JPH0478749A - Collision energy absorption structure of car body side part - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve protectivity by providing an air bag in a car body side part, arranging a plural number of side projected sensors at proper points by way of separating them and electrically connecting them to each other and devising the air bag to actuate whichever sensor detects side collision. CONSTITUTION:A touch sensor unit 25 is constituted by fixing a plural number of touch sensors 43 integrated with a movable side terminal 44 an a fixed terminal 45 covered with a pressure sensitive conductive layer 46. The touch sensor unit 25 is installed on the back side of a side door 14 by a side part reinforcing member 41. When the side door 14 deforms in a recessed shape, both of the movable terminal 44 and the fixed terminal 45 make contact with each other, detect side collision and actuate an air bag. The same touch sensor unit 25 is installed on each of side doors and electrically connected to each other. Accordingly, whichever side collision sensor actuates, the air bag expands and crew protectivity is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a structure for absorbing collision energy on the side of a vehicle body.

(Prior Art) In recent years, from the perspective of protecting occupants in the event of a side collision of a vehicle, airbag units each equipped with an airbag are placed inside each side door, and airbag units are installed on the side door or the corresponding side noll, etc. When a side collision of the vehicle is detected by a side collision sensor, the signal from the side collision sensor activates the inflation of the airbag unit to deploy the airbag inside the vehicle, thereby reducing the impact energy to the occupants. Attempts have been made to protect the occupants by absorbing the
(See Publication No. 17957).

In such a case, as disclosed in the above-mentioned prior art, in general, the airbag units installed in each side door are connected to each other by corresponding side impact sensors. Usually, the collision energy absorbing mechanisms constitute a set of collision energy absorbing mechanisms, and each of the collision energy absorbing mechanisms has its operation system independent of the other collision energy absorbing mechanisms.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, when considering a configuration in which the air pack units provided in each side door are operated only by the output of the corresponding side collision sensor, the above problem arises. There is not much problem in the case of a two-door type car (i.e., a type of car with only one side door on one side of the car body) as in the known example, but if there is a side door on one side of the car body like a four-door type car, there is no problem. In a car that has multiple side doors, for example, if another vehicle collides only with the front side door but does not collide with the side door, only the airbag unit on the front side door will be activated. It is also possible that a situation may occur where the airbag unit on the rear side door side does not operate.

In addition, as for the manner of side collision, in addition to colliding with another vehicle or the sight door part of the own vehicle as described above, for example, there are also cases in which the collision occurs only with the front and rear fenders, or in such a case, In conventional configurations, it may happen that neither airbag unit is activated.

Therefore, in the present invention, we propose a collision energy absorption structure for the side of the vehicle body that can reliably operate the air pack unit to properly protect the occupants when a side collision occurs, regardless of the collision state. This was done as a.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the present invention, as specific means for solving the problems, (1) In the collision energy absorption structure for the side of the vehicle body according to the invention as claimed in claim 1, the side portion of the vehicle body has the following: The system is equipped with an airbag that can be deployed into the passenger compartment to restrain the occupants in the event of a side collision of the vehicle, and is equipped with multiple side collision sensors that detect the occurrence of a side collision of the vehicle and output a deployment signal to the airbag. These side collision sensors and the airbag are arranged at appropriate locations on the vehicle body and are spaced apart from each other, and even when any one of the side collision sensors detects the occurrence of a side collision, a deployment signal is not sent to the airbag. (II) In the invention according to claim 2, in the collision energy absorbing structure for the side of the vehicle body according to claim 1, the side collision sensor is connected to each side door of the vehicle. (I[l) In the invention according to claim 3, in the collision energy absorbing structure for the side of the vehicle body according to claim 1, the side collision sensor is provided inside each side door and fender of the vehicle. It is characterized by the fact that it has been provided for each.

(Function) With such a configuration, in each of the present inventions, when one of the plurality of side collision sensors provided on the vehicle body detects a side collision of the vehicle, the entire side of the vehicle body is The airbag is deployed toward the interior of the vehicle, thereby reliably absorbing and mitigating the impact energy applied to the occupants.

(Effects of the Invention) Therefore, according to the collision energy absorption structure of the vehicle body side portion of each invention of the present application, the following effects can be obtained.

According to the collision energy absorbing structure for the side of the vehicle body according to claim 1, when a side collision occurs, any one of the plurality of side collision sensors disposed on the vehicle body Since the system detects the airbag and outputs an airbag deployment signal to deploy the airbag, the airbag reliably absorbs and alleviates the impact energy for the occupant in the event of a side collision, further improving the protection performance for the occupant. is obtained.

■ In the collision energy absorption structure for the side of the vehicle body according to claim 2, in addition to the effect described in (1) above, each side door is provided with a side collision sensor, so that, for example, in a four-door type car, the front and rear doors of the vehicle are Even if another vehicle collides with only one of the side doors and does not collide with the other side door, the system will respond to the output of the side collision sensor on one of the side doors and All the airbags, including the one on the site door side, are deployed, providing more complete protection for occupants located far from the collision location, especially in four-door vehicles. This effect is more pronounced in vehicles with multiple side doors provided on one side of the vehicle body.

(2) In the collision energy absorption structure for the side of the vehicle body according to claim 3, in addition to the effect (2), since the side collision sensor is also arranged inside the fender part other than each side door, it is possible to Even if the collision location is on the front fender or rear fender, which does not directly correspond to the occupant, all airbags will deploy in response to the deployment signal from the side impact sensor located inside the fender, and the vehicle will be protected. This has the effect of providing more complete protection for occupants in the event of a collision at a location away from the passenger compartment, especially in passenger car-type vehicles where the fender extends relatively far from the passenger compartment. The effect is more pronounced.

(Embodiments) Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

First Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a vehicle 1 equipped with a collision energy absorbing structure on the side of the vehicle body according to an embodiment of the invention as set forth in claims 1 and 2 of the present application. This vehicle 1 is a so-called 4-door type vehicle equipped with a total of four side doors 14 to 17, two at the front and rear on both the left and right sides of the vehicle body 11. Inside the vehicle compartment 1a, which is surrounded on the side, there are a driver's seat 3 and a passenger seat 4 corresponding to the right front sight door 14 and the left front side door 16, and the right rear side door 1.
5 and the left rear side door I7, respectively.

Each of the seats 3 to 5 is provided with a seating sensor 30 to 34 that detects the seating of an occupant and outputs a seating signal, while each of the side doors 14 to 17 is provided with airbag units 21 to 34, which will be described later, respectively. 24, and touch sensor units 25-28 as side-impact sensors that detect the occurrence of a side-impact of the vehicle 1 and output deployment signals to the airbag units 21-24, respectively.

A. Configuration of Airbag Unit The airbag units 21 to 24 described above all have the same configuration, so here, with reference to FIG. To explain this using the unit 21 as an example, this airbag unit 21 includes a folded airbag 21 in a casing 21a having a substantially fan-shaped cross section.
c, and an inflator 21b that receives a deployment signal from a touch sensor unit (described later) and is energized to ignite and generate a required amount of gas (for example, nitrogen gas).

This airbag unit 21 is mounted on the side of the vehicle interior of the inner panel 14b of the right front side door 14.
Furthermore, it is attached in a retracted state inside an armrest part 19 formed in a vertically middle section of a door trim 18 disposed so as to cover the inner panel 14b so as to bulge toward the vehicle interior. In this case, a position of the door trim 18 corresponding to the upper surface of the airbag unit 21 (i.e., the front position in the deployment direction of the airbag 21c) is a lid portion 2 that can be opened by the deployment force of the airbag 21c.
It is 0. Accordingly, as the inflator 21b operates, the airbag 21c pushes open the lid portion 20, bulges upward, and deploys toward the passenger compartment 1a, as shown by the chain line (2+c') in the figure. It happens.

B: Structure of touch sensor unit The touch sensor unit corresponds to the side collision sensor in the claims as described above, and as shown in FIG. 2 collides with the side door from the side and the side door is deformed by a predetermined amount or more, this is detected as a side collision and outputs a deployment signal to the airbag unit. In the embodiment, a known touch sensor having an optimal configuration for such a detection mode is used.

That is, since all of these touch sensor units 25 to 28 have the same configuration, they are shown in FIGS. 2 to 4.
Referring to the figure, the right front touch sensor unit 25 disposed on the right front side door 14 will be explained as an example. As shown in FIG. 47 and an electrode support plate 48 having a fixed side electrode 45 covered by a pressure-sensitive conductive layer 46 are arranged facing each other at a predetermined distance using a pair of left and right adhesives 49 and 49, and are integrated into a touch sensor 43. are fixed to a strip-shaped substrate 42 at a predetermined pitch.

In this embodiment, each of these touch sensors 43.
43. . . are attached to the substrate 42 with an adhesive 50.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the touch sensor unit configured as described above is arranged on the back side of the outer panel 14a of the side door 14 facing toward the vehicle body's rearward direction. Each of the touch sensors 43.4 is provided on the outer surface 41a (that is, the surface facing the outer panel 14a).
3. ... is fixedly arranged to the side door 14 by being hissed in a state facing outward (toward the outer panel 14a side).

When the touch sensor unit 25 is attached to the side door 14 in this manner, when the outer panel 14a of the side door 14 is deformed into a concave shape due to a side collision, the electrode support plate 47 of the touch sensor 43 is deformed due to the deformation of the outer panel 14a. The movable side electrode 44 moves to the side reinforcing member 41 side.
is brought into contact with the fixed side electrode 45 on the side reinforcing member 41 side.

When the picture electrodes 44 and 45 come into contact with each other in this manner, a current is applied, and the occurrence of a side collision is detected.

C. Control system of each airbag unit Next, each airbag unit 2 configured as described above.
Control systems 1 to 24 will be explained with reference to FIG.

Each of the airbag units 21 to 24 is controlled electrically by the control unit 10, or in this case, basically the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is applied.
When any one of the touch sensor units 25 to 28 is activated, all the airbag units 21 to 2
However, in this embodiment, the deployment control of a specific airbag unit can be canceled if unnecessary for passenger protection.

Specifically, the output signals of each of the touch sensor units 25 to 28 are all input to the OR circuit 61. The output from this OR circuit 61 corresponds to an AND circuit 62 corresponding to the right front airbag unit 21, an AND circuit 63 corresponding to the right rear airbag unit 22, and an AND circuit 63 corresponding to the left front airbag unit 23. A to do
The signals are input to an ND circuit 64 and an AND circuit 65 corresponding to the right rear airbag unit 24, respectively.

On the other hand, the output signals from the driver seat side seating sensor 30 and the passenger seat side seating sensor 31 are respectively input to an OR circuit 66, and furthermore, the output signal of this OR circuit 66 is
The signals are input to D circuits 62 and 63, respectively.

Therefore, in the right front airbag unit 21 and the right rear airbag unit 22, at least one of the touch sensor units 25 to 28 detects a side collision, and at least one of the driver's seat 3 and passenger seat 4 detects a side collision. It deploys only when an occupant is seated on one side; in other cases, for example, when a side collision occurs but no occupant is seated on either the driver's seat 3 or passenger seat 4. It does not deploy despite a side impact. That is, the right front airbag unit 21 and the right rear airbag unit 22 are deployed only when it is necessary to protect the occupant in the driver's seat 3 or passenger seat 4.
This prevents unnecessary airbag deployment.

On the other hand, the first seating sensor 32 for the rear seat, the second seating sensor 33 for the rear seat, and the third seating sensor 3 for the rear seat
The four output signals are input to an OR circuit 67, respectively.

Furthermore, the output signal from this OR circuit 67 is the AND
The signals are input to circuits 64 and 65, respectively.

Therefore, the left front airbag unit 23 and the right rear airbag unit 24 are activated when a side collision occurs regardless of the collision position, and at least one of the three seating positions of the rear seat 5 is used. If an occupant is seated in one of the seats, both of them are deployed at the same time to protect the occupant, but they are not deployed if there is no occupant in the rear seat 5, even in the event of a side collision. This ensures that the occupant is protected in the event of a side collision, and at the same time prevents unnecessary airbag deployment.

That is, in this embodiment, if at least one of the four side doors 14 to 17 is collided with another vehicle 2, even if there is a side door that does not deform due to the side collision, this will not be possible. By deploying the airbag unit at the same time, occupant protection can be ensured.

Second Embodiment FIG. 6 shows a vehicle 1 equipped with a collision energy absorbing structure on the side of the vehicle body according to an embodiment of the invention of claims 1 and 3 of the present application. In this embodiment, in addition to the configuration of the first embodiment, the vehicle l
Lateral force sensors 35 and 36, which will be described later as side impact sensors, are installed on the front fender part 12 and the rear fender part 13, respectively.
and 37.38 are additionally arranged.

That is, as for the side collision of the vehicle, in addition to the case in which another vehicle 2 collides with the side door portion of the side portion of the vehicle body as in the first embodiment, the side collision occurs in the vehicle body through these side doors as shown in FIG. In some cases, the vehicle collides with a portion of the front fender portion 12 or rear fender portion 13 that is distant in the longitudinal direction. In such a case, as in the first embodiment, each side door 14 to 1
If a side collision is detected only by the touch sensor units 25 to 28 disposed at 7 and the airbags of each airbag unit 21 to 24 are deployed, each side door 14 to 17 will not be deformed even if a side collision occurs. It is also possible that the airbag will not deploy due to unforeseen circumstances.

Therefore, in this embodiment, as will be described later, two lateral force sensors 35 to 38, which are activated by the lateral load caused by a side collision, are arranged on the front fender part 12 and the rear fender part 13, and when a side collision occurs on the fender part, This is detected by one of the lateral force sensors 35 to 38 and all airbag units are activated, thereby ensuring complete protection of the occupant.

Since the lateral force sensors 35 to 38 have the same configuration, the first lateral force sensor 35 for the front disposed on the front fender portion 12 will be taken as an example and explained with reference to FIG. do.

The first lateral force sensor 35 for the front includes a conductive ball 53 and a pair of left and right electrode plates 55 and 56 that are arranged to face each other. And this ball 53
is held in a state where it is constantly attracted to the rear side (in the direction of the arrow 6) by the magnetic force of the magnet 54 placed behind it, or if a lateral force is applied in the direction of the arrow 6 due to a side collision, the inertia force This allows it to move in the direction of arrow B against the magnetic force.

On the other hand, in the normal state, the electrode plates 55 and 56 are arranged at positions facing away from the ball 53 and in a mutually non-contact state (that is, in a state where the current is cut off), as shown in the figure. However, when the ball 53 moves in the direction of arrow B due to its inertia force due to a side collision and comes into contact with each electrode plate 55, 56, each of these electrode plates 55, 56
The airbags are mutually energized through the airbags 21 to 24, thereby detecting the occurrence of a side collision and outputting a deployment signal to each of the airbag units 21 to 24.

In addition, since the lateral force sensor has a directionality of operation due to its structure, in this embodiment, there are two each on the float fender section 12 and the rear fender section 13, and the operation directions are opposite to each other. I try to place it in the configured state.

And, as shown in FIG. 7, the developed signals from the L horizontal force sensors 35 to 38 configured and arranged in this manner are similar to the respective touch sensor units 25 to 28 described above.
The signals are respectively input to the R circuit 61.

With such a control system, all the airbag units 21 to 24 are deployed at the same time when at least one of the touch sensor units 25 to 28 and the lateral force sensors 35 to 38 is activated. , the occupants can be reliably protected.

Note that each airbag unit 21
24 can be canceled as in the case of the first embodiment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a collision energy absorbing structure on the side of the vehicle body according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a -III perspective view of the touch sensor unit shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a [V-IV vertical sectional view of FIG. 3, and FIG. is a control circuit diagram of each airbag unit, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of a vehicle equipped with a collision energy absorption structure on the side of the vehicle body according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a control circuit diagram of the airbag unit, and FIG. 8 is a structural explanatory diagram of the lateral force sensor. l...Vehicle 2...Other vehicles 3...Driver's seat 4...Passenger seat 5...Rear seat lO...Control unit 11...Vehicle body 12... Front fender section 13... Rear fender section 14-17 side door 18... Door trim 19... Armrest section 20... Lid section 21-24, 25-28, 30-34, 35-38, ・Airbag unit/touch sensor unit/seating sensor/lateral force sensor Fig. 8 Application agent Mazda Corporation

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An airbag is provided on the side of the vehicle body and is capable of deploying into the passenger compartment to restrain an occupant in the event of a side collision of the vehicle, and detects the occurrence of a side collision of the vehicle and deploys the air bag. A plurality of side impact sensors that output deployment signals to the bag are arranged at appropriate locations on the vehicle body in a spaced-apart manner, and each of these side impact sensors and the airbag are connected to each other to determine which one of the side impact sensors detects the occurrence of a side impact. A structure for absorbing collision energy on the side of a vehicle body, characterized in that the structure is electrically coupled so that a deployment signal is output to the airbag even when the airbag is detected. 2. A structure for absorbing collision energy on a side of a vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein a side collision sensor is provided at each side door of the vehicle. 3. A structure for absorbing collision energy on a side of a vehicle body according to claim 1, wherein a side collision sensor is provided inside each side door and fender of the vehicle.