JP5392315B2 - Vehicle collision detection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle collision detection device that detects an object collision based on a pressure change in a bumper.

  Pedestrian protection devices that reduce damage to pedestrians when a vehicle collides with pedestrians have been put into practical use. This pedestrian protection device instantly raises the rear end of the engine hood after collision detection in order to reduce the impact of the pedestrian hitting the engine hood, and supports the increased stroke with a buffer mechanism. It is called by names such as pop-up hood, pop-up engine hood, active bonnet, and active hood. As another form, an airbag is deployed from the engine hood outside the vehicle body to the lower part of the front window to cushion the impact of pedestrians, and is called by the names of cowl airbags, hood airbags, etc. .

  In these apparatuses, a collision detection device is provided in the bumper unit, and a mechanism is used to detect the contact of an object using a sensor and operate the device. There has been proposed a vehicle collision detection device configured to detect a pressure change in a chamber when an object collides with the bumper by arranging a chamber member in such a bumper (for example, Patent Document 1, 2).

  In the vehicle collision detection devices described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, when an object collides with the bumper, a pressure change is generated in the chamber by deforming a chamber member disposed on the front surface of the bumper force in the bumper. The pressure change is detected by a pressure sensor. Further, the chamber member is provided with an extending portion on the rear side of the vehicle and above the chamber main body portion from the chamber main body portion at the center in the vehicle width direction, and a pressure sensor is attached to the extending portion. Compared with the case where the pressure sensor is disposed inside the parin force, the pressure sensor is easily attached.

JP 2009-190568 A JP 2010-155603 A

When the pressure sensor is arranged above the bumper force, the chamber extension and the pressure sensor are arranged in a space surrounded by the upper surface of the bumper force and the inner surface of the bumper cover. On the other hand, the shape of the bumper cover is determined mainly from the design of the exterior design of the vehicle. In addition, the structure of the bumper force for maintaining the required strength for each vehicle type has been devised by various methods, and the space surrounded by the upper surface of the bumper force and the inner surface of the bumper cover may become narrow. In these cases, a sufficient space for installing the pressure sensor cannot be secured.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and in a pressure chamber type vehicle collision detection device, there is little influence due to the difference in the shape of the bumper cover and the structure of the bumper force, and it has excellent mountability. An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle collision detection device.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a chamber member having a chamber body disposed in front of a bumper force in a vehicle bumper and having a chamber space formed therein, and the chamber A vehicular collision detection device configured to detect a collision with the vehicle bumper based on a pressure detection result by the pressure sensor. A chamber extending portion that extends from the end region of the chamber body that protrudes toward the vehicle side from the vehicle width direction end portion of the bumper force to the vehicle rear side to form a part of the chamber space; The pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extension.

  According to this configuration, since the pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extending portion that extends from the end region of the chamber body to the vehicle rear side, it is necessary to dispose the pressure sensor in the upper region of the bumper force. In addition, it is possible to cope with various designs of vehicles and differences in the bumper force structure, and it is possible to provide a vehicular collision detection device that is highly versatile and excellent in mountability applicable to many vehicle types. In addition, the pressure sensor, which is an electronic component, is placed outside the end in the vehicle width direction of the bumper force that has the role of receiving the impact of a collision, so the pressure sensor may be directly hit and damaged in the event of a collision. Can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the chamber main body is formed to extend so that a chamber member covers a vehicle front side of the pressure sensor attached to the chamber extending portion. According to this configuration, even when a collision occurs near the corner on the left side of the vehicle or the front side of the right side, a part of the chamber body is disposed in front of the pressure sensor, so that the pressure sensor is directly It is possible to further enhance the effect of reducing the possibility of being damaged by being hit hard.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extending portion from the side. According to this configuration, since the detection direction in which the outer dimension of the pressure sensor main body is minimized is the vehicle width direction, the dimension required in the vehicle width direction for disposing the pressure sensor can be minimized.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extension portion from above. According to this configuration, since the detection direction in which the outer dimension of the pressure sensor main body is minimized is the vehicle vertical direction, the dimension required by the pressure sensor in the vehicle vertical direction can be minimized.

  The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the connector of the pressure sensor is arranged so that the mating connector is inserted from the vehicle rear side. According to this configuration, since the connector portion is arranged on the vehicle rear side that is not easily subjected to an impact at the time of a collision, the connector can be hardly detached at the time of a collision from the front.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the chamber extending portions are respectively extended from end regions on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the chamber member, and the pressure sensors are respectively attached to the chamber extending portions. It is characterized by. According to this configuration, detection is performed by two pressure sensors, so that accuracy can be improved and redundancy can be improved.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the structure of the vehicle collision detection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, (a) is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the vehicle collision detection apparatus from the viewpoint from the vehicle upper side, (b) is each component. It is a schematic diagram shown with a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional structure. It is the elements on larger scale shown in the section of the A section of Drawing 1 (b) concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the external shape of a pressure sensor. It is a figure which shows the structure of the collision detection apparatus for vehicles which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (a) is the elements on larger scale of the cross section shown in the range of A section of FIG.1 (b), (b) is vehicle left side. FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the collision detection apparatus for vehicles which concerns on 3rd Embodiment, (a) is a schematic diagram from the vehicle upper side shown in the range of the A section of FIG.1 (b), (b) is B-. It is B sectional drawing.

Hereinafter, specific embodiments of the vehicle collision detection device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the vehicle collision detection device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention detects a collision of an object with a bumper 2 in front of the vehicle and activates the pedestrian protection device 3. An apparatus configured to do so. A bumper 2, a chamber member 4 disposed in the bumper 2 and having a chamber space 3 formed therein, a pressure sensor 5 for detecting a pressure change in the chamber space 3, and a pedestrian protection device ECU (ECU: Electronic) Control Unit) 6.

  The bumper 2 includes a bumper cover 9, a chamber member 4, a bumper absorber 10, and a bumper force 11 as main components.

  The bumper cover 9 is a resin member such as polypropylene provided so as to cover the components of the bumper 2. The external appearance of the bumper 2 is configured at the same time as a part of the overall appearance of the vehicle, and a part or the entire exterior is often painted in the same color as the body.

  The chamber member 4 is a hollow member made of a synthetic resin such as soft polyethylene that is disposed in the upper half of the front surface of the bumper force 11 in the bumper 2 and extends in the vehicle width direction. It is a member that has the action of creating pressure at the time of collision, extends long in the vehicle width direction (vehicle left-right direction), and mainly shows the pressure at the time of collision as shown in FIG. 2 showing a section A of FIG. It consists of a main body portion 12 responsible for generation and an extending portion 13 provided for attaching the pressure sensor 5. The main body 12 has an end region extending leftward from the left end in the vehicle width direction of the bumper force 11, and the extending portion 13 is provided so as to protrude from the end region toward the vehicle rear side. . It is desirable that both are formed integrally. A chamber space 3 is formed inside the chamber member 4. The chamber space 3 is a single body portion 12 and extending portion 13. Note that the bumper cover 9 is omitted in FIGS.

  The chamber space 3 is surrounded by the chamber member 4 but is not hermetically sealed and communicates with the outside air at a part of a narrow portion (not shown) and is at atmospheric pressure. This prevents a pressure difference from the outside air due to an altitude difference or temperature change, so that collision detection is not affected by changes in altitude or temperature.

  The bumper absorber 10 is a member that is disposed in a substantially lower half of the front surface of the bumper force 11 and in a lower portion of the chamber member 4, and has an impact absorbing function in the bumper 2. For example, foamed polypropylene or the like can be used.

  The bumper force 11 is a beam-like member made of metal such as aluminum which is disposed in the bumper 2 and extends in the vehicle width direction, and is a pair of metal members extending in the vehicle longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. It is attached to the front end of the member 14 and holds the entire bumper 2.

  The pressure sensor 5 is a sensor device that can detect a change in gas pressure, outputs a signal proportional to the pressure, and is electrically connected to the pedestrian protection device ECU 6 via a transmission line. As shown in FIG. 2, a part of the pressure sensor 5 is inserted into the chamber space 3 through a hole provided in the extending portion 13 of the chamber member 4, and the contact portion is applied with an adhesive or rubber packing. Although not shown, it is fixed using a conventional technique such as screwing an insert member, and is configured to detect a change in pressure of air in the chamber space 3.

  The pressure sensor 5 is attached from the side. In order to ensure detection accuracy, the pressure sensor 5 needs a certain detection area of the pressure receiving surface, and the outer shape of the main body of the pressure sensor 5 has a thickness direction of 20 as shown in FIG. If it is about mm, the width direction is about 30 mm. Since the length direction includes a portion where the circuit is arranged, the length direction becomes larger.

  Therefore, the pressure sensor 5 attached from the side minimizes the space required for the pressure sensor 5 on the left side of the vehicle. Moreover, the pressure sensor 5 has the connector part 15 in the vehicle rear side, and is arrange | positioned so that it may be electrically connected with pedestrian protection apparatus ECU6 via a transmission line. By inserting and fixing a mating connector (not shown) to be connected from the rear with the connector portion 15 at the rear, electrical connection is less likely to be cut off in the event of a collision.

  In the chamber member 4, the extending portion 13 is provided at the rear of the main body portion 12, for the purpose of providing the pressure sensor 5 while avoiding the headlamp arrangement shown by the two-dot chain line curve in FIG. 2. In recent years, the volume around the headlamp has been increasing, and in order to improve the poor visibility, which is one of the causes of nighttime fatal accidents, an HID lamp (High Intensity Discharge lamp, There is an example in which HID is a registered trademark. In this case, an electronic circuit including a DC-DC converter called a ballast (ballast) is disposed at the lower part of the lamp housing. In addition, AFS (registered trademark, Adaptive Front-lighting System) that uses a motor or actuator to change the optical axis of the headlamp according to the steering angle, etc. has been put into practical use. Is provided with an operating mechanism. By providing the extended portion 13 behind the main body portion 12, it is possible to coexist with these new mechanisms for safety.

  Since a normal collision often occurs in the longitudinal direction (vehicle width direction) of the bumper force, it is conceivable that the conventional pressure sensor 5 is subjected to an impact directly during the collision. By providing the pressure sensor 5 on the side (left outside) of the left end portion of the bumper force 11, the possibility that the pressure sensor is directly impacted at the time of a collision is reduced.

  A vehicle speed sensor 7 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B is an existing speed sensor that detects the magnitude of the traveling speed of the vehicle, and is electrically connected to the pedestrian protection apparatus ECU 6 via a transmission line. Yes.

  The pedestrian protection device ECU 6 determines a collision according to a predetermined algorithm based on detection results of the pressure sensor 5 and the vehicle speed sensor 7 and the like. When it determines with a collision, a signal is output with respect to the pedestrian protection apparatus 8, and the pedestrian protection apparatus 8 is operated. The pedestrian protection device 8 may be a known device called by a name such as a pop-up hood, a pop-up engine hood, an active hood, an active hood, a cowl airbag, or a hood airbag. It can be lifted and supported by a shock absorbing mechanism to mitigate the impact of pedestrians hitting the engine hood, or it can be deployed from the engine hood outside the vehicle body to the lower part of the front window. For example, the shock of a pedestrian is buffered.

  Next, the operation | movement at the time of the collision of the vehicle collision detection apparatus in this embodiment is demonstrated. At the time of the collision, the bumper 2 is deformed, the bumper cover 9 is deformed by the impact, and the bumper absorber 10 is deformed while absorbing the impact. At the same time, the chamber member 4 is also deformed, and the chamber space 3 mainly includes the main body 12. The volume decreases rapidly. At this time, even if the air is partially communicated with the outside air, the pressure rapidly rises due to the narrowness, and the pressure sensor 5 is pressed through the extending portion 13 having the chamber space 3 in common.

  As is clear from the above detailed description, according to the present embodiment, the chamber member 4 disposed in front of the bumper force 11 in the vehicle bumper 2 and having the chamber space 3 formed therein, In the vehicle collision detection device 1, which includes a pressure sensor 5 that detects a pressure in the chamber space 3 and is configured to detect a collision with the vehicle bumper based on a pressure detection result by the pressure sensor 5, a chamber member 4 is a chamber extending portion 13 that extends from the end region of the chamber main body 12 projecting to the side of the vehicle width direction end portion of the bumper force 11 to the vehicle rear side to form a part of the chamber space 3. The pressure sensor 5 is attached to the chamber extension 13 from the side.

  According to this configuration, since the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the chamber extension 13 extending from the end region of the chamber body 12 to the vehicle rear side, the pressure sensor 5 can be attached to the chamber member 4. Easy. In addition, it is compatible with various design designs, can handle differences in the structure such as the size of the bumper force 11, and is highly versatile, and it has excellent mountability that can be applied to many types of vehicles. 1 can be used. Further, since the pressure sensor 5 is located on the side (left side) of the bumper force 11, the possibility that the pressure sensor 5 is directly impacted at the time of a collision from the front of the normal bumper force 11 is reduced.

<Second Embodiment>
The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the shape of the chamber member 4. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the chamber member 4 extends in the left direction of the vehicle so as to cover the front of the pressure sensor 5. According to this configuration, the pressure sensor 5 is protected by the extension portion 13 of the chamber and the extension portion forming a part of the main body portion 12, and when a collision occurs in the vicinity of the left front corner of the vehicle. However, since the chamber member 4 is disposed in front of the pressure sensor 5, the pressure sensor 5 is protected, and a structure in which a direct load is hardly applied and is not easily broken is obtained.

<Third Embodiment>
The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the shape of the chamber member 4 and the mounting direction of the pressure sensor 5. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, in the third embodiment, the chamber member 4 is extended in the left direction of the vehicle so as to cover the front of the pressure sensor 5, as in the second embodiment. ing. Further, the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the extended portion of the chamber member from above. Of the outer shape of the pressure sensor 5, the detection direction (vertical direction in FIG. 5B) having a small dimension can be set to the vertical direction, and the necessary space in the upper part in the vicinity of the pressure sensor 5 is minimized. According to this configuration, the height direction of the space occupied by the pressure sensor 5 and the extending portion 13 can be minimized, and the arrangement of other devices is not hindered. Also in this case, the pressure sensor 5 has a connector portion 15 on the vehicle rear side, and is arranged to insert and fix a mating connector (not shown) for electrical connection to the pedestrian protection device ECU 6 or the like from the vehicle rear side. By doing so, it is hard to come off at the time of a collision, and the electrical connection is made difficult to be cut off.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  For example, in each embodiment, the pressure sensor 5 is provided at the left end of the chamber member 4 in the vehicle width direction, but it is needless to say that the pressure sensor 5 may be provided at the right end of the chamber member 4 in the vehicle width direction.

  In the first embodiment, the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the chamber extension portion 13 from the side. However, as in the third embodiment, the pressure sensor 5 is attached to the chamber extension portion 13 from above. It is good also as a structure.

  In the second and third embodiments, the chamber body 12 is formed to extend sideways (left side) or upward so as to cover the vehicle front side of the pressure sensor 5 attached to the chamber extension 13. In short, the chamber body 12 may be extended so as to cover the front side of the vehicle in accordance with the mounting position of the pressure sensor 5.

  In addition, one pressure sensor 5 is provided in the chamber member 4, but in order to improve redundancy, the chamber extension portion 13 extends from both end regions of the chamber member 4 in the vehicle width direction. The pressure sensor 5 may be attached to each of the chamber extending portions 13 and 13. In this case, in addition to what is provided at the left end of the chamber member 4 in the vehicle width direction of the chamber member 4 shown in each embodiment, the space efficiency is provided by providing it at the right end of the chamber member 4 in the vehicle width direction. This is advantageous. Of course, three or more pressure sensors 5 may be provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Vehicle collision detection apparatus 2 Bumper 3 Chamber space 4 Chamber member 5 Pressure sensor 6 Pedestrian protection apparatus ECU
7 Vehicle speed sensor 8 Pedestrian protection device 9 Bumper cover 10 Bumper absorber 11 Bumper force 12 Body (chamber body)
13 Extension (chamber extension)
14 Side member 15 Connector (pressure sensor)

Claims (6)

A chamber member having a chamber body disposed in front of a bumper force in a vehicle bumper and having a chamber space formed therein, and a pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the chamber space, the pressure by the pressure sensor In the vehicle collision detection device configured to detect a collision with the vehicle bumper based on a detection result,
The chamber member extends from the end region of the chamber main body protruding toward the vehicle side with respect to the vehicle width direction end portion of the bumper force to the vehicle rear side to form a part of the chamber space. Equipped with
The vehicle collision detection device, wherein the pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extension portion.   2. The vehicle collision detection device according to claim 1, wherein the chamber body is formed by extending the chamber body so as to cover a vehicle front side of the pressure sensor attached to the chamber extending portion. .   The vehicle collision detection device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extending portion from a side.   The vehicle collision detection device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is attached to the chamber extension portion from above.   The vehicular collision detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connector of the pressure sensor is arranged so that the mating connector is inserted from the rear side of the vehicle. The chamber extending portions are respectively extended from end regions on both sides in the vehicle width direction of the chamber member,
6. The vehicle collision detection device according to claim 1, wherein the pressure sensor is attached to each of the chamber extending portions.