JP2005219536A - Crew protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an occupant protection device capable of predicting a wide range of vehicle accidents and performing an occupant protection operation in advance.
A stability control control, an ABS control, and a BA control execution state by a brake control ECU 12 are determined, and a panic brake by a driver is determined based on detection of a brake sensor 17, and when each control is executed, When the panic brake is generated, it is assumed that the vehicle behavior is unstable, the motor belt mechanism 3 changes the restraint force of the seat belt to warn the driver, or the occupant increases the restraint force of the seat belt or activates the PCS 4 Perform protective actions.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant in a vehicle.

Conventionally, seat belt devices, airbag devices, and the like have been put into practical use as devices for protecting passengers in a vehicle when a vehicle accident such as a vehicle collision or rollover occurs. In addition, these devices operate when a vehicle accident occurs, but an occupant protection device that operates in advance prior to a vehicle accident for the purpose of more reliable occupant protection has also been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1). .
The occupant protection device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a distance sensor that measures a distance between the vehicle and a preceding vehicle using a millimeter wave radar, and a seat belt device that can wind the seat belt by a motor drive. Based on the inter-vehicle distance detected by the distance sensor, when the vehicle approaches the preceding vehicle at a predetermined speed or higher and the inter-vehicle distance falls below the predetermined value, the motor is activated in advance to cope with the rear-end collision with the preceding vehicle. By taking up the seat belt, the occupant's restraint is strengthened for reliable protection.
JP 2001-58552 A

  By the way, the accident state that can be predicted based on the detection of the distance sensor is mainly limited to the front collision that is a collision from the front part of the vehicle, and the vehicle accident such as the collision from the side part or the rear part or the rollover cannot be predicted. It is. Therefore, for example, when the vehicle behavior becomes unstable due to an unreasonable driving operation or a slippery road surface and the vehicle collides with a guard rail or the like from the side or rear of the vehicle, or when the vehicle rolls over, the occupant protection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 above. Therefore, it was impossible to predict the situation of these accidents and perform passenger protection operations such as winding the belt in advance.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an occupant protection device capable of predicting a wide range of vehicle accidents and performing an occupant protection operation in advance.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is based on occupant restraint means capable of restraining a vehicle occupant, vehicle state detection means for detecting the state of the vehicle, and vehicle state detected by the vehicle state detection means. Vehicle behavior determining means for determining the vehicle behavior, and when the vehicle behavior determining means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an unstable state, the occupant restraining means is activated to issue a warning to the occupant, and the vehicle behavior determining means If the vehicle behavior is determined to be an emergency state that is more unstable than the state where the vehicle behavior is unstable, the vehicle is provided with restraint control means for operating the passenger restraint means to increase the passenger restraint force.

  Therefore, if the vehicle behavior is determined by the vehicle behavior determination means based on the vehicle state detected by the vehicle state detection means, and the vehicle behavior determination means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an unstable state, the restraint control means When the restraint means is actuated and a warning for the occupant is executed, and the vehicle behavior determination means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an even more unstable emergency state, the occupant restraint means is actuated by the restraint control means and the occupant restraint force is increased. Enhanced. Therefore, based on the warning, the driver is urged to perform a driving operation to ensure that the vehicle behavior is unstable and stabilize the vehicle behavior. On the other hand, in an emergency state, the driver performs a passenger protection operation that increases the passenger restraining force. Responses to possible vehicle accidents will be taken.

Vehicle accidents that occur due to unstable vehicle behavior are not limited to frontal collisions, but also include collisions from the side or rear of the vehicle, or rollovers. Thus, it is possible to execute an occupant protection operation that increases the warning to the driver and the occupant restraint force in advance.
The invention of claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the occupant restraint means has a seat belt for restraining the occupant to the seat, and a seat belt retractor that winds the seat belt by a motor drive. The retractor is operated according to the vehicle behavior determined by the vehicle behavior determination means.

Accordingly, when the vehicle behavior determining means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an unstable state, the seat belt is wound by the motor drive of the retractor, and the restraining force on the occupant changes. For example, if the restraint force of the seat belt is periodically increased, a warning is given to the occupant, and if the restraint force of the seat belt is steadily increased, the occupant restraint force is increased and an occupant protection operation is performed.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the vehicle state detecting means is a braking control device that operates in accordance with the vehicle state, and the vehicle behavior determining means is in accordance with the operating state of the braking control device. Is determined.

Therefore, the braking control device operates according to the vehicle state, and the unstable state or the emergency state of the vehicle behavior is determined by the vehicle behavior determination means according to the operating state of the braking control device.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the vehicle state detection means comprises a braking control device that operates in accordance with the vehicle state and a brake operation detection means that detects a brake operation state by the driver. The means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an emergency state when emergency braking is performed by the braking control device or when the brake operation detection means detects an emergency braking state by the driver.

  Therefore, when emergency braking is performed by the braking control device or when the driver's emergency braking state is detected by the brake operation detecting means, the vehicle behavior determining means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an emergency state. The occupant restraining force is increased by the restraint control means.

As described above, according to the occupant protection device of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to predict a wide range of vehicle accidents and perform warnings and occupant protection operations in advance.
According to the occupant protection device of the invention of claim 2, in addition to claim 1, warning of the occupant and occupant protection operation can be reliably performed by the operation of the seat belt retractor.

According to the occupant protection device of the invention of claim 3, in addition to claim 1 or 2, it is possible to appropriately determine a state in which the vehicle behavior is unstable or an emergency state based on the operating state of the braking control device. Warning and passenger protection operations can be performed reliably.
According to the occupant protection device of the fourth aspect of the invention, in addition to the first or second aspect, the occupant restraint force can be reliably increased and the occupant protection can be improved during emergency braking by the braking control device or the driver.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an occupant protection device embodying the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram schematically showing a vehicle on which an occupant protection device of this embodiment is mounted. In FIG. 1, only a front seat is shown, but a rear seat (not shown) has the same configuration. Each seat 1 is provided with a seat belt device. In addition to a general pretensioner mechanism 2 using an inflator, a retractor 5 of the seat belt device includes a motor belt mechanism 3 (occupant) that winds up the seat belt by driving a motor. (Restraining means) is incorporated. The configuration of the motor belt mechanism 3 is well known and will not be described in detail, but is configured so that the belt winding spool can be driven to rotate in the belt winding direction by the motor, whereby the seat belt is wound to restrain the passenger. It is possible to increase power more than usual.

  Each seat 1 is equipped with a pre-crash seat 4 (which is an occupant restraint means, hereinafter referred to as PCS). The configuration of the pre-crash seat 4 is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-139396 filed earlier by the present applicant. An active plate is disposed inside the seat cushion 1a so as to be movable up and down by a motor. In normal times, the active plate is retracted downward so as not to impair the elasticity of the seat cushion 1a, while the front portion of the seat cushion 1a protrudes upward by displacing the active plate upward at the time of a vehicle collision, Thus, the forward movement of the occupant or the back side of the knee is held and the forward movement is restricted.

  On the other hand, a pre-crash ECU (electronic control unit) 11, a brake control ECU 12, an airbag ECU 13, and a driver seat meter unit 14 are connected to each other by an in-vehicle network 15, and the ECUs 11 to 13 are not shown. It comprises an input / output device, a storage device (ROM, RAM, BURAM, etc.) used for storing control programs and control maps, a central processing unit (CPU), a timer counter, and the like. Note that a serial bus system called CAN (Controller Area Network) whose standard is defined by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) is applied to the in-vehicle network 15, and is not limited to the devices shown in the figure, but various devices. The information can be transmitted.

  A wheel speed sensor 16 for detecting the wheel speed Vh of each wheel of the vehicle is connected to the brake control ECU 12 and a brake sensor 17 for detecting a brake hydraulic pressure Pbk generated by the driver's brake operation is connected. Further, a buckle switch 18 provided in the buckle of the seat belt device of each seat 1 is connected to the meter unit 14 or the airbag ECU 13. The airbag ECU 13 is connected to the pretensioner mechanism 2 of each of the above-described seat belt devices and to a G sensor 19 for detecting the acceleration (deceleration) of the vehicle. The pre-crash ECU 11 is connected to the motor belt mechanism 3 of each seat belt device and the PCS 4 of each seat 1.

  The brake control ECU 12 controls the vehicle behavior by drivingly controlling the braking device of the vehicle based on various detection information such as the wheel speed Vh detected by the wheel speed sensor 16 and the brake hydraulic pressure pbk detected by the brake sensor 17. I do. The control of the brake control ECU 12 can be broadly classified into stability control control, ABS (anti-lock brake system) control, BA (brake assist) control, and the like. Stability control control is a control that controls the yaw moment of a vehicle by appropriately generating a braking force on each wheel of the vehicle, thereby suppressing understeer and oversteer that cannot be suppressed only by the driver's steering. ABS control Is a control that suppresses the wheel slip caused by the driver's braking operation, and BA control raises the brake hydraulic pressure to compensate for the insufficient braking force when the braking force by the driver is insufficient during emergency braking. The brake control ECU 12 appropriately executes these controls in accordance with the running state of the vehicle.

  Further, when an actual vehicle collision is detected by the G sensor 19, the airbag ECU 13 discriminates the seat 1 on which the occupant is seated based on the ON signal of the buckle switch 18 when the buckle is fastened. The airbag corresponding to the above is actuated and the inflator of the pretensioner mechanism 2 is actuated to strengthen the restraint force of the seat belt, thereby protecting the occupant.

  On the other hand, the pre-crash ECU 11 predicts a vehicle accident while the vehicle is running and performs an occupant protection operation that activates the motor belt mechanism 3 and the PCS 4 of the seatbelt device in advance. This is based on the operating status of the brake control ECU 12 and the driver's panic brake. Therefore, a series of processing of the pre-crash ECU 11 from prediction of a vehicle accident to occupant protection operation will be described below.

  The pre-crash ECU 11 receives stability control by the brake control ECU 12, ABS and BA control conditions, the brake hydraulic pressure Pbk detected by the brake sensor 17, and the wheel speed Vh detected by the wheel speed sensor 16. Based on these pieces of information, the accident prediction level is determined in three stages of “0” to “3” (vehicle behavior determination means). The accident prediction level is an index representing the probability of a vehicle accident. When “0”, the probability of a vehicle accident is low, when “1”, the probability of a vehicle accident is relatively high, and when “2” Is defined as having a very high probability of a vehicle accident.

  Here, the situation that requires intervention of stability control, ABS, and BA for the driving operation of the driver can be said in other words that the behavior of the vehicle is unstable. That is, stability control control is executed in a situation where understeer or oversteer cannot be suppressed only by the driver's steering, and ABS control is executed in a situation where all or some of the wheels during vehicle braking induce a slip. Therefore, it can be considered that the vehicle behavior is in an unstable state when the stability control control and the ABS control are executed. In addition, since BA control is executed in a situation where the braking force by the driver is insufficient even though sudden braking is required, the braking force suddenly increases due to the start of the brake hydraulic pressure (emergency braking). At times, it can be considered that the vehicle behavior is more unstable than the stability control control and the ABS control. On the other hand, when the driver performs panic braking (emergency braking), the vehicle behavior can be regarded as being in an emergency state for the same reason as in the BA control.

That is, a brake control ECU 12 (braking control device) that executes stability control control, ABS control, and BA control according to the state of the vehicle, and a brake sensor (brake operation) that detects the brake hydraulic pressure Pbk that accompanies the driver's brake operation. In this embodiment, the detection means) functions as vehicle state detection means.
Based on the stability control control, ABS control, and BA control execution status by the brake control ECU 12, the brake hydraulic pressure Pbk detected by the brake sensor 17, the vehicle speed V obtained from the wheel speed Vh, and the operation status of the buckle switch 18, The motor belt mechanism 3 and the PCS 4 are driven and controlled with respect to the seat 1 on which an occupant is seated according to Table 1.

  That is, when the stability control control or the ABS control is executed, and the vehicle speed V obtained from the wheel speed Vh is equal to or higher than a predetermined value V0 (for example, 20 km / h), the vehicle behavior is relatively unstable and the probability of a vehicle accident is high. Assuming that it is relatively high, “1” is set as the accident prediction level. Further, when the BA control is executed or when the brake hydraulic pressure Pbk detected by the brake sensor 17 is determined to be a panic brake when it is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, and the vehicle speed V is equal to or higher than a predetermined value V0 (for example, 20 km / h), Is set to “2” as an accident prediction level, considering that the probability of a vehicle accident is extremely high and the probability of a vehicle accident is extremely high. In other cases, that is, when any control is not executed and the panic brake is not performed, or when the vehicle speed V is less than the predetermined value V0 even if any control or panic brake is performed, the vehicle behavior is stable. Since the probability of a vehicle accident is low due to whether the vehicle speed V is low or the vehicle speed V is low, “0” is set as the accident prediction level.

  Then, the pre-crash ECU 11 drives and controls the motor belt mechanism 3 and the PCS 4 of each seat belt device according to the set accident prediction level. When the accident prediction level is determined to be “0”, it is considered that no prior protection operation is required for the occupant, and the motor belt mechanism 3 is stopped and held, and the active plate of the PCS 4 is moved back to the normal position. Hold. Therefore, the occupant in this case continues the normal driving operation without being aware of a warning or restraint force described later using the seat belt, an increase in the restraint force, or switching of the PCS 4.

  Further, when the accident prediction level is determined to be “1” based on the stability control control or the ABS control, it is not necessary to immediately perform the passenger protection operation, but it is necessary to warn the passenger of the unstable state of the vehicle behavior. Then, the motor of the motor belt mechanism 3 is operated to periodically increase the restraining force of the seat belt (constraint control means). The periodic fluctuation of the restraining force of the seat belt ensures that the driver knows that the vehicle behavior is unstable and stabilizes the vehicle behavior, such as refraining from unreasonable steering or reducing the traveling speed by operating the brake. Perform driving operation.

In this embodiment, the fluctuation of the restraining force is performed three times. However, the number of fluctuations can be arbitrarily set, and instead of the fluctuation of the restraining force, the restraining force is steadily increased compared to the normal time. Also good. However, the stationary restraining force in this case is set to be weaker than the restraining force corresponding to an accident prediction level “2” described later.
Further, the seat cushion 12a may be protruded to alert the occupant by displacing the active plate of the PCS 4 without using the restraining force of the seat belt as a warning to the driver. Further, as described above, the control for the accident prediction levels “1” and “2” is performed for all seats 1 in which the buckle switch 18 is turned on and the occupant is seated. Regarding the control, since the main purpose is warning to the driver, it may be executed only for the driver's seat.

  On the other hand, when “2” is determined as the accident prediction level based on the BA control or panic brake, the seat of the motor belt mechanism 3 is operated by operating the motor of the motor belt mechanism 3 from the viewpoint that it is necessary to immediately perform the passenger protection operation. While strengthening the restraining force of the belt, the active plate of the PCS 4 is displaced upward (constraint control means). And by the said control, a passenger | crew is reliably restrained with a seatbelt, and the front part of the seat cushion 1a protrudes upwards with the action | operation of PCS4, and the movement to the front is controlled, and it may happen immediately after that. The best measures are taken against vehicle accidents such as vehicle collisions and rollovers.

The operation of the motor belt mechanism 3 and the PCS 4 is continued until the operation duration time T elapses. After the operation duration time T elapses, the motor belt mechanism 3 stops increasing the restraint force of the seat belt by the motor, and the PCS 4 Retreat downward.
The operation continuation time T is set based on the vehicle speed V when the accident prediction level “2” is determined, and is set longer as the vehicle speed V is higher. That is, although the vehicle is decelerating by BA control or panic brake, it takes a long time to decelerate to the safe speed as the vehicle speed V increases. Therefore, the operation continuation time T is set with an allowance for the time required for deceleration to the safe speed, and when the vehicle sufficiently decelerates and escapes from the emergency state of the vehicle behavior, the motor belt mechanism 3 and The occupant protection operation by the PCS 4 is finished.

  On the other hand, when the vehicle collides despite the various controls by the brake control ECU 12 and the avoidance operation by the driver, the airbag is operated by the airbag ECU 13 based on the actual collision detected by the G sensor 19. In addition, the restraint force of the seat belt is further strengthened by the pretensioner mechanism 2 of the seat belt device, and the occupant is protected from the impact at the time of collision.

  As described above, in the occupant protection device according to the present embodiment, the stability control control, the ABS control, the BA control execution state by the brake control ECU 12, and the panic brake determination based on the detection of the brake sensor 17, according to the current vehicle behavior. The accident prediction level is set, and the driver is warned using the fluctuation of the restraint force of the seat belt according to the set accident prediction level, and the occupant protection operation such as the increase of the restraint force of the seat belt and the operation of the PCS 4 is performed. ing.

  And vehicle accidents that occur due to unstable vehicle behavior are not limited to frontal collisions, but also include collisions from the side or rear of the vehicle, or rollovers. It is possible to predict and execute a warning to the driver and an occupant protection operation in advance. Further, unlike Patent Document 1 described as the prior art, a distance sensor for measuring the distance between the preceding vehicle and the brake control ECU 12 and the brake sensor 17 are existing equipment mounted on the vehicle. Therefore, it can be dealt with only by changing the control content of the pre-crash ECU 11 and can be implemented at a low manufacturing cost.

This is the end of the description of the embodiment, but the aspect of the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the motor belt mechanism 3 and the PCS 4 of the seat belt device are provided as the occupant restraining means, but it is not always necessary to provide both, and the occupant protection device may be embodied as only one of them.
In the above embodiment, the vehicle behavior is determined based on the vehicle control state based on the stability control control by the brake control ECU 12, the ABS control, the BA control execution status, and the panic brake by the driver, but either one is omitted. Or other requirements such as a quick steering by the driver may be added.

1 is an overall configuration diagram schematically showing a vehicle on which an occupant protection device of an embodiment is mounted.

Explanation of symbols

1 Motor belt mechanism (occupant restraint means)
4 Pre-crash seat (occupant restraint)
5 Retractor 11 Pre-crash ECU (vehicle behavior determination means, restraint control means)
12 Brake control ECU (vehicle state detection means, braking control device)
17 Brake sensor (vehicle state detection means, brake operation detection means)

Claims (4)

Occupant restraint means capable of restraining a vehicle occupant;
Vehicle state detection means for detecting the state of the vehicle;
Vehicle behavior determining means for determining a vehicle behavior based on the vehicle state detected by the vehicle state detecting means;
When the vehicle behavior determining means determines that the vehicle behavior is in an unstable state, the occupant restraining means is operated to issue a warning to the occupant, and the vehicle behavior determining means causes the vehicle behavior to be An occupant protection device comprising: a restraint control unit that activates the occupant restraint means to increase the occupant restraint force when it is determined that the emergency state is more unstable than a stable state. The occupant restraining means includes a seat belt for restraining the occupant to a seat, and a seat belt retractor that winds the seat belt by a motor drive.
The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the restraint control means operates the retractor in accordance with the vehicle behavior determined by the vehicle behavior determination means. The vehicle state detection means is a braking control device that operates according to the vehicle state,
The occupant protection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the vehicle behavior determination means determines the vehicle behavior in accordance with an operating state of the braking control device. The vehicle state detection means includes a brake control device that operates according to the vehicle state and a brake operation detection means that detects a brake operation state by the driver,
The vehicle behavior determining means is configured to change the vehicle behavior to the emergency state when emergency braking is performed by the braking control device or when the brake operation detecting means detects an emergency braking state by a driver. The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the occupant protection device is determined to be present.

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