JPH1120607A - Development controller of air bag for occupant crash protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simplified air bag system which realizes the optimum development form based on the information on vehicle collision and occupant. SOLUTION: This device is constituted by a seat belt mounting detection means 1, a collision level detection means 2, an occupant detection means 3 which detects the presence or absence of seated occupant, weight of seated occupant, and the presence or absence of a child seat, a posture detection means 4 which detects a posture of seating, and a plurality of combustion chambers. In this case, it has a gas generator 6 constituted in such a way that the ignition is possible independently per combustion chamber and gas generation form can be changed depending on the presence or absence of the ignition per combustion chamber or a difference in ignition time and a control means 5 which distinguishes a combination of them and gives the instruction for the gas generation form of the gas generator 6 based on the results of the detection of each detection means to realize the gas generation form corresponding to the combination of the results of the detection of each detection means in the control means 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection system for a vehicle.
In particular, it is for realizing an optimal deployment form of the airbag for the occupant in accordance with the occupant's seating information and the level of collision.

2. Description of the Related Art With an increase in safety awareness of vehicles, airbag devices for passenger seats as well as passenger seats have become standard equipment. However, along with the widespread use of airbag devices, accidents that may be caused by the airbag devices have occurred. That is, the occupant receives a strong impact force due to the deployment force of the airbag and receives an obstacle, or the impact is not sufficiently buffered when the occupant collides with the vehicle body despite the deployment of the airbag. In some cases, the occupants are unexpectedly injured.

[0003] These factors are caused by various factors such as improper driving of the occupant, problems with the seating posture, and problems with the airbag device itself. One of the causes is that the airbag device itself has a predetermined level. When the above collision is detected, it is designed to deploy under predetermined constant conditions, so much information at the time of the collision accident such as occupant conditions and the severity of the collision is taken into account. It is clear that there is a problem in what was not.

For example, when a large physique male is sitting on the passenger seat and a small physique child is sitting on the passenger seat,
In the same collision accident, the behavior of the occupant in the vehicle body at the time of the collision may vary depending on whether the seatbelt is worn or not, or if the seat is seated deeply or shallowly. Due to the difference, the impact received from the occupant's body naturally differs. There was a limit in protecting this with a uniform airbag deployment. For this reason, in a relatively mild collision, depending on the seating position, posture or physique of the occupant, the occupant may be injured by the inflating force of the rapidly deploying airbag, or may be damaged in an extremely serious collision. In some cases, the deployment speed of the airbag is too slow and the protection of the occupant is incomplete.

Therefore, recently, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 86879 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 8-502709, the gas generation mode of the gas generator can be divided into multiple stages, and according to the severity of the collision, the occupant's seat belt can be further increased. There have been proposed various types of so-called smart airbag systems which select the above-mentioned gas generation mode based on occupant information such as the presence / absence of wearing and weight, and thereby realize a plurality of airbag deployment modes. They are,
In any case, it is too simple to try to solve a problem from one point of view, and it is difficult to put it to practical use as it is. It was too complicated to be put to practical use.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag which is optimal in an accident condition by a simplified system while organically combining vehicle collision information and occupant information. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a deployment mode, in other words, based on a combination of the information on the collision and the main information on the occupant, the gas generation mode is patterned, and based on other occupant information, An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag deployment control device that simplifies the system and has high effectiveness by changing the generation mode.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has a seat belt wearing detecting means for detecting whether or not an occupant is wearing a seat belt in a predetermined seat; Collision level detection means for detecting the level of collision, occupant detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an occupant in the seat, the weight of the seated occupant, and the presence or absence of a child seat, and whether the occupant is seated properly in the seat. It has a posture detecting means for detecting appropriateness, and a plurality of combustion chambers, each of which can be independently ignited, and the gas generation mode is variably configured by the presence or absence of ignition or the ignition time difference for each combustion chamber. Gas generator,
Control means for identifying the combination based on the detection result of each of the detection means, and instructing the gas generator on the gas generation mode of the gas generator corresponding to the combination, A gas generation mode corresponding to a combination of the detection results of the respective detection means,
This is a deployment control device for an airbag for an occupant protection device, which is integrated into the following forms (a) to (d). (B) A mode in which the operation of the gas generator is prohibited when the occupant detection means in the seat does not detect the seating of the occupant and when the child seat is detected. A first gas generation mode determined in accordance with a combination of the detection result of the collision level detection means when the detection means detects "non-fastening of the seat belt" and the detection result of the occupant weight by the occupant detection means. (C) The seatbelt attachment detection means is lowered by one step with respect to the first gas generation mode corresponding to the combination of the detection results in the first gas generation mode when "seatbelt attachment" is detected. Second gas generation mode (d) The first gas generation mode when the occupant posture detecting means detects the occupant's sitting posture as “inappropriate” Or third gas generated form one lower level with respect to the first gas generating embodiment or the second gas generating embodiment corresponds to a combination of the detection result of the second gas generating form

Thus, in the present invention, the first gas generation mode is set to the standard gas generation mode by combining the vehicle collision information and the main occupant information, and based on other occupant information which affects the occupant at the time of collision. And fix this second
Since the configuration is such that the third gas generation mode is obtained, simplification of the system is realized in controlling the deployment of the airbag based on a lot of information.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an airbag deployment control system according to the present invention. In the vehicle body, a seatbelt wearing detecting means 1 for detecting whether or not an occupant wears a seatbelt, and a degree of lightness of collision are detected. Collision level detecting means 2 which detects whether the occupant is seated in the seat, the weight of the occupant, and whether or not the child seat is mounted, and an occupant detecting means 2 which detects whether the occupant is seated properly or not. Four detection means are provided, including an occupant posture detection means 4 for detecting the suitability.

The seat belt wearing detecting means 1 determines whether or not the seat belt is worn by locking and releasing the fastener of the seat belt, and outputs either a wearing / non-wearing signal. In this case, various conventionally proposed seat belt fastening detection mechanisms are employed.

The collision level detecting means 2 calculates an acceleration signal from an acceleration sensor incorporated in a generally used electronic collision sensor system and determines the degree of the severity of the collision. There are two types of collision degree: light / heavy, and large / medium / small. However, when used in combination with other occupant information, it is subdivided. Since the system becomes complicated when it is formed, a method of dividing the system into two types, light and heavy, is preferable. The collision level detecting means is preferably incorporated as an algorithm in the collision judgment system of the electronic collision sensor system.

Next, of the occupant detection means 3, the occupant's seat /
Various types of seating sensors for detecting non-seat are conventionally proposed and partially put into practical use. However, the occupant detection means of the present invention includes, as described above, whether or not the occupant is seated in the seat, Since the system detects the three requirements of the weight of the occupant and the presence or absence of the child seat, it can be said that it is preferable to detect these with one sensor.
Therefore, a sensor that can use these three detection targets with one sensor will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 3 and 4 are a development view and a cross-sectional view of a planar pressure-sensitive sensor PS which can be used for the above three detection targets.
Electronics and Engineering (IE)
E) under the trade name FSR. In the sensor PS, a pair of electrodes 13 and 14 are printed in a comb shape on one surface of a back side plastic film 11 serving as one substrate, and a connector 15 is connected to an end thereof. On the other hand, a conductive polymer 16 is applied to one surface of the front side plastic film 12 serving as the other substrate, and the two films 11 and 12 are attached by arranging a spacer 17 around them to form a sheet. Pressure sensor P
S is formed. Here, the conductive polymer 16 is
The electric resistance between the electrodes 13 and 14 changes according to the pressure acting on the front film 12 because the electric resistance has the property of changing according to the pressure.

FIG. 5 is an example of a pressure-electric resistance characteristic diagram of the pressure-sensitive sensor PS. As is clear from FIG. 5, the sensor starts to operate at a very small pressure. It can be seen that the electric resistance value decreases linearly.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the pressure sensor PS is disposed inside the seat 21 of the seat 20 and the terminal 15
Therefore, if the electric resistance between the electrodes 13 and 14 is measured, the pressure acting on the sensor, that is, the weight of the occupant can be detected simultaneously with the presence or absence of the occupant.

In detecting the weight of the occupant, weight /
Although it is possible to classify into three stages of medium / light, in the present invention, since other occupant information is used, it is only necessary to make the system subdivided, because it only complicates the system. ,
It is preferable to roughly divide children and adults into two, light / heavy, which roughly divides them. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 5, the threshold value S is set to a level of less than 500 kΩ based on the standard weight of the infant, and if the resistance value is more than this, it is determined that the occupant is a lightweight occupant. It should be determined that it is a weight occupant.

Next, FIGS. 7 and 8 show the pressure-sensitive sensor PS.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a child seat detection system using a vehicle.
As described above, the pressure-sensitive sensor PS is disposed, and a child seat 22 is mounted on the front passenger seat 20. Two resonators 23 are mounted on a portion of the lower part of the child seat 20 facing the seating portion 21 of the seat. Here, when a signal of a predetermined frequency is emitted from the oscillator 25 incorporated in the control device 24 to the pressure sensor PS, one of the electrodes 13 arranged in the pressure sensor PS functions as a transmitting antenna. And resonates with the resonator in the child seat 22, and transmits the modulated signal after resonance to the other electrode 14 in the pressure-sensitive sensor PS.
Act as a receiving antenna and receive it. Therefore, the presence or absence of the child seat 22 is detected based on the presence or absence of the reception.

Since the modulation frequency can be varied depending on the mounting direction (forward / backward) of the child seat 22, the modulation signal is demodulated by the demodulator 26 in the control device 24 and the child seat 22 is mounted. The direction can also be detected. Therefore, the deployment mode of the airbag can be controlled according to the mounting direction of the child seat. However, in the case of a rearward facing child seat (FIG. 7), when the airbag is deployed, the airbag collides with the rear surface of the child seat 22. In the case of a rear-facing child seat, a method of prohibiting the deployment of the airbag is a recent trend, since the airbag may be bounced off. On the other hand, in the case of a forward-facing child seat, a method of permitting the deployment of the airbag has been proposed, but in the present invention, as long as an infant is seated on the child seat,
Even if it is forward-facing, it assumes that it will have an adverse effect on lightweight infants, and prohibits the deployment of the airbag if the mounting of the child seat is detected regardless of the mounting direction of the child seat. .

Next, the occupant attitude detecting means 4 will be described. FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing the occupant attitude detecting means using the pressure sensor PS. In the figure, seat 2
In the portion of the seat 21 in the back of the seat 21 which is located at the rear of the seat, a high-sensitivity band A in which the pressure-sensitive sensors PS are arranged at a high density is provided. The low-sensitivity band B is arranged at a low density, and the occupant can be seated regardless of which one is seated. Since the pressure acts on the surface, the resistance between the terminal electrodes of the pressure-sensitive sensor PS is reduced. However, if the seat is improperly seated at the front as shown in the figure, the area acting on the pressure-sensitive sensor PS is reduced. Since the resistance becomes smaller, the resistance between the terminal electrodes increases, and it is determined that the posture of the occupant is inappropriate.

Although the occupant detecting means 3 and the occupant attitude detecting means 4 described above have both been described as using the pressure sensor PS, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to make detection by separate sensors. For example, in the case of a passenger seat, an ultrasonic sensor or an infrared sensor is arranged on an instrument panel in front of the seat, and the reflected wave is used to detect the presence or absence of the occupant and the posture of the occupant. The presence or absence of a heat source due to body temperature, or the combination of these to detect the presence or absence of a child seat, or, as in the case described above, by disposing a capacitive proximity sensor in the instrument panel It is also possible to detect the presence / absence of an occupant, the presence / absence of a child seat, the posture of the occupant (whether the vehicle is leaning forward), and the like by detecting the capacitance that changes according to the type of the object present in the passenger seat.

Next, the gas generator 6 used in the present invention will be described. As a function required for the gas generator used in the present invention, it is essential that the gas generator can realize a plurality of gas generation modes. An example of the structure of this specific gas generator will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the short cylindrical gas generator 6. The inside of a housing 34 having a large number of gas discharge holes 33 formed in a wall is partitioned by a partition member 35 into a first combustion chamber 31 and a second combustion chamber 31. Combustion chamber 32-2
A gas generating agent 36, igniters 37a and 37b, and a filter member 38 are disposed in each of the two combustion chambers 31 and 32, respectively. It works.
In this sense, a graphite sheet is provided between the partition member 35 and the filter member 38 so that the heat of combustion generated in one combustion chamber is not transmitted to the other combustion chamber to ignite the gas generating agent 36 therein. Insulation material 39 having heat resistance such as
Is arranged. The first combustion chamber 31 and the second combustion chamber 32 have their internal volumes, that is, the gas generator output (gas generation capacity).
The capacity ratio between the large-capacity first combustion chamber 31 and the small-capacity second combustion chamber 32 is appropriately set in the range of 6: 4 to 8: 2. If the ratio is 6: 4 or less, the initial deployment force of the airbag may be insufficient, and the occupant protection function may be insufficient. If the ratio is 8: 2 or more, the first combustion chamber 31 may be insufficient.
In the case of an improperly seated or small-sized occupant, the possibility of injuries to the occupant remains due to the deployment of the airbag. preferable.

The operation of the gas generator 6 will be described. By the operation of the gas generator 6, the following three gas generation modes, that is, the deployment mode of the airbag can be obtained. (A) Only the large-capacity first combustion chamber 31 is ignited, and a gentle airbag deployment mode is obtained from the low-output gas generation mode. (B) First, a large-capacity first combustion chamber 31 is ignited, and a small-capacity second combustion chamber 32 is ignited with a small ignition time difference. Is developed, and a medium output gas generation mode is obtained which is subsequently developed strongly by a large amount of gas supplied from both combustion chambers. (C) The two combustion chambers 31 and 32 are ignited at the same time to obtain a high-power gas generation mode, whereby an airbag deployment mode that rapidly and powerfully deploys is obtained.

These three types of gas generation modes are selected according to the level of the severity of the collision described above and the conditions of the occupant. (C) is applied to a case where the occupant is strongly received in response to rapid occupant behavior such as a large collision. ) The medium output gas generation mode can be said to be a gas generation mode applied in the intermediate case between the two.

FIG. 10 shows an example of a short cylinder type gas generator. As a gas generator applicable to the present invention, a long cylinder type gas generator is used. There is a gas cylinder generator for the passenger seat which is divided into two parts according to the above ratio, but in any case, the shape and structure of the gas generator used in the present invention are not particularly limited.
In short, it goes without saying that any structure may be used as long as it can realize a plurality of gas generation modes.

Next, the relationship between the combination of the detection results by the detection means 1 to 4 and the gas generation mode of the gas generator 6 will be described below. First, the first basic idea of the gas generation mode of the present invention is that the occupant detection means 3 in the seat does not operate the gas generator 6 when the occupant does not detect the seating of the occupant and when the child seat is detected. It is a ban. That is, when the occupant is absent or when the child seat is mounted, the operation of the gas generator 6 is unconditionally prohibited. As for the child seat, as described above, the deployment of the airbag is prohibited when it is worn backwards, but there is also a method of deploying it when facing forward.However, considering the physique of infants, the deployment of the airbag In consideration of the possibility that the infant may be injured by the punching action, in the system of the present invention, when the attachment of the child seat is detected, the deployment of the airbag, that is, the operation of the gas generator is prohibited.

Next, the second basic idea is that the control means 5
In the above, the seat belt wearing detecting means 1 corresponds to a combination of the detection result of the collision level detecting means 2 when the "seat belt is not worn" is detected and the detection result of the occupant weight by the occupant detecting means 3. Therefore, the first gas generation mode is determined as the basic mode. That is, since the injury rate when the occupant in the front passenger seat does not wear the seat belt is high, the main focus is to ensure the protection of the occupant in the front passenger seat even in this case. This point will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2A shows a matrix of the first gas generation mode, in which the occupant posture detecting means detects that the seating posture of the occupant is “appropriate”, and (A) when the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “light” and that the occupant's weight is “light”; The gas generation mode is "low power", that is, only the first combustion chamber is ignited to gently deploy the airbag. (B) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “mild” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “weight”, the gas generation mode is “medium output”, that is, the first combustion chamber is First igniting and then igniting the second combustion chamber, the airbag is deployed gently in the first half and vigorously in the second half. (C) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “heavy” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “light”, the gas generation mode is set to “medium output”. (D) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “severe” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “weight”, the gas generation mode is “high power”, that is, the first combustion chamber and By igniting the second combustion chamber at the same time, the airbag is rapidly and powerfully deployed.

That is, in these cases, since the occupant does not wear a seat belt, the occupant largely moves forward with the collision of the vehicle, but when the occupant is small in the case of a mild collision, In the low-power gas generation mode, the passengers feel softly. Also, even in the case of a mild collision, if the occupant's physique is large, the low output gas generation mode is not a medium output gas generation mode because the receiving force of the airbag is insufficient, and the occupant does not generate air. In the first half of the collision with the bag, the occupant is softly received, and the occupant is prevented from rushing further forward by the inertial force with the strong deployment force in the second half, preventing the occupant from colliding with the instrument panel. Will be. In addition, when the collision is serious, even if the occupant's physique is small, he can quickly rush forward, so by setting the gas generation form to medium output,
The upper body of the occupant rushing rapidly is caught by the gentle deployment of the airbag in the first half, and the rushing forward is prevented by the powerful deployment force in the second half. Further, when the collision is serious and the occupant's physique is large, the upper body of the occupant who plunges forward with large kinetic energy at the time of the collision is ignited at a high output, that is, the first and second combustion chambers are simultaneously ignited. The large amount of gas generated will quickly and cooperatively deploy the airbag and catch it. In the present invention, the first gas generation mode is set as a basic mode, and the second and third gas generation modes described below are merely modified as necessary based on this.

Next, the third basic basic idea is that the seat belt wearing detecting means 1 corresponds to the combination of the detection results in the first gas generation mode when the "seat belt wearing" is detected. In other words, a gas generation mode that is one step lower than the first gas generation mode is selected, and this is set as the second gas generation mode. In this case, the occupant wears a seat belt, and the injury rate of the occupant when wearing the seat belt is significantly reduced. Therefore, the gas generation mode in which the level of the first gas generation mode is reduced by one step is selected. ing.
That is, specifically, as shown in FIG. 2B, the occupant posture detecting means detects that the occupant's sitting posture is “appropriate” and the seat belt wearing detecting means detects that “the seat belt is worn”. (A ′) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “light” and the weight of the occupant is “light”, the gas generation mode is “OFF”, Prohibit generator operation. (B ′) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “mild” and the weight of the occupant is “weight”, the gas generation mode is “low output”, that is, only the first combustion chamber is used. Select the type of gas generation to ignite. (C ′) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “heavy” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “light”, the gas generation mode is set to “low output”. (D ') When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is "severe" and determines that the weight of the occupant is "weight", the gas generation mode is set to "medium output".

That is, in these cases, since the occupant wears the seat belt, it is basically prevented that the occupant jumps largely forward in the event of a vehicle collision. Does not need to deploy the airbag, so that the operation of the gas generator is prohibited. On the other hand, when the physique is large, it can be said that the upper body is restrained by the seatbelt, but the kinetic energy of the occupant's upper body jumping forward is large. I do it. Further, in a serious collision, even if the occupant has a small size, the kinetic energy jumping forward becomes relatively large due to the inertial force generated at the time of the collision. In addition, in the case of an occupant having a large physique, the kinetic energy due to the inertial force also becomes large. However, since the occupant is restrained by the seat belt, the first half is calm due to the airbag deployment of a medium output gas generating form. In the second half, the occupants are prevented from moving by strong deployment force.

Next, the fourth basic idea is that the occupant posture detecting means 4 detects the occupant's sitting posture as "inappropriate" in the first gas generation mode or the second gas generation mode. A gas generation mode that is one step lower than the first gas generation mode or the second gas generation mode corresponding to the combination of the detection results is selected, and this is set as a third gas generation mode. That is, there are two types of third gas generation modes, the first case is the case where the occupant seat is inappropriate in the first gas generation mode, and the second case is the second gas generation mode. This is the case where the occupant is not properly seated.
These specific embodiments are shown in (C-1) and (C-
It is shown in 2). In any case, since the occupant has an inappropriate sitting posture, the occupant is present in the vicinity of the vehicle body, and if the airbag is deployed strongly, the occupant may jump off with the deployment energy of the airbag. Therefore, as described below, in each combination, the output of the gas generator is reduced by one stage.

That is, in the first case, the occupant sitting posture is "inappropriate" and the seatbelt is in an abnormal state of "not wearing", and therefore, as shown in FIG. 2 (C-1). (A) -1) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “light” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “light”, the gas generation mode is “OFF”, that is, the gas generation mode (B) -1) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “mild” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “weight”, the gas generation mode is “low output”. That is, a gas generation mode in which only the first combustion chamber is ignited is selected. (C) -1) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “heavy” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “light”, the gas generation mode is set to “low output”. "-1) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is" severe "and determines that the weight of the occupant is" weight ", the gas generation mode selects" medium output ".

Thus, the first gas generation mode
The incorrect attitude of the occupant is corrected, and the basic idea of the correction is that the occupant moves toward the instrument panel etc. in front of the vehicle body due to inertial force after a vehicle collision. It will collide with the car body in time, but since the collision speed is not high,
The strong deployment of airbags is that they can injure occupants. Therefore, in the case of a light collision and the occupant's physique is small, the kinetic energy of the occupant due to the inertial force is small, and the occupant may jump off when the airbag is deployed. When the physique is large, on the other hand, when the physique is large, the kinetic energy of the occupant is increased by that amount, and the kinetic energy is gently absorbed by the low-output gas generation mode. Also, in a serious collision, even if the occupant is small,
Since the kinetic energy that jumps forward is relatively large, the kinetic energy due to the inertia force is further increased in the case of an occupant with a large physique because the kinetic energy that projects forward is relatively large. Therefore, by deploying the airbag of the medium output gas generation mode, the first half is gently received by the occupant, and the second half is prevented from moving by a strong deployment force.

Next, in the second case, although the occupant's seating posture is "inappropriate", the movement of the occupant during a collision is restricted because the seat belt is fastened. A lower output gas generation mode is obtained. That is, as shown in FIG. 2 (C-2), (a "-2) when the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is" mild "and that the weight of the occupant is" light " The gas generation mode is “OFF”, that is, the operation of the gas generator is prohibited (b) -2) The collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “mild” and sets the weight of the occupant to “weight”. If determined, the gas generation mode is "OFF", that is, the operation of the gas generator is prohibited. (C) -2: When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is “heavy” and determines that the weight of the occupant is “light”, the gas generation mode is set to “OFF”. -2) When the collision level detecting means determines that the collision is "severe" and determines that the weight of the occupant is "weight", the gas generation mode selects "low output".

Thus, the second gas generation mode
The improper occupant sitting posture is corrected, and the basic concept of the correction is the same as in the first case. Therefore, in the case of a minor collision and the occupant's physique is small,
The kinetic energy of the occupant due to the inertial force is small, and since the seat belt is worn, there is a possibility that the occupant may jump off when the airbag is deployed, so that the deployment of the airbag is prohibited, while the physique is large. Even in this case, although the kinetic energy of the occupant is slightly increased by that amount, the movement of the occupant is regulated by the seat belt, so that it is not necessary to deploy the airbag. In a serious collision, even if the occupant is a small occupant, the kinetic energy of the occupant jumping forward slightly increases, but the occupant is restricted by the seat belt. In addition, in the case of an occupant having a large physique, the kinetic energy due to the inertial force becomes large. Therefore, the occupant is gently received by deploying a low-output gas-generating airbag.

As described above, as an airbag adapted to a plurality of gas generation modes, one airbag conventionally used is used.
Although an airbag having a structure having two internal spaces may be used, an airbag having a plurality of spaces suitable for multi-stage deployment is preferable. When an airbag having one space that is usually used is used, the airbag is relatively small so that the airbag can be sufficiently deployed with the amount of gas generated only from the first combustion chamber. Capacity or
Alternatively, it is necessary to increase the size of the gas generator itself. However, as for the structure of the airbag, various ones for multi-stage deployment have been proposed, and the present invention itself is not restricted by the structure of the airbag, so that the detailed description is omitted here.

[0035]

As described above, according to the airbag deployment control device for the occupant protection device of the present invention, the occupant behavior is relatively high and the accident rate is high in the case of an accident, that is, the occupant is The standard case is a case where a person is properly seated but does not wear a seatbelt. In this case, other occupant information, that is, the occupant's weight (physique, adult / child) and the degree of collision (serious Based on the combination with the collision / mild collision, the standard airbag deployment mode, that is, the gas generation mode (first gas generation mode) of the gas generator is determined, and the occupant is seated based on this. When the posture is inappropriate or when the seatbelt is not fastened, the gas generation mode corresponding to the combination is configured to be lowered by one stage, so that the airbag is configured in this kind of multistage. Control deployment Compared to the formula, the result that the system is simplified, apparatus is simplified, also in this industry cost reduction is an important issue, practicality is further improved.

When a planar pressure-sensitive sensor is used as the occupant seating detecting means, the occupant's physique (weight) is utilized by using the sensor.
, The presence or absence of a child seat, and the means for detecting the occupant's posture, it is possible to make the system more inexpensive and simpler than when individual sensors are used independently.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the concept of an airbag deployment control device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a combination of detection results according to the present invention.
It is explanatory drawing which shows a gas generation form.

FIG. 3 is a developed conceptual diagram of a pressure-sensitive sensor used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual sectional view of the pressure-sensitive sensor of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing electric resistance characteristics of the pressure-sensitive sensor.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual cross-sectional view showing an occupant seating detecting means using the pressure sensor.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual sectional view showing a child seat detecting means using the same pressure-sensitive sensor.

8 is an operation principle diagram of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a conceptual sectional view showing an occupant posture detecting means using the same pressure-sensitive sensor.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual cross-sectional view showing an example of a gas generator used in the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 seat belt wearing detecting means 2 collision level detecting means 3 occupant detecting means 4 occupant attitude detecting means 5 control means 6 gas generator 7 airbag PS pressure-sensitive sensor

Claims (11)

[Claims] A gas generator for detecting a state of an occupant.
By controlling the gas generation mode of the airbag (7)
An airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device configured to control the deployment mode of the vehicle, wherein a seatbelt fastening detection means (1) for detecting the presence or absence of an occupant seatbelt in a predetermined seat; Collision level detecting means (2) for detecting a level; occupant detecting means (3) for detecting the presence or absence of an occupant in the seat, the weight of the seated occupant, and the presence or absence of a child seat; and the occupant's sitting posture in the seat. Posture detecting means (4) for detecting the appropriateness and inappropriateness of the fuel cell, and a plurality of combustion chambers (31, 32), each of which can be ignited independently and whether or not ignition is performed for each of the combustion chambers Alternatively, the combination of the gas generator (6) whose gas generation mode is variably configured according to the ignition time difference and the combination thereof is identified based on the detection results of the detection means (1 to 4). And control means (5) for instructing the gas generator on the gas generation mode of the gas generator (6) corresponding to the combination thereof. The gas generation modes corresponding to the combinations of the detection results are as follows (A) to
(D) An airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device, which is characterized in that the occupant detection means (3) in the seat does not detect an occupant's seat and a child seat is detected. In this case, the operation of the gas generator (6) is inhibited. Corresponding to a combination of the detection result of the collision level detecting means (2) when the occupant posture detecting means (4) detects the proper seating of the occupant and the detection result of the occupant weight by the occupant detecting means (3). Determined first gas generation mode (c) Combination of the detection results in the first gas generation mode when the seat belt wearing detection means (1) detects "seat belt wearing" (D) the occupant attitude detecting means (4) detects that the occupant's seating attitude is "inappropriate", A third gas generation mode that is one step lower than the first gas generation mode or the second gas generation mode corresponding to the combination of the detection results in the first gas generation mode or the second gas generation mode 2. The collision level detecting means (2) determines a collision level at which the airbag should be deployed by a "serious collision".
2. The airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag deployment control device is divided into two types, namely, "light collision" and "mild collision". 3. The deployment control of an airbag for an occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the occupant detection means uses a pressure-sensitive sensor mounted inside a seat. apparatus 4. The air for an occupant protection device according to claim 3, wherein the occupant detection means (3) detects the weight of the occupant by the pressure acting on the pressure sensor. Bag deployment control device 5. The weight of the occupant may be “light” or “heavy”.
The airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to claim 4, wherein the airbag deployment control device is divided into two parts. 6. The occupant detection means (3) comprises six occupant seats, “present” and “absent”, child seat mounting “present” and “absent”, and occupant weight “light” and “heavy”. 6. The airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to claim 5, wherein the detection is performed. 7. The occupant posture detecting means (4) is a pressure-sensitive sensor (PS) arranged at two positions, a front portion and a rear portion, inside a seating portion of a seat. Airbag deployment control device for occupant protection device 8. The occupant posture detecting means (4) is at least one of an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, and a capacitance type proximity sensor arranged at an appropriate position in a vehicle body.
An airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to any one of the above. 9. The gas generator (6) includes a first combustion chamber (31) and a second combustion chamber (32) in one gas generator.
2. The combustion chamber according to claim 1, wherein the ratio of the gas generation capacities of the first combustion chamber and the second combustion chamber is 6: 4 to 8: 2.
9. An airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, 10. The output of the gas generator (6) has a low output for igniting only the first combustion chamber (31) and a second combustion with a small time difference after igniting the first combustion chamber (31). Room (3
2) medium power for igniting the first and second combustion chambers (3
10. The airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to claim 9, wherein the output is divided into three large outputs that simultaneously ignite the airbags (1, 32). 11. The first gas generation mode in the control means (5) is such that the occupant detection means (3) detects an occupant's seat, and the occupant posture detection means (4) determines that the occupant's posture is “appropriate”. And (a) the occupant detection means (3) detects that the weight of the occupant is "light". When the collision level detecting means (2) detects the level of the collision as "light", the output of the gas generator (6) is "low output". However, when the collision level is detected as "heavy", the output of the gas generator (6) is "medium output". (B) The occupant detection means (3) detects the weight of the occupant as "heavy". Further, when the collision level detecting means (2) detects the collision level as "light", The output of the gas generator (6) is "medium output". When the collision level detecting means (2) detects the level of collision as "heavy", the output of the gas generator (6) is "high output". 11. The airbag deployment control device for an occupant protection device according to claim 10, wherein