed of aluminum or the like possible. For this reason, the energy of the collision object can be sufficiently absorbed and the collision object protection performance can be improved. When the collision body is a pedestrian, the protection device 18 can gently scoop the lower position of the lower limbs of the pedestrian, so that the burden on the pedestrian's knee can be minimized.
[0026]
Further, in the present embodiment, the first energy absorbing member 40 and the second energy absorbing member 50 are respectively disposed over the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body between the first actuator 32 or the second actuator 34 and the protection device 18. it can. As a result, the deformable region of the first energy absorbing member 40 and the deformable region of the second energy absorbing member 50 at the time of collision can be increased. For this reason, in particular, the loss stroke at the time of a collision in the highly rigid first energy absorbing member 40 can be easily ensured.
[0027]
In the present embodiment, the first energy absorbing member 40 and the second energy absorbing member 50 are two cylinder members that overlap each other, so that the first energy absorbing member 40 and the second energy absorbing member 50 are arranged. The installation space is reduced and the device can be miniaturized.
[0028]
Although the present invention has been described in detail with respect to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and various other embodiments are possible within the scope of the present invention. It is obvious to those skilled in the art. For example, in the above embodiment, the number of energy absorbing members is two, that is, the first energy absorbing member 40 and the second energy absorbing member 50. However, the number of energy absorbing members is two. The number is not limited to three, and may be three or more.
[0029]
In the above embodiment, the first actuator 32 and the second actuator 34 are configured to operate with the gas pressure of the gas generators 36 and 38, respectively. However, the operation of the actuator is not limited to the gas pressure. Another driving force may be used.
[0030]
In the above embodiment, the first energy absorbing member 40, the second energy absorbing member 50, the first actuator 32, and the second actuator 34 are two cylindrical members that overlap each other. The first energy absorbing member 40, the second energy absorbing member 50, the first actuator 32, and the second actuator 34 may be arranged in parallel.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a collision object discrimination means for discriminating a collision object, a plurality of actuators whose operation and non-operation are selected based on a discrimination result of the collision object discrimination means, and a plurality of actuators. Each of the plurality of actuators includes a plurality of energy absorbing members that move to the front of the vehicle body , one of which is set higher than the rigidity of the other, and a protection device supported by the plurality of energy absorbing members from the rear of the vehicle body. When the collision object determination means determines that the collision object collides with a vehicle or a building larger than the own vehicle, the energy absorption member having higher rigidity among the plurality of energy absorption members is moved forward of the vehicle body, If the collision object is determined to be a small vehicle from pedestrians or host vehicle is the only energy absorbing member towards low rigidity of the plurality of energy absorbing members To move the body forward, it has an excellent effect that the deformable region of the energy absorbing member at the time of collision can be increased.
[0032]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the car body front portion protection device according to the first aspect, since the plurality of energy absorbing members are a plurality of overlapping cylindrical members, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the device is It has an excellent effect that it can be downsized.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a protection device for a front part of a vehicle body according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view of a front body protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of a vehicle body front portion protection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the protection device for the front part of the vehicle body according to the embodiment of the present invention, as seen from the obliquely forward outer side of the vehicle body.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the front portion of the vehicle body to which the vehicle body front portion protection device according to the embodiment of the present invention is applied, as viewed from the front side of the vehicle body.
[Explanation of symbols]
12 Sensor (impact detection unit)
14 Control device (impact detection unit)
18 Protection Device 32 First Actuator 34 Second Actuator 36 Gas Generator 38 Gas Generator 40 First Energy Absorbing Member 50 Second Energy Absorbing Member

Claims (2)

A collision object determination means for determining a collision object;
A plurality of actuators whose operation and non-operation are selected based on the determination result of the collision object determination means;
A plurality of energy absorbing members that are moved forward of the vehicle body by the plurality of actuators, and whose one rigidity is set higher than the other rigidity ;
A protective device supported from behind the vehicle body by the plurality of energy absorbing members;
Have
When the plurality of actuators determine that the collision body collides with a vehicle or a building larger than the own vehicle by the collision body determination unit , the energy absorption member having higher rigidity among the plurality of energy absorption members are moved to the front of the vehicle body, when the collision object is determined to be a small vehicle from pedestrians or own vehicle is the vehicle forward only the energy absorbing member towards low rigidity of the plurality of energy absorbing members A protective device for a front part of a vehicle body, wherein   The vehicle body front portion protection device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of energy absorbing members are a plurality of overlapping cylindrical members.

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