JPH11170976A - Occupant protector for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect an occupant by appropriately holding the occupant by a seat belt when a vehicle is rolled over. SOLUTION: An occupant protective device for vehicles to protect an occupant by a seal belt 3 provided with a shoulder belt to restrain a shoulder part of the occupant and a lap belt 2 to restrain a waist part of the occupant, is provided with a roll over detecting means to detect that the vehicle is rolled over according to the output signal, etc., of a gravity sensor 8, etc., and a pre- tensioner 6 to drive the lap belt 2 in the tightening direction when the roll over detecting means detects that the vehicle is roller over, and the lap belt 2 is wound by the pre-tensioner 6 when the vehicle is rolled over.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection device for protecting an occupant with a seat belt having a shoulder belt for restraining the shoulder of the occupant and a lap belt for restraining the waist of the occupant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-6-234342, a sensor for detecting a collision of a vehicle and its direction, and a plurality of collision countermeasure systems are operated based on the inspection result of the sensor. Control means,
For example, in the event of a frontal collision of a vehicle, a front airbag disposed in front of the occupant is deployed, and a preloader seatbelt (seatbelt pretensioner) that holds the occupant's posture is controlled so as to be activated. Control devices are known.

[0003] The above-mentioned centralized control system at the time of collision determines that the absolute value of the acceleration detected by the G sensor that detects the acceleration acting on the vehicle in a two-dimensional manner is larger than a predetermined threshold value, and collides with the vehicle. When it is confirmed that an accident has occurred, a control signal for operating the pretensioner is output to wind up a seat belt that restrains the occupant's shoulders, that is, a shoulder belt, and the occupant's posture is held by the shoulder belt. By doing so, it is configured to reduce obstacles.

[0004]

As described above, the pretensioner winds the shoulder belt that restrains the occupant's shoulder so that the occupant sitting on the seat can be effectively held in the event of a vehicle collision. In the event that an accident such as a rollover of the vehicle occurs, the wrap belt that restrains the occupant's waist cannot be actively tightened even if the pretensioner is activated. There has been a problem that it is not possible to effectively prevent an occupant's posture from becoming unstable due to a gap formed therebetween.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an occupant protection device for a vehicle that can properly hold and protect an occupant by a seat belt when the vehicle rolls over.

[0006]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In a vehicle occupant protection device that protects an occupant with a seat belt including a shoulder belt that restrains the occupant's shoulder and a lap belt that restrains the occupant's waist, rollover detection means that detects that the vehicle has rolled over, A pretensioner provided on the lap belt side and driven in a direction to tighten the lap belt when the rollover detection means detects that the vehicle has rolled over.

According to the above construction, when the vehicle rolls over, the pretensioner operates to drive the lap belt in a tightening direction, so that a gap is formed between the lap belt and the waist of the occupant. Thus, the posture of the occupant is stably maintained.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle occupant protection device according to the first aspect, a first pretensioner provided on the shoulder belt side when the vehicle rolls over and driven in a direction to tighten the shoulder belt. , A second pretensioner provided on the lap belt side and driven in a direction to tighten the lap belt.

According to the above configuration, when the vehicle rolls over, the first and second pretensioners operate to drive the shoulder belt and the lap belt, respectively, so that the shoulder belt and the lap belt are tightened. A gap is prevented from being formed between the waist and the shoulder of the occupant, and the occupant's posture is stably maintained.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle occupant protection device according to the second aspect, a tightening portion of the first pretensioner for tightening the shoulder belt and a second pretensioner for tightening the lap belt when the vehicle rolls over. Are driven by a common driving means.

According to the above configuration, when the vehicle rolls over, the tightening portions of the first and second pretensioners are simultaneously driven by the common driving means to tighten the shoulder belt and the lap belt, respectively. This prevents a gap from being formed between the shoulder belt and the lap belt and the waist and shoulders of the occupant.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a road for absorbing a collision energy while permitting the seat belt to be pulled out when a pulling force exceeding a regulated value acts on the seat belt during a vehicle collision. The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a limiter, wherein the load limiter is deactivated when the rollover detection unit detects that the vehicle has rolled over. It is configured as follows.

According to the above configuration, when the vehicle rolls over, the pretensioner operates to drive the lap belt in a tightening direction, so that a gap is formed between the lap belt and the waist of the occupant. In addition to being prevented, the load limiter is maintained in an inactive state,
By prohibiting the seat belt from being pulled out from the load limiter, the occupant is effectively held by the seat belt.

[0014]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a vehicle occupant protection system according to the present invention. The vehicle occupant protection device includes a seat belt 3 including a shoulder belt 1 for restraining an occupant's shoulder and a lap belt 2 for restraining an occupant's waist, and a load limiter 4 provided at a base end of the shoulder belt 1. And a first pretensioner 5,
A second pretensioner 6 provided at a base end of the lap belt 2, a G sensor 7 for detecting acceleration / deceleration acting on the vehicle, a gravity sensor 8 for detecting the direction of gravity acting on the vehicle, A control unit for determining a state of the vehicle based on a detection signal of the sensor and outputting a control signal for operating the load limiter 4 and the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 according to the determination result; I have.

As shown in FIG. 2, the load limiter 4 includes a regulating member 10 around which the shoulder belt 1 is wound.
And a pair of first clamps 11 and 12 installed opposite to each other so as to sandwich the shoulder belt 1, and one of the first clamps 11 and 12.
A lock lever 13 for pushing the clamp 11 toward the other first clamp 12, an actuator 14 for swinging the lock lever 13, a stopper 15 for regulating the swing displacement of the lock lever 13, Clamp 1
It has a pair of second clamps 16 and 17 disposed opposite to each other below the first and second clamps 12, and a winding shaft 18 for rotating the regulating member 10 and winding the shoulder belt 1.

At the time of a vehicle collision, the actuator 1 responds to a control signal output from the control unit 9.
When the lock lever 13 is operated to swing from the lower standby position to the upper push position, the one first clamp 11 is moved toward the other first clamp 12 as shown in FIG. The shoulder belt 1 is pushed by the first clamps 11 and 12 so as to be held therebetween. Further, when the shoulder belt 1 is pulled out from the load limiter 4 by the inertia force acting on the occupant during a vehicle collision, the first clamps 11, 1 are accordingly pulled.
2 rises along the casing of the load limiter 4 and contacts the stopper 15 when the first clamp 1
The rise of 1,12 will be regulated.

As the rise of the first clamps 11, 12 is restricted by the stopper 15, the rocking displacement of the lock lever 13 engaged with one of the first clamps 11 is prevented. The first clamps 11,
12, a constant holding force is applied to the shoulder belt 1. Therefore, when a pulling force greater than the clamping force by the first clamps 11 and 12 acts, the regulating member 1
0 is compressed and plastically deformed, whereby the shoulder belt 1 is pulled out from the load limiter 4 by an amount corresponding to the diameter change of the regulating member 10, and at this time, the shoulder belt 1 is moved in accordance with the clamping force of the first clamps 11 and 12. The collision energy is absorbed by the action of the frictional resistance, and the collision energy is also absorbed by the plastic deformation of the regulating member 10.

The second clamps 16 and 17 disposed below the first clamps 11 and 12 are controlled when the load limiter 4 needs to be kept in an inactive state, for example, when the vehicle rolls over. The shoulder belt 1 is driven by an actuator (not shown) that operates in response to a control signal output from the unit 9, and is configured to prohibit the shoulder belt 1 from being pulled out from the load limiter 4 by sandwiching the shoulder belt 1. I have.

The first pretensioner 5 is configured to wind up the shoulder belt 1 for holding the occupant's shoulder in the event of a vehicle collision or the like. For example, as shown in FIG. It has a pinion gear 19 that is freely supported, a rack gear 20 that rotationally drives the pinion gear 19, and a gas generator 21 that drives the rack gear 20. Then, the shoulder belt 1 is tightened by rotating the pinion gear 19 by driving means including the rack gear 20 and the gas generator 21.

That is, at the time of a vehicle collision or the like, the gas generator 2 according to the control signal output from the control unit 9 is used.
1 operates to generate gas pressure for moving the rack gear 20 from the lower standby position to the upper drive position as shown by the arrow, thereby rotating the pinion gear 19 and rotating the pinion gear 19. The take-up shaft 18 of the connected load limiter 4 is driven to rotate, and the shoulder belt 1 is taken up and tightened.

After the operation of the gas generator 21, the rack gear 20 is engaged with a stopper 22 made of a leaf spring material disposed above the pinion gear 19, as shown in FIG. It is configured to be stopped. As a result, the pinion gear 19 is prevented from rotating in a direction in which the shoulder belt 1 once tightened loosens.

The second pretensioner 6 is configured to take up the lap belt 2 for holding the occupant's waist when the vehicle rolls over or the like. For example, as shown in FIGS. A winding shaft 25 rotatably supported above the fixed portion 23 of the lap belt 2 and a pinion gear portion 26 formed at one end of the winding shaft 25 to engage with the winding shaft. Rack gear 27 for driving the rotation of the gear 25
And a gas generator 28 for driving the rack gear 27. The winding shaft 25 has an insertion hole 24 for the lap belt 2.
Are formed.

When the vehicle rolls over or the like, the gas generator 28 operates according to the control signal output from the control unit 9 to the second pretensioner 6, and the rack gear 27
7 is moved from the upper standby position to the lower driving position as shown by the arrow in FIG. 7, and the winding shaft 25 is rotationally driven, so that the lap belt 2 is placed on the winding shaft 25. Is wound up and tightened. As shown in FIG. 9, the pinion gear portion 26 of the winding shaft 25 is locked by a stopper 29 made of a leaf spring material disposed on a side of the rack gear 27. Thus, after the gas generator 28 is operated, the winding shaft 25 is prevented from rotating in a direction in which the once tightened lap belt 2 becomes slack.

The G sensor 7 is configured to detect a deceleration acting in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body and output a detection signal to the control unit 9. As shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 9 includes a collision state detecting means 29 for detecting whether or not the vehicle is in a collision state in accordance with a detection signal output from the G sensor 7;
And rollover detecting means 30 for detecting whether or not the vehicle is in a rollover state according to the detection signal.

The collision state detecting means 29 includes a G sensor 7
Based on the acceleration / deceleration detected by the vehicle, whether or not the vehicle is in a collision state is detected.
A threshold value as a criterion for determining whether or not to operate the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 and an operation time thereof are set, and an occupant's head between a predetermined time before the collision and the time of the collision is set. The moving speed and the moving distance are calculated by calculation. If it is confirmed by the collision state detecting means 29 that the moving speed and moving distance of the occupant's head are larger than the threshold values, the first pretensioner 5 and the load limiter 4 Are output at predetermined timings.

The rollover detecting means 30 switches the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 belt 1 at the time when it is confirmed that the vehicle has rolled over according to the detection signal of the gravity sensor 8. It is configured to output a control signal to operate and to make the load limiter 4 inoperative. That is, a control signal for setting the second clamps 16 and 17 of the load limiter 4 to the fastened state is output from the rollover detecting means 30, and the two second clamps 16 and
When the shoulder belt 1 is sandwiched by 17, the pull-out of the shoulder belt 1 from the load limiter 4 is prohibited.

The control operation executed in the control unit 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When this control operation is started, after inputting the detection values of the respective sensors (step S1), it is determined whether or not the vehicle has rolled over in accordance with the detection signal of the gravity sensor 8 (step S2). YES in this step S2
If it is determined that the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 are activated (steps S3 and S4), a control signal for disabling the load limiter 4 is output (step S5). .

If NO is determined in step S2 and it is confirmed that the vehicle is not in a rollover state, the deceleration G detected by the G sensor 7 is set to 3 g (g is a predetermined value). It is determined whether or not a collision accident has occurred due to being equal to or greater than the collision determination value of about (gravity acceleration) (step S).
6) If NO is determined, it is determined that there is no need to execute the operation control of the load limiter 4 and the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6, and the routine returns.

On the other hand, if it is determined YES in step S6 and it is confirmed that a deceleration G of 3 g or more has acted on the vehicle body, that is, that a vehicle collision accident has occurred,
Based on the detection values of the respective sensors, threshold values V1 and L1, which are criteria for determining whether or not to operate the first pretensioner 5, and an operation timing T1 of the first pretensioner 5 are set (step). S7). For example, a threshold value V1 corresponding to the moving speed of the occupant's head and a threshold value L1 corresponding to the moving distance based on the map data stored in the storage means in advance and the detection values of the sensors. ,
The operation timing T1 is read and set.

Next, based on the detected value of the deceleration G,
The moving speed V and the moving distance L of the head of the occupant are calculated (step S8). That is, the value of the deceleration G is integrated by integrating the value of the deceleration G within a time period from the current time when the vehicle has been confirmed to be in the collision state by a predetermined time α (for example, one second before) to the current time. Moving speed V ｛=
{Gdt, (t = −α〜0)} is obtained, and the value of the moving speed V is integrated within the same time to obtain the head moving distance L ｛= 頭部 Vdt, (t = −α−).
0) Find｝.

Thereafter, it is determined whether or not the calculated values of the moving speed V and the moving distance L of the head are equal to or larger than the threshold values V1 and L1 set in step S7 (steps S9 and S10). If NO is determined in either of the steps S9 and S10, it is determined that there is no need to execute the operation control of the first pretensioner 5 because the inertial force acting on the occupant is small. To return.

If YES is determined in each of steps S9 and S10, the direction in which the first pretensioner 5 is operated to tighten the shoulder belt 1 based on the operation timing T1 set in step S3. (Step S11), the actuator 14 of the load limiter 4 is actuated to regulate the pulling-out of the shoulder belt 1 (Step S12), and is disposed outside the occupant seated on the seat. A control signal for deploying the airbag is output (step S13).

In the vehicle occupant protection device for protecting the occupant by the seat belt 3 having the shoulder belt 1 for restraining the occupant's shoulder and the lap belt 2 for restraining the occupant's waist, the vehicle rolls over. Is provided, and a pretensioner 6 is provided on the lap belt 2 side.
When the vehicle is rolled over, the pretensioner 6 is actuated to drive the lap belt 2 in the tightening direction when the vehicle is rolled over. By preventing a gap from being formed between the occupants, the occupant's body can be stably held by the lap belt 2 in the vehicle that has rolled over.

In the above embodiment, the first pretensioner 5 for driving the shoulder belt 1 in the tightening direction is provided on the shoulder belt 1 side, and the second pretensioner 6 for driving the lap belt 2 in the tightening direction is provided on the lap belt. Since the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 are operated when the vehicle rolls over, the shoulder belt 1 and the lap belt 2 are tightened to restrain both the shoulder and the waist of the occupant. Therefore, the occupant's body can be more stably held in the rolled vehicle.

In particular, in the seat belt 3 of the shoulder and waist integrated type in which the shoulder belt 1 and the lap belt 2 are integrally connected, the slack of the shoulder belt 1 may transfer to the lap belt 2. By operating both the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 when the vehicle rolls over as described above, it is possible to prevent the slack of the shoulder belt 1 from affecting the lap belt 2 so that the lap belt 2 is not affected. It is desirable to prevent a gap from being formed between the belt 2 and the occupant's waist.

Further, in the above embodiment, in the vehicle occupant protection device provided with the load limiter 4 for absorbing the collision energy acting on the shoulder belt 1, when the rollover detection means 30 detects that the vehicle has rolled over. In addition, since the load limiter 4 is configured to be in the non-operation state, the first and second pretensioners 5, 6
, And after the seat belt 3 is driven in the tightening direction, the seat belt 3 can be reliably prevented from being pulled out from the load limiter 4. Therefore, it is possible to effectively prevent a situation in which the occupant's holding state becomes unstable due to the seat belt 3 being pulled out from the load limiter 4 when the vehicle rolls over.

In the event of a frontal collision or the like in which the vehicle does not roll over, the load limiter 4 is operated to restrict the shoulder belt 1 from being pulled out. When the shoulder belt 1 is pulled out by applying a pull-out force exceeding a certain value while properly maintaining the posture of the vehicle, the load limiter 4 absorbs the impact energy and exerts an excessive load on the occupant. Can be prevented. In the vehicle occupant protection device in which the load limiter 4 and the first pretensioner 5 are provided at the base end of the shoulder belt 1 and the like, the first pretensioner 5 is not operated when the vehicle rolls over. Load limiter 4
May be configured to be in a non-operating state to prohibit the shoulder belt 1 from being pulled out.

In the above embodiment, when it is confirmed by the collision state detecting means 29 that a vehicle collision has occurred, only the first pretensioner 5 is operated to tighten the shoulder belt 1. Although the example has been described, it is also possible to configure so that both the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 are activated at the time of a vehicle collision. In this case, by driving both the shoulder belt 1 and the lap belt 2 in a tightening direction, the slack of the lap belt 2 is prevented from affecting the shoulder belt 1, and the occupant is further prevented by the shoulder belt 1. Can be effectively protected.

When the above configuration is adopted, the tightening portion of the first pretensioner 5 for tightening the shoulder belt 1 and the tightening portion of the second pretensioner 5 for tightening the lap belt 2 are driven by common driving means. May be configured. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, a tightening portion including the pinion gear 19 of the first pretensioner 5 and a tightening portion including the winding shaft 25 of the second pretensioner 6 are vertically arranged, and both tightening portions are provided. And a gas generator 33 for moving the rack gear 32 from a lower standby position to an upper drive position.

In the case of the above configuration, the first and second pretensioners 5 and 6 are driven substantially simultaneously at the time of a rollover and a collision of the vehicle, so that the shoulder belt 1 and the lap Both the belts 2 can be tightened to effectively hold the occupant. Also,
As shown in the figure, the front end of the rack gear 32 at the standby position is engaged with the winding shaft 25 of the second pretensioner 6 located below, and the rack gear 32 is connected to the first pretensioner located above. 5 pinion gear 1
According to the configuration arranged so as to be separated from the drive unit 9, the winding shaft 18 of the load limiter 4 connected to the pinion gear 19 of the first pretensioner 5 is rotatably supported while the drive means 34 During operation, there is an advantage that the winding shaft 25 of the second pretensioner 6 can be rapidly rotated.

[0041]

As described above, the present invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection device for protecting an occupant by a seat belt having a shoulder belt for restraining the occupant's shoulder and a lap belt for restraining the occupant's waist. , A rollover detecting means for detecting that the vehicle has rolled over, and a pretensioner provided on the lap belt side and driven in a direction to tighten the lap belt when the rollover detection means detects that the vehicle has rolled over. Therefore, when the vehicle rolls over, the pretensioner is operated to drive the lap belt in the tightening direction, thereby preventing a gap from being formed between the lap belt and the occupant's waist. There is an advantage that the occupant's body can be stably held by the lap belt in the rolled-over vehicle.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an embodiment of a vehicle occupant protection device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a specific configuration of a load limiter.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an operation state of a load limiter.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a specific configuration of a first pretensioner.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an operation state of a first pretensioner.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a specific configuration of a second pretensioner.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a locked state of a pinion gear portion of a second pretensioner.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of a control unit.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control operation by the control unit.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view showing another example of the first and second pretensioners.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 shoulder belt 2 lap belt 3 seat belt 4 load limiter 5 first pretensioner 6 second pretensioner 19 pinion gear (tightening part) 25 winding shaft (tightening part) 30 rollover detecting means 34 common driving means

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Satoshi Nishi Kaji 3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Mazda Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A vehicle occupant protection device that protects an occupant with a seat belt including a shoulder belt that restrains an occupant's shoulder and a lap belt that restrains the occupant's waist detects that the vehicle has rolled over. A vehicle provided with a rollover detection means, and a pretensioner provided on the lap belt side and driven in a direction to tighten the lap belt when the rollover detection means detects that the vehicle has rolled over. Occupant protection device. 2. A first pretensioner provided on the shoulder belt side and driven in a direction to tighten the shoulder belt when the vehicle rolls over, and a second pretensioner provided on the lap belt side and driven in a direction to tighten the lap belt. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 1, further comprising a pretensioner. 3. When the vehicle rolls over, the tightening portion of the first pretensioner for tightening the shoulder belt and the tightening portion of the second pretensioner for tightening the lap belt are driven by common driving means. The vehicle occupant protection device according to claim 2, wherein 4. A load limiter comprising: a load limiter configured to absorb collision energy while permitting the seat belt to be pulled out when a pull-out force exceeding a regulation value acts on the seat belt during a vehicle collision. The vehicle occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the load limiter is deactivated when the rollover detection unit detects that the vehicle has rolled over. An occupant protection device for a vehicle.