JP2011131709A - Side collision determining device and starting control device of occupant crash protection device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a side collision determination device and an activation control device for an occupant protection device, which prevents erroneous determination that a door is closed when traveling on a rough road, and always causes a side collision including when the vehicle is stopped. It is to judge accurately.
An acceleration sensor disposed on a vehicle door that outputs a signal corresponding to an acceleration applied in the vehicle width direction, and an inward force applied to the vehicle door based on an integrated value of acceleration based on an output signal of the acceleration sensor. Polarity determination means for determining whether or not a vehicle outward force or a vehicle outward force is applied, and a side collision occurs on the host vehicle when the polarity determination means determines that a vehicle inward force acts on the vehicle door. In the side collision determination device that determines that the vehicle has occurred, it is determined whether the host vehicle is traveling or stopped. As a result, if it is determined that the host vehicle is traveling, the vehicle is stopped. Compared to the case where the determination is made, it is difficult to determine that the outward force acts on the vehicle door by the polarity determination means.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a side collision determination device and an activation control device for an occupant protection device, and in particular, a side collision that should be determined whether or not it has occurred in a host vehicle using an acceleration sensor provided on the vehicle door. The present invention relates to a side collision determination device and an activation control device for an occupant protection device that are suitable for determination in distinction from closing and rough road traveling.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a side collision determination device that distinguishes a side collision of a vehicle from door closing is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This determination device includes an acceleration sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to the acceleration in the left-right direction of the vehicle. The ON requirement for deploying the protective device and the OFF requirement for not deploying when the door is closed at the time of a collision at a low speed and when the vehicle is stopped are separated. In the activation control device having this determination device, the occupant protection device is activated when the acceleration and speed based on the output of the acceleration sensor satisfy the ON requirement, while the occupant protection device is activated when the acceleration and velocity satisfy the OFF requirement. Is prohibited from starting.

JP 2005-289376 A

  By the way, if the side collision determination is made based only on the relationship between the acceleration and the speed in the left-right direction that separates the ON requirement and the OFF requirement of the deployment of the occupant protection device as described above, the vehicle door has a strong momentum from the open state. Although it is only closed by, there is a possibility that it is erroneously determined that a side collision has occurred.

  In the case of a side collision of the vehicle, an inward force is applied to the vehicle body, while in the case of closing the door, an outward force is applied to the vehicle body. It is effective to perform polarity determination that distinguishes and detects whether the force is generated in the vehicle inward or the vehicle outward.

  However, when the vehicle travels on a rough road, a large impact force may be applied to the outside of the vehicle, but only the acceleration from the acceleration sensor is used to determine the polarity necessary to distinguish between side collision and door closing. Then, when traveling on a rough road, it is erroneously determined that the door is closed, and it may not be possible to obtain a determination that a side collision has occurred even though a side collision has actually occurred in the vehicle.

  The vehicle door moves from open to closed in general when the vehicle is stopped, while the vehicle runs on a rough road when the vehicle is running. A method of determining that a side collision has occurred can be considered when it is detected that the vehicle is traveling and an inward impact force is applied by polarity determination. However, with this method, it is possible to avoid erroneously determining that the door has been closed when a force is applied outwardly while the host vehicle is traveling on a rough road. Even if an inward impact force acts due to a collision with another vehicle, it may not be possible to determine that a side collision has occurred.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and prevents a false determination that the door is closed when traveling on a rough road and always accurately determines a side collision including when the vehicle is stopped. It is an object of the present invention to provide a side collision determination device and an activation control device for an occupant protection device.

  The above object is to provide an acceleration sensor that is disposed on the vehicle door and outputs a signal corresponding to the acceleration applied in the vehicle width direction, and the interior of the vehicle door based on the integrated value of the acceleration based on the output signal of the acceleration sensor. Polarity determining means for determining whether a direction force acts or a vehicle outward force acts, and when the polarity determining means determines that an inward force acts on the vehicle door, A side collision determination device that determines whether a side collision has occurred in the vehicle, and includes a travel / stop determination unit that determines whether the vehicle is traveling or is stopped, and the travel / stop determination unit When it is determined that the vehicle is traveling, the polarity determination threshold value is changed to make it difficult to determine that an outward force is applied to the vehicle door by the polarity determination unit, compared to when it is determined that the vehicle is stopped. means It is accomplished by a side collision determination apparatus comprising a.

  In the aspect of the invention, the polarity determination means may apply an inward force to the vehicle door or an outward force based on an integrated value of acceleration in the vehicle width direction based on an output signal of the acceleration sensor of the vehicle door. However, it is difficult to determine that the outward force is applied to the vehicle door by the polarity determination means compared to when the vehicle is stopped. The vehicle door moves from open to closed when the vehicle is stopped, while the vehicle travels on a rough road when the vehicle is traveling. For this reason, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination that the door is closed when the vehicle travels on a rough road. In the present invention, since the polarity determination is performed as usual while the vehicle is stopped, the side collision of the vehicle can be distinguished from the door closing. Accordingly, it is always possible to accurately determine a side collision including when the vehicle is stopped.

  When the side collision determination device determines that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle, an occupant protection device provided to protect the vehicle occupant is activated, while the polarity determination means When it is determined that a side collision has not occurred in the host vehicle by determining that the outward force is applied to the door, the activation control device that prohibits activation of the occupant protection device determines the side collision. This is suitable for appropriately performing the activation control of the occupant protection device based on the above.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the erroneous determination that the door is closed when traveling on a rough road, and to always accurately determine the side collision including when the vehicle is stopped.

It is a system configuration figure of a starting control device of a crew member protection device provided with a side collision judging device which is one example of the present invention. It is a logical block diagram inside ECU in the side collision determination apparatus and starting control apparatus of a present Example. It is a flowchart of an example of the control routine performed in the side collision determination apparatus of this example, and the starting control apparatus of a passenger | crew protection apparatus.

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

  FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of an activation control device 12 for an occupant protection device including a side collision determination device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The side collision determination device 10 of the present embodiment is a device that determines the presence or absence of a collision (side collision) that occurs on the side surface of the host vehicle, and the activation control device 12 of the occupant protection device is It is a device that controls the activation of a side impact airbag as an occupant protection device that protects a vehicle occupant based on a determination result.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the side collision determination device 10 constitutes a part of the activation control device 12. The side collision determination device 10 and the activation control device 12 are provided with a common electronic control unit (hereinafter referred to as ECU) 14 mainly composed of a microcomputer. The ECU 14 includes a CPU, an input / output interface, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and executes side collision determination and airbag activation control according to a predetermined program. Acceleration sensors 16 and 18 are electrically connected to the ECU 14.

  The acceleration sensor 16 is disposed on the left door of the vehicle, and a normal direction with respect to the door surface of the left door (that is, a door opening direction and a door closing direction connecting the inside and outside of the vehicle across the door; A signal is output according to the acceleration applied to the vehicle width direction. The acceleration sensor 18 is disposed on the right door of the vehicle, and the right door is normal to the door surface (that is, a door opening direction and a door closing direction connecting the inside and outside of the vehicle with the door interposed therebetween; Hereinafter, a signal is output according to the acceleration applied to the vehicle width direction. The ECU 14 detects the acceleration G applied to the left door of the vehicle based on the output signal of the acceleration sensor 16 and detects the acceleration G applied to the right door of the vehicle based on the output signal of the acceleration sensor 18.

  A vehicle speed sensor 20 is also electrically connected to the ECU 14. The vehicle speed sensor 20 is a sensor that outputs a signal corresponding to the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The ECU 14 detects the vehicle speed SPD of the host vehicle based on the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 20, and determines whether the vehicle speed SPD is equal to or less than a predetermined value SPD0. The predetermined value SPD0 is an upper limit value of the vehicle speed at which it can be determined that the vehicle is substantially stopped.

  Further, an airbag actuator 22 is electrically connected to the ECU 14. The airbag actuator 22 is a device for inflating and deploying a side airbag and a curtain shield airbag disposed on the side of the seat of the vehicle occupant, the front pillar, and the leaf side rail. The ECU 14 issues a deployment command to the airbag actuator 22 when it is determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle.

  Next, with reference to FIG.2 and FIG.3, the more concrete structure and operation | movement of the side collision determination apparatus 10 and the starting control apparatus 12 of a present Example are demonstrated.

  FIG. 2 shows a logical configuration diagram inside the ECU 14 in the side collision determination device 10 and the activation control device 12 of the present embodiment.

  In this embodiment, the ECU 14 includes a door G collision determination Hi unit 30 and a door G collision determination Lo unit 32 as shown in FIG. The door G collision determination Hi part 30 is a part for determining whether or not the acceleration applied to the vehicle door is large enough to reliably determine that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle. The door G collision determination Lo unit 32 is a part for determining whether or not the acceleration applied to the vehicle door is large enough to determine that there is a possibility that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle although it is not certain. It is. The output signals of the acceleration sensors 16 and 18 are input to the door G collision determination Hi unit 30 and the door G collision determination Lo unit 32, respectively. When the door G collision determination Hi unit 30 and the door G collision determination Lo unit 32 perform the above determination based on the output signals of the acceleration sensors 16 and 18, respectively, and the acceleration G applied to the vehicle door is less than the predetermined value. On the other hand, when the acceleration G is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the Hi signal is output.

  The ECU 14 also has a polarity determination unit 34. The polarity determination unit 34 is a part for determining whether the direction of the force applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction is inward of the vehicle or outward of the vehicle. The polarity determination unit 34 receives the output signals of the acceleration sensors 16 and 18 and the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 20. The polarity determination unit 34 performs the above determination based on the output signals of the acceleration sensors 16 and 18 and the output signal of the vehicle speed sensor 20, and outputs a Lo signal when the direction of the force applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction is outward of the vehicle. On the other hand, when the direction of the force is inward of the vehicle, a Hi signal is output.

  The ECU 14 also has an AND circuit 36 and an OR circuit 38. The output signal of the door G collision determination Lo unit 32 and the output signal of the polarity determination unit 34 are input to the AND circuit 36. The AND circuit 36 outputs a Lo signal when at least one of the output signal of the door G collision determination Lo unit 32 and the output signal of the polarity determination unit 34 is a Lo signal, and both output signals are both Hi signals. If it is, a Hi signal is output.

  The output signal of the door G collision determination Hi unit 30 and the output signal of the AND circuit 36 are input to the OR circuit 38. When both the output signal of the door G collision determination Lo unit 32 and the output signal of the polarity determination unit 34 are Lo signals, the OR circuit 38 outputs a Lo signal that no side collision has occurred in the host vehicle. When at least one of the two output signals is a Hi signal, a Hi signal that issues a deployment command to the airbag actuator 22 is output as a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle.

  FIG. 3 shows a flowchart of an example of a control routine executed by the ECU 14 in the side collision determination device 10 and the activation control device 12 of the occupant protection device of the present embodiment.

In this embodiment, the ECU 14 detects the acceleration G applied to each of the left and right vehicle doors on the basis of the output signals of the acceleration sensors 16 and 18 every predetermined calculation time after activation (step 100). When the acceleration G (t) is detected for each of the left and right vehicle doors as described above, it is determined whether or not the detected acceleration G (t) is equal to or greater than a first threshold value G0 _Hi (step 102). . The first threshold value G0 _Hi is a Hi determination threshold value that is a lower limit value of the acceleration G applied to the vehicle door that cannot be reached even when the vehicle door is strongly closed and can be reliably determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle. It is.

If G (t) ≧ G0 _Hi is established as a result of the determination, it can be reliably determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle, and therefore it is determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle (step 104). Then, based on the side collision determination, a Hi signal for issuing a deployment command to the airbag actuator 22 is output (step 105). In this case, the side airbag or the like is inflated and deployed by the operation of the airbag actuator 22.

On the other hand, if G (t) ≧ G0 _Hi is not satisfied, it is next determined whether or not the detected acceleration G (t) is equal to or greater than a second threshold value G0 _Lo (step 102). The second threshold value G0 _Lo is a lower limit value of the acceleration G applied to the vehicle door that can be determined that a side collision may occur in the host vehicle, and is smaller than the first threshold value G0 _Hi. This is a threshold for determination. The acceleration of the second threshold value G0 _Lo occurs either when a collision with the vehicle door occurs from the outside or when the vehicle door is forcibly closed.

As a result of the determination, if G (t) ≧ G0 _Lo is not established, it can be determined that the side collision to the host vehicle or the vehicle door is not tightly closed. End the routine. On the other hand, if G (t) ≧ G0 _Lo is established, then the vehicle speed SPD of the host vehicle is detected based on the vehicle speed sensor 20, and the detected vehicle speed SPD is a vehicle speed at which it can be determined that the vehicle is substantially stopped. It is determined whether or not the upper limit value is a predetermined value SPD0 or less (step 108).

  As a result of the determination, if SPD ≦ SPD0 is established, a process of setting an attenuation coefficient a used for integration calculation described later to “1” is performed (step 110). On the other hand, if SPD ≦ SPD0 does not hold, a process of setting an attenuation coefficient a used for integration calculation described later to a0 that is extremely smaller than “1” and close to substantially zero (step 112).

  When the ECU 14 sets the attenuation coefficient a in step 110 or 112, the ECU 14 next performs a time integration process for a predetermined time as shown in the following equation (1) based on the detected acceleration G (t) detected as described above. Perform (step 114). V is a time integral value of G, V (t) is a current value calculated according to equation (1), and V (t−1) is calculated according to equation (1) one operation time before the current operation. It is the value.

V (t) = a · V (t−1) + G (t) (1)
Next, when the time integral value V (t) of the acceleration G calculated in step 114 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value V0, the ECU 14 determines that the polarity of the speed generated in the vehicle width direction at the vehicle door It is determined whether or not it is reversed with respect to the polarity of the velocity in the direction that should normally occur when an external collision occurs (step 116). The predetermined value V0 is a threshold value for determining whether or not an outward force is applied to the vehicle door.

  If V (t) ≧ V0 is established as a result of the determination, it is determined that a predetermined or greater outward force is applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction, and no side collision with the host vehicle has occurred. It is determined that the door is strongly closed (step 118). In this case, the airbag actuator 22 does not operate and the side airbag or the like is not inflated and deployed. On the other hand, if V (t) ≧ V0 is not established, it is determined that a force of a predetermined level or more is applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction, but the direction of the force is not outward, and the vehicle door is not tightly closed. First, it is determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle (step 104), and a Hi signal for issuing a deployment command to the airbag actuator 22 is output (step 105). In this case, the side airbag or the like is inflated and deployed by the operation of the airbag actuator 22.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the acceleration G in the vehicle width direction is greater than or equal to the first threshold value G0 _Hi and a certain level of extremely large impact force is applied to the vehicle door, the polarity of the speed of the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction is increased. Regardless, it can be determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle. In addition, when a certain amount of impact force is applied to the vehicle door when the acceleration G in the vehicle width direction is greater than or equal to the second threshold value G0 _Lo and less than the first threshold value G0 _Hi , the direction of the impact force is inward of the vehicle by polarity determination. At some point, it can be determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle. On the other hand, it can be determined by the polarity determination that the vehicle door has been forcibly closed when the direction of the impact force is outward.

Further, in this embodiment, when a certain impact force is applied to the vehicle door when the acceleration G in the vehicle width direction is greater than or equal to the second threshold value G0 _Lo and less than the first threshold value G0 _Hi , side collision and door closing are performed. In order to make a distinction, the polarity determination unit 34 performs polarity determination for determining whether the direction of the impact force is inward of the vehicle or outward of the vehicle. The polarity determination by the polarity determination unit 34 is performed based on the time integration value of the acceleration G based on the acceleration sensors 16 and 18, and the time integration calculation varies the attenuation coefficient a according to the vehicle speed SPD of the host vehicle. It is said.

  Specifically, the attenuation coefficient a in this time integration calculation is extremely small when the host vehicle is running, and thus the vehicle stops when the host vehicle is running. As compared with the case where the vehicle door is applied, when a predetermined force or more is applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction, it is difficult to determine that the direction of the force is outward of the vehicle. The vehicle door moves from open to closed when the vehicle is stopped, while the vehicle travels on a rough road when the vehicle is traveling. For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent erroneous determination that the vehicle door is tightly closed when traveling on a rough road where a relatively large acceleration may be applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction. .

  In addition, when the own vehicle is stopped, it is not difficult to determine that the direction of the force is outward from the vehicle when a force exceeding a predetermined value is applied to the vehicle door in the vehicle width direction. It is possible to distinguish and determine the side collision of the vehicle and the strong closure of the vehicle door.

  Therefore, according to the side collision determination device 10 of the present embodiment, it is possible to always accurately determine the side collision of the host vehicle, including when the vehicle is stopped, for example, when a side collision occurs when traveling on a rough road, It is possible to detect the occurrence of a side collision without erroneously determining that the vehicle door is strongly closed, and that a side collision has occurred even when the vehicle door is strongly closed when the vehicle is stopped. It is possible to detect the occurrence of strong closing of the vehicle door without being erroneously determined.

  Further, in this embodiment, when it is determined that the host vehicle has a side collision, it is determined that the side airbag or the courtesy shield airbag that protects the passenger of the host vehicle is inflated and deployed, while the vehicle door is strongly closed. When this is done, inflation and deployment of the airbag is prohibited. Therefore, according to the activation control device 12 of the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately perform the activation control of the airbag based on the determination of the side collision by accurately determining the side collision of the host vehicle. Avoid inconveniences such as unnecessarily inflating and deploying the airbag even when no collision occurs, or prohibiting the inflation and deployment of the airbag even when a side collision occurs. It is possible.

  In the above-described embodiment, the polarity determination unit 34 executes the processing of step 108 in the routine shown in FIG. 3 in the “polarity determination unit” described in the claims. The ECU 12 executes the processing of steps 110 to 114 corresponding to the “polarity determination threshold changing means” described in the claims.

  In the above embodiment, the vehicle speed sensor 20 that detects the vehicle speed SPD of the vehicle is used to determine whether the vehicle is running or stopped. However, the present invention is limited to this. Instead of this, the determination may be made by using on / off of a side brake, image change by an outside camera, or the like instead of the vehicle speed SPD by the vehicle speed sensor 20 or together with the vehicle speed SPD.

Further, in the above embodiment, it is determined that the side collision has occurred in the own vehicle because the acceleration G in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle door is the first regardless of the polarity of the speed in the vehicle width direction of the vehicle door. When a certain level of extremely large impact force is applied at a threshold value G0 _Hi or higher, and when the acceleration G in the vehicle width direction is greater than or equal to the second threshold value G0 _Lo and less than the first threshold value G0 _Hi , a certain impact force is applied to the vehicle door. In addition, when the direction of the impact force is inward of the vehicle by polarity determination, when a certain amount of extremely large impact force is applied to the vehicle door when the acceleration G in the vehicle width direction is equal to or greater than the first threshold value G0 _Hi. Alternatively, it may be determined that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle only when the direction of the impact force is inward of the vehicle. In this case, in the polarity determination as to whether the direction of the impact force is outward or inward of the vehicle, the time integration of the acceleration G is performed irrespective of the magnitude of the vehicle speed SPD, that is, without following equation (1). You can do that.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, by comparing the magnitude of the acceleration G itself by the acceleration sensors 16 and 18 on the one-dimensional map composed of the two threshold values of the first threshold value G0 _Hi and the second threshold value G0 _LO. In this case, it is determined whether or not a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle. On the two-dimensional map showing the relationship between the acceleration and the time integral value, the acceleration G by the acceleration sensors 16 and 18 and the time integral value V thereof are shown. It is also possible to determine whether or not a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle by comparing the size of the vehicle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Side collision determination apparatus 12 Startup control apparatus 14 Electronic control unit (ECU)
16, 18 Acceleration sensor 20 Vehicle speed sensor 22 Airbag actuator 32 Door G collision determination Lo section 34 Polarity determination section 36 AND circuit

Claims (2)

An inward force acts on the vehicle door based on an acceleration sensor that is disposed on the vehicle door and outputs a signal corresponding to the acceleration applied in the vehicle width direction, and an integrated value of the acceleration based on the output signal of the acceleration sensor. And a polarity determination unit that determines whether or not a vehicle outward force is applied, and a side collision occurs in the host vehicle when the polarity determination unit determines that a vehicle inward force is applied to the vehicle door. A side collision determination device for determining that
Traveling / stop determination means for determining whether the host vehicle is traveling or stopped;
When it is determined by the travel / stop determination means that the host vehicle is traveling, when an outward force acts on the vehicle door by the polarity determination means, compared to a case where it is determined that the vehicle is stopped. Polarity determination threshold changing means for making it difficult to determine,
A side collision determination device comprising:   When it is determined by the side collision determination device according to claim 1 that a side collision has occurred in the host vehicle, an occupant protection device provided to protect the vehicle occupant is activated, while the polarity determination means An activation control device that inhibits activation of the occupant protection device when it is determined that a side collision has not occurred in the host vehicle by determining that an outward force is applied to the vehicle door.

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