PL235595B1 - Method for protecting persons travelling in a vehicle against injuries that may occur in the result of a road event, in particular a rollover of a vehicle, and the device produced according to this method - Google Patents

Description

Description of the invention

The subject of the invention is a device protecting a person traveling in a vehicle, especially a bus, against injuries that may occur as a result of a road accident, in particular the vehicle overturning to its side.

The head, neck and torso of passengers are often seriously injured in a side-to-side traffic accident. In the analyzed case, the injuries of the rider are usually caused by the reaction of the obstacle encountered by the human body (e.g. a body pillar) to the inertia forces. This is due to the fact that the side surface of the vehicle has a low impact energy absorption capacity compared to the front surface. In addition, deforming elements of the vehicle body structures can injure passengers after the vehicle overturns.

The design solutions known so far concerning the possibility of minimizing injuries resulting from the vehicle overturning to the side concern: reinforcements mounted in the nodes connecting the side shell with the roof deck, installation of gas cushions, the use of a "pendulum" post in a rigid place, the use of seats sliding perpendicular to the side wall or the seat which can perform a partial rotation of approx. 30 ° about an axis parallel to the car's longitudinal axis (PL.220287B1).

A device for protecting vehicle passengers against the effects of a side impact is known from the German patent application No. DE4209605A1. The device includes seats that can swivel about an axis perpendicular to the floor area of the vehicle. Adjacent seats are connected to each other by a lever which in turn also connects to the side wall of the vehicle. In the event of a side impact, the collision sensor located in the side wall of the vehicle generates a signal that activates the pyrotechnic actuator which, through an arm connected to the lever, causes the seats to rotate a certain angle, and then they are locked in this position by a locking device, with the axis of rotation both seats are positioned forward from their center of gravity. It is also possible to operate the device without a pyrotechnic actuator when the deformation of the side wall exceeds the allowable value determined by the stroke of the damping element, followed by the lever displacement and the rotation of the seats.

A chair with a turning mechanism is known from the American patent description No. US9227529B2, especially for commercial vehicles. The chair is additionally equipped with a device securing the rotation mechanism against overload, which limits the formation of excessive play between the components.

Active safety systems are known, incl. Roll Stability Control (RSC) anti-rollover system that triggers other systems and systems (e.g. braking system, traction control system) to prevent overturning when excessive vehicle roll is detected, based on information from the vehicle's lean angle and speed sensors .

According to the invention, the device protecting a person traveling in a vehicle against injuries that may occur due to the vehicle overturning sideways, comprising a car seat equipped with seat belts and a rotation mechanism enabling the chair to rotate, characterized in that the seat has a side wall and a rotation mechanism whose axis of rotation is inclined from an axis perpendicular to the plane of the vehicle floor (the axis is diagonal), and which is subject to the action of the limiter, the mechanism forcing rotation, the rotation damper and the release-locking mechanism. The rotation mechanism is permanently connected to the seat via the upper plate and rotatably connected by a pin to the mechanism forcing rotation, which is connected via the seat base to the floor of the vehicle. The rotation forcing mechanism has a preloaded spring which acts on the swing arm. The release-locking mechanism consists of a spindle rotation mechanism placed between the elements and operated by an actuator, e.g. an electromagnetic coil. The swing mechanism positioned at an angle of 5 to 30 degrees with respect to the plane of the vehicle floor includes a toothed wheel or fragment thereof which is subject to the action of the release-lock mechanism and the rotation damper.

The essential difference from the existing solutions is:

- diagonal (diagonal) deviation of the axis of rotation of the chair,

- shifting the seat's center of rotation backward by a certain distance from its center of gravity,

- the use of a system for removing human legs while turning the chair,

- using the steering damper (rotation damper).

PL 235 595 B1

The diagonal deviation of the seat rotation axis (obliquely to the vertical axis) causes the system to move the passenger's head and torso away from the obstacle and lower the seat in relation to the initial position, which additionally protects these parts of the body during an accident. Moving the seat's center of rotation a certain distance back from its center of mass makes it possible to reduce the potential energy stored in the mechanism forcing the rotation of the seat, which is necessary for the rotation of the seat with the passenger. The use of the passenger's leg recovery system ensures full (within the proposed range) and reliable rotation of the passenger, i.e. additionally protection of the legs is provided, which prevents improper positioning of the human body (e.g. twisting the torso in relation to the legs). The use of a steering damper (rotation damper) prevents sudden jerks at the beginning and end of the rotation process.

The invention will be explained in more detail in the embodiment shown in the drawing, where:

- Fig. 1 shows the device according to the invention in a starting position, in normal use in a rear view,

- Fig. 2 shows the device according to the invention in the starting position during normal use, viewed from the right,

- Fig. 3 shows the device according to the invention in a pivoted position after activation of the rotation mechanism due to an imminent traffic incident in a rear view,

- Fig. 4 shows the device according to the invention in a pivoted position after the activation of the rotation mechanism due to an imminent road incident, seen from the side wall of the vehicle,

- Fig. 5 shows the mechanism forcing the rotation in the starting position during normal use (spring loaded),

Fig. 6 shows the mechanism forcing the rotation in the position after the activation of the rotation mechanism (spring not tensioned),

Fig. 7 shows the rotation mechanism.

The device according to the invention can be used in vehicles factory-equipped with tilt angle or angular velocity sensors (e.g. being part of an active safety system) or in vehicles equipped with such sensors (e.g. mounted in the seat base). In an exemplary embodiment, the device comprises an armchair 1 permanently connected via the upper plate 2 to the rotation mechanism 15, which in turn is pivotally connected via a pin 14 to the rotation forcing mechanism 10. The rotation forcing mechanism 10 is connected via the lower plate 3 to the seat base 7 In the event of detection of the inevitability of a road incident, i.e. vehicle rollover, e.g. when the signal reading from the vehicle tilt angle sensor or the vehicle angular velocity sensor exceeds the adopted limit value, the release-locking mechanism 4 unlocks the rotation mechanism 15 by releasing the pin blocking the toothed ring 9 of the rotation mechanism 15. Under the action of the force exerted by the biased springs 11 of the mechanism forcing the rotation 10 on the arm 13 of the rotation mechanism 15, the rotation of the rotation mechanism 15 takes place together with the upper plate 2 and the seat 1. The rotation is controlled by the rotation damper 5 and limited by the position of the stop 12. After the end When turning the rotation phase, the rotation mechanism 15 is blocked by inserting the pin of the release-locking mechanism 4 between the teeth of the ring gear 9. The rotation mechanism 15 and the force-rotation mechanism 10 are placed between the seat 1 and the base 7 in the plane tilted by an angle ranging from 5 to 30 degrees from the plane of the floor 8 and the seat of the chair 1. The value of the deflection angle depends on the shape of the bottom plate 3 and the top plate 2. As a result of the rotation of the rotation mechanism 15, the chair 1 moves in a folded motion simultaneously turning and tilting. Before the vehicle overturns sideways, the seat 1 with the passenger is turned towards the interior of the vehicle, its seat is lowered from the initial position, and the backrest of the seat 1 is additionally tilted away from the side wall 16 of the vehicle. At the moment when, as a result of the vehicle overturning to the side, deformation of the body elements, including pillars and side paneling, which move towards the interior of the vehicle, the passenger, especially his torso, neck and head, are covered and protected by the elements of the seat 1. seat 1 therefore it creates protection against direct contact of body elements (obstacles) with the passenger's body. In addition, the tilting of the seat 1 towards the interior of the vehicle and its lowering causes the space between the seat 1 and the side wall of the vehicle 16 and the roof to be increased, which is related to the limitation of the impact of deforming body elements on the seat and passenger. In order to eliminate the risk of injury to the lower limbs

Due to the rotation of the chair 1 at a high angular speed, a leg removal system is provided in the form of a side wall 6 covered with an energy-absorbing material, which rotates with the chair 1.

Signs:

- armchair,

- top plate,

- bottom plate,

- release and lock mechanism,

- rotation damper,

- side wall of the seat,

- armchair base,

- vehicle floor,

- toothed rim of the rotation mechanism,

- a mechanism forcing rotation,

- spring,

- limiter,

- arm,

- pin,

- rotation mechanism,

- side wall of the vehicle.

Claims (7)

Patent claims 1. A device protecting the occupant of the vehicle against lowering that may occur as a result of the vehicle overturning to the side, including a car seat (1) equipped with seat belts and a rotation mechanism (15) enabling the seat to rotate (1) characterized in that the seat (1) has a wall side (6) and the rotation mechanism (15), the axis of rotation of which is deviated from the axis perpendicular to the plane of the vehicle floor (the axis is diagonal), which is subject to the action of the limiter (12), the mechanism forcing rotation (10), and the rotation damper (5) and an unlocking-locking mechanism (4). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the rotation mechanism (15) is permanently connected to the seat (1) via the upper plate (2), and rotatably connected by a pin (14) to the rotation forcing mechanism (10) which is connected through the seat base (7) with the vehicle floor (8). 3. The device according to claim A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the forcing mechanism (10) has a preloaded spring (11). acting on the arm (13) of the swing mechanism (15). 4. The device according to claim A device as claimed in any of claims 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the unlocking mechanism (4) consists of a pin placed between the elements of the rotation mechanism (15) and operated by the actuator. 5. The device according to claim 1 4. The method of claim 4, characterized in that the actuator is an electromagnetic actuator. 6. The device according to claim 1 The method of Claim 1, 2, 3 or 4, characterized in that the turning mechanism (15) is positioned at an angle of 5 to 30 degrees to the plane of the vehicle floor (8). The device according to claim 1 A device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, 4 or 6, characterized in that the rotation mechanism (15) comprises a toothed rim (9) or a fragment thereof which is subject to the action of the release-locking mechanism (4) and the rotation damper (5).