JPH09226495A - Occupant protection system of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely restrain occupants on seats for protection from the impact of collision by designing an occupant protection system so that the operation of a seat moving device and a seatbelt expanding device is completed while an air bag device is operating. SOLUTION: In a collision, a front sensor and a cowl sensor are turned on at the detection of acceleration, and a signal for actuating an air bag device 4 is output. The air bag device 4 receiving the signal operates an inflator to suddenly inflate an air bag, while a seat moving device receiving a similar air-bag actuation signal also operates, moving a seat 6 backward instantly. Further, following the completion of the backward motion of the seat 6, a seatbelt expanding device is operated while the air bag device 4 is operating. When the operation of a chest guard and an abdomen guard is complete, the guards inflated increase the area of contact wit the occupant and serve also as cushions, significantly reducing the pressure of the seatbelt against the inertial force of collision.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an occupant protection system applied to a vehicle having both a seat belt device and an airbag device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a seat belt device and an airbag device have been developed and prevailed in order to protect an occupant of a vehicle in the event of a manga collision. The airbag device is generally SRS (Supplemental Restraint System).
It is called an airbag, and is positioned as an auxiliary defense system that exerts sufficient effects only when the seat belt is properly worn.

[0003]

Therefore, even if the airbag device is equipped, if the seat belt is not properly worn in a proper driving posture, a predetermined occupant protection effect can be obtained at the time of a manga collision. There is a risk that you will not be able to.

For example, in a driving posture in which the upper body is far away from the steering and warps backward, a so-called submarine phenomenon is likely to occur at the time of a collision, and there is a possibility that a predetermined passenger protection effect cannot be obtained. Also, in a driving posture in which the upper body approaches the steering wheel and clings to it, the occupant compression force of the seat belt at the time of a collision may be increased more than the expected value, and therefore such a driving posture is not preferable for occupant protection. It was

Particularly, at the time of a collision, an occupant who jumps out of the vehicle compartment due to a shock is likely to be seriously damaged. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an occupant protection system for a vehicle by improving a seat and a seat belt device, and by securely combining the air bag device with an occupant to protect the occupant from a shock at the time of a collision. There is.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and in an occupant protection system for a vehicle equipped with a seat belt device and an airbag device, receives an airbag activation signal. A seat moving device for retracting the seat to a predetermined position, and a seat belt inflating device for inflating a guard portion incorporated in the seat belt device at a proper position in response to an airbag activation signal,
The vehicle occupant protection system is configured such that the operation of the seat moving device and the seat belt inflating device is completed while the airbag device is operating.

The occupant protection system may be provided with a seat lock device which operates in response to an airbag activation signal and fixes the seat back and the seat cushion against inertial force. In this case, during the operation of the airbag device. Further, it is preferable that the operation is completed in the order of the seat moving device, the seat locking device and the seat belt inflating device.

The seat moving device preferably includes a seat rail slide lock releasing device which operates in response to an airbag activation signal. Further, in this seat moving device, it is desirable that the occupant is retracted to the center pillar portion.

In the seatbelt inflating device, it is preferable to provide a guard portion at a position where the chest and abdomen of the occupant are protected, and the space between the inflator housed in the center pillar and the guard portion is arranged along the seatbelt. It may be connected via a gas filling pipe.

[0010]

According to the above-described means of the present invention, when the seat moving device retracts the seat to the predetermined position during the operation of the airbag device, the forward inertia generated by the frontal collision and the collision in the direction similar thereto is caused. Since the occupant is moved in the direction opposite to the force, the inertial force acting on the occupant is reduced. Further, when the guard portion of the seat belt inflating device is inflated during the operation of the airbag device, the contact area of the seat belt for restraining the occupant is increased and the cushioning action of the guard portion is obtained.

Further, when the seat lock device is provided, it is possible to prevent the seat having the reclining mechanism from being deformed into an upside down shape due to the inertial force, and the deformed seat hits or presses the occupant. Can be prevented. Then, when the operation of the seat moving device, the seat lock device, and the seat belt inflating device is completed in this order during the operation of the airbag device, the inertial force acting on the occupant is reduced as much as possible to prevent the seat deformation. Fixed,
Then, the occupant can be surely restrained to the seat without deformation by the seat belt device having the expanded guard portion.

If a seat rail slide lock release device is provided in the seat moving device, the seat can be retracted smoothly in the event of a collision, and if the occupant is retracted to the center pillar portion, the damage received from a side collision can be reduced. If the guard portion of the seat belt inflating device is provided on the chest and the abdomen, the reliability of occupant protection is increased, and if the inflator of the device is stored in the center pillar, the influence of actuation (explosion) of the inflator is reduced. In addition, the space can be effectively used by providing the gas injection pipe along the seat belt.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of a vehicle occupant protection system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The occupant protection system of the present invention is applied to a vehicle equipped with a seat belt device and an airbag device. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the seat moving device 1,
The seat lock device 2 and the seat belt inflator 3 are provided, and the seat moving device 1, the seat lock device 2, and the seat belt inflator 3 are provided while the airbag device 4 is operating.
Are configured to operate in the order of. The reference numeral 5 indicates a seat belt device.

The seat moving device 1 is intended to reduce the inertial force acting on the occupant at the time of a collision, and is a device for receiving the activation signal of the airbag device 4 and retracting the seat 6 to a predetermined position. As shown in FIG. 3, in this device, a piston 8 of a cylinder device 7 fixed to the floor surface of a vehicle body or the like is connected to a seat cushion 6a, and the air in the cylinder is rapidly expanded (exploded) at the time of a collision to cause a piston rod. The seat 6 is instantly retracted to a predetermined position by this operation. In order to operate the cylinder device 7 instantly, for example, an inflator used in the airbag device 4 is suitable.
The position for retracting the seat 6 may be set so that the center pillar 9 and the occupant are substantially aligned with each other so as to be most advantageous against a side collision.

The seat 6 is generally provided with a seat slide mechanism in the front-rear direction as one of the devices for adjusting the driving posture according to the physique of the occupant. Therefore, in order to operate the seat moving device 1 smoothly with a comparatively small force, it is necessary to unlock the seat slide mechanism at substantially the same time. Therefore, a configuration example of the seat rail slide lock release device is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and will be briefly described.

FIG. 4 shows a construction in which the manual handle 10 is operated to unlock the seat 6 during normal seat position adjustment. The seat 6 in which the legs 6c slide on the pair of left and right seat rails 11 is a manual seat. The lock claw 13 swinging via the link mechanism 12 connected to the handle 10 is prevented from sliding while penetrating the seat rail 11 and a lock hole (not shown) provided in the leg portion 6c so that the lock claw 13 is moved to a desired seat position. It will be locked. Therefore, when the seat moving device 1 is activated, the locked state is instantly released.
The inflator 14 is actuated in response to an airbag activation signal, and combustion gas is supplied to the lock forced release cylinder 16 via the gas introduction pipe 15. The inflator 14 and the lock release cylinder 16 are fixed to the floor surface of the vehicle body or the like, and the piston 17 protruding by receiving the gas pressure operates a lock release lever 18 fixed coaxially with the manual handle 10 to link the link. The locking claw 13 swings in the unlocking direction via the mechanism 12. The front sensor 19 and the cowl sensor 20 detect acceleration generated at the time of a collision and output activation signals for the airbag device 4, and the same signals output from both sensors are also used for activation of the seat rail slide unlocking device. We are using.

FIG. 5 shows a seat rail slide lock release device when an electric motor is used for slide adjustment. When the step motor 21 is rotated by a switch operation (not shown), the lock pawl is moved through the link mechanism 12. 13 is configured to swing. In such a configuration, since the locked state by the lock claw 13 is instantly released when the seat moving device 1 is operated, the airbag detected by the front sensor 19 and the cowl sensor 20 instead of a switch operation signal (not shown). The start signal may be used as the operation signal of the step motor 21.

Next, the seat lock device 2 will be described with reference to FIG. This device prevents the seat 6 from being deformed into an inverted V shape due to the inertia force of a frontal collision or the like, which causes the seat back 6b to fall forward and the seat cushion 6a to be pulled backward. Is.
Therefore, although it is necessary for a seat with a reclining mechanism, it is not necessary for a structure such as a full bucket seat.

The seat lock device shown in FIG. 6 uses a step motor 22 that operates in response to an airbag activation signal as a drive source, and is fixed to a shaft 23 and rotates integrally with a seat floor hook 24 and a seat back frame hook. 25 is instantaneously rotated to the rear of the seat, and the seat floor hook 24 is provided on the floor surface at the seat retracted position.
Further, the seat back frame hook 25 is configured to be engaged with the locking portion 28 provided on the main seat back frame 27. The step motor 22 is fixed to the frame member 29 of the seat cushion 6a,
Further, the shaft 23 is also rotatably supported by the frame member 29, and a lever 31 fixed to the shaft 23 and integrally rotated is connected by a rod 31 to connect the step motor 22 with a driving force. It enables communication.

When the seat lock device having the above-described structure operates, the seat floor hook 24 engages with the locking member 26, so that the seat cushion 6a receives the inertial force at the time of collision.
Even if the vehicle is pulled backward, the seat cushion 6a is firmly held on the floor surface of the vehicle body. Further, since the seat back hook 25 also engages with the locking portion 28, if the seat back 6b that receives inertial force tries to fall forward, the locking portion 28 moves the tip portion 25a of the seat back hook 25 forward. The pressing force acts. However, the rotational force that acts on the shaft 23 from the seat back hook 25 that receives this force is a direction in which the seat floor hook 24 is prevented from rotating due to the engagement with the locking member 26, and as a result, the seat The back 6b is also firmly held on the floor surface, so that the seat 6 is prevented from being deformed into an inverted V shape.

Although the step motor 22 is used as the driving means in the seat lock device of FIG. 6, a combination of an inflator and a piston / cylinder device may be used as in the seat moving device described above.

Next, the seatbelt inflating device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. This device is intended to reduce the pressing force of the seat belt that restrains the occupant in the event of a collision, and a guard part having the same structure as the airbag incorporated in the seat belt device 5 at an appropriate position is provided with an airbag activation signal. It is configured to receive and instantly expand. The above-mentioned guard portion is provided with a chest guard 33 that is incorporated into the shoulder belt 32 to protect the vicinity of the occupant's chest, and an abdomen guard 35 that is incorporated into the lap belt 34 to protect the vicinity of the occupant's abdomen. The inflators 36 and 37, which supply combustion gas to the chest guard 33 and the abdominal guard 35 respectively and instantly expand, are both housed and fixed in the hollow portion of the center pillar 9, and between the inflator 36 and the chest guard 33. The inflator 37 and the abdomen guard 35 are connected to each other via a gas injection pipe 38 extending along the shoulder belt 32 and a gas injection pipe 39 extending along the lap belt 34. In addition,
In the figure, reference numeral 40 is a retractor, 41 is a buckle, 42 is a tongue plate, and 43 is a seatbelt support. Seat belt inflator 3 only when seat belt device 5 is in use
Should be activated.

The operation of each of the above-mentioned devices and the operation thereof will be described below according to the order of operation.

When a manga collision occurs, the front sensor 19 and the cowl sensor 20 detect acceleration and turn on (ON), and output a start signal of the airbag device 4. In the airbag device 4 that receives this signal, the inflator operates to rapidly inflate the airbag, but at the same time, the seat moving device 1 that also receives the similar airbag activation signal also operates to instantly move the seat 6. Retreat. The seat moving device 1 operates the piston of the cylinder device 7 by the pressure of the combustion gas supplied from the inflator. At this time, the seat rail slide lock release device is operated so that the seat 6 can freely slide on the seat rail 11. Need to be kept. When the seat 6 is retracted, the foot of the occupant is separated from the accelerator pedal 44, and the inertial force acting on the occupant is reduced.

Subsequent to the completion of the retreat of the seat 6, in the seat provided with the reclining mechanism, the seat lock device 2 is further operated during the operation of the airbag device 4. This device also operates in response to an airbag activation signal similarly to the seat moving device 1, but since it causes a delay in the time required to complete the operation of the seat moving device 1, an operation delaying means is provided by a suitable known technique. . When the seat lock device 2 completes its operation, it is possible to prevent the seat 6 from being deformed into an upside down shape due to the inertial force at the time of a collision, so that the back of the occupant is struck with the seat back 6b or the occupant's back is struck. The abdomen is not pushed and pressed.

Further, following the completion of the backward movement of the seat 6 and the completion of the operation of the seat lock device 2, the seat belt inflating device 3 is operated during the operation of the airbag device 4. If the seat 6 is a full bucket seat, the seat lock device 2 is not necessary, and therefore the seat belt inflating device 3 may be operated after the seat 6 is completely retracted.

The seat belt inflating device 3 is also actuated in response to a similar air bag activation signal, and therefore is provided with an actuating delay means of a suitable known technique. When the chest guard 33 and the abdominal guard 35 have completed their operations, the expanded both guard portions increase the contact area with the occupant and also function as cushions, so that the seat restrains the occupant against inertial force at the time of collision. The pressure on the belt is significantly reduced. Further, the function of the seat belt device 5 for restraining the occupant to the seat 6 is also improved. However, since the seat 6 is forcibly retracted in particular, the occupant restraint function of the seat belt device 5 can be improved by using the seat belt support 43 together. It becomes even more certain.

[0029]

According to the occupant protection system of the present invention described above, in the event of a manga collision, at the same time as the operation of the airbag device, the seat moving device retracts the occupant together with the seat to a predetermined position and then inflates the seat belt. Since the device is operated to inflate the guard portion, the inertial force is reduced by retracting the seat, and it is possible to reliably restrain the occupant in the retracted position of the seat without exerting a strong pressing force. Therefore, the cooperation of the airbag device can significantly reduce the possibility of the occupant jumping out of the passenger compartment due to the impact of a collision, so that more effective occupant protection can be performed as compared with the conventional case.

Further, since the seat lock device is provided to prevent the seat from being deformed in an inverted shape, and the pressing force when the occupant is restrained by the seat belt device is reduced, a large damage to the built-in body, the neck, etc. It becomes an occupant protection system that is hard to receive.

Further, since the occupant is retracted to the center pillar, the occupant can be protected in the event of a side collision.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing an embodiment of a vehicle occupant protection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an operation sequence example of main devices constituting the occupant protection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a sheet moving device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a seat rail slide lock releasing device that allows the seat to slide freely when the seat moving device operates.

5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the seat rail slide lock release device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a seat lock device.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a seat belt inflating device.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a guard portion installation position of the seat belt inflating device.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a chest guard unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an abdominal guard.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 seat moving device 2 seat locking device 3 seat belt inflating device 4 airbag device 5 seat belt device 6 seat 9 center pillar 33 chest guard 35 abdominal guard 36, 37 inflator 38, 39 gas injection pipe

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle occupant protection system comprising a seat belt device and an airbag device, wherein a seat moving device for receiving an airbag activation signal and retracting a seat to a predetermined position, and also for receiving an airbag activation signal. A seatbelt inflating device for inflating a guard portion incorporated in a proper position of the seatbelt device, wherein the operation of the seat moving device and the seatbelt inflating device is completed during the operation of the airbag device. A vehicle occupant protection system characterized by the above. 2. A seat lock device is provided, which operates in response to an airbag activation signal and fixes the seat back and the seat cushion against inertial force.
Occupant protection system as described. 3. The occupant protection system according to claim 1, wherein the operation of the seat moving device, the seat locking device and the seat belt inflating device is completed in this order during the operation of the airbag device. 4. The occupant protection system according to claim 1, wherein the seat moving device includes a seat rail slide lock releasing device that operates in response to an airbag activation signal. 5. The occupant protection system according to claim 1, wherein the seat moving device retracts the occupant to the center pillar portion. 6. The occupant protection system according to claim 1, wherein the guard portion of the seat belt inflator is provided at a position for protecting the chest and abdomen of the occupant. 7. The seatbelt inflator according to claim 1, wherein the inflator housed in the center pillar and the guard portion are connected to each other via a gas sealing pipe extending along the seatbelt. The occupant protection system described in 1.