KR20160020161A - External air bag control apparatus and method for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for controlling an external air bag for a vehicle. The apparatus comprises: an external air bag installed in the outside of a vehicle; a vehicle speed detection unit detecting a driving speed of the vehicle; an object detection unit detecting an object around the vehicle including the front of the vehicle; a lane detection unit detecting a lane of a road wherein the vehicle is driven; and a control unit detecting a position and a direction wherein the vehicle and the object may collide with each other based on information detected from the vehicle speed detection unit, the object detection unit, and the lane detection unit, and deploying the external air bag to the position and the direction wherein a collision is possible before the collision.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to an external air bag control apparatus and method,

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for controlling an external air bag for a vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an external air bag control for a vehicle, which can enhance the effect of protecting the external air bag by allowing the external air bag, Apparatus and method.

Generally, an airbag (that is, a built-in airbag) is installed in the interior of the vehicle, and the airbag is deployed in a collision to protect the passenger.

For example, the built-in airbag includes a driver's seat airbag, an assisted seat airbag, a curtain airbag, and a seat side airbag.

However, in recent years, research and installation of external air bags have been carried out in order to reduce the impact force that a vehicle is hit by an obstacle in advance.

The external air bag is installed in a space between the rear of the bumper and the vehicle body, and is deployed ahead of the vehicle (i.e., in front of the bumper) before the vehicle hits an obstacle to absorb and mitigate the impact force. This can basically improve the efficiency of the external airbag by detecting and predicting the collision situation of the vehicle in advance and deploying the external airbag at the correct timing.

The external airbag can be installed between the front bumper of the vehicle and the rear bumper of the vehicle and the side of the vehicle. As the number of the external airbags increases, the safety can be further improved. However, as described above, as the number of the external airbags is increased, the unit price of the vehicle is increased, the weight of the vehicle is increased, and the electrical and mechanical construction becomes complicated, thereby increasing the possibility of failure.

BACKGROUND ART [0002] The background art of the present invention is disclosed in Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0074546 (published on Apr. 18, 2014, external airbag deployment method).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle exterior air bag control device and method capable of improving the effect of protecting an external air bag by intensively deploying an external air bag, The purpose is to provide.

According to an aspect of the present invention, an external device for controlling a vehicle external air bag includes: an external air bag provided outside the vehicle; A vehicle speed detector for detecting a running speed of the vehicle; A object detecting unit for detecting objects in the vicinity including the front of the vehicle; A lane detecting unit detecting a lane of a road on which the vehicle is traveling; And a control unit for detecting a position and a direction of the vehicle that may possibly collide with the vehicle based on information detected from the vehicle speed detector, the object detecting unit, and the lane detecting unit, and directing the external airbag to a position and direction And a controller for controlling the operation of the control unit.

The airbag device according to the present invention further includes an airbag frame for mounting the external airbag, wherein the airbag frame is rotatably mounted on the vehicle, and rotates under the control of the control unit, Position and direction.

In the present invention, the airbag frame and the external airbag are provided on the roof of the vehicle.

In the present invention, the controller determines whether the speed of the vehicle before the collision is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference speed, and does not deploy the external airbag when the speed of the vehicle is less than the reference speed.

In the present invention, the control unit judges whether the vehicle is departing from the lane, and when the vehicle does not leave the lane or leaves the lane, if there is no possibility of collision in the forward direction, .

In the present invention, the vehicle speed detecting section detects the vehicle speed directly from at least one vehicle speed sensor installed in the vehicle, or receives vehicle speed information from an electronic control unit (ECU) provided in the vehicle.

In the present invention, the object detecting unit may detect an object using at least one or more object detecting sensors provided in a vehicle, and the object detecting sensor may include at least one of a camera, a laser sensor, and a Lada sensor .

In the present invention, the lane detecting unit may detect a lane or a lane using at least one lane detecting sensor installed in the vehicle, and the lane detecting sensor may be a camera, a laser sensor, a lidar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, And one of them.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling an external air bag for a vehicle, the method comprising: receiving at least one preset information of a vehicle speed, distance, lane, braking, terrain, slip, and weather information; Determining whether there is a possibility of collision with an object ahead of the traveling direction based on at least one of the received information; Calculating at least one of a distance, a speed, and an angle from the vehicle to the object when there is a possibility of collision with the object in the determining step; Calculating a predicted collision position or a collision direction based on the calculated information based on the vehicle layout; Rotating the airbag frame in the calculated expected collision position or the collision direction; And deploying the external airbag before the collision while the control unit rotates the airbag frame in the anticipated collision position or the collision direction.

The method may further include determining whether the speed of the vehicle before the collision is equal to or higher than a preset reference speed before the step of deploying the external airbag. When the speed of the vehicle is less than the reference speed, Is characterized in that the external airbag is not deployed.

The method may further include the step of determining whether the vehicle is departing from the lane after the step of receiving the at least one information, wherein the vehicle does not depart from the lane or there is no possibility of collision ahead The control unit does not deploy the external airbag.

In the present invention, the airbag frame and the external airbag are installed on the roof of the vehicle.

The present invention enables the external airbag installed on the roof of the vehicle to be concentratedly deployed in the direction where there is a possibility of collision, thereby enhancing the effect of protecting the external airbag, and by using one external airbag, Thereby preventing an increase in vehicle unit cost and weight and reducing the possibility of occurrence of a failure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a schematic configuration of a vehicle exterior air bag control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
Fig. 2 is a view for explaining a configuration in which the airbag frame and the external airbag are installed in Fig. 1, and shows an example in which the front airbag is directed forward before the external airbag is deployed. Fig.
Fig. 3 is an exemplary view showing the shape in which the external airbag is laterally rotated and developed in Fig. 2; Fig.
4 is a flowchart for explaining a method for controlling an external air bag for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an apparatus and method for controlling an external air bag for a vehicle according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this process, the thicknesses of the lines and the sizes of the components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation. In addition, the terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, which may vary depending on the intention or custom of the user, the operator. Therefore, definitions of these terms should be made based on the contents throughout this specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an outline configuration of a vehicle exterior air bag control device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

1, the vehicle exterior air bag control apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a vehicle speed detection unit 110, a object detection unit 120, a lane detection unit 130, a control unit 140, an external air bag driving unit 150, An airbag frame driving unit 160, an external airbag 170, and an airbag frame 180. [

The vehicle speed detector 110 detects the vehicle speed and detects the vehicle speed directly from at least one vehicle speed sensor (for example, a reed switch type vehicle speed sensor, a photoelectric type vehicle speed sensor, an electronic type vehicle speed sensor, The vehicle speed information can be received from an electronic control unit (ECU) installed in the vehicle.

The object detecting unit 120 detects a surrounding object including the front of the vehicle and detects objects (or obstacles) using at least one or more object detecting sensors (e.g., a camera, a laser sensor, The distance from the vehicle, and the like.

For example, the camera may be a means for capturing an image of the surroundings including the front of the vehicle, and the vehicle according to the present embodiment may be provided with at least one camera. The camera captures an image of an object (for example, a pedestrian, an obstacle, a lane, etc.) by photographing a viewing direction (or a vehicle running direction).

For reference, the camera may include a Far Infra Red (FIR) camera, a laser projection type camera, and / or a CMOS camera (or a CCD camera) To acquire images similar to those seen by human eyes. The FIR camera acquires an image by projecting light in an infrared band that a person can not see. Particularly, the FIR band has the advantage of distinguishing the temperature because the wavelength changes according to the temperature.

The LIDAR sensor is a sensor that can be used to measure the position coordinates of a reflector by emitting a laser pulse and measuring the time of reflection and returning. It is possible to detect a signal reflected from an object and detect a distance to a pedestrian, an obstacle or a counterpart vehicle, and can also be used for lane detection.

The lane detecting unit 130 detects a lane (or a lane) of a road on which the vehicle is traveling and includes at least one lane detecting sensor (e.g., a camera, a laser sensor, a Lada sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, Etc.) to detect a lane (or a lane).

The lane detection method using the camera is a method of detecting a lane by processing an image photographed using a camera. The lane detection method using the at least one sensor analyzes a signal outputted from the sensor to detect a lane . The lane can be detected more clearly when the method using the camera and the sensor are combined.

The control unit 140 compares the information (e.g., vehicle speed, distance, lane, etc.) detected from the vehicle speed detector 110, the object detecting unit 120 and the lane detecting unit 130 with preset reference values, do. In order to predict the possibility of the collision, the controller 140 transmits other necessary information (e.g., braking information, terrain information, slip information, weather information, (Not shown).

The control unit 140 controls the deployment of the external airbag 170 based on the estimated collision probability. As described above, the external airbag 170 must be deployed at an appropriate timing before the collision of the vehicle occurs. Since the effect of the external airbag is changed according to the deployment timing, the setting of the deployment timing is very important in the external airbag control.

The external airbag driving unit 150 is a means for deploying the external airbag 170 to inflate the airbag by injecting a high-pressure gas into the external airbag 170.

The external airbag 170 is deployed before a vehicle collision to protect the vehicle and the passenger, and is mounted on the airbag frame 180 and installed on the roof of the vehicle.

The airbag frame driving unit 160 rotates the airbag frame 180 on which the external airbag 170 is mounted in a desired direction (i.e., a direction in which a collision is predicted).

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining a configuration in which the airbag frame and the external airbag are installed in FIG. 1, and shows an example in which the external airbag is directed forward before the external airbag is deployed. FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing the shape in which the external airbag is developed in a lateral direction in FIG. 2; FIG.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, in the present embodiment, the exterior airbag 170 is installed on the roof of the vehicle. This differs from conventional conventional external air bags.

That is, at least four external airbags need to be installed in order to protect all the sides of the vehicle using the conventional external airbag. However, in the present embodiment, the single external airbag 170 installed on the roof of the vehicle is used, Protect all sides.

Of course, the direction in which the external airbag 170 of this embodiment is deployed is also one direction.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, an airbag frame 180 rotatable in all directions (for example, +180 to -180 degrees) using a motor (not shown) is additionally provided on the roof of the vehicle, and the exterior airbag 170 is installed on the airbag Mounted on the frame 180. The external airbag 170 is rotated on the corresponding side (collision predicted side) of the vehicle by rotating the airbag frame 180 in a direction in which the possibility of collision is predicted and then expanding the external airbag 170 immediately before a collision occurs. ) To the floor like a blanket or an air mat.

Thus, the present embodiment protects all the sides of the vehicle by using one external airbag 170 installed on the roof of the vehicle.

The mechanical structure of the external airbag 170 and the airbag frame 180 is out of the scope of the present invention, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Hereinafter, a method of controlling the external airbag 170 and the airbag frame 180 as described above to rotate the airbag frame 180 in the direction of possible collision and deploying the external airbag 170 before the collision will be described.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a method of controlling an external air bag for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4, the control unit 140 controls at least one signal and information (e.g., vehicle speed, distance, lane, etc.) that are preset from the vehicle speed detection unit 110, the object detection unit 120, and the lane detection unit 130, (S101).

Although not shown in the figure, the control unit 140 may control other information (e.g., braking information, terrain information, slip information, weather information, etc.) And further input from a sensor (not shown).

The controller 140 may control the vehicle, the obstacle, and the road (or the like) based on at least one of the received information (e.g., vehicle speed information, distance information, lane information, braking information, terrain information, Or lane) (S102).

The control unit 140 determines whether there is a large object having a possibility of collision in the forward running direction (i.e., a shape larger than a predetermined reference value according to the distance) from the detected situation (S103). Also, the control unit 140 determines whether the vehicle (own vehicle) is leaving the lane (S103).

If there is no large object with a possibility of collision in the traveling direction (NO in S103), and if the vehicle (own vehicle) does not depart from the lane or departs from the lane, (NO in S103), the controller 140 inhibits the expansion of the external airbag 170 (S109).

However, when there is a large object with a possibility of collision in the direction of travel, or when the vehicle (own vehicle) leaves the lane (YES in S103), the information input in the step S101 (e.g., vehicle speed information, Relative distance, relative speed, and angle to an object in front (e.g., a pedestrian, a rock, a tree, a relative vehicle, etc.) based on at least one of the information, the braking information, the terrain information, the slip information, (S104).

Then, the control unit 140 calculates an expected collision position (or a collision direction) based on a vehicle layout (S105).

For example, in the case where a collision-capable object is ahead in consideration of the traveling direction of the current vehicle (the own vehicle), the forward of the vehicle (the own vehicle) becomes the expected collision position (or collision direction). When the collision object is on the side, the side of the vehicle (the own vehicle) becomes the expected collision position (or collision direction). Likewise, when a collision-capable object is behind, the rear of the vehicle (the own vehicle) becomes the expected collision position (or collision direction).

Based on the calculation result of the expected collision position (or the collision direction), the controller 140 rotates the airbag frame 180 in the anticipated collision position (or collision direction) (S106). That is, the airbag frame 180 is rotated such that the external airbag 170 is deployed in the anticipated impact position (or the collision direction).

In order to adjust the deployment timing of the external air bag 170, it is determined whether the collision speed is equal to or higher than a preset reference speed (e.g., 30 km / h) (S107). The reference speed is a speed at which there is no great impact on the vehicle even if the external airbag is not deployed, and is not necessarily limited to the reference speed exemplified above. If the vehicle has started braking, it is determined whether the speed after braking is equal to or higher than the reference speed.

If the collision speed is equal to or higher than the reference speed (YES in step S107), the controller 140 determines whether the airbag frame 180 is in the anticipated collision position (or collision direction) according to the comparison result between the collision- The external airbag 170 is deployed in a rotated state (S108).

However, if the collision speed is not higher than the reference speed (NO in S107), the control unit 140 does not deploy the external airbag 170 (S109).

As described above, in the present embodiment, one external airbag 170 installed on the roof of the vehicle is rotated in a direction in which collision is likely to occur, so that one external airbag can be used to prepare for collision from all sides of the vehicle In addition, it is possible to prevent an increase in vehicle unit price and weight, thereby reducing the possibility of occurrence of a failure.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, I will understand the point. Accordingly, the technical scope of the present invention should be defined by the following claims.

110:
120:
130:
140:
150: External airbag driving part
160: External air bag
170: airbag frame driver
180: air bag frame

Claims (12)

An external air bag installed outside the vehicle;
A vehicle speed detector for detecting a running speed of the vehicle;
A object detecting unit for detecting objects in the vicinity including the front of the vehicle;
A lane detecting unit detecting a lane of a road on which the vehicle is traveling; And
A position and direction in which the vehicle and the object are likely to collide are detected based on the information detected from the vehicle speed detector, the object detecting section, and the lane detecting section, and the external air bag is positioned before the collision The airbag inflated by the airbag inflated by the airbag.
The method according to claim 1,
And an airbag frame for mounting the external airbag,
Wherein the airbag frame is mounted on the vehicle and is configured to be rotatable,
Wherein the control unit rotates according to the control of the control unit to direct the external airbag to the position and direction where the vehicle is likely to collide.
The airbag module according to claim 2,
And is installed on the roof of the vehicle.
The apparatus of claim 1,
Wherein the control unit determines whether the speed of the vehicle before the collision is equal to or greater than a preset reference speed and does not deploy the external airbag if the speed of the vehicle is less than the reference speed.
The apparatus of claim 1,
Wherein the control unit does not deploy the external airbag when it is judged that the vehicle is departing from the lane and if the vehicle does not leave the lane or there is no possibility of collision in the front even if the vehicle leaves the lane, .
2. The vehicle driving force control apparatus according to claim 1,
A vehicle external airbag control device for detecting a vehicle speed directly from at least one vehicle speed sensor installed in a vehicle or receiving vehicle speed information from an electronic control unit (ECU) provided in the vehicle.
The apparatus according to claim 1,
An object of the present invention is to provide an external air bag control device for a vehicle, which detects at least one object by using at least one object detection sensor installed in a vehicle, and the object detection sensor includes at least one of a camera, a laser sensor and a lidar sensor.
The lane departure detecting apparatus according to claim 1,
A lane detecting apparatus for a lane detecting apparatus for detecting a lane or a lane by using at least one lane detecting sensor installed in a vehicle, the lane detecting sensor comprising at least one of a camera, a laser sensor, a lidar sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, Airbag control device.
Receiving at least one preset information among a vehicle speed, a distance, a lane, a braking, a terrain, a slip, and weather information;
Determining whether there is a possibility of collision with an object ahead of the traveling direction based on at least one of the received information;
Calculating at least one of a distance, a speed, and an angle from the vehicle to the object when there is a possibility of collision with the object in the determining step;
Calculating a predicted collision position or a collision direction based on the calculated information based on the vehicle layout;
Rotating the airbag frame in the calculated expected collision position or the collision direction; And
And deploying the external airbag before the collision while the control unit rotates the airbag frame in the anticipated collision position or the collision direction.
10. The method of claim 9,
Before the step of deploying the external air bag,
Further comprising: determining whether the speed of the vehicle before the collision is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference speed,
Wherein when the speed of the vehicle is smaller than the reference speed, the control unit does not deploy the external airbag.
10. The method of claim 9,
After receiving the at least one information,
Further comprising: determining whether the vehicle leaves the lane,
Wherein the control unit does not deploy the external airbag when the vehicle does not leave the lane or there is no possibility of collision in the front after the lane departure.
10. The method of claim 9,
The airbag frame and the external airbag may be made of an elastic material,
Wherein the airbag is installed on a roof of the vehicle.

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