JP5098236B2 - Vehicle occupant restraint device and occupant restraint method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant restraint device and a vehicle occupant restraint method for restraining a vehicle occupant when a vehicle body rolls over.

Conventional occupant restraint devices store airbags in a folded state along the front header on the top edge of the windshield and the front pillar on the side edge of the windshield, and the airbag is placed above the head of the occupant when the vehicle rolls over. A technique to be developed is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-63342 (page 3, FIG. 1)

  However, in such a conventional occupant restraint device, since it is necessary to deploy the airbag up to the occupant's head, the size of the airbag increases, the device becomes large, and the cost increases.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an occupant restraint device and an occupant restraint method for a vehicle that can safely restrain an occupant without using a large-scale device when the vehicle body rolls over.

The vehicle occupant restraint device according to the present invention includes an occupant forward pressing unit that presses an occupant forward when a rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted by the rollover detection unit, and an occupant and a vehicle body side member positioned in front of the occupant. A front distance estimating means for estimating a passenger front distance between the seat belt and a seat belt wearing detecting means for detecting a seat belt wearing situation, and the front distance estimating means estimates that the passenger front distance is a predetermined value or more, and the seat When it is detected by the belt wearing detection means that the seat belt is not worn, the front airbag is deployed and the occupant forward pressing means is operated after a predetermined time has elapsed . The occupant forward pressing means is configured by at least one of a reclining drive device that tilts the seat back forward and a seat slide drive device that moves the seat forward .
The vehicle occupant restraint method of the present invention, when the rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted, and when the occupant forward distance between the occupant and the vehicle body side member located in front of the occupant is a predetermined value or more, The main feature is that after starting to deploy the front airbag deployed in front of the occupant, the seat back is tilted forward after a predetermined time has elapsed, or the seat is moved forward to press the occupant forward.

According to the vehicle occupant restraint device of the present invention, when the rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted, the occupant front distance is estimated to be greater than or equal to a predetermined value, and the non-wearing of the seat belt is detected, Since the occupant is pushed forward after a predetermined time has passed after the airbag is deployed, the occupant can be pressed against the front airbag deployed in front of the occupant, and the occupant is restrained without using a large-scale device. It is possible to prevent the occupant from moving from the seat. Further, by using a reclining drive device or a seat slide drive device, since these devices are existing, the configuration of the passenger restraint device can be further simplified and provided at low cost .
According to the vehicle occupant restraint method of the present invention, when the rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted, and the occupant front distance between the vehicle occupant and the vehicle body side member located in front of the vehicle occupant is a predetermined value or more. In addition, after starting the deployment of the front airbag that deploys in front of the occupant, the seat back is tilted forward after a predetermined time, or the seat is moved forward to press the occupant forward, so The passenger can be restrained between the front airbag and the front airbag.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 6 show an embodiment of a vehicle occupant restraint device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side view of the vehicle occupant restraint device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing an operating state of the vehicle occupant restraint device. 3 is an explanatory view showing a flowchart for controlling the operation of the occupant restraint device, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the operation state of the occupant restraint device under the first seating condition of the occupant by (a) and (b), and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the operating state of the occupant restraint device under the second seating condition of the occupant, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing the operating state of the occupant restraint device under the third seating condition of the occupant. It is.

  A vehicle occupant restraint device 10 according to the present embodiment is applied to a front seat 2 such as a driver seat or a passenger seat, which is disposed to face an instrument panel 1 located in a front part of a vehicle interior as shown in FIG. A roll sensor 12 as rollover detection means for detecting or predicting a rollover of the vehicle body, a front airbag 13 for a front collision that is deployed in front of the occupant M when a rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted, And a rear airbag 14 as an occupant forward pressing means for pressing the occupant forward when the rollover is detected or predicted.

  The occupant restraint device 10 detects the seating state of the occupant M, and the vehicle body side member positioned in front of the occupant M, that is, the vehicle body side member is the instrument panel 1 if it is a passenger seat. If it is a seat, it is a steering wheel 3, and is provided with a forward distance estimating means 11 for estimating an occupant forward distance L between the vehicle body side members 1 and 3, and the occupant forward distance L is a predetermined value by the forward distance estimating means 11. When it is estimated that it is the above, the said back airbag 14 is act | operated (deployment | deployment).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the occupant restraint device 10 includes a buckle switch 18 as a seat belt wearing detection means for detecting the wearing state of the seat belt 19, and the buckle switch 18 detects that the seat belt 19 is not worn. In this case, the rear airbag 14 is activated (deployed).

  Furthermore, in the vehicle occupant restraint method of the present embodiment, when the rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted, the front airbag 13 that is deployed in front of the occupant M is deployed and the occupant M is pressed forward. ing.

  The front seat 2 includes a seat cushion 2a installed on the vehicle floor F through a seat slider and a seat lifter, and a seat back 2b coupled to a rear end portion of the seat cushion 2a through a reclining mechanism so as to tilt forward and backward. And.

  The front airbag 13 may be a normal driver airbag stored in the steering wheel 3 or the like, or a normal passenger seat airbag stored in the glove box portion of the instrument panel 1 or the like. it can.

  The seat slider 2 slides the seat cushion 2a back and forth by the seat slider driving device 4, the seat lifter raises and lowers the seat cushion 2a by the seat lifter driving device 5, and the reclining mechanism has a seat back 2b by the reclining driving device 6. Is tilted back and forth.

  The seat slider driving device 4, the seat lifter driving device 5 and the reclining driving device 6 are provided with sensors for detecting respective driving amounts so that information on the seat slide position, the seat lifter position and the reclining angle can be obtained. The weight of the occupant M is detected by a load sensor 16 provided on the seat cushion 2a, the seat slide position is detected by a sensor provided on the seat slider driving device 4, and the reclining angle is a sensor provided on the reclining driving device 6. Detect with.

The rear airbag 14 is housed in a portion corresponding to the upper body of the occupant M of the seat back 2b, and the rear airbag 14 is deployed between the seat back 2b and the upper body of the occupant M, as shown in FIG. The occupant M is bent forward.

  The front airbag 13 and the rear airbag 14 are respectively controlled to be deployed by an inflator control means 15, and the inflator control means 15 is configured such that an occupant front distance L is a predetermined value by the front distance estimation means 11. In response to the signal estimated as above and the rollover signal detected by the roll sensor 12, the inflator (not shown) separately provided on the front airbag 13 and the rear airbag 14 is operated, The airbags 13 and 14 are individually deployed.

  The forward distance estimating means 11 detects the occupant forward distance L using information on the seating state of the occupant M, and information on the seating state of the occupant M includes the weight of the occupant M and the seat slide position. , And the reclining angle of the seat back 2b.

  As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 3, the deployment control of the front airbag 13 and the rear airbag 14 by the inflator control means 15 starts when the ignition switch is turned on. In step S1, the occupant sitting state is detected. The rollover situation of the vehicle is detected or predicted, and the wearing situation of the seat belt 19 is detected by the buckle switch 18 in step S3.

  Then, in the next step S4, it is determined whether or not the occupant forward distance L is greater than or equal to a predetermined value. If it is greater than or equal to the predetermined value (YES), the process proceeds to step S5 to determine whether or not the vehicle is in a rollover state. If it is determined that the vehicle is in the over state (YES), the front airbag 13 is deployed in step S6.

  Next, if it is determined in step S7 that the seat belt 19 is not worn after the front airbag 13 is deployed (NO), the rear airbag 14 is deployed in step S8.

  Further, when it is determined in step S4 that the occupant front distance L is less than the predetermined value (NO), when it is determined that the vehicle is not in a rollover state in step S5 (NO), and the seat belt 19 is worn in step S7. If it is determined (YES), the control is terminated as it is, but the flowchart is repeatedly executed every predetermined short time until the ignition switch is turned off, and the deployment control of the front airbag 13 and the rear airbag 14 is managed. Is done.

  Therefore, in the occupant restraint method of the present embodiment, the occupant forward distance L between the occupant M and the vehicle body side member positioned in front of the occupant M is detected or predicted when the vehicle rollover is detected or predicted. In this case, the front airbag 13 that is deployed in front of the occupant M is deployed, and the rear airbag 14 that is deployed between the occupant M upper body and the seat back 2b is deployed.

  Further, in the passenger restraint method of the present embodiment, a time difference is provided between step S6 and step S8, so that the deployment of the rear airbag 14 is started after a predetermined time has elapsed after the deployment of the front airbag 13 is started. Be started.

  Furthermore, in the passenger restraining method of the present embodiment, the timing at which the front airbag 13 reaches the maximum internal pressure and the timing at which the rear airbag 14 reaches the maximum internal pressure are substantially matched. Each of the rear airbags 14 is maintained at a maximum internal pressure for a predetermined time.

  That is, in this embodiment, the front airbag 13 has a larger volume than the rear airbag 14, and the deployment characteristic of the front airbag 13 is indicated by α in FIG. The deployment characteristic of the bag 14 is indicated by β. In this case, after the rollover detection (rollover detection timing T1), first, the deployment of the front airbag 13 is started, and the deployment of the rear airbag 14 is started after a predetermined time. .

  The timing at which the front airbag 13 reaches the maximum internal pressure P1MAX and the timing at which the rear airbag 14 reaches the maximum internal pressure P2MAX are substantially the same timing (deployment completion timing T2). Thereby, the occupant M can be pressed firmly against the front airbag 13.

  Further, both the front airbag 13 and the rear airbag 14 decrease the internal pressure after maintaining the maximum internal pressures P1MAX and P2MAX for several seconds.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 4 (a), in the case of the first seating condition in which the occupant M has a small physique, the seat slide position is intermediate, the reclining angle is small, and the seat belt 19 is not worn, Since a distance is provided between the airbag 13 and the occupant M, the rear airbag 14 is actuated (deployed) as shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), even in the case of the second seating condition in which the occupant M has a physique, the seat slide position is rear, the reclining angle is large, and the seat belt 19 is not worn, Since a distance is provided between the deployed front airbag 13 and the occupant M, the rear airbag 14 is actuated (deployed) as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6, in the third seating condition where the occupant M has a large physique, the seat slide position is forward, and the reclining angle is small, the occupant M is large and the seat slide position is forward. Therefore, since the occupant M can be sufficiently restrained between the seat back 2b by the deployed front airbag 13, the rear airbag 14 is deactivated. In the third seating condition, the seat belt 19 may be worn or not worn.

  With the above configuration, according to the occupant restraint device 10 of the present embodiment, the occupant M is bent forward by deploying the rear airbag 14 when the occupant front distance L is greater than or equal to a predetermined value when the vehicle body is rolled over. By pressing forward, the occupant M can be pressed against the deployed front airbag 13 and held, so that the occupant M can be prevented from moving from the seat 2.

  Further, since the occupant M can be sandwiched and held between the front airbag 13 deployed upon detection of rollover and the rear airbag 14 supported by the seat back 2b, the occupant M does not wear the seat belt 19 Even in some cases, movement from the sheet 2 can be suppressed.

  And since the objective of restraining the passenger | crew M can be achieved by pressing the passenger | crew M forward in the state which maintained the seating position with respect to the seat cushion 2a at the time of roll over in this way, the passenger | crew restraint apparatus 10 can be simplified. it can.

  In the present embodiment, the occupant forward pressing means is constituted by the rear airbag 14 that is deployed between the upper body of the occupant M and the seat back 2b, so that the upper body of the occupant M can be obtained by deploying the rear airbag 14. Therefore, the occupant M can be reliably pressed against the front airbag 13 and restrained between the front airbag 13 and the front airbag 13.

  In this way, by configuring the occupant forward pressing means with the rear airbag 14, it is only necessary to add the rear airbag 14 to the seat back 2b in addition to the front airbag 13 that is normally equipped with a front impact. Therefore, the occupant restraint device 10 can be downsized with a simple configuration, and the system cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, since the said back airbag 14 can bend the passenger | crew M by deploying, the overhead space of the passenger | crew M can be increased at the time of a rollover, and interference with a ceiling surface can be reduced.

  Further, the front distance estimation means 11 detects the seating state of the occupant M from the information on the weight of the occupant M, the seat slide position, and the reclining angle of the seat back 2b, and estimates the occupant forward distance L. Since the seating state of M can be accurately detected, the occupant forward distance L can be estimated with higher accuracy, and the restraining effect of the occupant M by the occupant restraint device 10 can be enhanced.

  Furthermore, the rear airbag 14 is in the first seating condition in which the occupant M has a small physique, the seat slide position is intermediate, the reclining angle is small, and the seat belt is not worn, and the occupant M has a medium physique. In the case of the second seating condition in which the handle, seat slide position is rearward, the reclining angle is large, and the seat belt is not worn, each of them is actuated so that a small woman can sit comfortably without wearing the seat belt 19 If the vehicle body rolls over in the case of the first seating condition (first seating condition), and when the middle-sized adult man is seated loosely without wearing the seat belt 19 (second seating condition), The occupant M can be reliably restrained between the front airbag 13 and the rear airbag 14 supported by the seat cushion 2b.

  Further, in the third seating condition where the occupant size is large, the seat slide position is forward, and the reclining angle is small, the rear airbag 14 is deactivated, so that a large adult male is relatively cramped at the front position. When seated in such a state, when the vehicle rolls over, the rear airbag 14 is not deployed, and the occupant M is restrained between the front airbag 13 and the seat back 2b by the front airbag 13 alone. can do.

  The small occupant size is the case of the occupant M having a weight of less than 60 kg, the medium pattern is the case of the occupant M of 60 kg or more and less than 85 kg, and the large pattern is the case of the occupant M of 85 kg or more. Shall. Further, the small reclining angle is when the angle θ in FIG. 1 is less than 21 degrees, and the large reclining angle is when the angle θ is 21 degrees or more. In this case, θ is the angle of the seat back with respect to the vertical.

  By the way, the present invention has been described by taking the above embodiment as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various other embodiments can be adopted without departing from the gist of the present invention. Although the means is constituted by the rear airbag 14, it may be constituted by the reclining drive device 6 in addition to this, and the seat back 2b may be tilted forward as shown in step S8 'in FIG. 9, the seat 2 may be moved forward as shown in step S8 ″ in FIG. 9. In short, at least one of the rear airbag 14, the reclining drive device 6, and the seat slide drive device 4 may be used. The occupant forward pressing means can be configured.

  When the reclining drive device 6 and the seat slide drive device 4 are used, since the devices 6 and 4 are existing, the configuration of the occupant restraint device 10 can be simplified and provided at a low cost.

  Further, the front distance estimation means 11 detects the seating state of the occupant M by inputting information on the occupant M's weight, the seat slide position, and the reclining angle of the seat back. Detection can be performed by using at least one piece of information without using all the positions and reclining angles.

  Further, the rollover of the vehicle body is detected by the roll sensor 12. In addition to this, the output value of the side collision G sensor 20 is integrated, and when the integrated value reaches a predetermined value or more, the vehicle body is in a rollover state. It can also be determined (see FIG. 10).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the rollover may be predicted in step S2 ′ and step S5 ′ based on the output values of the roll sensor 12 and the side collision G sensor 20, and the pressing timing of the occupant restraint device may be advanced.

The side view of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the operation state of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the flowchart which controls the action | operation of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in one Embodiment of this invention. The side view which shows the operating condition of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in 1st seating condition of the passenger | crew in one Embodiment of this invention by (a), (b). The side view which shows the operation | movement condition of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus on 2nd seating conditions of the passenger | crew in one Embodiment of this invention by (a), (b). The side view which shows the operating condition of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus on the passenger | crew's 3rd seating condition in one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the airbag deployment timing in one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the flowchart which controls the action | operation of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in the modification of one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the flowchart which controls the action | operation of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in the modification of one Embodiment of this invention. The side view of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in the modification of one Embodiment of this invention. Explanatory drawing which shows the flowchart which controls the action | operation of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus in the modification of one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Instrument panel (vehicle body side member)
2 Front seat 2a Seat cushion 2b Seat back 3 Steering wheel (vehicle body side member)
4 Seat slider drive (occupant forward pressing means)
6 Reclining drive device (occupant forward pressing means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Crew restraint device 11 Forward distance estimation means 12 Roll sensor (roll over detection means)
13 Front airbag 14 Back airbag (occupant forward pressing means)
18 Buckle switch (seat belt wearing detection means)
M Crew L Crew forward distance

Claims (6)

Rollover detection means for detecting or predicting rollover of the vehicle body,
A front airbag that is deployed in front of an occupant when a rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted by the rollover detection means;
When the rollover of the vehicle body is detected or predicted by the rollover detection means, the occupant forward pressing means for pressing the occupant forward;
Forward distance estimating means for estimating an occupant forward distance between the occupant and a vehicle body side member positioned in front of the occupant;
A seat belt wearing detection means for detecting a seat belt wearing situation;
The occupant forward pressing means comprises at least one of a reclining drive device that tilts the seat back forward or a seat slide drive device that moves the seat forward,
When the front distance estimating means estimates that the occupant front distance is greater than or equal to a predetermined value and the seat belt wearing detection means detects that the seat belt is not worn, the front airbag is deployed and a predetermined time elapses. The occupant restraint device for a vehicle, wherein the occupant forward pressing means is actuated after the operation. The vehicle occupant restraint apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the forward distance estimation means detects the occupant forward distance using information on the seating state of the occupant. 3. The vehicle occupant restraint apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the information on the seating state of the occupant is at least one information of the occupant's weight, the seat slide position, or the reclining angle of the seat back. Passenger front pressing means, diminutive occupant physique any one of claims 1 to 3 in which the seat slide position is intermediate, reclining angle, characterized in that activated when the seating condition that small, and wear the seatbelt as yet The vehicle occupant restraint device described in 1. Passenger front pressing means, Pattern middle occupant physique, seat slide position rearward reclining angle is large, one of the claims 1-3, characterized by operating in the case of the seating condition that the seatbelt arrive 1 An occupant restraint device for a vehicle according to one of the above. When a vehicle rollover is detected or predicted, and the occupant front distance between the occupant and the vehicle body side member positioned in front of the occupant is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the front airbag that is deployed in front of the occupant A vehicle occupant restraint method characterized by tilting a seat back forward or moving a seat forward and pressing an occupant forward after a predetermined time has elapsed after starting deployment.

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