JP2013166535A - Occupant protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to appropriately protect an occupant's shoulder from a side impact.
A curtain airbag 101 includes a main chamber 201 (first chamber) that protects a passenger's head and a shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber) that protects a passenger's shoulder. The side airbag 102 includes a main chamber 203 (third chamber) that protects a portion (chest, abdomen, waist, etc.) below the shoulder of the occupant and a shoulder chamber 204 (fourth) that protects the shoulder of the occupant. Chamber). The control means 105 controls which shoulder chamber is to be deployed when the vehicle collides, based on the form of the collision.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant protection device that protects an occupant with an airbag.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an air bag that protects an occupant from an impact at the time of a collision is mounted on the vehicle. In addition to the front airbag that protects the occupant from the impact from the front, the airbag includes a side airbag and a curtain airbag that protects the occupant from the impact from the side surface (for example, see Patent Documents 1 to 3 below). The following Patent Document 1 is an invention relating to a side airbag, and is formed such that an upper inflatable portion is in contact with a passenger's shoulder and a lower inflatable portion is in contact with an occupant's waist. Patent Document 2 below is an invention relating to a curtain airbag, and includes a first chamber deployed on the side of the occupant's head and a second chamber deployed on the side of the occupant's shoulder. Moreover, the following patent document 3 is a technique for reducing the risk that an occupant is released outside the vehicle at the time of a collision by using a curtain airbag.

Japanese Patent No. 4313641 JP 2008-221904 A JP 2011-240884 A

  As described above, in the prior art, there are a method using a side airbag and a method using a curtain airbag as a method for protecting the occupant's shoulder when receiving an impact from the side. The effect obtained by protecting the shoulder portion with either the curtain airbag or the side airbag depends on the form of the collision. For example, when another automobile collides with the side surface of the host vehicle, the risk of occupants being released outside the vehicle increases, so it is more effective to protect the shoulder portion with a curtain airbag. On the other hand, when the side of the vehicle collides with a pillar-shaped stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole, the colliding part is locally deformed to the passenger compartment side, so it is necessary to protect the occupant earlier. It is more effective to protect the shoulder with an airbag. That is, by appropriately using the side airbag and the curtain airbag according to the form of the collision, it is possible to more appropriately reduce the risk of occupant release to the vehicle and injury. However, the conventional occupant protection device has room for improvement because the shoulder portion can be protected only by one of the airbags.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems of the prior art, and controls the deployment of each airbag according to the form of the collision when receiving an impact from the side surface, thereby appropriately protecting the occupant. It is an object of the present invention to provide an occupant protection device that can be used.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, an occupant protection device according to the present invention includes a curtain airbag stored along a roof side rail of a vehicle and deployed in a curtain shape in an emergency, and an occupant seating seat. A side airbag that is stored in a lateral side of the vehicle width direction or a lateral side of the vehicle body and that is deployed to the lateral side of the occupant in the vehicle width direction in an emergency, detection means for detecting a collision of the vehicle, and the detection means When a collision is detected, a determination unit that determines the form of the collision, and a control unit that controls deployment of the curtain airbag and the side airbag based on a determination result by the determination unit, The curtain airbag includes a first chamber that protects the occupant's head and a second chamber that protects the shoulder of the occupant, and the side airbag. Comprises a third chamber that protects a portion below the shoulder of the occupant and a fourth chamber that protects the shoulder of the occupant, and the control means controls the deployment of the chamber. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, the curtain airbag and the side airbag are each provided with a chamber for protecting the occupant's shoulder, and when the vehicle collides, the type of collision is determined, and which airbag chamber is deployed. Control. Thereby, a passenger | crew's shoulder can be protected using a suitable airbag according to the form of a collision, and the risk of a passenger | crew's discharge | release outside a vehicle and a wound can be reduced more appropriately.

It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the passenger | crew protection apparatus 100 concerning embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the curtain airbag 101 and the side airbag 102. FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the airbag expansion control by the control means. 5 is a flowchart showing a procedure of occupant protection processing by the occupant protection device 100.

  Exemplary embodiments of an occupant protection device according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an occupant protection device 100 according to the embodiment. The occupant protection device 100 according to the embodiment includes a curtain airbag 101, a side airbag 102, a detection unit 103, a determination unit 104, and a control unit 105. The detection unit 103, the determination unit 104, and the control unit 105 include a CPU, a ROM that stores and stores a control program, a RAM as an operation area of the control program, an EEPROM that holds various data in a rewritable manner, an interface with a peripheral circuit, and the like This is realized by an ECU (not shown) configured to include an interface unit or the like that executes the control program by the CPU.

  The curtain airbag 101 is stored along the roof side rail of the vehicle, and is deployed below the vehicle along the side of the passenger compartment in an emergency. The curtain airbag 101 includes a first chamber that protects the head of the occupant and a second chamber that protects the shoulder of the occupant. Further, the side airbag 102 is stored in the lateral side of the occupant seating seat in the vehicle width direction or on the side of the vehicle body, and is deployed to the lateral side of the occupant in the vehicle width direction in an emergency. The side airbag 102 includes a third chamber that protects a portion below the shoulders such as the chest and waist of the occupant and a fourth chamber that protects the shoulders of the occupant.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of the curtain airbag 101 and the side airbag 102. A curtain airbag 101 shown in FIG. 2 (a) includes a main chamber 201 (first chamber) mainly protecting the head of the occupant U and a shoulder chamber 202 (first door) mainly protecting the shoulder of the occupant U. 2 chambers). The main chamber 201 and the shoulder chamber 202 are normally stored along the roof side rail of the vehicle. In an emergency, the gas generated by the ignition of the inflator 211 is deployed in a curtain shape below the vehicle along the side of the passenger compartment. The inflator 211 has an ignition part (gas generation part) separately for the main chamber 201 and the shoulder chamber 202. The first stage ignition gas of the inflator 211 is supplied to the main chamber 201, and the second stage ignition gas is supplied to the shoulder chamber 202 through the ignition gas passage 212.

  A side airbag 102 shown in FIG. 2B mainly includes a main chamber 203 (third chamber) that protects a portion below the shoulder of the occupant U (for example, the chest, abdomen, and waist), And a shoulder chamber 204 (fourth chamber) for protecting the shoulder of the occupant U. The main chamber 203 and the shoulder chamber 204 are normally stored on the side of the occupant seating seat on the outer side in the vehicle width direction or the side of the vehicle body. In an emergency, the gas is generated by the ignition of the inflator 213 and is expanded to the outside of the occupant U in the vehicle width direction. The inflator 213 has an ignition part (gas generation part) separately for the main chamber 203 and the shoulder chamber 204. The first stage ignition gas of the inflator 213 is supplied to the main chamber 203, and the second stage ignition gas is supplied to the shoulder chamber 204.

  Since the side airbag 102 is smaller in size than the curtain airbag 101, the deployment time is relatively short, and the side airbag 102 is characterized in that the occupant can be protected early in the event of a collision. The curtain airbag 101 has a feature that although the deployment time is relatively long, the curtain airbag 101 covers a wide window portion of the vehicle, and thus has a high effect of reducing the passenger's release from the vehicle.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, both the curtain airbag 101 and the side airbag 102 are provided with shoulder chambers. However, if both the shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 and the shoulder chamber 204 (fourth chamber) of the side airbag 102 are deployed, the shoulder chambers interfere with each other, The passenger protection performance may not be fully demonstrated. For this reason, as will be described later, the occupant protection device 100 controls which shoulder chamber is deployed depending on the form of the collision.

  Returning to the description of FIG. 1, the detection unit 103 detects a collision of the vehicle. The detection means 103 acquires the detection value of the sensor provided in each part of the vehicle, for example, and detects that the vehicle has collided when an impact of a predetermined amount or more is applied to the sensor provided in each part of the vehicle. .

  The discrimination means 104 discriminates the form of the collision when the detection means 103 detects a collision. The form of the collision includes, for example, a collision from a side surface by another vehicle, a collision with a columnar stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole on the side surface of the vehicle, and a single rollover of the vehicle. The discriminating means 104 discriminates the form of the collision by a discriminating method using a known technique based on, for example, the location where the impact is received, the distribution of the impact force (sensor detection value), the time change, and the like.

  The control unit 105 controls the deployment of the curtain airbag 101 and the side airbag 102 based on the determination result by the determination unit 104. As described above, the curtain airbag 101 includes the main chamber 201 (first chamber) and the shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber), and the side airbag 102 includes the main chamber 203 (third chamber) and the shoulder. Although the partial chamber 204 (fourth chamber) is provided, the control means 105 controls the development of each of the first to fourth chambers. More specifically, the control means 105 controls which of the shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber) and the shoulder chamber 204 (fourth chamber) is to be deployed based on the result of the collision type discrimination. .

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of airbag deployment control by the control means 105. In FIG. 3, (a) is a control when it is determined that the vehicle has collided with another vehicle from the side, and (b) is determined that the side of the vehicle has collided with a columnar stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole. The control for each case is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, when the vehicle collides with another vehicle from the side, the control means 105 controls the main chamber 201 (first chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 and the main chamber 203 of the side airbag 102. (Third chamber) is deployed, and the shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 is deployed. That is, the control means 105 ignites the curtain airbag 101 in two stages and the side airbag 102 in one stage. This is because in the case of a vehicle-to-vehicle side collision, the possibility that the vehicle rolls over increases, so that the curtain airbag 101 effective for reducing the occupant's release from the outside of the vehicle is further expanded to protect the occupant.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the side of the vehicle collides with a columnar stationary object (for example, a standing tree or a pole), the control means 105 controls the main chamber (first chamber) of the curtain airbag 101. The main chamber 203 (third chamber) of the side airbag 102 is deployed, and the shoulder chamber 204 (fourth chamber) of the side airbag 102 is deployed. That is, the control means 105 ignites the curtain airbag 101 for one stage and the side airbag 102 for two stages. This is because in the case of a side collision with a columnar stationary object, the vehicle door or the like is locally deformed, and there is a high possibility that the shoulder of the occupant will be damaged. This is for the purpose of urgently protecting the passenger's shoulders by unfolding.

  Although not shown in FIG. 3, when it is determined that the vehicle rolls over alone, the control unit 105 detects the main chamber 201 (first chamber) and the shoulder chamber (second chamber) of the curtain airbag 101. Expand. That is, the control means 105 performs only two-stage ignition of the curtain airbag 101. This is because the occupant is likely to be released outside the vehicle when the vehicle rolls over alone, so that the curtain airbag 101 effective for reducing the release outside the vehicle is deployed. On the other hand, although the side airbag 102 can be deployed at an early stage, it is deployed with extremely strong pressure, which may damage the occupant during deployment. For this reason, the control means 105 protects the passenger by deploying only the curtain airbag 101 when the vehicle rolls over alone.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of occupant protection processing by the occupant protection device 100. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, the occupant protection device 100 stands by until a vehicle collision is detected by the detection unit 103 (step S401: No loop). When the collision of the vehicle is detected (step S401: Yes), the occupant protection device 100 determines the type of collision using a known method by the determination unit 104 (step S402).

  When the form of the collision is a single rollover of the vehicle (step S403: Yes), the control means 105 performs two-stage ignition of the curtain airbag 101 (step S404), and the main chamber 201 (first first) of the curtain airbag 101 The chamber) and the shoulder chamber (second chamber) are developed, and the processing according to this flowchart is completed. By such a process, the occupant protection device 100 can protect the occupant's shoulder while reducing the occupant being released outside the vehicle during a single rollover.

  When the collision is a side collision to a columnar stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole (step S405: Yes), the control unit 105 performs the first stage ignition of the curtain airbag 101 and the second stage of the side airbag 102. Ignition is performed (step S406), the main chamber (first chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 and the main chamber 203 (third chamber) of the side airbag 102 are deployed, and the shoulder chamber 204 ( The fourth chamber) is developed, and the processing according to this flowchart is terminated. By such processing, the occupant protection device 100 protects the occupant's shoulders earlier with the side airbag 102 when the vehicle collides with a columnar stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole, and the vehicle door or the like is locally protected. It is possible to more appropriately reduce the risk that the occupant is injured due to deformation.

  When the collision type is a side collision from another vehicle (step S407), the control unit 105 performs two-stage ignition of the curtain airbag 101 and one-stage ignition of the side airbag 102 (step S408). The main chamber 201 (first chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 and the main chamber 203 (third chamber) of the side airbag 102 are deployed, and the shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 is deployed. Then, the process according to this flowchart is terminated. By such processing, the occupant protection device 100 appropriately protects the risk of the occupant being released outside the vehicle by protecting the shoulder of the vehicle with the curtain airbag 101 when the side of the vehicle collides with another vehicle. It is possible to protect the occupant while reducing it.

  As described above, according to the occupant protection device 100 according to the embodiment, the curtain airbag 101 and the side airbag 102 are provided with the shoulder chambers 202 and 204 that protect the occupant's shoulders, respectively. At the time of a collision, the form of the collision is discriminated and it is controlled which airbag shoulder chamber is deployed. Thereby, a passenger | crew can be protected more appropriately using a suitable airbag according to the form of a collision.

  Specifically, when the vehicle collides with another vehicle from the side, the main chamber 201 (first chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 and the main chamber 203 (third chamber) of the side airbag 102 are deployed. At the same time, the shoulder chamber 202 (second chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 is deployed. Thereby, the passenger | crew's shoulder part can be protected, reducing more appropriately the risk that a passenger | crew is discharge | released out of a vehicle by the impact of a collision.

  When the side of the vehicle collides with a columnar stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole, the main chamber (first chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 and the main chamber 203 (third chamber) of the side airbag 102 are opened. While deploying, the shoulder chamber 204 (fourth chamber) of the side airbag 102 is deployed. As a result, the side airbag 102 capable of early deployment can be quickly protected up to the passenger's shoulder.

  In addition, when the vehicle rolls over alone, the main chamber 201 (first chamber) and the shoulder chamber (second chamber) of the curtain airbag 101 are deployed. Thereby, a passenger | crew's shoulder part can be protected, preventing a passenger | crew being discharged | emitted out of a vehicle by rollover.

  In the present embodiment, as the form of the collision, the collision from the side surface by another vehicle, the collision to a columnar stationary object such as a standing tree or a pole on the side surface of the vehicle, and the single rollover of the vehicle are mentioned. Also in a form, safety can be improved by performing deployment control of an air bag suitable for each form.

  In the present embodiment, the second stage ignition is performed so that only one of the curtain airbag 101 and the side airbag 102 is deployed to the shoulder chambers 202 and 204. The timing of supplying the ignition gas at the stage may be set at a time difference or at the same time, and may be set appropriately at an optimal timing according to the vehicle type or the like.

  Further, the occupant protection device according to the present embodiment can be applied not only to the front seats (driver's seat and front passenger seat) of the vehicle but also to any seat of the vehicle such as the rear seat.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Passenger protection apparatus, 101 ... Curtain airbag, 102 ... Side airbag, 103 ... Detection means, 104 ... Discrimination means, 105 ... Control means, 201 ... Main chamber, 202 ... Shoulder part Chamber 203, main chamber 204, shoulder chamber 211, 213 inflator 212 ignition gas passage.

Claims (5)

A curtain airbag that is stored along the roof side rail of the vehicle and that is deployed below the vehicle along the side of the passenger compartment in an emergency;
A side airbag that is stored in a vehicle width direction outer side of the occupant seating seat or a vehicle body side portion and that is deployed to the side of the occupant outer side in the event of an emergency,
Detecting means for detecting a collision of the vehicle;
When the collision is detected by the detection means, a determination means for determining the form of the collision;
Control means for controlling the deployment of the curtain airbag and the side airbag based on the discrimination result by the discrimination means;
The curtain airbag includes a first chamber that protects the head of the occupant, and a second chamber that protects the shoulder of the occupant.
The side airbag includes a third chamber that protects a portion below the shoulder of the occupant, and a fourth chamber that protects the shoulder of the occupant,
The occupant protection device, wherein the control means controls the deployment of each chamber.   The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls which of the second chamber and the fourth chamber is expanded based on the determination result.   When it is determined that the vehicle has collided with another vehicle from the side, the control means deploys the first chamber of the curtain airbag and the third chamber of the side airbag, and the curtain airbag The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the second chamber is expanded.   When it is determined that the side surface of the vehicle has collided with a columnar stationary object, the control means deploys the first chamber of the curtain airbag and the third chamber of the side airbag and The occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fourth chamber of the bag is deployed.   The said control means expands the 1st chamber and the 2nd chamber of the said curtain airbag, when it is discriminate | determined that the said vehicle rolls over independently, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. The occupant protection device described.

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