JPH11301393A - Air bag disposal device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure an easy and sure disposal of air bag by outputting an operation signal to a semiconductor switch according to an operator's disposal command for supplying a current to a triggering means. SOLUTION: When a switch 58 is put ON at a position remote from a vehicle, a low voltage signal is input to a unit exclusively used for disposal 52, and a high voltage signal inverted by inverters 78, 80 is input to a second AND circuit 70. Then, the circuit 70 outputs a high voltage signal to a gate terminal of driving trangisters 84, 86 for energization. As a result, a current flows to squibs 24, 26 and the driving transistors 84, 86 to thereby ignite a squib 24 for developping an air bag. Along therewith, the output of the circuit 70 is fed to a pulse generation circuit 88, and the pulse line generated thereat is supplied to a warning lamp 90, which starts its blinking action to alarm an operator operation of disposal.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag disposal apparatus for igniting a squib in a demolition plant or the like to dispose and deploy (inflate) an airbag, and more particularly, to protect an occupant in a vehicle. The present invention relates to an airbag provided with an airbag, and particularly, when the airbag is discarded, the airbag is discarded and deployed (inflated).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, vehicles equipped with airbags that inflate in the event of a collision to protect occupants have been steadily increasing, and airbags are installed not only in a driver's seat but also in a passenger seat and a rear seat. Is being done. When a vehicle equipped with such an airbag is to be scrapped, unintended violence may occur during the scrapping work. Therefore, the airbag is forcibly deployed (activated or inflated) in advance and then discarded together with an inflator or the like. It is desirable to do.

In a control unit of an airbag, a safing sensor (switch) and a drive transistor (semiconductor switch) for energizing a squib (explosion means) are generally connected in series between a vehicle battery power supply and ground. And
When the safing sensor is turned on and the drive transistor is turned on, the squib is energized and ignited.

[0004] With respect to such an airbag disposal technique, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-76855 discloses a technique in which a lead wire for connecting an electronic control unit and a squib (explosion means) is externally short-circuited with a jumper cable to an external power supply. A technique has been proposed in which the airbag is disposed and deployed by energizing the squib by connecting it and detonating the squib.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-240416, a waste drive circuit is incorporated in an electronic control unit so as to bypass a safing sensor, and two transistors are alternately turned on to charge and discharge a capacitor. A technique has been proposed in which alternating current by charging and discharging is supplied to a squib to detonate the squib.

[0006]

However, in the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-76855, the cover of the inflator is opened at the time of disposal, and the lead wire connected to the squib is taken out and connected to the jumper cable. However, there is a disadvantage that the operation is complicated and the number of work steps is increased.

In addition, since the cover of the inflator and the shape or position of the cover are not necessarily the same depending on the type of vehicle, it is necessary to check the type of the inflator for each type of vehicle. In addition, there was a problem of human error due to manual work.

In the technique described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-240416, since two transistors are turned on alternately to charge and discharge a capacitor to use as a drive power source,
There was a problem that the operation reliability was not sufficiently satisfactory.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and can easily and reliably dispose of the airbag, and also reduces the possibility of human error. To provide.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuel cell system, comprising: an initiating means housed in an inflator of an air bag mounted on a vehicle; and an acceleration acting on the vehicle. A discarding device for the airbag connected to a connector interposed between the microcomputer and the microcomputer for energizing the detonation means, wherein the airbag discarding device includes a voltage source, the voltage source and the detonation means. And a semiconductor switch interposed in the voltage supply path, a discard command input means for inputting an operator's discard command, and an operation signal to the semiconductor switch in response to the operator's discard command. And a display means for displaying that the activation signal has been output. As a result, the airbag can be easily and reliably disposed, and the possibility of human error can be reduced. Further, the notification can be made more reliably by notifying the operator, and the possibility of human error can be reduced well.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the voltage of the voltage source is compared with a reference value, and when the voltage of the voltage source is within a predetermined range, the voltage of the voltage source is within a predetermined range. Comparing means for generating a comparison output indicating that the energizing means outputs an operation signal to the semiconductor switch in accordance with the operator's discard command and the comparison output to energize the detonating means. . Accordingly, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained, and it can be confirmed that the operating voltage required for disposal has been secured, so that the airbag can be more reliably disposed.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an entire airbag disposal apparatus according to the present invention.

For convenience of understanding, an airbag control device not scheduled to be disposed will be described first with reference to FIG. 2 according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the entire control device 10 of the airbag. The control device 10 is housed in a case 11 and is mounted on a dashboard (not shown) of a driver's seat (not shown) of a vehicle (not shown). It is placed near.

The control device 10 includes a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 12. As shown, the CPU 12 performs boost control, collision determination, and failure detection (self-diagnosis).

The CPU 12 is connected via a connector 13 to a battery power source 14 mounted on the vehicle, and when the ignition switch 16 is turned on, the battery power source 14 is turned on.
Supplies a battery voltage VB (about 12 V). The battery voltage is input to the regulator 18 in the control device 10, where it is adjusted to the operating voltage (5V) and
12 is supplied.

On the other hand, the battery voltage is input to a booster circuit 20 having a backup capacitor, and the booster circuit 20 controls the booster circuit 20 so that the airbag can be operated even when the battery power supply 14 (battery device) is disconnected during a vehicle collision.
In accordance with the command from U12, the voltage is raised to about 35V to charge the backup capacitor.

The booster circuit 20 is connected to a voltage supply path 22. The voltage supply path 22 branches on the way, and squibs 24 and 26 are connected to the respective branches. Squibs 24, 26
Is the steering wheel (not shown) and the airbag (not shown) stored in the dashboard in front of the passenger seat
Is stored in an inflator (not shown), and a small amount of explosive is arranged around the inflator.

The voltage supply path 22 between the booster circuit 20 and the squibs 24 and 26 is formed of a lead wire. After exiting the controller 10 and the connector 28 connected thereto, the squib 24 is connected to the squib 24 by steering. Cable 22a, and the squib 26 is also connected by a cable 22b having a similar structure.

A G sensor (second acceleration detecting means) 32 is provided near the center of the vehicle (not shown), and outputs a signal proportional to the acceleration (deceleration) generated in the traveling direction of the vehicle. Send to

Further, a safing sensor (first acceleration detecting means) 34 is provided in the control device 10, and the safing sensor is connected to the squib 24,
26 is inserted on the upstream side of the position where it is arranged. The safing sensor 34 is composed of two sets of reed switches, and two sets of ferromagnetic leads are sealed in the glass tube with one end facing each other with a gap, and a coil is arranged around the glass tube.

The safety sensor 34 is turned off during the normal running of the vehicle to open the voltage supply path 22 and turned on when an acceleration (deceleration) of a predetermined value or more acts on the vehicle in the traveling direction. 22 is closed.

In the voltage supply path 22, the squibs 24, 2
First and second drive transistors (semiconductor switches) 36 and 38 are interposed between 6 and the ground. The first and second drive transistors 36 and 38 are both n-channel type M transistors.
An OSFET has a gate terminal connected to the CPU 12, a drain terminal connected to the booster circuit 20 via the squibs 24 and 26, and a source terminal grounded. The first and second drive transistors 36 and 38 are turned on when a high voltage (high level) operation signal is supplied to the gate terminals.

The CPU 12 has a clock 42 and an EEP
A ROM (E ² PROM) 44 is provided. CPU1
2 is provided with a warning lamp 46, which is turned on as required. Further, the CPU 12 has many terminals at input / output ports (not shown).

As will be described later, the terminal group is a terminal dedicated to a vehicle dealer that is not used for control, for example, a MES terminal (Mem terminal).
ory Erase terminal), SCS terminal (Service
eCheck terminal) and SCI terminal (Serial
Communication Interface terminal).

Next, the operation will be described. When the acceleration (deceleration) acting on the vehicle is equal to or greater than a predetermined value from the output of the G sensor 32, the CPU 12 determines that a collision has occurred, and outputs a high voltage (high level) operation signal to the first. , The second driving transistor 3
It is supplied to the gate terminals 6 and 38 for conduction. at the same time,
The safing sensor 34 is also turned on to close the circuit.

As a result, a current (about several A) flows from the backup capacitor of the booster circuit 20 to the squibs 24 and 26 to be energized and heated to ignite an enhancer (fire transfer agent) and burn the gas generating agent. The generated nitrogen gas enters the airbag from the inflator and inflates (deploys) the airbag to receive and protect the occupant's chest and head.

With reference to FIG. 1 on the premise of the above, an airbag disposal device according to the present invention will be described. FIG.
The same members as those described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

An airbag disposal device 50 according to the present invention.
Is provided with a disposal unit 52, and the disposal unit 52 is connected in place of the control device 10 shown in FIG. That is, during the airbag disposal operation, the connectors 13 and 28 are removed as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. The disposal unit 52 is stored in a case 54.

The discarding device 50 has an operating power supply 56 composed of an AA battery or the like and a switch (discarding instruction input means) 58. The voltage VP of the operation power supply 56 is set to about 12 V similarly to the battery voltage. The operation power supply 56
The signal is input to the disposal unit 52 via the connector 13, and is input to the first comparator (op-amp. Comparing means) 62 and the second comparator (op-amp. Comparing means) 64 via the voltage supply path 60.

That is, the non-inverting input terminal of the first comparator 62 has a reference voltage V1 (for example, 10 V) obtained by dividing the voltage of a predetermined voltage source V (for example, 12 V) by the resistors R1 and R2.
Is input, and the operating voltage V is applied to its inverting input terminal.
P is input.

A reference voltage V2 (for example, 5 V) obtained by dividing the voltage of the voltage source V by resistors R2 and R3 is input to an inverting input terminal of the second comparator 64, and an operating voltage is input to a non-inverting input terminal. VP is input.

The first and second comparators 62 and 64 constitute a window comparator, and the operating voltage VP in place of the battery voltage VB is within a predetermined range (for example, 5 V to 10 V).
Is determined.

The outputs of the first and second comparators 62 and 64 are connected to the input terminal of an AND circuit 68. AND
The output of the circuit 68 is connected to one of the three input terminals of the second AND circuit 70. The remaining 2 of the second AND circuit 70
The output of the switch 58 is connected to the two input terminals.

That is, the switch 58 is inserted into a signal supply path 74 connected to a power supply circuit 72 composed of a predetermined voltage Vs and a resistor Rs. The data is input to the disposal unit 52. In this case, it is convenient to use the above-mentioned MES terminal and SCS terminal provided on the connector 13.

In the discarding unit 52, inverters 78 and 80 are interposed in the signal supply path 74 and the branch path 74a branched therefrom. Outputs of the inverters 78 and 80 are connected to two input terminals of the second AND circuit 70.

On the other hand, the voltage supply path 60 branches on the way to form a second voltage supply path 82. The second voltage supply path 82 exits the disposal unit 52 from the connector 28, and the cables 22a, 22b Are connected to the squibs 24 and 26 via the connector 28, and return to the disposal unit 52 again via the connector 28. The n-channel type MOSF having the same configuration as the first and second driving transistors 36 and 38 is used.
It is connected to the drain terminals of drive transistors 84 and 86 (semiconductor switches) made of ET.

The gate terminals of the drive transistors 84 and 86 are connected to the second AND circuit 70, and the source terminals are grounded. Further, the output of the second AND circuit 70 is input to the pulse oscillation circuit 88. The pulse oscillation circuit has a known structure. When a high voltage (high level) signal is input, the pulse generation circuit generates and outputs a pulse train in accordance with the input. The pulse oscillation circuit 88 is connected to a warning lamp (display means) 90 via the connector 13.

Next, the operation of the airbag disposal device according to the present invention will be described.

First, the connectors 13 and 27 are disconnected by an operator (discarded vehicle dealer), and a dedicated disposal unit 52 shown in FIG. 1 is connected in place of the control device 10 shown in FIG.

In the disposal unit 52, the first and second
When the operating voltage VP is within a predetermined range (5 V to 10 V), in other words, when the operating voltage VP is sufficient for ignition at the time of discarding, the comparators 62 and 64 compare the high voltage (high level). Output a signal.

These high-voltage (high-level) comparison signals are input to an AND circuit 68, which outputs a high-voltage (high-level) signal to output a second AND circuit 70.
Send to

At this time, when the operator retreats from the vehicle and turns on the switch 58 at a position distant from the vehicle, a low voltage (low level) signal is input to the disposal unit 52 and inverted by the inverters 78 and 80. The high voltage (high level) signal is input to the second AND circuit 70.

Accordingly, the second AND circuit 70 outputs a high voltage (high level) signal to output the driving transistors 84 and
86 to the gate terminal to make it conductive. As a result, current flows to the squibs 24 and 26 and the driving transistors 84 and 86, and the squibs 24 and 26 are ignited to deploy (inflate) the airbag.

At the same time, the output of the second AND circuit 70 is sent to the pulse oscillating circuit 88, and the pulse train generated there is sent to the warning lamp 90 to make it blink, notifying the operator of the discard operation.

Since this embodiment is configured as described above, the airbag can be easily and reliably discarded, and the possibility of human error can be reduced.

That is, since the disposal unit is provided and the connector of the airbag control device is detached and reconnected, the same connector can be used for any airbag control device.

Further, since the ignition is configured to be ignited when the operator turns on the switch, it is possible to confirm the intention to dispose of the switch, and since the operating power is supplied, even when the battery power of the vehicle is discharged, etc. , Can be reliably ignited.

In addition, since the ignition is performed only by turning on the switch by connecting the dedicated disposal tool via the connector, the possibility of human error can be reduced.

In this embodiment, as described above, the squib (squib 24, 26) housed in the inflator of the air bag mounted on the vehicle, and the acceleration acting on the vehicle are detected to detect the acceleration. An airbag disposal device 50 connected to a connector 28 interposed between the microcomputer 12 to be energized, the airbag disposal device comprising: a voltage source (operating power supply 56); A voltage supply path (voltage supply path 60, second voltage supply path 82) for connecting to the detonation means, and a semiconductor switch (driving transistors 84, 8) inserted in the voltage supply path
6), a discard command input means (switch 58) for inputting a discard command of the operator, and an energizing means for outputting an operation signal to the semiconductor switch in accordance with the discard command of the operator to energize the detonating means ( An AND circuit 68, a second AND circuit 70, inverters 78 and 80) and a display means (warning lamp 90) for displaying that the operation signal has been output are provided.

Further, the voltage of the voltage source (operating voltage V
P) with a reference value (reference voltages V1, V2), and when the voltage of the voltage source is within a predetermined range, a comparing means for generating a comparison output indicating that the voltage of the voltage source is within a predetermined range. (First and second comparators 62 and 64),
The energizing means is configured to output an operation signal to the semiconductor switch in accordance with the operator's discard command and the comparison output to energize the detonating means.

Although a warning lamp is used as the display means in the above description, an alarm device such as a voice may be used.

In the above description, the MOSFET is n
Although a channel type or a p-channel type is used, any type may be used, or another type of semiconductor switch may be used.

Although the discard-only unit is constituted by a discrete digital circuit, it may be constituted by a microcomputer or an analog circuit.

In the above description, the control device for the airbag for collision from the vehicle traveling direction is taken as an example. However, the present invention is equally applicable to the control device for the airbag for collision from the vehicle side. Needless to say.

[0057]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the airbag can be easily and reliably discarded, and the possibility of human error can be reduced. Further, the notification can be made more reliably by notifying the operator, and the possibility of human error can be reduced well.

According to the second aspect, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained, and it can be confirmed that the operating voltage required for disposal has been secured. It can be done reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the entire configuration of an airbag disposal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an overall configuration of an airbag control device which is assumed in the device of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 airbag control device 12 microcomputer (CPU) 13 connector 14 battery power supply 22 voltage supply path 24, 26 squib 28 connector 32 G sensor 34 safing sensor 36 first drive transistor 38 second drive transistor 50 airbag disposal device 52 Discard-only unit 56 Operation power supply 58 Switch (discard command input means) 62 First comparator (comparison means) 64 Second comparator (comparison means) 68 AND circuit (energization means) 70 Second AND circuit (energization means) 78 Inverter (energizing means) 80 Inverter (energizing means) 84, 86 Driving transistor (semiconductor switch) 90 Warning lamp (display means)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connector interposed between a detonating device housed in an inflator of an airbag mounted on a vehicle and a microcomputer for detecting acceleration acting on the vehicle and supplying current to the detonating device. An airbag disposal device to be connected, wherein the airbag disposal device comprises: a. A voltage source; b. A voltage supply path connecting the voltage source and the detonating means; c. A semiconductor switch interposed in the voltage supply path; d. Discard command input means for inputting a discard command of the operator; e. Energizing means for outputting an operation signal to the semiconductor switch in response to the operator's disposal instruction and energizing the detonating means; and f. A display device for displaying that the operation signal has been output, the airbag disposal device. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising comparing the voltage of the voltage source with a reference value, and generating a comparison output indicating that the voltage of the voltage source is within a predetermined range when the voltage of the voltage source is within a predetermined range. 2. The power supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a comparison unit that outputs an operation signal to the semiconductor switch in accordance with the operator's discard command and the comparison output to energize the detonation unit. Airbag disposal equipment.