US20010015565A1 - Occupant protective apparatus - Google Patents
Occupant protective apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20010015565A1 US20010015565A1 US09/732,489 US73248900A US2001015565A1 US 20010015565 A1 US20010015565 A1 US 20010015565A1 US 73248900 A US73248900 A US 73248900A US 2001015565 A1 US2001015565 A1 US 2001015565A1
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- United States
- Prior art keywords
- seat
- car body
- car
- occupant
- fluid
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D21/00—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted
- B62D21/15—Understructures, i.e. chassis frame on which a vehicle body may be mounted having impact absorbing means, e.g. a frame designed to permanently or temporarily change shape or dimension upon impact with another body
- B62D21/152—Front or rear frames
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/24—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles
- B60N2/42—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats
- B60N2/4207—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats characterised by the direction of the g-forces
- B60N2/4214—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats characterised by the direction of the g-forces longitudinal
- B60N2/4221—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats characterised by the direction of the g-forces longitudinal due to impact coming from the front
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/24—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles
- B60N2/42—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats
- B60N2/427—Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash
- B60N2/42727—Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash involving substantially rigid displacement
- B60N2/42736—Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash involving substantially rigid displacement of the whole seat
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60N—SEATS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR VEHICLES; VEHICLE PASSENGER ACCOMMODATION NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60N2/00—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles
- B60N2/24—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles
- B60N2/42—Seats specially adapted for vehicles; Arrangement or mounting of seats in vehicles for particular purposes or particular vehicles the seat constructed to protect the occupant from the effect of abnormal g-forces, e.g. crash or safety seats
- B60N2/427—Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash
- B60N2/42772—Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash characterised by the triggering system
- B60N2/42781—Seats or parts thereof displaced during a crash characterised by the triggering system mechanical triggering
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
- B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- B60R19/00—Wheel guards; Radiator guards, e.g. grilles; Obstruction removers; Fittings damping bouncing force in collisions
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
- B62D—MOTOR VEHICLES; TRAILERS
- B62D39/00—Vehicle bodies not otherwise provided for, e.g. safety vehicles
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an occupant protective apparatus and, in particular, to an occupant protective apparatus which is capable of reducing a deceleration to be applied to an occupant when a car collision occurs.
- the deceleration of the occupant restricted to a seat by a seat belt can firstly start at the time when a forwardly going inertial force acting on the occupant in the car collision is received by the seat belt.
- the inertial force causes the occupant to move forward and the deceleration of the occupant reaches its peak value at the time when the extension of the seat belt reaches its limit. It is generally said that the peak value of the occupant deceleration increases as the moving amount of the occupant due to the inertial force increases and, normally, the peak value of the occupant deceleration becomes higher than the average deceleration of the car room portion of the car body.
- the deceleration of the car body must be adjusted in such a manner that a delay in the starting time of the occupant deceleration with respect to the car body deceleration can be minimized.
- the present invention aims at eliminating the drawbacks found in the above-mentioned conventional occupant protective apparatus. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an occupant protective apparatus which can reduce not only the size of the car body but also the deceleration of the occupant at a further higher dimension.
- an occupant protective apparatus including: at least one seat supported on a car body to be movable along a direction of a force acting on said car body in the case of a car collision, the seat respectively including a seat belt for restricting an occupant seated thereon; a first fluid container, the capacity of which is reduced in conjunction with the deformation of the car body in the car collision; and a first force generating unit applying to the at lest one seat, a force directed to the backward of the car body in response to the pressure occurring by fluid filled in said fluid container when the capacity thereof is reduced.
- the fluid container disposed in the front end portion of the car body is compressed and the fluid filled in the fluid container is thereby charged into the force generating means such as a liquid pressure cylinder. Due to this, backward going acceleration is applied to the seat at the same time with the occurrence of the car head-on collision to thereby generate in the seat higher deceleration than the deceleration of the car body, which makes it possible to enhance the restricting force of the seat belt for restricting the forward movement of the occupant.
- the present occupant protective apparatus may further include second force generating means for applying a forward going force to the seat after the above-mentioned backward going force is applied. That is, in case where a forward going force is applied to the seat with a proper time delay, an increase in a forward going inertial force acting on the occupant in the car collision can be controlled, so that the deceleration of the car body and the deceleration of the seat and occupant can be made equal to each other in the early stage of the car collision.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a car body to which a first embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention is applied;
- FIG. 2 is a schematic structure view of the car body to which the first embodiment of the invention is applied, showing a state thereof before a car collision occurs;
- FIGS. 3A to 3 C are explanatory views of a process in the first embodiment when the car collision occurs;
- FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of a deceleration waveform obtained when the car collision occurs.
- FIGS. 5A to 5 C are explanatory views of a process carried out in a second embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention when a car collision occurs.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively show of a schematic structure of a car to which is applied a first embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention.
- a seat belt 3 is connected to the seat 1 .
- the seat 1 is mounted on a seat slide rail (not shown) in such a manner that it can be moved by a certain distance along the advancing direction of the car with respect to a floor 4 which forms part of a car room portion of a car body.
- first cylinder device 5 which is used to generate a drive force for moving the seat 1 backward.
- This first cylinder device 5 includes a cylinder 6 fixed to the floor 4 and a piston rod 7 for connecting a piston slidably disposed within the cylinder 6 to the seat 1 .
- the first cylinder device 5 is arranged such that it can generate a thrust in the axial direction thereof using fluid pressure.
- a second cylinder device 10 which, similarly to the above-mentioned first cylinder device 5 , includes a cylinder 8 fixed to the floor 4 and a piston rod 9 for connecting a piston slidably disposed within the cylinder 8 to the seat 1 .
- the second cylinder device 10 is also arranged such that it can generate a thrust in the axial direction thereof using fluid pressure.
- This second cylinder device 10 is used to generate a drive force for pushing the seat 1 , which has been moved backward by a drive force generated by the first cylinder device 5 , back to the forward direction.
- the first cylinder device 5 is normally held in a contracted state, whereas the second cylinder device 10 is normally held in an expanded state.
- a car body structure including a front side member 11 which is formed integral with the floor 4 , there is supported an engine 12 .
- a first fluid tank 14 is interposed between the front portion of the engine 12 and the rear portion of a front bumper beam 13 .
- the first fluid tank 14 preferably, may be disposed as near as possible to both of the engine 12 and front bumper beam 13 .
- a second fluid tank 16 At a position, which exists within an engine room and between the engine 12 and a front dashboard 15 , there is arranged a second fluid tank 16 .
- This second fluid tank 16 preferably, may also be disposed as near as possible to both of the engine 12 and dashboard 15 .
- first and second fluid tanks 14 , 16 in a car collision, can be both compressed due to the deformation of the engine room and the capacities thereof can be thereby reduced; but, the two fluid tanks 14 , 16 are structured such that they are prevented from being broken in such car collision.
- the first fluid tank 14 is connected to the cylinder bottom of the first cylinder device 5 by a pipe.
- the second fluid tank 16 is connected to the cylinder bottom of the second cylinder device 10 by a pipe.
- the pipes, which are used to connect together the two cylinder devices 5 , 10 and the two fluid tanks 14 , 16 are structured such that they do not cause any pressure loss but have such strength as can hold the pressure which is generated in the car collision.
- the fluid that is filled into the two fluid tanks 14 , 16 must withstand long storage as well as must be able to transmit quickly variations in the capacities and pressures of the respective fluid tanks 14 , 16 . Therefore, as such fluid, preferably, there may be used non-compressible fluid which has stable physical properties, for example, brake liquid.
- the front side member 11 which is formed integral with the floor 4 and extended forwardly from the floor 4 , starts to buckle and deform due to an impact load applied to the front bumper beam 13 .
- the floor 4 continues its forward movement by an amount contracted due to the plastic deformation of the front side member 11 , while receiving deceleration due to a deforming stress produced in the front side member 11 .
- an elastic member is included in the mounting portion of the engine 12 , so that the engine 12 is rather going to continue moving forward due to its inertial force.
- the occupant 2 is going to continue its forward movement due to an inertial force thereof with respect to the car body (in particular, the car room portion thereof) which is going to stop due to the car collision.
- the seat belt 3 formed integral with the seat 1 since backward going acceleration is applied to the seat 1 at the same time when the car collision occurs, by the seat belt 3 formed integral with the seat 1 , the occupant 2 is instantaneously restricted to the seat 1 while generating little relative speed with respect to the floor 4 .
- the strength of the front side member 11 , the elastic characteristic of the seat belt 3 , the output characteristics of the two cylinder devices 5 , 10 , the deforming timings of the two fluid tanks 14 , 16 , and the moving amount of the seat 1 may be set properly such that, at the time when the relative speed between the seat 1 and floor 4 becomes zero and the deceleration of the seat 1 and the deceleration of the floor 4 are equal to each other, the relative speed between the occupant 2 and floor 4 can approach zero as much as possible and the restricting load of the seat belt 3 can balance as equally as possible with the car body deceleration in the late stage of the car collision.
- FIGS. 5A to 5 C show a second embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention.
- a stopper 21 for restricting the backward movement of a seat 1 is disposed on a rigid projecting portion 22 formed integral with a floor 4 which continues its forward movement when a car collision occurs.
- This stopper 21 is structured in the following manner: that is, when a piston 25 (FIG.
- the fluid container 26 which is used to apply the thrust to the cylinder device 24 , may be structured such that it can be compressed with the deformation of the car body and the capacity thereof is reduced, or, as schematically shown in FIGS. 5A to 5 C, it may be composed of a combination of a cylinder 28 and a ram 29 .
- the seat with a seat belt is accelerated in the acting direction of the collision load by the first force generating means in the early stage of the car collision to thereby generate the higher deceleration than the car body deceleration in the seat and seat belt, next, the acceleration going in the opposite direction to the above deceleration is generated by the second force generating means in the seat and seat belt to thereby make constant the inertial force of the occupant going to move forward in the early stage of the car collision, and, after then, the deceleration of the car body and the deceleration of the seat and occupant can be made equal to each other.
- a deceleration waveform preferable for reduction of the occupant deceleration can be generated in the seat and seat belt, which makes it possible to reduce greatly the peak value of the occupant deceleration with a smaller car body deforming amount than in the conventional occupant protective apparatus. Also, since the moving amount of the occupant within the car room with respect to the car body can be minimized, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a secondary collision in which the occupant can be butted against structures existing within the car room and can be thereby damaged.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Transportation (AREA)
- Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
- Seats For Vehicles (AREA)
- Body Structure For Vehicles (AREA)
Abstract
The occupant protective apparatus includes one or more seats 1 respectively supported on a car body so as to be movable along the direction of a force acting on the car body in the case of a car collision and each including a seat belt 3 for restricting an occupant 2 seated on the seat 1, a fluid container 14, the capacity of which can be reduced as the car body is deformed in the car collision, and a force generating unit 5 for applying a force to the seat 1 in the back-and-forth direction of the car body in response to generation of the pressure of fluid filled in the fluid container, such pressure generation occurring when the capacity of the fluid container is reduced. According to the present occupant protective apparatus, for example, in case where a forward running car collides head on with a structure on the road, the fluid container disposed in the front end portion of the car body is compressed and the fluid filled in the fluid container is thereby charged into the force generating unit such as a liquid pressure cylinder. Due to this, backward going acceleration is applied to the seat at the same time with the occurrence of the car head-on collision to thereby generate in the seat higher deceleration than the deceleration of the car body, which makes it possible to enhance the restricting force of the seat belt for restricting the forward movement of the occupant.
Description
- 1. Field of the Invention
- The present invention relates to an occupant protective apparatus and, in particular, to an occupant protective apparatus which is capable of reducing a deceleration to be applied to an occupant when a car collision occurs.
- 2. Description of the Related Art
- Recently, in order to enhance the effect of occupant protection in a car collision, there have been proposed various car body structures in which the deforming mode of the other remaining portions of a car body than a car room portion of the car body in a car collision is set properly to thereby be able not only to reduce the deceleration of the car room portion of the car body but also to prevent the deformation of the other remaining portions of the car body from extending over to the car room portion of the car body (see JP-A-7-101354).
- On the other hand, the deceleration of the occupant restricted to a seat by a seat belt can firstly start at the time when a forwardly going inertial force acting on the occupant in the car collision is received by the seat belt. Here, since the spring action of the seat belt cannot be removed, the inertial force causes the occupant to move forward and the deceleration of the occupant reaches its peak value at the time when the extension of the seat belt reaches its limit. It is generally said that the peak value of the occupant deceleration increases as the moving amount of the occupant due to the inertial force increases and, normally, the peak value of the occupant deceleration becomes higher than the average deceleration of the car room portion of the car body. Therefore, in order to reduce an impact to be given against the occupant due to the car collision, the deceleration of the car body must be adjusted in such a manner that a delay in the starting time of the occupant deceleration with respect to the car body deceleration can be minimized.
- However, it is substantially impossible to connect the occupant to the car body as an integral unit and, especially, in the case of a compact car in which it is difficult to secure a sufficient stroke in the other remaining portions of the car body than the car room portion thereof, it is difficult to reduce the occupant deceleration further simply using a conventional occupant protecting method in which the deceleration of the car room portion in a car collision is reduced by properly setting the deforming mode of the car body.
- The present invention aims at eliminating the drawbacks found in the above-mentioned conventional occupant protective apparatus. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an occupant protective apparatus which can reduce not only the size of the car body but also the deceleration of the occupant at a further higher dimension.
- In attaining the above object, according to the invention, there is provided an occupant protective apparatus, including: at least one seat supported on a car body to be movable along a direction of a force acting on said car body in the case of a car collision, the seat respectively including a seat belt for restricting an occupant seated thereon; a first fluid container, the capacity of which is reduced in conjunction with the deformation of the car body in the car collision; and a first force generating unit applying to the at lest one seat, a force directed to the backward of the car body in response to the pressure occurring by fluid filled in said fluid container when the capacity thereof is reduced.
- According to the present occupant protective apparatus, for example, in case where a forward running car collides head on with a structure on the road, the fluid container disposed in the front end portion of the car body is compressed and the fluid filled in the fluid container is thereby charged into the force generating means such as a liquid pressure cylinder. Due to this, backward going acceleration is applied to the seat at the same time with the occurrence of the car head-on collision to thereby generate in the seat higher deceleration than the deceleration of the car body, which makes it possible to enhance the restricting force of the seat belt for restricting the forward movement of the occupant.
- Especially, the present occupant protective apparatus may further include second force generating means for applying a forward going force to the seat after the above-mentioned backward going force is applied. That is, in case where a forward going force is applied to the seat with a proper time delay, an increase in a forward going inertial force acting on the occupant in the car collision can be controlled, so that the deceleration of the car body and the deceleration of the seat and occupant can be made equal to each other in the early stage of the car collision.
- FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a car body to which a first embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention is applied;
- FIG. 2 is a schematic structure view of the car body to which the first embodiment of the invention is applied, showing a state thereof before a car collision occurs;
- FIGS. 3A to3C are explanatory views of a process in the first embodiment when the car collision occurs;
- FIG. 4 is a graphical representation of a deceleration waveform obtained when the car collision occurs; and,
- FIGS. 5A to5C are explanatory views of a process carried out in a second embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention when a car collision occurs.
- Now, a description will be given below in detail of the invention with reference to preferred embodiments of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention shown in the accompanying drawings.
- FIGS. 1 and 2 respectively show of a schematic structure of a car to which is applied a first embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention. In the present embodiment, in order to restrict the movement of an
occupant 2 with respect to aseat 1, aseat belt 3 is connected to theseat 1. And, theseat 1 is mounted on a seat slide rail (not shown) in such a manner that it can be moved by a certain distance along the advancing direction of the car with respect to afloor 4 which forms part of a car room portion of a car body. - Below the
seat 1, there is disposed afirst cylinder device 5 which is used to generate a drive force for moving theseat 1 backward. Thisfirst cylinder device 5 includes acylinder 6 fixed to thefloor 4 and apiston rod 7 for connecting a piston slidably disposed within thecylinder 6 to theseat 1. Thefirst cylinder device 5 is arranged such that it can generate a thrust in the axial direction thereof using fluid pressure. - In the rear of the
seat 1, there is disposed asecond cylinder device 10 which, similarly to the above-mentionedfirst cylinder device 5, includes acylinder 8 fixed to thefloor 4 and apiston rod 9 for connecting a piston slidably disposed within thecylinder 8 to theseat 1. Thesecond cylinder device 10 is also arranged such that it can generate a thrust in the axial direction thereof using fluid pressure. Thissecond cylinder device 10 is used to generate a drive force for pushing theseat 1, which has been moved backward by a drive force generated by thefirst cylinder device 5, back to the forward direction. Thefirst cylinder device 5 is normally held in a contracted state, whereas thesecond cylinder device 10 is normally held in an expanded state. - On a car body structure including a
front side member 11 which is formed integral with thefloor 4, there is supported anengine 12. And, afirst fluid tank 14 is interposed between the front portion of theengine 12 and the rear portion of afront bumper beam 13. Thefirst fluid tank 14, preferably, may be disposed as near as possible to both of theengine 12 andfront bumper beam 13. - At a position, which exists within an engine room and between the
engine 12 and afront dashboard 15, there is arranged asecond fluid tank 16. Thissecond fluid tank 16, preferably, may also be disposed as near as possible to both of theengine 12 anddashboard 15. - These first and
second fluid tanks fluid tanks - The
first fluid tank 14 is connected to the cylinder bottom of thefirst cylinder device 5 by a pipe. And, thesecond fluid tank 16 is connected to the cylinder bottom of thesecond cylinder device 10 by a pipe. The pipes, which are used to connect together the twocylinder devices fluid tanks - The fluid that is filled into the two
fluid tanks respective fluid tanks - Next, a description will be given below of the operation of the occupant protective apparatus of the invention with reference to FIGS. 3A and 4, assuming a case in which a car is collided head on with a structure on the road.
- Just at the same time when the car collision occurs, the
front side member 11, which is formed integral with thefloor 4 and extended forwardly from thefloor 4, starts to buckle and deform due to an impact load applied to thefront bumper beam 13. At the then time, thefloor 4 continues its forward movement by an amount contracted due to the plastic deformation of thefront side member 11, while receiving deceleration due to a deforming stress produced in thefront side member 11. - On the other hand, in the
engine 12, generally, an elastic member is included in the mounting portion of theengine 12, so that theengine 12 is rather going to continue moving forward due to its inertial force. This narrows quickly the distance between theengine 12 andfront bumper beam 13 to thereby compress thefirst fluid tank 14 interposed between them and, due to the reduction of the capacity of thefirst fluid tank 14, the fluid stored within thefirst fluid tank 14 is pushed out into thefirst cylinder device 5. Due to the pressure of this fluid, thepiston rod 7 of thefirst cylinder device 5 is pushed out from thefirst cylinder device 5, so that theseat 1 connected to thepiston rod 7 is accelerated backward (see FIG. 3A). At the then time, owing to the thrust of thefirst cylinder device 5, thepiston rod 9 of thesecond cylinder device 10 is pushed in the contracting direction thereof. That is, due to this, theseat 1 is moved backward with respect to thefloor 4, with the result that there is generated in the seat 1 a deceleration which is larger than the deceleration of thefloor 4, that is, the deceleration of the car room portion of the car body (in FIG. 4, an area shown by a). - During the above process, the
occupant 2 is going to continue its forward movement due to an inertial force thereof with respect to the car body (in particular, the car room portion thereof) which is going to stop due to the car collision. However, since backward going acceleration is applied to theseat 1 at the same time when the car collision occurs, by theseat belt 3 formed integral with theseat 1, theoccupant 2 is instantaneously restricted to theseat 1 while generating little relative speed with respect to thefloor 4. - In case where the
front side member 11 continues its deformation and theengine 12 moves backward, the distance between theengine 12 andfront dashboard 15 is narrowed and thesecond fluid tank 16 is thereby pressed, so that the fluid from thesecond fluid tank 16 is pushed out into thesecond cylinder device 10. Here, although thesecond cylinder device 10 is contracted due to the above-mentioned backward movement of theseat 1, whereas, in case where the pressure from thesecond fluid tank 16 is applied to thesecond cylinder device 10, thepiston rod 9 is pushed out from the second cylinder device 10 (see FIG. 3B). As a result of this, the deceleration of theseat 1 is reduced (in FIG. 4, an area shown by b), while an increase in the forward inertial force applied to theoccupant 2 in the early stage of the car collision reaches its peak value so that the inertial force of theoccupant 2 can be made constant instantaneously. - In the late stage of the car collision, just at the same time when the pressures respectively from the two
fluid tanks piston rods cylinder devices seat 1 increases (in FIG. 4, an area shown by c). After then, theseat 1 andfloor 4 continue their deceleration as an integral unit with the deceleration that is determined by the deforming stress of thefront side member 11. Also, in this state, because, as described above, the relative speed between theoccupant 2 andfloor 4 is zero, and also because the restricting load of theseat belt 3 balances well with the deceleration of the car body, theoccupant 2 continues its deceleration integrally with the floor 4 (see FIG. 3C). In this state, the deceleration of the occupant is equal to the deceleration of the car body until the car body is caused to stop perfectly (in FIG. 4, an area shown by d). - To reduce the impact given to the
occupant 2 in the car collision, firstly, it is important to reduce the deceleration of the occupant. In view of this, as described above, in case where there is set a deceleration waveform (which is shown by a solid line in FIG. 4) in which, in the early stage of the car collision, there is generated higher deceleration than the average deceleration of the car body in theseat 1 andseat belt 3 for a short period of time, next, there is generated oppositely going acceleration in theseat 1 andseat belt 3 for a short period of time, and, after then, theseat 1 andseat belt 3 are allowed to decelerate with the average car body deceleration, when compared with a car which does not incorporate therein the present occupant protective apparatus, the deceleration of the occupant can be reduced in such a manner as shown by a broken line in FIG. 4, assuming that the respective car bodies of the two cars are deformed in the same amount. - In order to enhance the effects of the invention structured in the above-mentioned manner, preferably, the strength of the
front side member 11, the elastic characteristic of theseat belt 3, the output characteristics of the twocylinder devices fluid tanks seat 1 may be set properly such that, at the time when the relative speed between theseat 1 andfloor 4 becomes zero and the deceleration of theseat 1 and the deceleration of thefloor 4 are equal to each other, the relative speed between theoccupant 2 andfloor 4 can approach zero as much as possible and the restricting load of theseat belt 3 can balance as equally as possible with the car body deceleration in the late stage of the car collision. - Now, FIGS. 5A to5C show a second embodiment of an occupant protective apparatus according to the invention. In the present embodiment, a
stopper 21 for restricting the backward movement of aseat 1 is disposed on a rigid projectingportion 22 formed integral with afloor 4 which continues its forward movement when a car collision occurs. Thisstopper 21 is structured in the following manner: that is, when a piston 25 (FIG. 5A), which is disposed in acylinder device 24 connected between thefloor 4 and thesupport base 23 of theseat 1 and is situated on the bottom side of thecylinder device 24 before the car collision occurs, is moved toward the top side of thecylinder device 24 due to the fluid pressure that is generated by afluid container 26 in the car collision, thestopper 21 is plastically deformed due to the thrust that is applied to theseat support base 23 through apiston rod 27, thereby generating a reaction load (FIGS. 5B and 5C). As a result, the reaction load generated by thestopper 21 at the then time accelerates theseat 1 forward with respect to the floor 4 (which corresponds to an area shown by b in FIG. 4). That is, similarly to the previously described first embodiment, thepiston 25 of thecylinder device 24 is decelerated by this reaction load and a forward going force is applied to theseat 1. - By the way, the
fluid container 26, which is used to apply the thrust to thecylinder device 24, may be structured such that it can be compressed with the deformation of the car body and the capacity thereof is reduced, or, as schematically shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, it may be composed of a combination of acylinder 28 and aram 29. - While only certain embodiments of the invention have been specifically described herein, it will apparent that numerous modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
- As has been described heretofore, according to the invention, the seat with a seat belt is accelerated in the acting direction of the collision load by the first force generating means in the early stage of the car collision to thereby generate the higher deceleration than the car body deceleration in the seat and seat belt, next, the acceleration going in the opposite direction to the above deceleration is generated by the second force generating means in the seat and seat belt to thereby make constant the inertial force of the occupant going to move forward in the early stage of the car collision, and, after then, the deceleration of the car body and the deceleration of the seat and occupant can be made equal to each other. Thanks to this, a deceleration waveform preferable for reduction of the occupant deceleration can be generated in the seat and seat belt, which makes it possible to reduce greatly the peak value of the occupant deceleration with a smaller car body deforming amount than in the conventional occupant protective apparatus. Also, since the moving amount of the occupant within the car room with respect to the car body can be minimized, it is possible to reduce the possibility of a secondary collision in which the occupant can be butted against structures existing within the car room and can be thereby damaged.
Claims (8)
1. An occupant protective apparatus, comprising:
at least one seat supported on a car body to be movable along a direction of a force acting on the car body in the case of a car collision, said seat including a seat belt for restricting an occupant seated thereon;
a first fluid container, the capacity of which is reduced in conjunction with the deformation of the car body in the car collision; and
a first force generating unit applying to said at lest one seat, a force directed to the backward of the car body in response to the pressure occurring by fluid filled in said first fluid container when the capacity thereof is reduced.
2. The occupant protective apparatus, according to , further comprising:
claim 1
a second force generating unit applying to said at least one seat, a force directed to the forward of the car body after the force directed to the backward thereof is applied to said seat by said first force generating unit.
3. The occupant protective apparatus, according to , wherein said first fluid container is a first fluid tank disposed between a front bumper beam and an engine.
claim 1
4. The occupant protective apparatus, according to , wherein said first force generating unit is a first cylinder device including:
claim 1
a first cylinder disposed on a car body side;
a first piston slidable within said first cylinder; and
a first piston rod connected to said first piton and said seat such that said seat moves toward the backward of the car body in the car collision, and
wherein said first fluid container is connected to said first cylinder by a pipe.
5. The occupant protective apparatus, according to , wherein said first fluid container includes a cylinder receiving the fluid and a ram pressing the fluid within said cylinder.
claim 1
6. The occupant protective apparatus, according to , further comprising:
claim 2
a second fluid container, the capacity of which is reduced in conjunction with the deformation of said car body in the car collision,
wherein said second force generating unit is a second cylinder device including:
a second cylinder disposed on a car body side;
a second piston slidable within said cylinder; and
a second piston rod connected to said piton and said seat such that said seat moves toward the forward of the car body in the car collision,
wherein said second fluid container is connected to said second cylinder by a pipe.
7. The occupant protective apparatus according to , wherein said second fluid container is a second fluid tank disposed between an engine and a front dashboard.
claim 6
8. The occupant protective apparatus according to , wherein said second force generating unit is a deformable member being plastically deformable by a thrust applied to said seat in the car collision.
claim 2
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP11-346010 | 1999-12-06 | ||
JP34601099A JP2001163135A (en) | 1999-12-06 | 1999-12-06 | Occupant crash protection device |
JPP.HEI.11-346010 | 1999-12-06 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20010015565A1 true US20010015565A1 (en) | 2001-08-23 |
US6398285B2 US6398285B2 (en) | 2002-06-04 |
Family
ID=18380530
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/732,489 Expired - Fee Related US6398285B2 (en) | 1999-12-06 | 2000-12-06 | Occupant protective apparatus |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US6398285B2 (en) |
EP (1) | EP1106483B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP2001163135A (en) |
DE (1) | DE60025986T2 (en) |
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- 2000-12-05 EP EP00126702A patent/EP1106483B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
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Cited By (15)
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US6402218B1 (en) * | 1999-07-23 | 2002-06-11 | Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Seat belt pretensioner device powered by vehicle body deformation |
US20070063542A1 (en) * | 2005-09-16 | 2007-03-22 | Fong Jian J | Shock and energy dissipating assembly |
US7341645B2 (en) * | 2005-09-16 | 2008-03-11 | Jian Jhong Fong | Shock and energy dissipating assembly |
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US10029641B1 (en) * | 2017-01-18 | 2018-07-24 | Leshuang Wu | Crashworthy and safe frame for vehicle |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2001163135A (en) | 2001-06-19 |
EP1106483A2 (en) | 2001-06-13 |
DE60025986T2 (en) | 2006-08-03 |
DE60025986D1 (en) | 2006-04-20 |
EP1106483B1 (en) | 2006-02-15 |
EP1106483A3 (en) | 2002-05-08 |
US6398285B2 (en) | 2002-06-04 |
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