JPH02155854A - Shock relieving device for car - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent collision in advance, relieve shocks at eventual collision, and reduce the damage by sensing distance of the object concerned from a car and also their relative speed, and actuating a gas generator for air bag when the hazard conditions inputted previously into a computing/processing part are met. CONSTITUTION:A computing/processing part 6 makes computation and processing on the basis of the time from the sensed reflex wave 21 being generated till reflected and the running speed of a car C, and the distance of an object B concerned from the car C is sensed. A sensing part is furnished to sense the relative speed of the object B and car C by dividing change in the distance D sensed per identification signal with the reflection time difference between identification signals. The computing/processing part 6 judges on the basis of previously sensed distance D or relative speed V, whether it is necessary to actuate a gas generator 4 for air bag, and only when necessary, an operational signal is emitted to actuate the gas generator 4. Data of hazardous distance, hazardous relative speed, etc. are previously entered into the computing/ processing part 6, and operation of the gas generator 4 is judged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is installed on the front, rear, or left and right sides of a vehicle, and is inflated just before the vehicle collides with another vehicle or building. This relates to a shock absorbing device for automobiles that absorbs and alleviates the shock of vehicles (conventional technology).With improvements in the performance of automobiles, improvements in road traffic laws, and road improvements, automobile traffic has become smoother year by year, and the movement of automobiles has become smoother. Time is becoming shorter and more convenient. However, on the other hand, the number of traffic accidents does not seem to be decreasing (and the number of deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents has not decreased at all, making this a worrying situation not only for the industry but also for citizens).

In order to protect the car itself from such traffic accidents,
Bumpers are installed at the front and rear of the car. This bumper is designed to prevent the impact of a collision from directly reaching the body or chassis of the car. In the past, bumpers were often made of steel, but today, urethane bumpers, which can absorb a certain amount of impact, are the mainstream. ing. However, the degree of impact that a urethane breadboard can absorb is very small.

Therefore, some methods have been developed, such as filling compressed air inside the bumper and using the air pressure to absorb and alleviate the impact of a collision, or incorporating a shock absorbing device such as a spring between the bumper and the body to absorb and alleviate the impact. A shock-reducing bumper has been developed. This type of impact-reducing bumper has a high degree of impact absorption, so it has the advantage that the impact in the event of a rear-end collision is less likely to affect the vehicle body or occupants than conventional bumpers.

In addition, in recent years, airbags have been adopted in some automobiles to protect passengers in the event of a collision, and they have been highly effective. This airbag is normally stored inside the steering post or dash board, and inflates in 0.02 to 0.03 seconds after the impact of a collision is detected, and the airbag flies out toward the passenger, causing the passenger to jump out of the seat due to the impact. This prevents passengers from hitting hard surfaces such as the steering wheel or windshield.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Although the above-mentioned impact mitigation bumper has a large impact absorption capacity, the bumper itself is hard, so if it collides with a lightweight object such as a pedestrian or bicycle, it will cause great damage to them. . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the air pressure and spring rate of the impact mitigation bumper so that when the bumper collides with a lightweight object, the bumper deforms or moves and absorbs the impact. The maximum permissible value of the shock absorbing mechanism has become smaller, and when a vehicle collides with a heavy object, the impact is felt on the body and passengers, which is a contradictory problem.

Furthermore, this bumper is intended to absorb the impact of a collision, and cannot prevent a collision itself.

Airbags can protect passengers, but
There is a drawback that damage to the vehicle itself cannot be reduced or prevented. Furthermore, although this airbag can protect passengers from the impact of a collision, it cannot prevent the vehicle from colliding itself.

Therefore, the applicant of this application has developed a shock-reducing rental bumper with an airbag attached to the bumper of a car, in order to not only absorb and reduce the impact of a collision, but also prevent the car from colliding in some cases. He filed an application for utility model registration (Utility Model Application No. 105579/1983). However, when using this impact-reducing bumper to supply compressed gas to the airbag, the passenger must manually operate a switch, which takes time for the airbag to inflate.
It has been difficult to prevent collisions that occur instantaneously.

(Objective of the Invention) The object of the present invention is to detect in advance when a collision is likely to occur and prevent the collision, or even if the collision cannot be prevented and a collision does occur, An object of the present invention is to provide an impact mitigation device for an automobile capable of sufficiently mitigating the impact of the impact and minimizing damage caused by the impact.

(Means for Solving the Problems) As shown in FIG. 1, the automobile impact mitigation device of the present invention includes a storage section 1 attached to an automobile C, an airbag 3 stored in the storage section I, An airbag gas generator 4 that supplies gas A to the airbag 3 to inflate the airbag 3 before the car collides and protrudes from the storage part 1, and the distance and relative speed between the object B and the car C. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a calculation processing section 6 that performs calculation processing based on V and the like to operate the airbag gas generator 4.

(Function) In the automobile impact mitigation device of the present invention, as shown in FIG. Then, the reflected wave is detected by the same sensor 5, and the fact is transmitted to the arithmetic processing section 6. The arithmetic processing unit 6 performs arithmetic processing on the basis of data such as the time from when the ultrasonic signal is generated until the reflected wave is received and the traveling speed of the car that generated the ultrasonic signal. The distance to the car C and the relative speed V are detected. If they do not meet the dangerous conditions inputted in advance to the calculation processing unit 6, the processing unit 6 generates an activation signal to operate the airbag gas generator 4, and based on that signal, the same occurs. The container 4 is activated to generate gas A. This gas A is sent into the airbag 3, and the bag 3 starts to inflate. At this time, the opening/closing lid 2 of the storage section 1 in which the bag 3 is stored is pushed open by the bag 3 automatically or semi-forcibly as shown in Figure 2, and from there the lid 2 of the storage section 1 in which the bag 3 is stored is pushed open automatically or semi-forcibly as shown in Figure 2. The air bag 3 pops out, and the generation and supply of the gas A is automatically stopped in a state where the air bag 3 is sufficiently inflated. If the car C still approaches the object B in this state, the bag 3 will collide with the object B, and the impact will be absorbed and alleviated by the gas pressure inside the airbag 3.

(Example) FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of an automobile impact mitigation device of the present invention.

Reference numeral 1 in these figures is a storage section, which is used to store the airbag 3 that is folded into a small size under normal conditions. This storage part l may be formed by hollowing out the inside of an existing bumper, or it may be formed in a newly made bumper, or it may be formed in a container other than the bumper, such as a car bumper or any other arbitrary container. It may also be something that can be attached to a location.

Reference numeral 2 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an opening/closing lid 2 provided on the front surface of the storage section 1. The opening/closing lid 2 is normally closed, and opens automatically or semi-forcibly just before an abnormality such as a collision occurs, allowing the airbag 3 to protrude. This opening/closing lid 2 is designed to open at a speed that is fast enough for the airbag 3, which inflates at a high speed of 0.02 to 0.05 seconds, to protrude. Therefore, the airbag 3 should be opened just before it inflates, or it should be forcibly pushed open by the inflation of the airbag 3. Also, the opening/closing N2 prevents the airbag 3 from inflating and protruding when it is open. It is necessary to have a shape and structure that is unique.

The opening/closing lid 2 shown in FIG. 2A is composed of four opening/closing lids that open and close vertically and horizontally, and as shown in the figure, the opening/closing lid 2 is semi-forcibly opened by the inflation of the air bag 3.

In addition, under normal conditions, the bolts 2 are attracted and closed by a magnet (not shown) to prevent them from opening inadvertently due to vibrations during normal driving. The shape of the opening/closing lid 2 and its opening/closing operation may be other than those described above.

The airbag 3 has gas A inside it as shown in FIG. 2C.
It is like a cushion that absorbs and cushions the impact of a collision. The material of the airbag 3 must be able to sufficiently withstand the high pressure of the gas A applied to the bag 3 during a collision, and must have a hardness that allows for smooth inflation and storage.

Since this airbag 3 is inflated at a very high speed by the gas A generated from the airbag gas generator 4, the gas inlet 10 of the airbag 3 is inserted into the storage part 1 so as not to come off from the storage part 1 during inflation. It must be firmly fixed to l. Further, the inflated airbag 3 is fixed to the storage part 1 over a wide area so that the inflated airbag 3 does not sag due to its own weight and is horizontal or slightly upward.

Furthermore, if the airbag 3 were to collide with the object B while still in a high-pressure state, the rebound would be too large to absorb the impact. llb is required to allow gas A to escape to some extent by impact. The air dampers 11a and 11b shown in the figure have different set pressures; in the case of a low-speed collision, gas A escapes only from the low-pressure setting air damper lla; in the case of a high-speed collision, gas A also escapes from the high-pressure setting air damper llb, causing the airbag This is to ensure that the high pressure condition in step 3 is relieved quickly.

Furthermore, in FIG. 1, a sub-airbag 3a is provided in front of the airbag 3. This sub-airbag 3a is filled with gas A through a control valve 12 provided on a partition wall 13 between it and the airbag 3, and when the inside of the sub-airbag 3a reaches a predetermined pressure, the opposite valve 12 closes automatically. It's Nishide. An air damper 14 that releases gas at a relatively low pressure is attached to the sub-airbag 3a, so that the soft shock 14 can absorb a weak impact when colliding with a lightweight object such as a pedestrian or bicycle.

Incidentally, the airbag 3 and sub-airbag 3a may be re-stored in the storage section 1 after use so that they can be reused.

Reference numeral 4 shown in FIG. 1 is a gas generator for an airbag, and this may be an existing one or another one. When the operating signal for operating the airbag gas generator 4 in FIG. 16 causes a chemical reaction to generate gas A. This gas generating agent 16 is often made of a hard bar ε prepared by mixing an oxidizing agent such as sodium azide, potassium perchlorate, or manganese dioxide and forming the mixture into a tablet. Gas A when the gas generating agent 16 is combusted
Although the temperature is high, the nitrogen gas A is cooled and combustion residue is collected while passing through the filter and the coolant 17, and clean low-temperature nitrogen gas A is ejected from the airbag gas generator 4.

This nitrogen gas A passes through the connecting pipe 18 and fills the airbag 3 as shown in FIG. A control valve 19 is attached to the outlet of this connecting pipe 18. This control valve 19 is opened when filling with the gas A, and is automatically closed when filling is completed. This prevents the high pressure applied to the gas Δ in the airbag 3 from reaching the airbag gas generator 4 and the connecting pipe 18 during a collision.

The installation of the airbag gas generator 4 depends on the position and the connection pipe 18.
Although the shape of the connecting pipe 18 may be other than the above, it is desirable to reduce the flow resistance of the gas Δ passing through the connecting pipe 18 by G as much as possible.

5, not shown in Figure 1, is the distance I between the object B and the car C] or the relative speed of the two (if both are cars, the speed difference)
This is a sensor that detects while driving.

In this embodiment, the sensor 5 includes a transmitter (not shown) that continuously transmits an ultrasonic signal 20, and a reflected wave 21 thereof.
and a receiving section (not shown) that receives the information. If an identification signal is created by modulating this ultrasonic signal 20 at appropriate time intervals, the reflected wave 2] of the identification signal can be detected.

Reference numeral 6 in FIG. 1 is a calculation processing unit, which calculates a calculation based on the time from when the reflected wave 21 detected by the sensor 5 is generated until it is reflected (reflection time), the traveling speed of the car C, etc. By processing and detecting the distance between object B and car C, or by dividing the change in distance detected for each identification signal by the difference in reflection time of the identification signal, A detection unit is provided for detecting the relative speed with C.

Specifically, this detection is performed as follows, for example.

The speed of car C is 50 km, and the distance from object B is 4.
When the distance is less than 0.00cm, the distance sensing is set to 0.01.
Do it every second. At this time, the change in distance that is sensed is
By dividing by the sensing time interval of 0.01 seconds, the relative velocity between the two can be calculated. By the way, when the change in distance between the car C and the object B is 22 cm per 001 seconds, the relative speed V is 80 km. Here, if the time required from the start to completion of inflation of the airbag 3 is 005 seconds, the distance at which the automatic @C approaches the object B within that time is 111 cm.
It is. Therefore, if a predetermined safety factor is added to this and the distance between the two becomes 130 cm, the operation signal for the airbag gas generator 4 is transmitted from the arithmetic processing section 6. Before the automobile C collides with the object B, the airbag 3 is inflated and ejected from the storage section 1.

By calculating the relative velocity V at appropriate time intervals and activating the airbag gas generator 4 in this manner, the safety factor for setting the dangerous distance can be reduced, and the accuracy of the device can be improved.

In addition, the arithmetic processing unit 6 calculates the previously detected distance and relative velocity V.
Based on this, it is determined whether or not there is a need to operate the airbag gas generator 4, and an activation signal for activating the gas generator 4 is generated only when there is such a necessity.

In this case, data such as a dangerous distance or a dangerous relative speed is input into the calculation processing unit 6 in advance, and the gas generator 4 is operated depending on whether the current distance or relative speed V satisfies the data. It may be determined whether or not there is a need to do so. Specifically, for example, do as follows.

The time required from the start of airbag 3 inflation to completion is 00
5 seconds, and the dangerous distance when the speed of the car C is 50 km is set to 160 cm, and when the distance detected by the calculation processing unit 6 reaches the same dangerous distance of 160 cm, the airbag gas generator is automatically activated. 4 is activated and airbag 3
Let it expand. Similarly, car C's speed is 80km
When the distance is 260 cm, the air bag 3 is inflated.

Note that if the dangerous distance is set to a distance shorter than the total length of the airbag 3 when it is inflated, the airbag 3 will collide with the object B before the airbag 3 is fully inflated.

The above-mentioned distance detection and relative velocity V detection are performed by the arithmetic processing unit 6, but these detections may also be performed directly by the sensor 5. In this case, the sensor 5 is, for example, a vibration wave (for example, an ultrasonic wave) 20
The relative velocity V can be detected by the phase change caused by the Doppler effect between the reflected wave 21 and the reflected wave 21. If the relative speed V can be directly detected by the sensor 5 in this way, the time required for calculation in the calculation processing section 6 can be shortened, and the safety factor set for the dangerous distance can be further reduced. The accuracy of the shock mitigation device of the invention is further improved.

Note that the vibration wave 20 used here may be other than the above-mentioned ultrasonic wave, and in some cases, a laser beam may also be used.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the arithmetic processing unit 6 can be switched between a manual mode and an automatic mode by a manual-automatic changeover switch 22 provided in the driver's seat. The operation is performed automatically, and if the manual mode is set, the operation is performed only when the hand switch 23 is manually operated. The hand switch 23 is attached to a location that is easy to operate during driving, such as a steering post.

In the above explanation, the case where the impact mitigation device of the present invention is installed on the front bumper of a car has been described, but the impact mitigation device can be installed not only on the front of the car (and if necessary, on the rear bumper of the car, or on other parts other than the bumper). It can also be attached to the side, etc.If necessary, two or more can be attached to the front and rear bumpers of the car, or to the front bumper and the side of the car.

Additionally, at the same time as the operation signal from the arithmetic processing section 6 is transmitted, the engine brake by fuel cut or the like or the disc brake by hydraulic operation is automatically activated to reduce the vehicle speed, thereby reducing damage caused by a collision. Even smaller (can be).

(Effects of the Invention) The automobile impact mitigation device of the present invention has the following effects.

(2) Since the gas in the airbag 3 sufficiently absorbs the shock at the time of a collision, the damage caused by the collision is reduced.

■The distance between the moving vehicle C and the object B or the relative speed V between the two is automatically detected, a collision of the vehicle is predicted based on this, and the airbag is automatically installed before the collision.
Because it expands, it is also possible to prevent collisions, and even in the event of a collision, damage is kept to a minimum.

■Since the gas A fed into the airbag 3 is generated by the airbag gas generator 4, the airbag 3
The time required to complete the inflation is extremely short, on the order of 1/100 seconds, and is sufficient to respond to car accidents that occur in the blink of an eye.

■On the outside of the airbag 3, which can withstand large impact forces,
By providing a sub-airbag 3a that absorbs small impact forces, it is possible to reduce the impact even when the vehicle collides with a lightweight object.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the automobile impact mitigation device of the present invention, and FIGS. 2A to 2C are explanatory diagrams of the air bag inflation process of the same impact mitigation device. 1 is the storage section 3 is the airbag 4 is the airbag gas generator 6 is the calculation processing section A is the gas B is the object C is the distance of the car ■ is the relative speed

Claims (1)

[Claims] A storage section 1 attached to a car C, an airbag 3 stored in the storage section 1, and a gas A in the airbag 3.
an airbag gas generator 4 that supplies gas to inflate the bag 3 and project it from the storage section 1 before a collision of the automobile;
and an arithmetic processing unit 6 that performs arithmetic processing based on the distance D and relative speed V between the object B and the automobile C and operates the airbag gas generator 4. Shock mitigation device for automobiles.