JP2009190605A - Pedestrian protector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To increase the probability that a caught pedestrian will collide with an intended area of a hood, while surely catching the pedestrian by an airbag. <P>SOLUTION: The airbag 21 inflating ahead of a vehicle body has a plurality of longitudinal slits 21a spaced from each other in the body width direction during inflation. The deep parts of these longitudinal slits 21a have enlarged deep portions 21b which are continuous in upward and downward directions and opened upward and downward. These enlarged deep portions 21b have spaces for receiving legs L of the pedestrian having entered through the slits 21a and restricting the legs L. A substantially rectangular impact absorbing area Ar, which extends in the body width direction and is curved along a curved shape of the vehicle body front edge, is set on the hood 3, and an impact absorbing function is imparted to the limited impact absorbing area Ar. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a pedestrian protection device, and more particularly to a device including an airbag that is deployed in front of a bumper.

  For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 propose to deploy an airbag forward from a bumper for pedestrian protection. In other words, it has been proposed to use an airbag to reduce limb injury to a pedestrian due to a hard bumper colliding with the limb of the pedestrian. As can be seen from the disclosures of these Patent Documents 1 and 2, the airbag deployed in front of the bumper has a shape extending linearly in the vehicle width direction.

  Airbags have been developed and developed for passenger protection as is well known, but today, the importance of the protection of pedestrians has been recognized. In addition to the pedestrian protection used, as disclosed in Patent Document 3, a plurality of substantially frustoconical dimples are formed on the inner panel of the hood, and a plurality of through holes are provided around the dimples to provide a pedestrian. It has been proposed to absorb the impact when the head of the car collides with the hood.

  According to the proposal of Patent Document 3, in addition to making the bonnet hood lighter and more rigid, there is no significant bias in the injury value regardless of where the pedestrian collides with the bonnet hood. By adjusting the hole diameter and arrangement of the through holes, there is an advantage that the balance between the injury value and the approach amount can be arbitrarily set.

JP-A-9-164906 JP 2006-240351 A JP 2003-191865 A

  When considering a situation where the vehicle contacts or collides with a pedestrian, it is assumed that the driver normally turns the steering wheel to avoid an accident. From this, it is estimated that the contact or collision accident between the vehicle and the pedestrian often collides with the pedestrian in an oblique direction while the vehicle body rotates in the yaw direction by a steering operation immediately before.

  Conventional bumper airbags are designed with frontal collisions in mind, which is evident from the fact that they are given a form that extends linearly in the vehicle width direction, but with the above situation in mind. When placed, it is preferable to design the form of the airbag including a situation where the vehicle collides with a pedestrian at both ends in the vehicle width direction of the front end of the vehicle body, that is, both ends in the vehicle width direction of the bumper airbag.

  The object of the present invention is to consider the realistic situation where the vehicle contacts or collides with a pedestrian, and in addition to the case of a frontal collision with a pedestrian, the vehicle body rotates in the yaw direction by a handle operation for avoiding a collision. An object of the present invention is to provide a pedestrian protection device that can effectively protect a pedestrian even when it collides with a pedestrian in an oblique direction.

  A further object of the present invention is to not only relieve the impact of a pedestrian with an air bag when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian in an oblique direction, but also the upper body of the pedestrian that falls over the hood, particularly the head. An object of the present invention is to provide a pedestrian protection device capable of increasing the probability that a section will collide with an impact absorption area of a hood hood.

According to the present invention, the above technical problem is
A pedestrian protection device having an airbag that detects a collision of the pedestrian on the vehicle body front and deploys forward in an area overlapping with the front bumper,
A shock absorption area that can absorb shocks is set in the center of the hood hood in plan view.
When the airbag is deployed, the airbag has a shape in which a distance between an outer edge of an arbitrary portion in the vehicle width direction of the airbag and the shock absorbing region is substantially constant in a plan view. This is achieved by providing a pedestrian protection device.

  As described above, the deployed airbag has a shape in which the distance between the outer edge of an arbitrary portion of the airbag in the vehicle width direction and the shock absorption area of the hood hood is substantially constant in a plan view. Even if the pedestrian and the vehicle collide with each other in the center of the vehicle width direction, even if they collide with the pedestrian on the side of the vehicle body, the upper body of the pedestrian falls on the hood after the collision. In particular, it is possible to increase the probability that the head can collide with the shock absorbing area of the hood and the shock can be absorbed by the hood. Here, the shock absorption area of the hood means a part adopting the structure described in Patent Document 3 described above, and an airbag is mounted on the hood, and the airbag is moved upward from the hood at the time of a collision. It may be an area to be developed.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the airbag extends not only from one end to the other end of the front end of the vehicle body but also to the side of the vehicle body. According to this, even if the driver operates the steering wheel just before contacting or colliding with the pedestrian and yaw rotation occurs in the vehicle body, and the vehicle collides with the pedestrian in an oblique state, it extends to the side of the vehicle body. In addition to protecting pedestrians with airbags, the distance between the outer edge of any part of the airbag and the shock absorption area of the bonnet hood is substantially constant, so walking that falls on the hood after a collision It is possible to protect the pedestrian's head by increasing the probability that the upper body of the person, particularly the head, will collide with the shock absorption area of the hood.

  In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the airbag has a plurality of segments divided in the vehicle width direction, and pedestrian legs received by the airbag are sandwiched between adjacent segments. For the front and up and down slits. In this way, by dividing the airbag into a plurality of segments and providing slits between each segment, the legs of the pedestrian are captured by these slits, and the probability that the upper body of the pedestrian falls into the hood is increased. This tilting operation can be controlled.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of an automobile equipped with a pedestrian protection apparatus according to an embodiment as viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. 2 is a front view. The appearance of the front end of the automobile 1 is formed by a bumper fascia panel 2, and the bumper fascia panel 2 has a form in which the front part extends obliquely downward along the bonnet line from the bonnet hood 3 and then hangs downward. is doing. In the figure, reference numeral 4 indicates a headlamp, 5 indicates a front window, and 6 indicates left and right front wheels.

  The bumper fascia panel 2 has a large central front grille 7 forming an opening for taking in air for cooling the radiator 9 at the center in the vehicle width direction, and relatively small side grilles 8 on both sides thereof. The central front grille 7 has a length in the vehicle width direction extending to the left and right headlamps 4 and extends from a height position adjacent to the bonnet hood 3 to the lower end of the bumper facer panel 2. It has a length in the height direction.

  Further, the bumper fascia panel 2 has an arched shape in which the central portion in the vehicle width direction protrudes forward and both end portions in the vehicle width direction are located rearward when viewed in plan.

  In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a bumper reinforcement, which extends from one end to the other end in the vehicle width direction, and is an intermediate portion in the height direction of the central front grille 7. It is arrange | positioned in the height position located in.

  3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. A shroud panel 11 is disposed adjacent to the rear of the bumper reinforcement 10, and a radiator 9 is fixed to the shroud panel 11. The bumper reinforcement 10 includes a front member 12 positioned in the front of the vehicle body in the front-rear direction, and a rear member 13 having a cross-sectional hat shape positioned rearward of the front member 12 and protruding rearward. The front side frame 16 is connected via a crash can 17.

  Referring also to FIG. 4, which is an exploded perspective view of the bumper reinforcement 10, the front member 12 has a concave portion 14 that opens forward on a front vertical wall 12 a having a hat-like cross section that projects forward. 14 extends continuously from one end to the other end in the longitudinal direction (vehicle width direction) of the front member 12. A plurality of gas openings 15 (four in this embodiment) are formed in the recess 14 of the front member 12 at intervals in the longitudinal direction. The two central gas openings 15 are disposed facing the central front grille 7, and the left and right gas openings 15 are disposed facing the side grille 8.

  In FIG. 4, reference numeral 20 denotes an airbag device. The airbag device 20 corresponds to the gas opening 15, and is a folded airbag 21, an inflator 22 associated with the airbag 21, and a control unit. 23. The inflator 22 is disposed at a position corresponding to the gas opening 15 associated therewith, and the inflator 22 and the control unit 23 are a closed section 24 composed of the front member 12 and the rear member 13 (FIG. 3). Is housed in. On the other hand, each airbag 21 is accommodated in the recess 14 of the front member 12.

  In front of the front member 12, a bumper reinforcement cover member 30 having a length corresponding to the length in the vehicle width direction of the central front grille 7 and having a U-shaped cross section opened rearward is provided. The bumper reinforcement cover member 30 is fitted in the central portion of the front member 12 in the longitudinal direction (vehicle width direction). The bumper reinforcement cover member 30 is a plastic molded product, and is colored dark (typically black). The left and right ends of the bumper reinforcement cover member 30 are preferably joined to the left and right side edges of the central front grille 7.

  The airbag 21 is composed of a plurality of segments 23 arranged in the vehicle width direction, and two segments that are deployed in front of the vehicle body through left and right airbag passage openings 30a formed in the cover member 30 in the front grille. In addition to 23, one segment 23 is developed on each side through the side grille 8, and as a whole, is located in the front region of the bumper reinforcement 10, the lower end is located adjacent to the ground, and the upper end is The bonnet hood 3 has a shape extending up and down to the vicinity of the height level (FIG. 6). Further, the plurality of segments 23 as a whole become the airbag 21 having a shape along the front surface of the vehicle body extending in an arch shape to the vicinity of the left and right front wheels 6, 6 (FIG. 5).

  The bumper reinforcement cover member 30 has a pair of left and right airbag passage openings 30a, 30a that can be passed when the left and right segments 23, 23 adjacent to the bumper reinforcement cover member 30 are deployed. The pair of left and right airbag passage openings 30 a and 30 a are disposed apart from each other in the vehicle width direction, and the separation distance is set corresponding to the number plate 31. A license plate 31 is disposed between the left and right airbag openings 30a, 30a. The number plate 31 is fixed to the bumper reinforcement 10 via the cover member 30. A cap 32 having a shape complementary to the airbag passing opening 30 a is preferably detachably fitted in each airbag passing opening 30 a, and the cap 32 is similar to the cover member 30. Typically, it should be colored black dark.

  When a collision is predicted or a collision is detected, an initiation signal is output from the control unit 23 to the inflator 22, so that the gas generated by the left and right inflators 22 passes through the gas openings 15 of the front member 12 to each of the airbags 21. As a result, the airbag 21 is deployed.

  Thus, the segments 23 positioned on both the left and right sides expand forward through the left and right side grilles 8 of the bumper fascia panel 2, so that the two segments 23 positioned corresponding to the central front grille 7 are formed on the cover member 30. Rather than deploying forward through the airbag passage opening 30a closed by the cap 32, the segments 23 located on the left and right sides can be deployed faster. And the airbag 21 after a deployment will be in the state which the mutually adjacent segments 23 and 23 mutually adjoined or contact | abutted.

  As described above, the airbag 21 is composed of a plurality of segments 23 that are partitioned by a plurality of vertical slits 21 a that are spaced apart in the vehicle width direction when deployed, and the base ends of the plurality of segments 23. The parts communicate with each other. Referring to FIG. 5, the vertical slit 21 a has a width and the adjacent segments 23 and 23 are drawn in a state of being separated from each other in the vehicle width direction, but the adjacent segments 23 and 23 may be in contact with each other. .

  The deep part of the vertical slit 21a has an enlarged deep part 21b that is continuous in the vertical direction and opened up and down (FIG. 6), and this enlarged deep part 21b accepts a pedestrian's leg L that has entered through the slit 21a, and It has the space which can restrain part L. Thus, it is possible to promise a position for restraining the leg portion L of the pedestrian by the enlarged depth portion 21b positioned at a predetermined position of the airbag 21, and thereby, the behavior of the pedestrian after the collision with the airbag 21, that is, the slit The behavior of the upper body of the pedestrian restrained by the enlarged deep portion 21b of 21a can be controlled so that the head of the pedestrian can be concentrated in the central region of the hood hood 3.

  Therefore, when the pedestrian collides with the center region in the vehicle width direction, for example, the pedestrian whose leg is captured by the airbag 21 is subjected to the collision so that the head collides with the predetermined region Ar of the hood 3. The behavior of the upper body of the pedestrian can be controlled. This predetermined area Ar will be described later.

  Here, the airbag 21 positioned on the outer side in the vehicle width direction has outer end portions in the vehicle width direction extending to the left and right corner portions on the front surface of the vehicle body, and the vehicle width direction outer end portion of the bumper fascia panel 2 is also It is located in a state of projecting outward in the width direction, so that it can effectively absorb shocks even for pedestrians diagonally forward and by restraining the pedestrian's leg L through the slit 21a. The upper body of the pedestrian can be promoted to fall into the hood 3. In other words, it is possible to prevent the pedestrian from jumping and collapsing into the ground by colliding with the outer end of the airbag 21 in the vehicle width direction.

  In addition, a pedestrian who collides with both side portions in the vehicle width direction is restrained by the slit 21a and the enlarged deep portion 21b of the airbag 21 by the airbag 21 extending to the corner portions at both ends in the vehicle width direction on the front surface of the vehicle body. Thus, the upper body of the pedestrian can be promoted to fall on the hood 3.

  The outer contour of the airbag 21 composed of a plurality of segments 23 arranged in the vehicle width direction has a curved shape along the outer contour of the front end of the vehicle body when viewed in plan. Here, the outer contour of the front end portion of the vehicle body has a curved shape in which the central portion in the vehicle width direction is convex forward. Therefore, the outer contour of the airbag 21 including the plurality of segments 23 arranged in the vehicle width direction is: The center part in the vehicle width direction has a curved shape that is convex forward. And the specific area | region Ar of the bonnet food | hood 3 is set so that it may become a substantially equal distance from the arbitrary parts of the external shape outline of the airbag 21 which consists of this several segment 23. FIG. Referring to FIG. 5, the specific region Ar is substantially along the curved shape of the front edge of the vehicle body in a plan view in which the vehicle width direction is the long side and the vehicle body front-rear direction is the short side in the central portion of the hood 3. It has a curved, substantially rectangular shape, and the shock absorbing structure described in Patent Document 3 is adopted in this area Ar. Of course, an airbag (not shown) may be mounted on the bonnet hood 3 so as to cover the specific area Ar when the airbag is deployed.

  The size of the specific area in which the shock absorbing mechanism is incorporated in the hood 3, that is, the size of the shock absorbing area Ar is substantially equal to a distance D 1 from an arbitrary position of the outer contour of the airbag 21 including a plurality of segments 23 arranged in the vehicle width direction. D2 and D3 are set. The distances D1, D2, and D3 may be determined in consideration of the average height of adults.

  Thereby, not only when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian but also when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian at the side of the vehicle, the pedestrian falls when the pedestrian falls over the hood 3. It is possible to increase the probability that the head of the head hits the shock absorbing area Ar. Further, by capturing the leg portion L of the pedestrian with the slit 21a of the airbag 21 and restraining the leg portion L with the deep portion 21b, the probability that the upper body of the pedestrian falls on the hood 3 can be increased. In addition, the direction can be controlled. Therefore, the probability that the pedestrian's head can be protected by the shock absorption area Ar of the hood hood 3 can be further increased.

  Further, the airbag 21 has a shape curved along the curved shape of the front end edge of the vehicle body in a plan view as described above, and the leg portion L of the pedestrian is restrained by the slit 21a and the deep portion 21b thereof. Since the head is concentrated on the collision absorption area Ar by controlling the direction in which the upper body of the pedestrian falls down not only in the collision but also in the side collision, the collision absorption area Ar of the hood hood 3 The collision absorbing area Ar can be limited to the central portion of the hood 3 in the front-rear direction and the vehicle width direction. Therefore, even if this region Ar has to set the height level of the bonnet line high in order to provide the shock absorbing mechanism, it can be processed with a sporty appearance design as a bonnet bulge, for example. In other words, conventionally, it is unclear which area of the hood 3 the pedestrian's head collides with, and there was no idea of limiting the area where the pedestrian's head collides. Development has been proceeding based on the idea of setting the mechanism to the entire hood 3, and this has led to an increase in the height of the hood line in the entire hood 3. In other words, recent vehicle design activities have been carried out under the above-mentioned restrictions, and as a result, the hood hood 3 tends to have a shape that rises upward as a whole. Since Ar can be set in a limited manner, the degree of freedom in vehicle body design can be improved.

  The depth of the recess 14 formed in the front member 12 of the bumper reinforcement 10 will be described. For example, the depth of the recess 14 is set to a value smaller than the thickness of the folded airbag 21 such as 20 mm. Although it is good, you may set the depth substantially the same as the thickness of this airbag 21. In any case, when the folded airbag 21 (segment 23) is deployed by the upper wall 14a and the lower wall 14b that define the recess 14 with depth, the upper wall 14a, 14b of the recess 14 The deployment direction of the airbag 21 can be guided forward, whereby the airbag 21 can be accurately deployed forward through the airbag passage opening 30a of the cover member 30.

  Further, the amount of the airbag 21 accommodated in the recess 14 protruding forward from the front member 13 can be reduced or eliminated by the recess 14, thereby protecting the airbag 21 in a folded state. In addition, it is possible to restrict the airbag 21 from being displaced in the vertical direction due to the vibration of the vehicle body, and the airbag 21 can be protected from a light collision or a shake during traveling. Of course, it goes without saying that the strength of the bumper reinforcement 10 can be increased by providing the recess 14 in the front member 13.

  Further, when the large central front grille 7 is provided, the cover member 30 is provided at a portion crossing the central front grille 7, so that the bumper reinforcement 10 is not exposed to the outside, and the cover member 30 is provided. Can improve the appearance. In particular, when the cover member 30 and the cap 32 are colored in a dark color (typically black), the presence of the cover member 30, and thus the air bag passage opening 30a can be made inconspicuous from the outside. Apart from these restrictions, the airbag passage opening 30a can be optimized to a shape and size suitable for the airbag 21 to be deployed.

  Further, a pair of left and right airbag passage openings 30a of the cover member 30 exposed to the outside through the central front grille 7 are provided, and the left and right airbag passage openings 30a and 30a are arranged apart from each other in the vehicle width direction. Therefore, the number plate 31 can be disposed without hindering the development of the left and right segments 23.

It is the perspective view which looked at the front part of the car carrying the pedestrian protection device of the example from diagonally forward. It is a front view of the motor vehicle of FIG. It is sectional drawing along the III-III line of FIG. It is the disassembled perspective view which decomposed | disassembled some main components of a pedestrian protection apparatus. It is a top view for demonstrating the state which the airbag developed. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the state which the airbag developed. It is a perspective view for demonstrating that a pedestrian's leg can be restrained with the deployed airbag.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Car 3 Bonnet food 10 Bumper reinforcement 20 Air bag apparatus 21 Air bag 21a Air bag vertical slit 21b The expansion | swelling deep part of an airbag 22 Inflator 23 The segment of an airbag Ar The shock absorption area | region of a bonnet hood

Claims (5)

A pedestrian protection device having an airbag that detects a collision of the pedestrian on the vehicle body front and deploys forward in an area overlapping with the front bumper,
A shock absorption area that can absorb shocks is set in the center of the hood hood in plan view.
When the airbag is deployed, the airbag has a shape in which a distance between an outer edge of an arbitrary portion in the vehicle width direction of the airbag and the shock absorbing region is substantially constant in a plan view. A pedestrian protection device.   The pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag extends from one end to the other end of the vehicle body in the vehicle width direction and extends to the side of the vehicle body.   The pedestrian protection device according to claim 1, wherein the shock absorbing region of the bonnet hood has an elongated shape in a vehicle width direction in a plan view.   The airbag has a plurality of segments divided in the vehicle width direction, and is opened forward and vertically to sandwich a leg portion of a pedestrian received by the airbag between adjacent segments. The pedestrian protection device according to claim 2 or 3, comprising a slit. The front end of the vehicle body has a convex shape toward the front in a plan view,
5. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the airbag at the time of deployment has an outer contour that is convex forward in a vehicle width direction along a convex shape of a front end portion of the vehicle body in a plan view. The pedestrian protection device as described.

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