JP6136871B2 - Control device for pedestrian protection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for a pedestrian protection device.

  It has been proposed to protect pedestrians by operating pedestrian protection devices such as pop-up hoods and hood airbags at the time of a personal collision when a pedestrian and a vehicle collide. In recent years, the pop-up hood is selectively activated on the front side and the rear side of the vehicle according to the vehicle speed at the time of an interpersonal collision and the physique of the pedestrian involved in the collision, and further, if necessary, the hood airbag Control of a pedestrian protection device that activates the device has been studied.

  Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of hood airbags, detects an interpersonal collision with a touch sensor provided on the front surface of the bumper, and based on an image of a pedestrian at the time of the bumper collision captured by an in-vehicle camera, An invention of an automobile safety device for inflating a vehicle is disclosed. Specifically, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, the height and size of the pedestrian's head is detected from the image of the pedestrian at the time of the bumper collision, and the weight is estimated from the detected size. The inflation reaction force of the airbag according to the above is calculated. In the invention described in Patent Document 1, an airbag with which the head abuts is selected from the detected height, and the selected airbag is inflated with the calculated inflation reaction force.

JP 2010-12966 A

  However, according to the invention described in Patent Document 1, a touch sensor, a vehicle-mounted camera, a device for performing image processing, and a plurality of hood airbags are required, and there is a problem that the configuration is complicated. The invention described in Patent Document 1 detects the height and size of a pedestrian's head from an image, selects a hood airbag that comes into contact with the pedestrian's head, and inflates the selected airbag. There is a problem that the algorithm for controlling the force is also complicated.

  In consideration of the above-described facts, the present invention has an object to provide a control device for a protection device that enables control of the pedestrian protection device according to the pedestrian's physique related to interpersonal collision with a simple configuration and algorithm. .

The control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1 is provided at a front portion of the vehicle, detects a collision and outputs a signal corresponding to the load of the collision, and detects the speed of the vehicle. The effective mass of the collision object is calculated based on the speed detection means that outputs a signal corresponding to the speed, the signal output from the load detection means and the signal output from the speed detection means, and the calculated effective mass Actuates a front pop-up mechanism that is a pedestrian protection device that pushes up the front side of the engine hood when the first threshold value is exceeded, and the calculated effective mass exceeds a second threshold value that is greater than the first threshold value. When the rear pop-up mechanism, which is a pedestrian protection device that pushes up the rear side of the engine hood in addition to the front pop-up mechanism, is activated, the calculated effective mass is An airbag that covers at least the latter of the rear portion of the engine hood and the lower portion of the front pillar of the vehicle when deployed in addition to the front pop-up mechanism and the rear pop-up mechanism when a third threshold value greater than the second threshold value is exceeded. And a control unit that operates a hood airbag mechanism, which is a pedestrian protection device, and lowers the third threshold value as the vehicle speed increases .

  The control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1 is a pedestrian that is a collision object based on a signal corresponding to the load output by the load detection means and a signal corresponding to the speed of the vehicle output by the speed detection means. The effective mass according to the physique is calculated, and the pedestrian protection device is activated when the calculated effective mass exceeds a threshold (first threshold, second threshold).

The control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1 includes an effective mass of a collision object calculated based on a load detection means, a speed detection means, a signal output from the load detection means, and a signal output from the speed detection means. Is a simple configuration comprising control means for determining whether or not the threshold value exceeds a threshold value. The control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1 calculates an effective mass. If the calculated effective mass exceeds the first threshold and is equal to or less than the second threshold, the small pedestrian Only the front pop-up mechanism is activated. When the calculated effective mass exceeds the second threshold value, it is considered that the middle or large pedestrian has collided, and the rear pop-up mechanism is operated in addition to the front pop-up mechanism. In this way, the pedestrian protection device can be controlled with a simple algorithm that compares the effective mass with the threshold values (first threshold value, second threshold value).

In the control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, when the calculated effective mass exceeds the third threshold, it is considered that a large pedestrian has collided, and the front pop-up mechanism and the rear pop-up mechanism are used. In addition, the hood airbag mechanism is activated. Thus, the pedestrian protection device can be controlled with a simple algorithm that compares the effective mass with the first to third threshold values.

In the control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, at least one of the second threshold value and the third threshold value decreases as the collision speed, which is the speed of the vehicle at the time of collision, increases. Even when the head of the pedestrian in the middle is in contact with the rear part on the front upper side of the vehicle, the head of the pedestrian can be protected by operating the rear pop-up mechanism or the hood airbag mechanism.

According to the control device for a pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, a configuration and an algorithm with a simple control for selectively operating a plurality of pedestrian protection devices according to the pedestrian's physique related to interpersonal collision. When the collision speed is high, it is possible to protect the pedestrian by operating the rear pop-up mechanism or the hood airbag mechanism even when the vehicle collides with a middle pedestrian. .

It is the schematic which shows an example of the ECU which comprises the control apparatus of the pedestrian protection device which concerns on this embodiment, and the pedestrian protection device controlled by the said ECU. It is the expanded side view which looked at the state where the 1st rod and the 2nd rod pushed up the hood hinge by operating the actuator concerning this embodiment from the side of vehicles. It is the perspective view which showed typically the front part of the vehicle provided with the front pop-up hood apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the rear view which looked at the hood lock apparatus etc. which comprise the front pop-up hood apparatus shown by FIG. 3 from the vehicle rear side. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view (5-5 line expanded sectional view of FIG. 1) which looked at the state which cut | disconnected along the vehicle front-back direction in the assembly | attachment state for the vehicle hood airbag apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is the schematic which showed the aspect of the collision with the pedestrian from which a physique each differs in this embodiment, and a vehicle. Correspondence relationship between the change in effective mass calculated by the ECU constituting the control device for the pedestrian protection device according to the present embodiment from the time of collision and the first threshold value a, the second threshold value b, and the third threshold value c It is a graph which shows an example. It is a figure which shows an example of the flowchart which concerns on control of the pedestrian protection device in ECU which is a control apparatus of the pedestrian protection device which concerns on this embodiment.

  Next, a control device for a pedestrian protection device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The front side in the vehicle front-rear direction is indicated by an arrow FR, the outer side in the vehicle width direction is indicated by an arrow OUT, and the upper side in the vehicle vertical direction is indicated by an arrow UP. Moreover, in the following description, when simply indicating the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, the front-rear direction of the vehicle and the up-down direction of the vehicle are indicated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the pedestrian protection device according to the present embodiment includes a rear pop-up hood device 10, a front pop-up hood device 130, and a front pop-up hood device 130, which are provided on the engine hood 14 above the front portion of the vehicle 12. The vehicle hood airbag apparatus 210 is comprised. A control device that controls these pedestrian protection devices is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 22 including a pressure sensor 41 and a vehicle speed sensor 44.

  Hereinafter, the rear pop-up hood device 10 will be described, then the front pop-up hood device 130 and the vehicle hood airbag device 210 will be described, and finally the ECU 22 including the pressure sensor 41 and the vehicle speed sensor 44 will be described.

(Rear pop-up hood device)
As shown in FIG. 1, the rear pop-up hood device 10 of the present embodiment is provided at the rear part of the engine hood 14. The rear pop-up hood device 10 is in contact with the engine hood 14 as a hood, hood hinges 16 and 18 as support members that support the engine hood 14 so as to be openable and closable, and the hood hinges 16 and 18. 14 and the actuator 20 that pushes up the rear end side are configured as main elements.

  The engine hood 14 extends in the vehicle front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from above the vehicle. The engine hood 14 has a power unit room 15 in which a power unit (not shown) is accommodated on the vehicle upper side. Covering from. The rear end portion of the engine hood 14 is rotatably supported by a pair of hood hinges 16 and 18 disposed on the left and right sides. Further, a hood striker 114 (see FIG. 4) is provided at an intermediate portion of the front end portion of the engine hood 14 in the vehicle width direction, and the hood striker 114 is locked to the hood lock device 122 (see FIG. 4). Thus, the engine hood 14 is fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the hood hinge 16 is formed by pressing a steel rod material, and is formed in a substantially S shape in a side view of the vehicle. Note that the hood hinge 18 (see FIG. 1) arranged on the right side in the vehicle width direction is formed symmetrically with the hood hinge 16 arranged on the left side in the vehicle width direction, so that the left side in the vehicle width direction here. The hood hinge 16 disposed on the right side will be described, and the description of the hood hinge 18 disposed on the right side in the vehicle width direction will be omitted.

  The hood hinge 16 includes a first extending portion 24 that is inclined and extends downward from the vehicle rear side toward the front side. A circular through hole (not shown) having an axial direction in the vehicle width direction is formed at the base end portion of the first extending portion 24, and the hood is interposed via a pin 26 inserted into the through hole. The hinge 16 is pivotally supported by the hinge base 28. The hinge base 28 is fixed to the opening edge of the power unit room 15.

  Further, the hood hinge 16 extends from the front end of the first extension portion 24 toward the front side of the vehicle and inclines toward the vehicle upper side, and extends from the front end of the second extension portion 30 to the front of the vehicle. And a third extending portion 32 extending toward the side. Moreover, the upper end side of the 1st extension part 24, the 2nd extension part 30, and the 3rd extension part 32 is made into flange part 24A, 30A, 32A bent to the vehicle width direction outer side. Further, two insertion holes (not shown) are formed in the flange portion 32A along the extending direction of the third extending portion 32, and the engine hood is connected via a bolt 34 inserted into the insertion hole. 14 is attached to the hood hinge 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the actuator 20 is provided on the lower side of the third extending portion 32 of the hood hinge 16 and is formed in a rod shape whose longitudinal direction is the vehicle vertical direction. Specifically, the actuator 20 includes a cylindrical cylinder 46 fixed to the front portion of the vehicle 12, a first rod 48 that is accommodated in the cylinder 46, and extends upward with respect to the cylinder 46. And a second rod 50.

  The cylinder 46 incorporates an ignition device and a gas generating agent. The ignition device ignites under the control of the ECU 22 to be described later and burns the gas generating agent. The gas generated by the combustion of the gas generating agent increases the pressure in the cylinder 46, moves the first rod 48 and the second rod 50 in the direction of the arrow Z in FIG. 2, and the piston head 82 contacts the flange portion 32A. As a result, the engine hood 14 is pushed up together with the hood hinge 16.

(Front pop-up hood device)
As shown in FIG. 3, the front pop-up hood device 130 of the present embodiment closes the engine hood 14 by operating with a holding function that holds the engine hood 14 in the closed position (indicated by the symbol A). A hood lock device 122 having a pop-up function of pushing up (popping up) the push-up position from the position to the push-up position (state designated by reference sign B) is provided. When the engine hood 14 pops up, a deformation allowance of the engine hood 14 is ensured, and thereby it is possible to reduce collision energy that acts on a pedestrian or the like in contact with the engine hood 14. The front pop-up hood device 130 includes an energy absorbing device 132 that absorbs collision energy input to the engine hood 14.

  A hood striker 114 (see FIG. 4) is provided at an intermediate portion of the front end portion of the engine hood 14 in the vehicle width direction. The hood striker 114 is locked to a single hood lock device 122 (described in detail later) disposed in the vehicle width direction intermediate portion at the front end of the vehicle body, whereby the engine hood 14 is held in the closed position. (Rotation of the engine hood 14 is restricted).

  The hood striker 114 is formed in a substantially U-shape that is open toward the upper side of the vehicle in a side view of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 4, the lower end of the hood striker 114 is provided with the engine hood 14. In the closed state, the locking portion 11A extends in the vehicle front-rear direction.

  The front pop-up hood device 130 is fixed to a vehicle body (a radiator support 118 that supports the radiator 116 (see FIG. 3)), and is rotatable to the actuator base 120 as a base that supports one end of the actuator 134. And a food lock device 122 supported by the robot.

  The actuator base 120 is formed by subjecting a steel plate material to press working or the like. Specifically, the actuator base 120 includes a hood lock device support portion 124 that is formed in a substantially inverted triangular shape when viewed from the front of the vehicle and extends in the vehicle width direction with the vehicle longitudinal direction as the plate thickness direction. A circular support hole 126 is formed at an end of the hood lock device support portion 124 on the right side in the vehicle width direction and on the vehicle upper side. By inserting a support pin 166 as a rotation shaft fixed to the hood lock device 122 into the support hole 126, the hood lock device 122 can rotate with the support hole 126 as a shaft support portion. . Further, in the present embodiment, the support pin 166 inserted into the support hole 126 is disposed on the side side (the vehicle left side) of the locking portion 11A of the hood striker 114 in the vehicle front view. Further, the position of the support pin 166 inserted into the support hole 126 in the vertical direction of the vehicle is determined by the vertical position of the locking portion 14A in the closed position of the engine hood 14 and the vertical position of the locking portion 11A in the lifting position. It is set in the middle of the position.

  A plurality (four in this embodiment) of fixing screw insertion holes 142 are formed in the actuator base 120. A fixing screw (not shown) inserted through the fixing screw insertion hole 142 is screwed into a screw hole (not shown) formed on the front surface of the radiator support 118 (upper member 118A (see FIG. 3)). As a result, the actuator base 120 is fixed to the vehicle 12. Further, in the present embodiment, in a state where the actuator base 120 is fixed to the upper member 118A, the actuator 134 is disposed so as to overlap the upper member 118A in the vehicle front-rear direction when viewed from the front of the vehicle.

  The actuator base 120 includes an actuator support 136 that supports the right end of the actuator 134 in the vehicle width direction. The actuator support 136 includes a front wall 136A that extends from the right end in the vehicle width direction of the hood lock device support 124 to the right in the vehicle width direction with the vehicle longitudinal direction as the plate thickness direction, and a vehicle from the lower end of the front wall 136A. And a lower wall portion 136B extending toward the front side. Further, the right end of the actuator 134 in the vehicle width direction is rotatably supported by the front wall 136A via a support pin 138. Further, in a state where the end of the actuator 134 on the right side in the vehicle width direction is supported by the front wall portion 136A, the actuator 134 is arranged adjacent to the right side of the hood lock device 122 in the vehicle width direction.

  The actuator 134 of the present embodiment includes a cylinder 134A formed in a cylindrical shape, a micro gas generator 134B that closes one end of the cylinder 134A (the end on the right side in the vehicle width direction), and a cylindrical rod that is inserted into the cylinder 134A. 134C. When the gas generating agent provided in the micro gas generator 134B burns, the pressure in the cylinder 134A increases, and the rod 134C extends toward the left side in the vehicle width direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a guide pin 156 is fixed to the lower side of the locking recess 148 in the hood lock device main body 144. In addition, the hood lock device support portion 124 is formed with a guide hole 128 formed in an arc shape with the center of the support hole 126 as an axis. The guide pin 156 fixed to the hood lock device main body 144 is inserted into the guide hole 128, whereby the rotation range of the hood lock device main body 144 with respect to the actuator base 120 is restricted.

  In addition, the hood lock device support portion 124 is provided with a pair of fixed recesses 180 and 182 that are open toward the vehicle upper side when the vehicle is viewed from the front. Of the pair of fixed recesses 180, 182, the fixed recess 180 is disposed at an intermediate portion in the vehicle width direction between the guide hole 128 and the support hole 126, and the fixed recess 182 is on the left side in the vehicle width direction of the guide hole 128. Is arranged. The hood lock device main body 144 is fixed to the actuator base 120 by the caulking pins 158 and 158 fixed to the hood lock device main body 144 engaging the fixing recesses 180 and 182, respectively. In addition, the hood lock device main body 144 rotates, and the caulking pins 158 and 158 come out of the open ends of the fixing recesses 180 and 182 so that the fixing of the hood lock device main body 144 to the actuator base 120 is released. It is.

  The extending portion 146 includes a first extending portion 160 that extends obliquely from the end on the right side in the vehicle width direction of the hood lock device main body portion 144 toward the vehicle upper side, and an upper end of the first extending portion 160. The second extending portion 162 is configured to bend toward the vehicle lower side and extend along the hood lock device support portion 124 of the actuator base 120. Further, a boundary portion between the first extension portion 160 and the second extension portion 162 is a shaft support portion 164, and the support pin 166 described above is fixed to the shaft support portion 164. Further, the lower end portion of the second extension portion 162 is an input portion 168 to which the operating force of the actuator 134 is input. The tip portion of the rod 134C of the actuator 134 is connected to the input portion 168 via the pin 170. It is fixed so that it can rotate.

  When the operating force of the actuator 134 is input to the input unit 168, the hood lock device main body 144 is applied to the actuator base 120 in a state where the locking portion 11 </ b> A of the hood striker 114 is locked to the bottom D of the locking recess 148. Thus, it rotates around the support pin 166. As a result, the engine hood 14 moves (pops up) from the closed position to the lifted position.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the energy absorption device 132 is provided on the vehicle lower side of the engine hood 14, and the energy absorption device 132 is spaced from the hood lock device 122 (see FIG. 4) in the vehicle width direction. It is arranged in the space. Further, in the present embodiment, the energy absorbing device 132 is provided on one side (left side) and the other side (right side) of the hood lock device 122 in the vehicle width direction. Further, the energy absorbing device 132 (the end portion on the inner side in the vehicle width direction) is supported by the bracket 186 so as to be rotatable with the vehicle front-rear direction as the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the bracket 186 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper member 118 </ b> A of the radiator support 118. Further, one end of a cable 188 is connected to an intermediate portion in the longitudinal direction of the energy absorbing device 132. The cable 188 is pulled inward in the vehicle width direction in conjunction with the pop-up of the engine hood 14, that is, the cable 188 is moved inward in the vehicle width direction when the engine hood 14 is moved from the closed position to the lifted position. The energy absorbing device 132 is rotated by being pulled toward. Thereby, the dimension of the energy absorbing device 132 in the vehicle vertical direction can be increased in conjunction with the pop-up of the engine hood 14. Further, when the energy absorbing device 132 rotates and is in contact with the engine hood 14, when the energy absorbing device 132 is pressed toward the vehicle lower side, the energy absorbing device 132 is plastically deformed and the energy absorbing device 132 is moved in the vertical direction of the vehicle. The dimensions to decrease. Thereby, the collision energy input to the engine hood 14 is absorbed. In consideration of the energy absorption characteristics, the material of the energy absorbing device 132 (for example, metal or fiber reinforced resin) and the internal structure (for example, a solid structure, a hollow structure, or a honeycomb structure) are set. .

(Vehicle hood airbag device)
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view (a magnified sectional view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 1) of the vehicle hood airbag device 210 in an assembled state as viewed from the side, as cut along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. ing.

  As shown in these drawings, the vehicle hood airbag device 210 is disposed along the vehicle width direction on the rear end side of the engine hood 14 that opens and closes the engine room. The engine hood 14 constitutes a hood outer plate and a hood outer panel 216 constituting the design surface of the engine hood 14, and the hood inner plate is disposed at a position separated from the hood outer panel 216 by a predetermined distance to the vehicle lower side. The hood inner panel 220 which comprises is comprised.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an elongated bag bulging opening 218 having a long side in the hood width direction (vehicle width direction) is formed on the rear end side of the hood outer panel 216. The bag bulge opening 218 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 5, an assembly opening having the same shape as the bag bulging opening 218 is formed at the position facing the bag bulging opening 218 in the hood inner panel 220. The hood inner side opening 226 is formed. The airbag module 222 is attached to the hood inner panel 220 using the hood inner side opening 226.

  The airbag module 222 includes a high-strength lower plate 224 formed slightly larger than the hood inner side opening 226, a substantially box-shaped airbag case 246 fixed to the upper surface side center of the lower plate 224, An inflator 258 as a gas generating means disposed in the airbag case 246 and an airbag 260 accommodated in a folded state in the airbag case 246 are mainly configured. Hereinafter, each element will be described supplementarily in this order.

  The lower plate 224 closes the hood inner side opening 226 by being disposed in contact with the hood inner side opening 226 from the lower side of the vehicle. Further, the portion of the lower plate 224 that faces the hood inner side opening 226 has a shape that is slightly recessed toward the vehicle lower side, and the airbag case 246 is attached to the slightly recessed portion.

  The airbag case 246 is opened at the upper side and includes a front wall 246A, a rear wall 246B, left and right side walls 246C, and a bottom wall 246D, and is made of metal. The size of the air bag case 246 in plan view is set to be slightly smaller than the hood inner side opening 226 and can be inserted into the hood inner side opening 226 from the lower side of the hood inner panel 220. .

  The inflator 258 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, is housed in the airbag case 246 with the hood width direction as a longitudinal direction, and is operated under the control of the ECU 22. Note that only one inflator 258 may be provided at the longitudinal intermediate portion (near the center of the hood) of the airbag case 246, or two or more inflators 258 may be arranged at the left and right or the left and right center. You may take the structure of doing. The inflator 258 is set in an airbag case 246 in a state of being accommodated in an airbag 260 described below. However, the inflator 258 does not necessarily have to be accommodated in the airbag 260, and may be fixed to the bottom wall 246D of the airbag case 246 or the lower plate 224 using a diffuser or the like. As the inflator 258, either a mechanical ignition type or an electric ignition type may be used, and either a gas generating agent-enclosed type or a high-pressure gas-enclosed type is applicable. In addition, a plurality of gas ejection holes are formed in the circumferential direction of the inflator 258 at predetermined positions on the peripheral wall portion of the inflator 258.

  The airbag 260 is normally accommodated in the airbag case 246 in a folded state. When the airbag 260 is inflated and deployed, at least the latter of the rear end portion 214A of the engine hood 14 and the lower portion of the front pillar 266 is covered.

  On the other hand, the opening side end portion of the airbag case 246, that is, the bag inflation opening 218 is closed by a metal airbag door 248 so as to be opened. Specifically, the bag bulge opening 218 is formed in a stepped shape that is stepped downward from the general surface 216A of the hood outer panel 216 toward the vehicle lower side, and the airbag door 248 has a thickness that can be accommodated in the stepped portion 250. And is formed in a size. A deployment hinge portion 248B formed in a substantially bow shape including the rear end portion 248A is integrally formed with the rear end portion 248A of the airbag door 248. The airbag door 248 is made of metal. However, the airbag door 248 may be made of resin, or may be an airbag door of a two-layer structure or the like in which a base material is formed of a metal panel and a resin layer is provided thereon. .

(ECU)
As shown in FIG. 1, the ECU 22 is provided in a center console on a floor tunnel (not shown) provided on the front side of the cabin 36. The ECU 22 receives a signal from a pressure sensor 41 that detects the pressure in the pressure chamber 40 disposed in the front bumper cover 38 that is the front portion of the vehicle 12, and rotates the front tire 42 in accordance with the vehicle speed. A signal from a vehicle speed sensor 44 that detects the number is input.

Since the pressure sensor 41 outputs a signal corresponding to the load at the time of collision (collision load), the ECU 22 calculates the collision load based on the output signal of the pressure sensor 41. Further, the ECU 22 calculates a collision speed, which is a vehicle speed at the time of the collision, based on a signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 44. The ECU 30 calculates the effective mass of the collision object from the calculated collision load and collision speed. Note that. The relationship of the following equation (1) is established between the effective mass m, the collision load F (t), and the collision speed v.
m × v = ∫F (t) dt (1)
Accordingly, the effective mass m can be calculated by the following equation (2) obtained by dividing the time integral value of the collision load, which is the right side of the equation (1), by the collision velocity v.
m = ∫F (t) dt / v (2)

  The EUC 22 determines whether or not the calculated effective mass exceeds a threshold determined in consideration of the pedestrian's physique and the collision speed in the interpersonal collision. Then, the ECU 22 selectively activates the actuators 20, 134 and the inflator 258 according to the determination result based on the threshold value. Note that the ECU 22 of the present embodiment also has a function of operating an airbag device (not shown).

  In the claims, the load detection means corresponds to the pressure sensor 41, the speed detection means corresponds to the vehicle speed sensor 44, and the control means corresponds to the ECU 22. The front pop-up mechanism corresponds to the front pop-up hood device 130, the rear pop-up mechanism corresponds to the rear pop-up hood device 10, and the hood airbag mechanism corresponds to the vehicle hood airbag device 210.

(Operation and effect of this embodiment)
Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a collision mode between a pedestrian and a vehicle 12 having different physiques in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, in this embodiment, pedestrians are classified into pedestrian small 342, pedestrian middle 344, and pedestrian large 346 by physique. For example, it is assumed that the pedestrian small 342 is about 6 years old, the pedestrian 344 is about junior high school girls and adults, and the pedestrian size 346 is an adult male.

  At the time of the person-to-person collision, all of the small pedestrian 342, the middle pedestrian 344, and the large pedestrian 346 are thrown onto the engine hood 14 of the vehicle 12, but the heads 342A, 344A, and 346A come into contact with each other due to the physique of the pedestrian. The part of the vehicle 12 is different. As shown in FIG. 6, in the case of a collision with the small pedestrian 342, the head 342 </ b> A is in front of the engine hood 14, and in the case of a collision with the pedestrian 344, the head 344 </ b> A is The engine hood 14 abuts in the middle in the vehicle longitudinal direction. Further, in the case of a collision with the large pedestrian 346, the head 346A comes into contact with the rear portion of the engine hood 14.

  Accordingly, the front pop-up hood device 130 is operated in the case of a collision with the small pedestrian 342, and the rear pop-up hood device 10 is operated in addition to the front pop-up hood device 130 in the case of a collision with the middle 344 of the pedestrian. In the case of a collision with the large pedestrian 346, the vehicle hood airbag device 210 is operated in addition to the front pop-up hood device 130 and the rear pop-up hood device 10.

  FIG. 7 shows changes in effective mass calculated by the ECU 22 constituting the control device for the pedestrian protection device according to the present embodiment from the time of collision, and the first threshold value a, the second threshold value b, and the third threshold value c. It is a graph which shows an example of a corresponding relationship. FIG. 7 shows three curves, a small effective mass 352, a medium effective mass 354, and a large effective mass 356. In FIG. 7, the small effective mass 352 indicates a small pedestrian 342, the effective mass 354 indicates a pedestrian medium 344, and the large effective mass 356 indicates an example of a change in effective mass after the collision of the large pedestrian 346. Further, a relationship of first threshold value a <second threshold value b <third threshold value c is satisfied.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the first threshold value a is the maximum value 352A or less of the effective mass small 352, the second threshold value b is the maximum value 354A or less of the effective mass 354, and the third threshold value c is the effective mass large. By setting each of the maximum values of 356 to 356A or less, it is possible to estimate the physique of a pedestrian in a personal collision.

  In the present embodiment, the effective mass small 352, the effective mass medium 354, and the effective mass large 356 are determined based on modeling using a computer and data collected by a collision experiment. Further, as described above, the first threshold value a, the second threshold value b, and the third threshold value c are the maximum value 352A of the effective mass small 352, the maximum value 354A of the effective mass 354, and the maximum of the effective mass 356, respectively. The value is 356 A or less. However, in order for each of the pedestrian protection devices to operate properly, each of the first threshold value a, the second threshold value b, and the third threshold value c is data collected by computer modeling and collision experiments. It is necessary to make an appropriate decision based on this.

  The ECU 22 calculates the effective mass of the pedestrian from the collision load calculated based on the output signal of the pressure sensor 41 and the collision speed calculated based on the signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 44. Therefore, the effective mass calculated by the ECU 22 is constant regardless of the collision speed. However, when the collision speed is high, the pedestrian is thrown out to the rear of the vehicle 12 after the collision. Therefore, when the collision speed is high, even when the calculated effective mass corresponds to the effective mass 354 in FIG. 7, that is, in the case of a collision with the pedestrian 344, In addition to the hood device 10, the vehicle hood airbag device 210 needs to be operated.

  In the present embodiment, the third threshold value c is changed according to the collision speed. Specifically, the higher the collision speed, the lower the third threshold c, and even in the case of a collision with the pedestrian 344, in addition to the front pop-up hood device 130 and the rear pop-up hood device 10, the vehicle The hood airbag device 210 is activated. The change in the third threshold value c according to the collision speed is determined based on the data collected by the modeling using the computer and the collision experiment as described above. The third threshold c may be decreased in inverse proportion to the collision speed, or may be decreased step by step every time the collision speed increases within a predetermined value range.

  Further, if necessary, the second threshold value b is also decreased as the collision speed increases, and the rear pop-up hood device 10 is operated in addition to the front pop-up hood device 130 even in the case of a collision with the small pedestrian 342. It may be.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flowchart relating to the control of the pedestrian protection device in the ECU 22 which is the control device for the pedestrian protection device according to the present embodiment. In step 900, it is determined whether the effective mass exceeds the first threshold value a. If the determination is affirmative, the actuator 134 of the front pop-up hood device 130 is operated in step 902.

  In step 904, it is determined whether the effective mass exceeds the second threshold value b. If the determination is affirmative, the actuator 20 of the rear pop-up hood device 10 is operated in step 906. In step 908, it is determined whether or not the effective mass exceeds the third threshold value c. If the determination is affirmative, in step 910, the inflator 258 of the vehicle hood airbag device 210 is operated to end the process. . The processing is also terminated when a negative determination is made at steps 900, 904, and 908.

  In the present embodiment, the control that selectively activates the plurality of pedestrian protection devices is performed by the determination using the three threshold values of the first threshold value a, the second threshold value b, and the third threshold value c. In the case where the pedestrian protection device has a configuration of 2, the threshold for determination may be two, and by comparing the threshold and the effective mass of the collision object, the suitability of the operation of the pedestrian protection device is determined. The pedestrian protection device can be controlled based on the determination. For example, the front pop-up hood device 130 is activated when the calculated effective mass exceeds the first threshold value a. When the calculated effective mass exceeds the second threshold value b, the rear pop-up hood device 10 or the vehicle hood airbag device 210 may be activated in addition to the front pop-up hood device 130.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the control of the pedestrian protection device corresponding to the pedestrian's physique related to the interpersonal collision can be performed with a simple configuration and algorithm.

10 Rear pop-up hood device (rear pop-up mechanism, pedestrian protection device)
12 Vehicle 14 Engine hood 16, 18 Hood hinge 22 ECU (control means)
41 Pressure sensor (load detection means)
44 Vehicle speed sensor (speed detection means)
122 Hood lock device 130 Front pop-up hood device (front pop-up mechanism, pedestrian protection device)
210 Hood airbag device for vehicles (hood airbag mechanism, pedestrian protection device)
260 Airbag 342 Pedestrian small 344 Pedestrian medium 346 Pedestrian large 352 Effective mass small 354 Effective mass small 356 Effective mass large a First threshold value b Second threshold value c Third threshold value

Claims (1)

A load detecting means provided at the front of the vehicle for detecting a collision and outputting a signal corresponding to the load of the collision;
Speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the vehicle and outputting a signal corresponding to the speed;
The effective mass of the collision object is calculated based on the signal output from the load detection means and the signal output from the speed detection means, and when the calculated effective mass exceeds the first threshold, the front side of the engine hood is A front pop-up mechanism that is a pedestrian protection device to be pushed up is operated, and when the calculated effective mass exceeds a second threshold value that is larger than the first threshold value, the rear side of the engine hood in addition to the front pop-up mechanism In addition to the front pop-up mechanism and the rear pop-up mechanism, when the rear pop-up mechanism, which is a pedestrian protection device that pushes up, is activated, and the calculated effective mass exceeds a third threshold value that is larger than the second threshold value, Covers at least the latter of the rear part of the engine hood and the lower part of the front pillar of the vehicle during deployment A pedestrian protection device with airbag actuates the hood airbag mechanism, and a control means for decreasing the third threshold value as the speed of the vehicle is high,
Control device for pedestrian protection device comprising:

Images