JPH03159838A - Air-bag spreading timing control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To have proper control of air-bag inflation at all times by correcting the inflating timing in accordance with the seat adjustment setting condition by the driver or a passenger, i.e., the seat position, seat back angle, and seat belt payoff length. CONSTITUTION:A control device 5 is fed with sensing signals given by sensors 1-4 and emits control signals to air-bag inflating devices 6-6''. That is, collision of a car concerned causes an impact sensor 1 to sense the shock, and also a collision judging circuit 51 to judges the collision. A timing correction circuit 52 corrects the timing of input signal from this collision judging circuit 51 on the basis of sensing signals given by the seat position sensor 2, seat back angle sensor 3, and seat belt payoff length sensor 4. The control signal having undergone timing correction is fed to the air-bag inflating devices 6-6'' installed at the steering device, assistant seat dashboard, and the rear side of front seat.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention provides an airbag deployment timing control device that optimally controls the deployment timing of an airbag that protects an occupant in the event of a collision of a vehicle such as an automobile. Regarding.

[Conventional technology]

When an impact is applied to the body of a vehicle such as a car due to a collision, this impact is detected and the impact is applied to the vehicle occupants, steering mechanism, and dashboard. Alternatively, a collision protection device is known that protects a passenger by deploying an airbag between the front seat bag and the front seat bag.

9 A collision occupant protection system using such an airbag uses an impact detection signal from an impact sensor such as a piezoelectric element or an acceleration switch to drive an electric detonator or other starting element to activate a gas generator, and to detect the impact force. The mechanism is such that the air hug deploys and inflates at a timing appropriate to the size of the passenger to receive the passenger's body part.

In addition, related to this, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 1-46931, there is a system in which a means for detecting the seating pressure of a seat is provided to obtain information on the presence or absence of an occupant to determine whether or not to deploy an air bag.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above-mentioned conventional passenger protection device using an air bag has a timing setting in which the air bag is activated depending on the magnitude of an impact detection signal from an impact sensor. However, even in the same vehicle, the distance between the steering mechanism, dashboard, or front seat hug varies depending on the seat position of the passenger, the angle of inclination of the seat bag, and the passenger's physique, so air hug deployment provides protection. There was a problem in that the effect differed from sheet to sheet and a sufficient protective effect could not be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and to improve the air-hug position of the passenger, the body size of the passenger (skinny, obese, etc.), and the air hug of the passenger seated in the driver's seat and other seats. An object of the present invention is to provide an air bag deployment timing control device that deploys an air bag at an optimal timing according to the difference between the installation distance and the installation distance.

[Means to solve the problem]

The above object is to provide, in addition to the impact detecting means, a seat state detecting means for detecting the passenger's seat position and the inclination angle of the seat belt to the bag, and a belt extending length detecting means for detecting the length of the seat belt. This can be achieved by setting the optimal airbag deployment timing based on the detection information of these detection means.

[Effect]

The seat condition detection means outputs the occupant's seating information, that is, the distance information between the occupant and the airbag, and the belt extension length detection means outputs information indicating the body size of the occupant in the airpack installation direction. By correcting the airbag deployment timing set according to the impact force detected by the impact detection means using the information, the airbag is deployed at the optimal timing.

〔Example〕

First, the relationship between the airbag and the occupant's body position will be explained.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the seating position of the helmsman and the airbag deployment state, in which 31 is the helmsman, 32 is the steering device (
33 is an air bag, and 34 is a seat.

In the figure, the distance between the tip of the face of the driver 31 and the steering device is L, and the distance L2 from the installation position of the air hug 33, that is, the position of the steering device, to the tip surface when the air bag has finished deploying. The distance #L1 to the surface where the tip of the face contacts the deployed tip surface of the air hug due to a collision is L=
It is considered that the optimum protection effect can be obtained with L1+L2. The distance L4 is basically determined by the adjustment movement of the seat 34 in the direction of the arrow.

Similarly, for the passenger in the front passenger seat, as shown in FIG. 4, the position where the passenger 41 contacts the tip surface of the airbag 43 installed on the dashboard 42 in the deployed state is L3 = L2. + It is believed that optimal protection can be obtained at L4. Therefore, if the seat is closer to the steering device, it is necessary to deploy the airbag at an earlier timing than if it is farther away.

Although not shown, in the rear seat as well, the tip of the passenger's face contacts the deployment tip surface of the airbag installed on the back of the front seat at the position where the tip of the face contacts the tip of the airbag when the airbag is fully deployed. It is thought that the optimal protective effect can be obtained by doing so.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the inclination angle of the seat bag and the unfolded tip surface of the air hug, and shows that when the passenger 51 seated on the seat 52 puts the seat bag 53 in the state shown by the solid line, When the airbag installed in the steering device 54 (or dash board, the back of the front seat) is deployed, the distance between the maximum inflation tip surface and the tip of the face is L5, and the seat bag 53 is tilted to the position shown by the dotted line. The above distance L6 of
differs depending on the illustrated seat back inclination angle θ, and L
5 is shorter than L6. Therefore, in the state shown by the solid line, it is necessary to deploy the airbag at a faster timing than in the state shown by the dotted line.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating positioning means for detecting differences in body size of passengers, in which 6l is the passenger, 62 is the seat, 63 is the seat pack, 64 is the seat belt, and 65 is the seat belt retracting mechanism. , 66 is a seat belt extension length detection means.

In the figure, a passenger 6l seated on a seat 62 lets out a seatbelt 64 from a seatbelt retracting mechanism 65 and sets it on his or her body. At this time, the extension length of the seat belt 64 should differ depending on the body size of the passenger, and is considered to be approximately proportional to the body size.

Therefore, by detecting the amount of extension of the seat belt 64 with the sensor 66, which is a seat belt extension length detection means, and outputting this as data, it is possible to detect the amount of extension of the seat belt 64 by detecting the amount of extension of the seat belt 64 and outputting it as data. The difference in distance between the tips of the face can be obtained as a timing correction signal.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of an embodiment of the present invention, in which ■ is an impact sensor, 2 is a seat position sensor, and 3 is a block diagram illustrating the structure of an embodiment of the present invention.
1 is a seat bag angle sensor, 4 is a seat belt extension length sensor, 5 is a control device, 6, 6" is an air bag deployment device, 51 is a collision judgment circuit, 52 is a tying correction circuit, 53 is a system control It is a circuit.

In the figure, the control device is composed of, for example, a microcomputer, and the human power data is transmitted to the impact sensor 1,
Seat position sensor 2. These are the output signals of the seat bag angle sensor 3 and the seat belt extension length sensor 4, and the air bag deployment signal is outputted to the output, and the air bag deployment device 6 installed in the steering system is connected to the air bag deployment device 6 installed in the passenger seat dashboard. The airbag deployment device 6'' and the rear seat passenger airbag deployment device 6'' installed on the back of the front seat are activated.

Note that if no airbag is installed on the passenger seat or rear seat, the airbag deployment devices 6° and 6'' are not required.

When the impact sensor l detects an impact and the collision judgment circuit 51 determines that this is a predetermined impact and that the airbag should be deployed, the collision judgment circuit 51 activates the tying correction circuit 52. Output a signal.

The timing correction circuit 52 receives data indicating the seat position from the seat position sensor 2, that is, the seat position adjustment setting position by the passenger's seat movement mechanism, and the seat back angle indicating the inclination angle of the seat back. Data from the sensor and data from the seatbelt extension length sensor 4 indicating the extension length (amount of extension) of the seatbelt are given, and based on these data, the operation data input from the collision judgment circuit 51 is applied. Perform timing correction.

The timing-corrected activation signal is applied to each airbag deployment device 6.6', 6'' to deploy and inflate those airbags at the appropriate timing according to the data from each sensor 1, 2, 3.4. These controls are performed by the system control circuit 53 of the control device 5.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of FIG. 1. First, a passenger gets into a vehicle, adjusts the seat position and seat back angle, and fastens the seat belt.

When the control device 5 is powered on, the control device and other necessary mechanical devices are activated, and initial settings of the control device are performed (step 1). After initial settings are made, detection data from each sensor other than the impact sensor 1 described above is read into the control device (step 2). Actually, it is stored in the RAM of the microcomputer. Although it is desirable to constantly monitor the sensor and capture the above data in real time, in this example, data is captured at predetermined time intervals and
I am trying to update the RAM.

When the reading of the data is completed (step 3), the amount of correction for the air hug's deployment timing is set based on the imported data (step 4). In this state, when there is a signal output from the impact sensor 1 and the collision judgment circuit 51 determines that there is a collision (step 6), the air hug deployment timing corresponding to the size of the collision is adjusted to the above timing correction amount. Arithmetic processing is performed (step 7), and a signal indicating the optimal airbag deployment timing is output to each airbag deployment device (step 8).

As mentioned above, this deployment timing differs for each seat, and depends on the steering seat, passenger seat, rear seat, seat position, seatback angle, seat helt extension length, etc. The deployment signal is sent out at a timing that provides optimal protection depending on the difference between the maximum deployment state of the airbag and the distance from the passenger.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the airbag can be deployed with optimal timing depending on the occupant's seating condition and body size, so that the occupant can be protected in the event of a collision. can be protected with maximum effectiveness.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Figure 1 is a block diagram explaining the structure of an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a flowchart explaining the operation of Figure 1, and Figure 3 shows the seating position of the helmsman. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram explaining the passenger seat seating position and the airbag deployment state. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship between the inclination angle of the seat hug and the deployed tip surface of the airbag. , 6th
The figure is a schematic diagram illustrating positioning means for detecting differences in body size of passengers. ■...Impact sensor, 2...Seat position sensor,
3... Seat bag angle sensor, 4... Seatbelt extension length sensor, 5... Control device, 6.6
'6"...Airbag deployment device, 51...
Collision judgment circuit, 52...1 ■ Timing correction circuit, 53... System control circuit. ) ■ 2 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A control device that includes an impact sensor that detects a vehicle impact, a collision determination means that determines a collision based on the detection output signal of this impact sensor, and an airbag deployment device that deploys an airbag based on the output of this control device. An airbag deployment timing control device for an occupant protection device comprising: a seat position sensor for detecting a seat adjustment setting state of an occupant; and a timing correction for an output signal of the collision determination means using a detection signal from the seat position sensor. 1. An airbag deployment timing control device comprising: an airbag deployment timing correction means for adjusting the airbag deployment timing, and the airbag deployment device is driven by a signal corrected by the airbag deployment timing correction means. (2) The airbag deployment timing control according to claim (1), characterized in that a seatback angle sensor for detecting a seatback inclination angle is provided, and a detection signal of this seatback angle sensor is also used as the timing correction signal. Device. (3) Claim (1) or (2) is characterized in that a seatbelt extension length sensor is provided to detect the extension amount of the seatbelt, and the detection signal of this seatbelt extension length sensor is also used as the timing correction signal. Airbag deployment timing control device.