JPH05213150A - Controlling-monitoring device for air bag - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To recognize the generation of deviation in the mounting direction of an impact sensor by providing a tilt angle sensor for detecting the mounting direction to a collision sensor, and providing a reference tilt angle sensor for detecting car-body tilt angle to the car-body, thereby monitoring deviation in the mounting direction of the collision sensor by the difference between outputs of both the sensors to issue an alarm. CONSTITUTION:A controller 5 judges directional deviations of collision sensors 1-3 when the car speed is zero before starting travel immediately after ignition. That is, the controller receives the tilt angles respectively from tilt angle sensors 6-8 integrally mounted to the collision sensors 1-3, and receives a reference tilt angle from a reference tilt angle sensor 9 mounted to the car body. When the differences between the tilt angle of the respective collision sensors 1-3 and the reference tilt angle are larger than specific angles, the controller judges that the directions of the collision sensors 1-3 are deviated, and blinks a warning lamp 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an air bag control and monitoring device, and more particularly to an air bag control and monitoring device for monitoring a mounting direction deviation of a collision sensor used for controlling the deployment of an automobile air bag. ..

[0002]

BACKGROUND ART Generally, an airbag module is configured to include an ignition device called a squib, a gas generator called an inflator, and an airbag (shock absorption bag) attached to the gas generator. During a frontal collision, the squib is ignited to generate high-pressure gas from the inflator, which inflates (deploys) the airbag to hit the occupant's chest and restrain the occupant to protect the occupant. By deploying the airbag, for example, the driver can prevent the driver's face (head) from colliding with the steering wheel (handle) and being damaged.

However, the airbag is usually not always deployed at the time of a frontal collision, but is designed to be deployed when a collision condition in which the injury value of the face and the head exceeds a predetermined reference value is reached. .. That is, only when the airbag controller receives a signal from a collision sensor which detects when the acceleration (G) applied to the vehicle body exceeds a predetermined value due to the impact at the time of a collision and is turned on (ON). The bag is designed to be deployed.

Electro-mechanical collision sensors as shown in FIG. 4 are relatively often used as collision sensors in airbag systems. Here, the collision detection principle of the electromechanical collision sensor 50 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 4. When an acceleration in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 is applied to the vehicle body by the collision, the collision is fixed to the vehicle body. A force in the direction of arrow B corresponding to the acceleration acts on the cylinder 51 constituting the collision sensor 50, and this force causes the cylinder 51 to contact the contacts 52A and 52B, and the contacts 52A and 52B are electrically connected via the cylinder 51. The circuit (not shown) including the contacts 52A and 52B is closed by this connection, and at this time, the voltage signal (collision detection signal) is output to the airbag controller (not shown) connected to the collision sensor 50. ing. The cylinder 51 is
The contacts 52A and 52B are always attracted in the direction of arrow C, that is, the direction of arrow A, and only when the attraction force of the magnet 53 is overcome by the force in the direction of arrow B applied to the cylinder 51 at the time of collision.
The circuit including is closed, that is, the collision sensor 50 is turned on (O
It is designed to be N).

The electromechanical collision sensor 50 is mounted on the vehicle body,
For example, when mounting on the front part of the vehicle body, as shown in FIG.
A stay 56 is provided between the radiator support 54 and the cross member 55 as shown in FIG.
Installed on the engine room 60 side. FIG. 6 shows an enlarged view of the mounting portion viewed from the engine room 60 side. As is clear from the above-described collision detection principle of the sensor 50, in order to reliably turn on the sensor 50 at a predetermined collision acceleration, the direction of the x-axis in FIG. 6 is indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 4 described above. It is very important to mount the sensor so that it matches the direction, and it has been done in the past as well. Similarly, the collision sensor 50
It was necessary to mount the sensor 50 in another location, for example, in the vehicle compartment, so that the sensor 50 has the above-described orientation. For the same reason, even when using another type of sensor as a collision sensor, for example, a semiconductor type or piezoelectric type acceleration sensor, the mounting direction of the sensor is important.

[0006]

In the conventional air bag system, the failure of the collision sensor itself is detected, but the mounting condition of the sensor and the bending condition of the stay attached are not checked.

However, particularly in the case of the collision sensor mounted on the front portion of the vehicle body, the mounting screw of the collision sensor 50, which was initially mounted in the direction shown in FIG. 6, loosened with time, and as shown in FIG. In the case of a slight collision in which the direction is shifted by an angle α in the xz plane and the z-axis of the sensor 50 is oriented in the z′-axis direction, or when the acceleration (G) is not generated enough to deploy the airbag, , Collision sensor 50
The stay 56 to which is attached bends, and its direction is displaced by an angle β in the yz plane as shown in FIG.
In some cases, the z-axis of the vehicle may face the z ″ -axis. Even if such a situation occurs, the user does not issue a warning (alarm) in the conventional airbag system unless the sensor 50 itself fails. There is a high possibility of using the vehicle as it is without noticing this, and even if there is a collision in which the airbag should be deployed thereafter, due to the deviation of the direction of the sensor 50,
There is an inconvenience that the sensor 50 may not turn on. In addition to the causes described above, the cause of the deviation of the direction of the sensor 50 may be that the tool or the like hits the sensor 50 or the stay 56 during the peeling of the adhesive, the direction of the sensor 50 is deviated or the stay 56 is bent, etc. Conceivable.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to improve the disadvantages of the prior art and to detect the deviation of the direction of the collision sensor due to the bending of the stay to which the collision sensor is mounted or the loosening of the mounting screw, which can be detected by the user. An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag control monitoring device that can be recognized.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the airbag control and monitoring device of the present invention is integrally provided in at least one of one or more collision sensors for controlling airbag deployment. An inclination angle sensor that detects the mounting direction of the collision sensor, a reference inclination angle sensor that is provided in a rigid portion of the vehicle body and that detects the inclination angle of the vehicle body, and outputs of the inclination angle sensor and the reference inclination angle sensor. It is provided with a monitoring means for monitoring the mounting direction deviation of the collision sensor integrally provided with the inclination angle sensor based on the difference, and an alarm generating means juxtaposed with the monitoring means and the operation of which is controlled by the monitoring means. It is characterized by that.

[0010]

According to the above structure, the monitoring means inputs the respective outputs from the tilt angle sensor and the reference tilt angle sensor, calculates the difference between the tilt angle sensor and the reference tilt angle sensor, and determines the difference between them. The direction deviation of the collision sensor is monitored by determining whether the collision sensor is within the range. And
In the monitoring means, if at least one of the differences is out of the range, the alarm generation means is activated to issue an alarm.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
It will be explained based on.

FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of an airbag system including a monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The system shown in FIG. 1 is connected to three collision sensors for airbag deployment control, that is, a forward sensor 1, an arming sensor 2 and an indoor sensor 3, and these sensors 1, 2 and 3 via a harness 4. Electromechanical air bag controller (DERM: Diagno-stics Energy Reserve Module) that also functions as a monitoring means
5 and this electromechanical airbag controller (hereinafter,
It is abbreviated as “controller”. ) 5, an airbag module 10 connected via a contact coil 14,
Inclination angle sensors 6, 7, 8 integrally provided on the sensors 1, 2, 3 respectively as described later, and a vehicle body 30.
A solid inclination part, for example, a reference inclination angle sensor 9 provided on the ceiling of the vehicle compartment for detecting the inclination angle of the vehicle body 30, and as an alarm generating means that is attached to the controller 5 and whose operation is controlled by the controller 5. The warning lamp 11 of FIG. The tilt angle sensors 6, 7, 8 and the reference tilt angle sensor 9 are connected to the controller 5 via a signal line 12.

The forward sensor 1, the arming sensor 2 and the indoor sensor 3 are the same as those shown in FIG.
It is composed of an electromechanical collision sensor similar to
Of these, the forward sensor 1 includes a radiator support and a cross
The stay 56 between the members is provided in the same manner as in FIG. 5 (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 2, the forward sensor 1 is integrally provided with a tilt angle sensor 6, and both of them are integrally fixed to each other by a screw 56.
Is attached and fixed to. Inclination angle sensors 7 and 8 are similarly applied to the arming sensor 2 and the indoor sensor 3.
Are integrally provided and installed on the instrument panel portion as shown in FIG. Here, FIG. 2 shows the case where the inclination angle sensor 6 is provided in contact with the forward sensor 1. However, if the inclination angle sensor 6 and the forward sensor 1 are integrated via a mounting member, both sensors may be separated. It may be provided.

As usual, the air bag module 10 includes an ignition device called a squib, a gas generator called an inflator, and an air bag (shock absorbing bag) attached to the gas generator. And
The airbag is also normally stored inside the steering wheel 13 together with the inflator and the like.

The reference inclination angle sensor 9 is provided to detect the inclination angle of the vehicle body 30 itself as a reference inclination angle so that the inclination of the road is not mistakenly detected as a deviation of the direction of the forward sensor 1 or the like. Has been. That is, on a slope or on a road having an inclination in the vehicle width direction, this inclination is naturally detected even by the inclination angle sensor 6 or the like, and if the detected value of the inclination angle sensor 6 or the like is used as it is, it depends on the inclination of the road. This is because it is impossible to determine whether the inclination is the inclination or the inclination in which the forward sensor 1 or the like has been misaligned. The inclination angle sensor is a sensor of a mechanism that detects the inclination angle by measuring the gravitational acceleration based on the same principle as that of the acceleration sensor. In the present embodiment, the inclination angle sensors 6, 7, 8 and the reference inclination are particularly used. As the angle sensor 9, a type that detects and outputs both the angle on the xz plane and the angle on the yz plane is used.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG.

The controller 5 determines the direction deviation of the collision sensor as follows while the vehicle speed immediately after the ignition is turned on (ON) and before the start of traveling is "0 (zero)". That is, in the controller 5, the tilt angle sensors 6, 7,
8, the xz plane angles are respectively input, the differences from the reference tilt angle which is the output of the reference tilt angle sensor 9 are respectively checked, and when the difference is larger than the predetermined angle (θ ₁ , θ ₂ , θ ₃ ), Judges that the direction of the collision sensor (actually, the forward sensor 1, the arming sensor 2 and the indoor sensor 3 whose inclination angle exceeds a predetermined angle) is deviated,
The warning lamp 11 is blinked (operated). Similarly, the controller 5, the difference is a predetermined angle from the reference tilt angle also the y-z plane angle _{(θ 4, θ 5, θ} 6) is greater than, it is determined that the direction of the collision sensors are deviated , The warning lamp 11 blinks. When the difference between the xz plane angle and the yz plane angle and the reference inclination angle is less than or equal to the predetermined angle (θ _{1 to} θ ₆ ), the controller 5 determines that “OK”, that is, no collision sensor direction deviation. to decide.
Here, the reason for making the determination when the vehicle speed is “0” is that it may be impossible to make an accurate determination due to the influence of vibration or the like while the vehicle is traveling.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the controller 5 forwards immediately after the ignition is turned on.
Whether or not the sensor 1, arming sensor 2 and indoor sensor 3 have a direction deviation is determined, and when it is determined that there is a direction deviation, the warning lamp 11 blinks, so that the user recognizes the occurrence of the collision sensor direction deviation. Even if there is a collision to be deployed by the airbag due to the time-dependent displacement of the collision sensor, which has been a problem in the past, the displacement can be repaired at a maintenance shop or the like. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the collision sensor does not turn on and thus the airbag does not deploy (becomes non-explosive).

In the above embodiment, the controller 5 for controlling the deployment of the airbag also has a function as a monitoring means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the controller 5 is not limited thereto. A monitoring means for monitoring the direction deviation of the collision sensor may be provided separately. In such a case, the inclination sensor, the reference inclination sensor, and the alarm generating means may be connected to this monitoring means. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the warning lamp is used as the alarm generating means is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the voice synthesizing LSI is used as the alarm means.
Etc. may be used, and in this case, it is also possible to give a user a voice warning such as “occurrence of collision sensor direction deviation”.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the inclination angle sensor for detecting the direction deviation is provided in all of the three collision sensors, that is, the forward sensor, the arming sensor and the indoor sensor is illustrated, but as a practical problem, It is the forward sensor that the direction deviation is most likely to occur. Therefore, the inclination angle sensor may be provided only in the forward sensor, or the collision sensor itself may be provided only in the forward sensor. Also, as the tilt angle sensor, a case of using a type that detects and outputs both the angle on the xz plane and the angle on the yz plane is illustrated, but only the angle on the xz plane is used. Sensor to detect, y
The configuration may be used in combination with a sensor that detects only the angle on the −z plane.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the electromechanical collision sensor is used and the electromechanical air bag controller (DERM) is used is illustrated, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the present invention can be applied to other airbag systems that use a semiconductor type or piezoelectric type acceleration sensor as a collision sensor.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The monitoring means monitors the direction deviation of the collision sensor based on the difference between the outputs of the respective inclination angle sensors and the reference inclination angle sensor, and if at least one of the differences is out of the range, the alarm generation means is activated to give an alarm. As a result, the user can recognize the occurrence of the direction deviation of the collision sensor, and the direction deviation can be repaired at a maintenance shop or the like.Therefore, due to the looseness of the mounting screw or the bending of the mounting stay, etc. It is possible to provide an unprecedented excellent airbag control and monitoring device that can effectively prevent a situation in which the airbag does not explode when the collision sensor is misaligned.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an airbag system configured to include a monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a mounting structure of the forward sensor of FIG.

3 is a flowchart showing a control algorithm of the airbag controller of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing an example of an electromechanical collision sensor.

FIG. 5 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a mounting location of a collision sensor on a front portion of a vehicle body.

6 is a view showing a state where the collision sensor attachment portion of FIG. 5 is viewed from the engine room side.

7 to 8 are views for explaining a problem to be solved by the invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Forward sensor as a collision sensor 2 Arming sensor as a collision sensor 3 Indoor sensor as a collision sensor 5 Electromechanical air bag controller as monitoring means 6, 7, 8 Tilt angle sensor 9 Reference tilt angle sensor 11 Alarm Warning lamp as a means of generation

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 16, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] 0003

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

However, the airbag is usually not always deployed at the time of a frontal collision, but is designed to be deployed when a collision condition in which the injury value of the face and the head exceeds a predetermined reference value is reached. .. That is, at the time of a collision,
Acceleration (G) applied to the vehicle body
If the degree of change exceeds a specified value, the airbag will deploy
It is supposed to do.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0004

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

Electro-mechanical collision sensors as shown in FIG. 4 are relatively often used as collision sensors in airbag systems. Here, the collision detection principle of the electromechanical collision sensor 50 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 4. When an acceleration in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4 is applied to the vehicle body by the collision, the collision is fixed to the vehicle body. A force in the direction of arrow B corresponding to the acceleration acts on the conductive metal ball 51 that constitutes the collision sensor 50, and this force causes the conduction.
Metal ball 51 abuts on contacts 52A and 52B, and contacts 52A and 52B are electrically connected through conductive metal ball 51 , thereby closing a circuit (not shown) including contacts 52A and 52B. Ignition system that sends current to the squib
Close the circuit . Conductive metal balls 51, a magnet 53, always the direction of arrow C, that is, being sucked in the direction of arrow A, a conductive metal bow upon impact the suction force of the magnet 53
The circuit including the contacts 52A and 52B is closed, that is, the collision sensor 50 is turned on only when the force applied to the arrow 51 in the direction of the arrow B is won.

[Procedure 3]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 1

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Figure 1]

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An inclination angle sensor that is integrally provided in at least one of one or more collision sensors for airbag deployment control and that detects the mounting direction of the collision sensor, and is provided in a solid portion of the vehicle body. A reference inclination angle sensor for detecting the inclination angle of the vehicle body, and a mounting direction of the collision sensor in which the respective inclination angle sensors are integrally provided based on the difference between the outputs of the inclination angle sensor and the reference inclination angle sensor. An air bag control and monitoring device comprising: a monitoring means for monitoring a deviation; and an alarm generating means, which is provided together with the monitoring means and whose operation is controlled by the monitoring means.