JPH0920207A - Automobile provided with safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide more safety in case of collision so as to decrease any damage on an operator by providing a control means for making comparison of outputted speed signal and distance signal with a relative value of a distance between a memorized running speed and car body and another body and outputting a drive signal to driving and starting means. SOLUTION: A speed sensor 34 detects a running speed so as to output a speed signal and a body sensor 35 detects a distance between own car body and another body so as to output a distance signal, a bumper 10 makes its extension/contraction by a drive means 12 mounted on the car body and air bags 21 of protecting crews are expanded by a starting means 22 mounted on the car body. And a controller 31 compares a speed signal output from a speed sensor 34 and a distance signal output from a body sensor 35 with a relative value of a distance between a running speed previously stored in a storing device 32 and car body and another body so as to output a drive signal to the drive means 12 and the air bag starting means 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle with a safety device for protecting the driver's body in the event of a collision.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, a driver's safety measure has become a problem because a driver's vehicle is often injured due to a rear-end collision accident such as a drowsy driving at a high speed. As a countermeasure, for example,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-109442 discloses a vehicle equipped with a safety device that detects the distance between a vehicle of its own and another vehicle and projects a bumper when the vehicle is too close. Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-9359 discloses a collision safety device including an airbag that does not hinder the driver's driving even when the airbag inflates during a collision.

[0003]

However, along with the speeding up of automobiles, further safety measures corresponding to speed are desired. Further, the conventional airbag inflates too rapidly at the time of a collision, which may damage the eardrum.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle with a safety device which is safer and less likely to damage the driver in the event of a collision.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a speed sensor for detecting a traveling speed and outputting a speed signal, and a distance signal for detecting a distance between a vehicle body of itself and another object An object sensor for outputting a bumper that is attached to the vehicle body and expands and contracts by drive means, and an airbag for occupant protection that is provided in the vehicle body and inflates by activation means,
The speed signal output from the speed sensor and the distance signal output from the object sensor are compared with a traveling speed stored in a storage device in advance and a relational value of a distance between the vehicle body and another object, and the driving means. And a control device that outputs a drive signal to the. When the vehicle body approaches another object, the control device compares the speed signal detected by the speed sensor and the distance signal detected by the object sensor with the relationship value between the speed and the distance stored in the storage device and outputs the drive signal to the drive means. As a result, the bumper extends and the airbag expands due to the activation means, which protects the occupant and the vehicle body in the event of a collision.

Further, it is preferable that the storage device stores the output timing of the activation signal to be output to the activation means for inflating the airbag, since the activation timing of the airbag can be freely selected. The storage device stores the output timing of the drive signal and the start signal having a relationship that the distance between the vehicle body and another object increases as the traveling speed increases. It is preferable in that the inflation timing of the airbag can be selected. The vehicle body is provided with impact force detection means for detecting an impact force transmitted to the bumper, and when the impact force detection means detects the impact force, the control device inflates the airbag. It is preferable to output an activation signal to the impact bump detecting unit because the impact force is detected earlier by the impact force detecting unit than in the conventional case because the expansion of the airbag can be accelerated.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an automobile with a safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a content of a storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention in a graph, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the motor vehicle with the safety device concerning a form.

In these figures, a vehicle 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided with a speed sensor 34 for detecting a traveling speed and outputting a speed signal at a portion for detecting rotation of a wheel 3, and a vehicle body 2 An object sensor 35 that detects a distance to an object such as the front vehicle 5 and outputs a distance signal is provided in the front portion. Further, a bumper 10 and an impact force detecting means 15 for detecting an impact force when the bumper 10 collides are provided at a front portion of the vehicle body 2, and an airbag 21 for protecting an occupant and this airbag 21 are provided in a seat inside the vehicle body 2. An airbag activation means 22 for activating the airbag 21 is provided, a control device 31 and a storage device 32 are provided at appropriate positions inside the vehicle body 2, and the distance between the vehicle body and other objects is close to the driver's seat. An informing device 4 is provided for issuing an alarm when the user does.

The bumper 10 has a laterally long bumper body 11 arranged at the front portion of the vehicle body 2, and both ends of the bumper body 11 are attached to driving means 12 provided on both sides of the front portion of the vehicle body. The drive means 12 has a rod 12c provided on a piston 12b that reciprocates inside the cylinder 12a.
The bumper body 11 is fixed to the projecting end of 2c and is driven by a pump 13 connected to a cylinder 12a by a pipe. Such a pump 13
Is, for example, switched and supplied compressed air to supply the rod 12c.
Is projected or retracted, and is driven by a drive signal output from the control device 31 described later.

The airbag 21 is a bag which is inflated at the time of a collision to protect the occupants from a shock, and is arranged in the driver's seat or in front of the seat. The airbag activating means 22 expands the airbag 21, for example, by the gas generated by the ignition of the explosive, and is activated by an activating signal output from the control device 31 described later.

The speed sensor 34 is, for example, a portion that detects the rotation of the wheels 3 and outputs the traveling speed as a speed signal. Further, the object sensor 35 provided in the front part of the vehicle body 2 is
For example, it is a part that emits a sound wave or the like toward the front, detects the time until it returns after returning to an object in front, and outputs a distance signal. Further, the impact force detection means 15 provided near the bumper 10 at the front part of the vehicle body 2 includes the bumper body 11
The force that is transmitted when the
For example, it is a part that detects a strain gauge or the like and outputs a shock signal. The speed signal, the distance signal and the impact signal are input to the control device 31.

FIG. 2 shows a graph for determining the operation timing of the alarm device 4, the bumper 10 and the airbag 21 from the relationship between the traveling speed and the distance to another object (hereinafter referred to as the inter-vehicle distance). The relationship value between the traveling speed and the inter-vehicle distance is stored in the storage device 32. In the present embodiment, the activation signal from the control device 31 is the activation signal from the control device 31, which is either the impact signal detected by the impact force detection means 15 as the operation timing of the airbag 21 or the timing value stored in the storage device 32. It only needs to be output to the means 31, and both cases are shown in the same drawing.
In FIG. 2, the horizontal axis represents the traveling speed (Km / H), the vertical axis represents the distance (inter-vehicle distance) (m) to another object, and the curve a indicates the upper limit of the notification value for operating the notification device 4, The curve b shows the upper limit of the bumper protrusion value that operates the bumper 10, and the curve c shows the upper limit of the airbag expansion value that activates the airbag 21. These curves a, b, and c are set so that the inter-vehicle distance increases as the traveling speed increases, and at the same traveling speed, the upper limit of the alarm value (curve a),
The inter-vehicle distance becomes shorter in the order of the upper limit of the bumper protrusion value (curve b) and the upper limit of the airbag expansion value (curve c). That is, it is set such that the inter-vehicle distance is increased in consideration of the reaction time of the person, the inter-vehicle distance is increased, and the bumper 10 projects after the alarm is issued and the airbag 21 subsequently inflates. For example, when traveling at a traveling speed of 80 Km / H, the alarm device 4 is activated when the inter-vehicle distance becomes 20 m (A), and the bumper 10 projects when the inter-vehicle distance becomes 5 m (B) at that traveling speed. Distance between cars is 2m at that speed
At (C), the airbag 21 is inflated, and the related value is stored in the storage device 32.

The control device 31 compares the speed signal output from the speed sensor 34 and the distance signal output from the object sensor 35 with a relational value (curve a, b or c in FIG. 2) stored in the storage device 32. Compared with the above, each is a part that outputs a notification signal to the notification device 4, outputs a drive signal to the pump (driving means) 13, and outputs an activation signal to the airbag activation means 22. In the case of the impact force detection means 15, the control device 31 outputs an activation signal to the airbag activation means 22 based on the impact signal detected here.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the automobile with the safety device according to the embodiment of the present invention. Note that this operation shows the case where the airbag 21 is activated at the activation timing stored in the storage device 32.

First, when the automobile 1 travels, the speed signal output from the speed sensor 34 and the distance signal output from the object sensor 35 are input to the control device 31, and are stored in advance based on the speed signal and the distance signal. When it is less than or equal to the notification value stored in the device 32 (below the curve a),
A notification signal is output to the notification device 4 and an alarm is issued (ST1, 2). Next, when it is not less than the notification value, the notification of the notification device 4 is stopped (ST3, 4). That is,
When the inter-vehicle distance becomes short at a predetermined traveling speed, an alarm is issued from the notification device 4 to notify a danger such as a rear-end collision. When the inter-vehicle distance becomes long at the same traveling speed, the notification of the notification device 4 is stopped. Next, when it is not more than the notification value (the notification device 4
If the warning is issued in step 1), the drive signal is output to the pump 13 when the bumper protrusion value stored in the storage device 32 is less than or equal to (below the curve b) based on the speed signal and the distance signal. Is a cylinder 12 of the driving means 12
It is supplied to a and the rod 12c is projected and the bumper 10 is projected (ST5, 6). Next, when the bumper protrusion value or more, the compressed air is switched to the cylinder 12a of the drive means 12 and supplied, and the rod 12c is retracted (ST.
7, 8). That is, when the warning is issued by the alarm device 4, when the inter-vehicle distance is further shortened, the bumper 10 is projected to prevent the risk of a rear-end collision, and when the inter-vehicle distance is long, the bumper 10 is Return to the retracted state. Next, when it is not more than the bumper protrusion value (when the bumper 10 is protruding) or less than the airbag expansion value stored in the storage device 32 (below the curve c), the activation signal is sent from the control device 31. It is output to the airbag starting means 22 and the airbag 21 expands (ST
9, 10). That is, in the state where the bumper 10 is protruding, when the inter-vehicle distance is further shortened, the airbag 21 is inflated to protect the occupant, and when the inter-vehicle distance is increased, the bumper 10 returns to the protruding state.

When the impact force detecting means 15 is provided, an impact signal is output due to a collision in the state where the bumper 10 is projected, and the activation signal is sent from the control device 31 to the airbag activation means 22 by this signal. Is output. In this case, it is not necessary to store the airbag inflation value in the storage device 32.

In the automobile 1 with the safety device having the above-mentioned structure, based on the traveling speed detected by the speed sensor 34 and the inter-vehicle distance detected by the object sensor 35, the traveling speed and the inter-vehicle distance previously stored in the storage device 32 in the control device 31. When the inter-vehicle distance according to the traveling speed becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value as compared with the relation value of No. 1, a notification signal is first output to the alarm device 4 to issue an alarm, and subsequently, when the inter-vehicle distance decreases, the drive signal is pumped (driven). Means 13), the bumper 10 is projected to the front of the vehicle body 2, and when the inter-vehicle distance becomes smaller, a start signal is output to the airbag starting means 22 and the airbag 21 inflates. As a result, the occupants including the driver are protected by the inflated airbag 21 at the time of the collision, and the collision with the other object of the bumper 10 is protruded by the compressed air and has elasticity, so that the vehicle body is less damaged. . At this time, when the inflation of the airbag 21 is performed based on the airbag inflation value stored in the storage device 32, the activation timing can be arbitrarily selected, and the impact force detecting means 15 detects the activation timing. In the case of a shock, the bumper 10 can be activated earlier than before because it is performed with the bumper 10 protruding, and it is possible to avoid a sudden expansion and set it so that the eardrum is not damaged.

In the present embodiment, the object sensor 35
Although the bumper 10 and the bumper 10 are provided at the front portion of the vehicle body 2, they can be provided at the rear portion as well so as to be protected against a collision from the rear. Further, in the storage device 32, the running speed and the inter-vehicle distance are stored as continuous relational values of the curves a, b, c shown in FIG. The relation value may be stored, which can reduce the storage capacity. Further, the notification device 4 may be a device that can give a warning by sound or a device that can display a caution.

[0019]

As described above, in the automobile equipped with the safety device of the present invention, when the vehicle approaches another object while the vehicle is traveling, an alarm is first issued to alert the driver, and when the vehicle further approaches, the bumper is released. When the airbag is projected and then further approached, the airbag is inflated, so that the safety and the damage to the occupant can be reduced during a collision.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an automobile with a safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the contents of a storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a graph.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of an automobile with a safety device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the automobile with the safety device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car 2 Body 3 Wheel 4 Notification device 5 Other car 10 Bumper 11 Bumper body 12 Drive means 13 Pump 15 Impact force detection means 21 Airbag 22 Airbag activation means 31 Control device 32 Memory device 34 Speed sensor 35 Object sensor

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A speed sensor that detects a traveling speed and outputs a speed signal, an object sensor that detects a distance between a vehicle body of the vehicle and another object and outputs a distance signal, and the sensor is attached to the vehicle body. A bumper that expands and contracts by a driving unit, an airbag for protecting an occupant that is provided in the vehicle body and expands by a starting unit, a speed signal output from the speed sensor and a distance signal output from the object sensor are stored in advance. An automobile with a safety device, comprising: a control device that outputs a drive signal to the drive means by comparing the traveling speed stored in the device and a relational value of a distance between the vehicle body and another object. 2. The automobile with a safety device according to claim 1, wherein the storage device stores an output timing of an activation signal output to an activation means for inflating the airbag. 3. The storage device stores the output timing of a drive signal and a start signal having a relationship in which the distance between the vehicle body and another object increases as the traveling speed increases. Automatic with safety device. 4. The vehicle body is provided with an impact force detecting means for detecting an impact force transmitted to the bumper, and when the impact force detecting means detects the impact force, the control device causes the airbag to operate. The vehicle with a safety device according to claim 1, wherein a starting signal is output to a starting means for expanding the vehicle.