阅读说明：本技术 车辆用保护装置及车辆 (Vehicle protection device and vehicle ) 是由 梅泽真辉 浅沼宏幸 郡司泰明 伊藤修 于 2019-07-29 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种车辆用保护装置及车辆,能够在保护对象与车辆碰撞时妥当地对保护对象进行保护。在车辆用保护装置(1)中具备：保护装置(2、5),其对与车辆碰撞的保护对象进行保护；测定装置(3),其获取保护对象的图像,并且测定保护对象与车辆之间的距离；和控制装置(6),其基于保护对象是否包含规定的被搭乘物,而使保护装置以不同的方式工作。保护装置优选包含：使气囊在车辆的前方展开的气囊装置(2)、和使设在车辆的前上部的引擎盖移动的弹出装置(5),控制装置在保护对象包含被搭乘物的情况下,不使气囊装置工作而使弹出装置工作,在保护对象不包含被搭乘物的情况下,使气囊装置和弹出装置工作。(The invention provides a vehicle protection device and a vehicle, which can properly protect a protection object when the protection object collides with the vehicle. A vehicle protection device (1) is provided with: protection devices (2, 5) that protect a protection object that collides with a vehicle; a measurement device (3) that acquires an image of the protected object and measures the distance between the protected object and the vehicle; and a control device (6) which causes the protection device to operate in different modes based on whether the protection object contains a specified loaded object. The protection device preferably comprises: the control device does not operate the airbag device but operates the pop-up device when the protection object contains the loaded object, and operates the airbag device and the pop-up device when the protection object does not contain the loaded object.)

1. A vehicle protection device is characterized by comprising:

a protection device that protects a protection object that collides with a vehicle;

a measuring device that acquires an image of the protection object and measures a distance between the protection object and the vehicle; and

and a control device that causes the protection device to operate in different modes based on whether or not the protection target includes a predetermined loaded object.

2. The vehicular protection apparatus according to claim 1,

the protection device includes: an airbag device for deploying an airbag in front of the vehicle, and an ejector device for moving a hood provided in an upper front portion of the vehicle,

the control device operates the airbag device and the pop-up device without operating the airbag device when the protection object includes the loaded object, and operates the airbag device and the pop-up device when the protection object does not include the loaded object.

3. The vehicular protection apparatus according to claim 2,

the control device determines the position of the center of gravity of the object to be protected based on the information from the measurement device,

when the gravity center position falls within the 1 st range, the hood is raised and moved rearward with respect to the ejector,

in the case where the center of gravity position belongs to a2 nd range lower than the 1 st range, the rear portion of the hood is raised with respect to the ejector,

in a case where the barycentric position belongs to a 3 rd range lower than the 2 nd range, the ejector is not operated.

4. A vehicular protection apparatus according to claim 3,

the ejecting device is provided with a motor as a driving source,

the control device predicts a collision between the protection object and the vehicle in advance based on information of the measurement device.

5. A vehicular protection apparatus according to claim 3,

the ejection device has: a front ejection device provided with a gas generator using powder as a drive source; and a rear side ejecting device which is provided with a motor as a driving source and is provided behind the front side ejecting device.

6. The vehicular protection apparatus according to claim 1,

further comprising an acceleration sensor provided at a front end portion of the vehicle and detecting a collision between the vehicle and the protection object,

the protection device is provided with an ejection device which is operated by a gas generating device using gunpowder and moves a hood arranged at the front upper part of the vehicle,

the control device operates the ejection device based on a detection result of the acceleration sensor.

7. A vehicle, characterized in that,

a vehicle protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a vehicle protection device and a vehicle for protecting a protected object such as a pedestrian when the vehicle collides with the protected object.

Background

Conventionally, as a vehicle protection device that reduces an impact on a protection object (a pedestrian or the like) by deploying an airbag when a vehicle collides with the protection object, for example, vehicle protection devices described in patent documents 1 and 2 are known. The vehicle protection device described in patent document 1 prevents a pedestrian from bouncing rearward in the vehicle by deploying an airbag provided with a bouncing prevention mechanism upward from a front bumper at the time of a collision. The damage reduction device described in patent document 2 prevents a pedestrian from falling down by absorbing the impact of the pedestrian with an airbag and a hood (engine hood) that are deployed on a windshield, and then detecting the action of the pedestrian on the hood with a camera to perform acceleration, deceleration, and steering.

Disclosure of Invention

In addition, the object to be protected may be not only a pedestrian but also a person riding on a bicycle, for example. Since a rider of a bicycle or the like has a higher center of gravity than a normal pedestrian, the action of the rider in the case of a collision with a vehicle is different from that of the normal pedestrian. Therefore, if the vehicle protection device is configured only on the assumption of a normal pedestrian, the object to be protected may not be properly protected.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicle protection device and a vehicle that can properly protect a protection object when the protection object collides with the vehicle.

In order to solve the above problem, a vehicle protection device according to the present invention includes: a protection device that protects a protection object that collides with a vehicle; a measuring device that acquires an image of the protected object and measures a distance between the protected object and the vehicle; and a control device that causes the protection device to operate in a different manner based on whether or not the protection target includes a predetermined loaded object.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the object to be protected can be properly protected when the object to be protected collides with the vehicle.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a main portion of an example of a vehicle protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 (a) is a diagram showing a state in which the airbag device operates, and (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the ejector device operates.

Fig. 3 is a control block diagram of the vehicle protection device.

Fig. 4 (a) is a side sectional view of the vehicle in the vicinity of the airbag device when not operated, and (b) is a side sectional view of the vehicle in the vicinity of the airbag device when operated.

Fig. 5 (a) is a schematic side sectional view of the vicinity of the root of the windshield glass where the hood is slid to the rear side by the front and rear pop-up devices, and (b) is a schematic side sectional view of the rear side of the hood being instantaneously raised by the rear pop-up device.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the airbag device.

Fig. 7 (a) is a diagram showing an operation of the airbag device with respect to a pedestrian, and (b) is a diagram showing an operation of the airbag device with respect to a person riding a bicycle.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ejection device.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an operation of the ejector with respect to the protection target whose center of gravity is "high".

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing the operation of the ejector with respect to the protected object at the "middle" center of gravity position.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a state of the ejection device with respect to the object to be protected whose center of gravity position is "low".

Description of the reference numerals

1 protective device for vehicle

2 air bag device (protection device)

Collision predicting and detecting device (measuring device)

5 Pop-up device (protector)

6 control device

11 Engine cover

18 front bumper (front end)

21 air bag

31-34 camera

51 front side eject device

52 rear side eject device

C vehicle

GS1, GS2 and GS3 acceleration sensor

P, P1, P10, P30, P40 protected objects

P12, P32, P42 hitchman

P14, P34, P44 riding goods

Detailed Description

[ Structure of embodiment ]

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

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a main portion of an example of a vehicle protection device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state of a front portion of a vehicle in a normal state. The vehicle protection device of the present embodiment is a device for protecting a pedestrian, a bicycle, or the like that collides with a vehicle. The traveling direction of the vehicle C is "front", the backward direction is "rear", the vertically upward direction is "upper", the vertically downward direction is "lower", and the vehicle width direction is "left" and "right" when viewed from the vehicle C side.

< vehicle C >

First, a vehicle C to which the vehicle protection device 1 is applied will be described.

As shown in fig. 1, the vehicle C to which the vehicle protection device 1 of the present invention is applied may be a passenger vehicle or a working vehicle as long as it is a hood-type automobile having a hood 11 on the front side of the vehicle body, and the vehicle type is not particularly limited. Hereinafter, a passenger car having an engine room in a front portion of a vehicle body will be described as an example of the vehicle C.

The vehicle C includes, for example, a hood 11, a fender 12, a mirror 13, door mirrors 14 and 15, a hood grille 16, a hood edge cover 17, and a front bumper 18 (front end portion). The vehicle C further includes an airbag device 2 (protection device) provided at the lower front side of the hood 11, and pop-up devices 5 (protection devices) provided at the four lower corners of the hood 11.

The airbag device 2 and the ejector device 5 are protection devices that protect pedestrians, riders of bicycles, and the like when the pedestrians, riders, and the like collide with the vehicle C. Here, a pedestrian or the like to be protected is referred to as a "protection target". In the present embodiment, the objects to be protected can be roughly classified into "pedestrians" and "assemblies of persons and objects to be mounted" (hereinafter, sometimes simply referred to as "assemblies"). The object to be carried is, for example, a bicycle, a tricycle, a motorcycle, or the like.

The airbag device 2, the ejector 5, and their control devices (details will be described later) are collectively referred to as a "vehicle protection device 1". The ejector 5 raises the hood 11 when the protection object collides with the vehicle C. Thus, when the protection object collides with the hood 11, the hood 11 deforms to absorb the collision load, thereby absorbing the impact applied to the protection object. The ejector 5 includes a front side ejector 51 and a rear side ejector 52. The front side ejector 51 is disposed in front of the hood 11 and raises the front side of the hood 11. The rear side ejector 52 is disposed on the rear side of the hood 11 and raises the rear side of the hood 11.

The hood 11 includes a hood surface material and a hood frame. Here, the hood surface material is a plate material constituting the upper surface of the illustrated hood 11. The hood stay is a member (not shown) fixed to the lower surface of the hood surface material and supporting the hood surface material from below. The hood surface material is preferably made of a material that can flexibly receive a pedestrian when the vehicle C collides with the pedestrian and the pedestrian gets over the hood 11. More specifically, the hood surface material is preferably formed of a flexible and elastic plate material that is bent and deformed when pressed by a load equal to or greater than a predetermined load.

The fender 12 is disposed on the left and right of the hood 11, and covers the upper side of the front wheel W. The rear view mirror 13 is an indoor rear view mirror provided at the upper front end in the vehicle interior. The door mirrors 14 and 15 are mirrors provided at the front ends of the left and right upper portions of the door. In the vicinity of the front end of the vehicle C, the hood grille 16 takes in outside air from the front end of the vehicle and introduces the outside air into a radiator (not shown). A plurality of substantially plate-shaped air deflectors extending in the vehicle width direction are vertically arranged at appropriate intervals in the hood grille 16. A camera 32 is disposed behind the hood grille 16 with a space therebetween. The front bumper 18 is a plate material disposed at a front end edge of the vehicle C, and is deformed at the time of collision to protect the vehicle C. Three acceleration sensors GS1, GS2, and GS3 are embedded in the front bumper 18.

The hood edge cover 17 is provided between the hood 11 and the hood grille 16. The hood edge cover 17 is a panel member that is pushed up and opened by the deployment of the airbag module 22 disposed on the lower side of the hood edge cover 17. The hood edge cover 17 includes a steel plate or the like extending in the vehicle width direction along the front end portion of the hood 11.

The hood edge cover 17 is pivotally supported so as to be rotatable, and is pushed up by the airbag 21 when the airbag 21 (see fig. 2 (a)) is deployed, and is rotated to release the airbag 21. The mechanism for releasing the hood edge cover 17 may be modified as appropriate.

< vehicle protection device 1>

Fig. 2 (a) is a diagram showing a state during operation of the airbag device 2, and fig. 2 (b) is a diagram showing a state during operation of the ejector 5.

As described above, the airbag device 2 and the ejector device 5 are both components of the vehicle protection device 1, and protect the protection target P such as a pedestrian when the protection target P collides with the vehicle C in accordance with the situation. That is, the airbag device 2 protects the protection object P by deploying (inflating) the airbag 21, for example, as shown in the drawing. The ejector 5 lifts the hood 11 as shown in the drawing, for example, to protect the protection object P when the protection object P collides with the hood 11.

Fig. 3 is a control block diagram of the vehicle protection device 1.

The vehicle protection device 1 includes an airbag device 2, a collision prediction/detection device 3, a vehicle speed sensor 4, acceleration sensors GS1, GS2, GS3, an ejector 5, and a control device 6.

< collision prediction/detection device 3>

The collision prediction/detection device 3 shown in fig. 3 includes cameras 31 to 34, a radar device 36, and a processing unit 38. The radar device 36 is a radar device such as a millimeter wave radar or a laser radar. The processing unit 38 is composed of, for example, a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and controls the cameras 31 to 34 and the radar device 36. The cameras 31 to 34 and the radar device 36 need not be dedicated to the collision prediction/detection device 3, and may be used together with a camera and a radar device used in an Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), for example. The radar device 36 detects the protection object P, detects the distance from the vehicle C to the protection object P, and outputs the result as distance information.

The cameras 31 to 34 capture images of the front of the vehicle C and acquire image information of the front of the vehicle C. Before and after the collision of the vehicle C with the protection object P, the image information includes an image of the protection object P. The cameras 31 to 34 are, for example, infrared cameras, far infrared cameras, CMOS cameras, CCD camera devices, and the like. In particular, when infrared cameras, far-infrared cameras, and the like are used as the cameras 31 to 34, the front of the vehicle C can be clearly imaged even at night when the surroundings are dark. The distance information output from the radar device 36 and the image information output from the cameras 31 to 34 are supplied to the control device 6.

Here, as shown in fig. 1, the radar device 36 is mounted behind the hood grille 16, for example. In addition, the camera 31 is mounted in front of the rear view mirror 13. Thereby, the camera 31 acquires image information of a region in which regions in front of the vehicle C, above the hood 11, in front of the windshield f, and the like are integrated. The camera 32 is mounted behind the hood grille 16, and acquires image information of the front of the vehicle C. The cameras 33 and 34 are disposed in a state in which lenses are exposed from the front surfaces of the left and right door mirrors 14 and 15 so as to be able to acquire image information of the left and right front sides of the vehicle C.

In the example shown in fig. 1, four cameras 31 to 34 are provided in the mirror 13, the hood grille 16, and the door mirrors 14 and 15, but a plurality of cameras may be provided in a plurality of other locations. For example, only one camera 31 may be provided on the mirror 13.

< vehicle speed sensor 4 and acceleration sensors GS 1-GS 3>

The vehicle speed sensor 4 shown in fig. 3 detects the speed of the vehicle C and outputs it as vehicle speed information. The vehicle speed sensor 4 detects the vehicle speed by detecting, for example, the rotation of the wheel W (see fig. 1). As shown in fig. 1, acceleration sensors GS1, GS2, and GS3 are embedded in the front bumper 18. The acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3 detect accelerations applied to these sensors, and output the results as acceleration information. These pieces of acceleration information are output to determine whether or not the protection object P and the vehicle C collide with each other by the control device 6 described later. Acceleration information detected by the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3 and vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 4 are supplied to the control device 6.

Here, as shown in fig. 1, the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3 are provided at three locations, i.e., the left, right, and center portions, inside the front bumper 18. As described above, the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3 are arranged at three locations of the front bumper 18, and thus can detect a collision with the protection object P over the entire area of the front bumper 18.

< control device 6>

In fig. 3, the control device 6 includes a storage unit 60 and a processing unit 61.

The storage unit 60 stores information on templates defining various outline shapes and other appearance features of "pedestrians" and "an assembly of a boarding person and a picked-up object". The template for the pedestrian is referred to as a "pedestrian template", and the template for the aggregate is referred to as an "aggregate template". These templates are used to analyze whether or not the image information from the cameras 31 to 34 includes a protected object.

The Processing Unit 61 includes hardware of a general-purpose computer such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a DSP (digital signal Processor), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and a ROM (Read Only Memory), and stores a control program executed by the CPU, a microprogram executed by the DSP, various data, and the like in the ROM. In fig. 3, the processing unit 61 is internally illustrated as a functional block that functions by a control program, a microprogram, and the like.

That is, the processing unit 61 includes a distance specifying unit 62, a protected object specifying unit 63, a protected object state detecting unit 64, a speed difference specifying unit 65, and a determining unit 66.

The processing unit 61 is supplied with image information from the cameras 31 to 34 of the collision prediction/detection device 3, distance information from the radar device 36, acceleration information from the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3, and vehicle speed information from the vehicle speed sensor 4. The processing unit 61 performs various processes described later based on the supplied information.

The distance specification unit 62 specifies a distance between the vehicle C and the protected object P, that is, a vehicle-to-protected object distance. For example, the distance information supplied from the radar device 36 may be directly used as the distance between the vehicle and the protected object. Further, the distance between the vehicle and the protected object may be calculated by analyzing the parallax image based on the image information simultaneously captured by a plurality of cameras among the cameras 31 to 34.

The protected object identification unit 63 identifies the protected object P based on the image information supplied from the cameras 31 to 34. As described above, the protection object P is any one of "a pedestrian" and "an assembly of a boarding person and a picked-up object". As described above, the storage unit 60 stores the "pedestrian template" and the "aggregate template". The protected object specifying unit 63 has a function of specifying a pedestrian or an aggregate from among objects (objects) included in the image information.

Here, the "object" is a set of pixels that are included in the image information and have an outline. For example, the protected object determination unit 63 recognizes an object having a similar contour shape to a pedestrian template as a pedestrian by referring to the pedestrian template. The protected object specifying unit 63 refers to the aggregate template, and thereby recognizes an object having a similar outline shape to the aggregate template as an aggregate.

The protection object state detection unit 64 specifies the state of the protection object P such as the moving direction and the moving speed of the protection object P. The protection object state detection unit 64 determines the moving direction and the moving speed of the protection object P based on, for example, the difference between the pieces of captured data captured in time series. The protection object state detection unit 64 may determine not only the moving speed and the moving direction of the protection object P before the collision but also the moving speed and the moving direction of the protection object P going up the hood 11 after the collision.

The speed difference determination unit 65 determines, for example, a speed difference (relative speed) between the vehicle C and the protection object P after the collision with the protection object P. When the vehicle C collides with the protection object P, the vehicle C generally decelerates, and the speed decreases, and the protection object P is pushed by the vehicle C, and the speed increases.

The determination unit 66 determines that a collision is predicted and deploys the airbag 21 when the speed difference between the vehicle C and the protection object P determined by the speed difference determination unit 65 is equal to or less than the threshold value. The determination unit 66 determines whether or not the vehicle C collides with the protection object P based on information from the distance determination unit 62 and the protection object state detection unit 64, for example. The determination unit 66 predicts that the vehicle will collide with the protection target P when determining that the vehicle will not avoid collision with the protection target P even if the vehicle is decelerated by the automatic braking function, for example. The determination unit 66 determines that the vehicle C collides with the protection object P when the distance between the vehicle C and the protection object P becomes zero.

The determination unit 66 may determine whether or not the vehicle C collides with the protection object P based on the accelerations detected by the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS 3.

When a collision is predicted or detected, the determination unit 66 sends an activation signal to the inflator 22i, the front side pop-up device 51, and the rear side pop-up device 52 of the airbag device 2 to activate them.

< airbag device 2>

In fig. 1, the airbag device 2 includes an airbag module 22. Here, the airbag module 22 houses the airbag 21 in a folded state (see fig. 2 (a)). Upon receiving an operation signal from the determination unit 66 (see fig. 3) of the control device 6, the airbag device 2 deploys the airbag 21 toward the front of the vehicle C to protect the protection target P, as shown in fig. 2 a.

Fig. 4 (a) is a side sectional view of the vehicle C near the airbag device 2 when not operated, and fig. 4 (b) is a side sectional view of the vehicle C near the airbag device 2 when operated in a modification.

The airbag module 22 is provided on a strength member 23 around a radiator in the vehicle C, and the inflator 22i is provided inside the airbag module 22. As shown in fig. 1, the airbag module 22 is formed to be long in the vehicle width direction in accordance with the shape of the airbag 21 so as to smoothly and largely deploy the airbag 21 in the vehicle width direction.

An air vent hole (not shown) for air suction and exhaust is formed in the airbag 21 so that the airbag 21 is appropriately deflated after deployment. The inflator 22i includes, for example: an ignition device (not shown) electrically connected to the control device 6 (see fig. 3), a gas generating agent such as sodium azide, and a case for housing them. The determination unit 66 (see fig. 3) operates the airbag device 2 when the protection target P is a "pedestrian". That is, an operation signal is output to the inflator 22 i. On the other hand, when the protection object P is an "assembly of a boarding person and a boarding object", the determination unit 66 does not operate the airbag device 2. That is, no operation signal is output to the inflator 22 i. The reason for this will be described later.

When the object P to be protected is a "pedestrian", the determination unit 66 (see fig. 3) supplies an activation signal to the inflator 22i when a collision is predicted or when a collision is detected.

When the determination unit 66 sends an operation signal, the ignition device of the inflator 22i instantaneously burns the gas generating agent. As a result, the inflator 22i generates high-pressure gas, and the airbag 21 is instantaneously inflated as shown in fig. 2 (a). At this time, as described above, the airbag 21 is rotated so as to push up the hood edge cover 17 (see fig. 1), and is inflated forward of the vehicle C. As a modification, as shown in fig. 4 (b), the hood 11 may be slightly opened by the ejector 5, so that a gap G is formed in which the airbag 21 bulges toward the front of the vehicle C.

Instead of the ejector 5, the hood 11 may be unlocked by an electromagnetic hood opener, and the hood 11 may be opened to generate the gap G. By the operation of the airbag device 2, as shown in fig. 4 (b), the airbag 21 is deployed in front of the vehicle C, and the inflated airbag 21 is sandwiched between the vehicle C and the protection target P, thereby mitigating the impact received by the protection target P.

< Ejection apparatus 5>

When the determination unit 66 predicts that the object P to be protected collides with the vehicle C, the ejector 5 shown in fig. 3 raises the hood 11 and increases the movement stroke of the hood 11 as shown in fig. 2 (b). Thus, the ejector 5 increases the deformation space of the hood 11, and improves the shock absorption of the object P to be protected.

Fig. 5 (a) is a schematic side sectional view of the hood 11 being slid to the vicinity of the root of the rear windshield f by the front and rear ejectors 51, 52, and fig. 5 (b) is a schematic side sectional view of the rear of the hood 11 being instantaneously raised by the rear ejector 52.

The ejector 5 is operated by an operation signal from the determination unit 66 when the determination unit 66 of the control device 6 determines that the "protected object P collides with the vehicle C", in this case, one of the 1 st and 2 nd operation modes is selected in the determination unit 66, as shown in fig. 5 (a), the 1 st operation mode is an operation mode in which the front and rear ejectors 51 and 52 are operated to slide the entire hood 11 to the vicinity of the root of the rear windshield f (see an arrow α 1), and, as shown in fig. 5 (b), the 2 nd operation mode is an operation mode in which the rear side of the hood 11 is instantaneously raised (see an arrow α 2).

The driving mechanism of the ejector 5 is not particularly limited, and may be a gas generator such as a motor or a micro-inflator. When the motor is applied as the ejector 5, the movement locus of the hood 11 shown in fig. 5 (a) and (b) can be realized by using the gear and the cam of the reduction mechanism. The cam that slides the entire hood 11 to the vicinity of the root of the rear windshield f as shown in fig. 5 (a) is referred to as the 1 st cam. The cam that raises the rear side of the hood 11 as shown in fig. 5 (b) is referred to as a2 nd cam. The ejection device 5 is provided with the 1 st and 2 nd cams, and by switching between the two, the ejection device 5 can realize any of the operations shown in fig. 5 (a) and (b).

When a motor is applied as the ejector 5, a link may be used instead of the 1 st and 2 nd cams. The link that slides the entire hood 11 to the vicinity of the root of the rear windshield f as shown in fig. 5 (a) is referred to as the 1 st link. The link that raises the rear side of the hood 11 as shown in fig. 5 (b) is referred to as a2 nd link. The ejector 5 is provided with the 1 st and 2 nd links, and by switching between the two, the ejector 5 can realize any of the operations shown in fig. 5 (a) and (b). In the case where the cam or the link is applied to the drive mechanism of the ejector 5 as described above, both the cam and the link may be combined and applied.

[ operation of the embodiment ]

< airbag device control program >

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. As a premise for executing the operation described below, as shown in fig. 1, the hood 11 and the hood edge cover 17 are in a state of being lowered with respect to the vehicle body. The airbag 21 is folded and stored in the airbag module 22.

When an ignition switch (not shown) is turned on by the driver in the vehicle C, the collision prediction/detection device 3 including the cameras 31 to 34 and the radar device 36, the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3, the vehicle speed sensor 4 (see fig. 3), and the like are driven. Thereby, the vehicle protection device 1 can monitor the protection object P and the vehicle protection device 1 is activated.

Fig. 6 is a flowchart of an airbag device control routine executed by the processing unit 61 (see fig. 3) after the vehicle protection device 1 is activated.

In fig. 6, when the process proceeds to step S1, the processing unit 61 acquires image information and distance information in front of the vehicle. That is, the processing unit 61 (see fig. 3) takes in image information from the cameras 31 to 34 of the collision prediction/detection device 3 and takes in distance information from the radar device 36.

Next, when the process proceeds to step S2, the protected object identifying unit 63 (see fig. 3) determines whether or not the protected object P is present. As described above, in the present embodiment, the object to be protected P is "a pedestrian" or "an assembly of a boarding person and an object to be ridden (e.g., a bicycle)". The object-of-protection specifying unit 63 extracts one or more objects from the image information, and compares the extracted objects with the pedestrian template to determine whether or not there is a protection object P, i.e., a "pedestrian".

Here, when there is no protection object P such as a pedestrian, the protection object specifying unit 63 compares the extracted objects with the aggregate template to determine whether or not there is a protection object P such as an "aggregate of a passenger and a passenger". If there is no "pedestrian" or "aggregate" of the protection objects P, the determination in step S2 is no, and the process returns to step S1. And, the loop of steps S1, S2 is repeated until the protected object P is found. If the protected object P is present, the determination in step S2 is yes, and the process proceeds to step S3.

In step S3, the distance determination unit 62 (see fig. 3) takes in vehicle speed information from the vehicle speed sensor 4.

Next, when the process proceeds to step S4, the distance determination unit 62 determines the distance between the vehicle C and the protected object P, that is, the vehicle/protected object distance. As described above, the distance between the vehicle and the protected object may be calculated by directly using the distance information supplied from the radar device 36, or by analyzing the parallax image based on the image information simultaneously captured by a plurality of cameras among the cameras 31 to 34.

Next, when the process proceeds to step S5, the determination unit 66 determines whether it can be predicted that the protected object P will collide with the vehicle C, based on the vehicle speed information acquired in step S3 and the distance between the vehicle and the protected object determined in step S4.

It is performed as follows, for example. First, the determination unit 66 determines no when step S5 is executed for the first time. Then, the process returns to step S1, and the processes of steps S1 to S4 are executed again. Then, when the process again advances to step S5, at this point of time, steps S3, S4 are performed twice or more. Thus, the processing unit 61 acquires the vehicle speed information and the distance between the vehicle and the protected object at the time of two or more times. In this case, the speed difference determination unit 65 (see fig. 3) calculates the speed difference (relative speed) between the vehicle C and the protected object P based on the vehicle speed information and the distance between the vehicle and the protected object acquired at the last time, the vehicle speed information and the distance between the vehicle and the protected object acquired at the previous time, and the elapsed time from the previous time to the last time.

The determination unit 66 determines yes in step S5 when either of the following conditions C1 and C2 is satisfied, and determines no when neither of the conditions is satisfied.

Condition C1: when it is predicted that the protected object P will collide with the vehicle C: this is the case where it is predicted that the protection object P will collide with the vehicle C based on the speed difference (relative speed) calculated by the speed difference determination unit 65.

Condition C2: upon detection of collision of the protective object P with the vehicle C: this is the case where the acceleration information output from any one of the acceleration sensors GS1 to GS3 exceeds a predetermined level (level at which it can be determined that a collision has occurred).

When no is determined in step S5, the process returns to step S1, and the processes of steps S1 to S4 are repeated. On the other hand, when the determination in step S5 is yes, the process proceeds to step S6, and the determination unit 66 determines whether or not the protection object P is an object to operate the inflator 22 i. That is, the determination unit 66 determines "yes" (the object to be operated by the inflator 22 i) when the protection object P is "pedestrian", and determines "no" (the object not to be operated by the inflator 22 i) when the protection object P is "the assembly of the occupant and the object to be occupied".

When it is determined to be yes in step S6, the process advances to step S7. Here, under the control of the determination unit 66, the control device 6 outputs an operation signal to the inflator 22i, and the inflator 22i operates. Fig. 7 (a) shows an operation state of the airbag device 2 with respect to a protection target P1, i.e., a "pedestrian". As shown in the drawing, when the inflator 22i operates, the airbag 21 inflates, and when a protection object P1, which is a "pedestrian", collides with the vehicle C, the airbag 21 absorbs the impact applied to the protection object P1, thereby protecting the protection object P1.

On the other hand, when the determination in step S6 is no, the process proceeds to step S8, and the inflator 22i is in an inoperative state. Fig. 7 (b) shows an operation state of the airbag device 2 with respect to a protection object P10, which is an assembly of a passenger and a loaded object. More specifically, the protection object P10 in fig. 7 (b) is an aggregate of the boarding person P12 and the picked-up object P14. In the illustrated example, the object P14 is a bicycle.

When the inflator 22i is operated in the state shown in the figure, there is a possibility that the airbag 21 will pop the loaded object P14 when the airbag 21 (see fig. 7 (a)) inflates. Further, if the airbag 21 pops the picked-up object P14 open, it is difficult to predict the subsequent operation of the pick-up person P12, and there is a possibility that the pick-up person P12 cannot be protected properly. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the protection object P10 is "an assembly of a passenger and a passenger", the airbag 21 is not inflated (the inflator 22i is not activated).

As described above, according to the vehicle protection device 1 of the present embodiment, the type of the protection target P can be detected in cooperation with the ADAS. Further, since the vehicle protection device 1 can determine whether or not to deploy the airbag 21 according to the type of the protection object P, the protection object P can be properly protected by the airbag device 2, and the harmfulness of the airbag 21 can be suppressed.

< Ejection apparatus control program >

Fig. 8 is a flowchart of an ejector control routine executed by the processing unit 61 (see fig. 3) after the vehicle protection device 1 is activated.

Since steps S11 through S15 of fig. 8 are the same as steps S1 through S5 of fig. 6, description is omitted.

If the determination unit 66 (see fig. 3) determines "yes" in step S15, that is, if the determination unit determines "the protected object P may collide with the vehicle C", the process proceeds to step S16.

In step S16, the determination unit 66 calculates the barycentric position (height from the road surface) of the protection object P, and classifies the barycentric position into any one of "high" (1 st range), "medium" (2 nd range), and "low" (3 rd range). Then, the determination unit 66 determines whether or not the center of gravity of the object to be protected P is "high" based on the classification result. For example, a total of four values of the predetermined heights Ha1 and Ha2 (where Ha 1> Ha2) are determined for "pedestrian" and the predetermined heights Hb1 and Hb2 (where Hb 1> Hb2) are determined for "aggregate of boarding person and object to be boarded". When the protection object P is a "pedestrian", the following classification may be made: the gravity center position is "high" when it is Ha1 or more, "medium" when it is smaller than Ha1 and equal to or larger than Ha2, and "low" when it is smaller than Ha 2.

Similarly, when the protection objects P are an aggregate, the protection objects P may be classified as follows: the "high" position is at least Hb1, the "medium" position is at least Hb1 and at least Hb2, and the "low" position is at least Hb 2. When it is determined in step S16 that "yes" (center of gravity position "high"), the process advances to step S17.

In step S17, the determination unit 66 operates each motor of the front side ejector 51 and the rear side ejector 52. Thereby, as shown in fig. 9, the hood 11 supported by the support member 11s is lifted, and the hood 11 is slid to the vicinity of the root of the windshield f on the rear side. In the illustrated example, the protection object P30 is an aggregate of a boarding person P32 and a picked-up object P34, and the picked-up object P34 is a racing bicycle with a relatively high seat. In a state where the rider P32 rides on the riding object P34, which is a racing bicycle, the center of gravity of the protected object P30 becomes relatively high. Here, even if the vehicle C collides with the protection object P30 and the occupant P32 is thrown out as shown in the drawing, the head of the occupant P32 can be brought into contact with the hood 11 sliding to the vicinity of the base of the rear windshield f to protect the occupant P32.

In addition, when the object to be protected is a "pedestrian" and the center of gravity position is "high", step S17 is also executed. In this case, the front side ejector 51 and the rear side ejector 52 also slide the hood 11 to the vicinity of the root of the rear windshield f as shown in fig. 9. In the case of a pedestrian with a high center of gravity, the pedestrian is often an adult with a relatively high height. In this case, the head of a pedestrian of relatively high height can be protected by bringing the hood 11 into contact with the head by the processing of step S17.

When the determination is made in step S16 as "no" (the center of gravity position is not "high"), the process proceeds to step S18, and the determination unit 66 determines whether or not the center of gravity position of the protection object P is "medium". When it is determined here to be yes, the process proceeds to step S19.

In step S19, the determination unit 66 operates the motor of the rear side eject device 52 while suppressing the operation of the front side eject device 51.

That is, in step S19, the front side eject device 51 may not operate at all, or may operate only at a distance shorter than step S17. Thereby, as shown in fig. 10, the rear side of the hood 11 supported by the support member 11s is lifted. In the illustrated example, the protection object P40 is an aggregate of a boarding person P42 and a boarding object P44, and the boarding object P44 is a shopping bicycle with a relatively low seat. Thus, when the center of gravity of the loaded item P44 is "middle", the head of the rider P42 can be protected by being in contact with the rear side of the hood 11.

If the object to be protected is a "pedestrian" and the center of gravity position is "middle", step S19 is also executed. In this case, the rear side ejector 52 also lifts the rear side of the hood 11 as shown in fig. 10. In the case of a pedestrian and the center of gravity position is "middle", the pedestrian is often an adult with a relatively low height. In this case, the head of a pedestrian of relatively low height can be protected by contacting the rear side of the hood 11 by the processing of step S19.

In addition, when it is determined as no in step S18 (the center of gravity position is "low"), the process proceeds to step S20. In this case, the object to be protected is a "pedestrian" and is a physical constitution close to a young child. In this case, since there is no effect even if the hood 11 is lifted, the front side ejector 51 and the rear side ejector 52 are not operated. Fig. 11 shows a state (non-operating state) of the ejector 5 for a pedestrian P5, a young child.

As described above, according to the configuration of the ejector 5 in the present embodiment, the amount of movement of the hood 11 can be adjusted by the front side ejector 51 and the rear side ejector 52. Further, since the operation of the hood 11 is controlled in accordance with the position of the center of gravity of the object P in cooperation with the ADAS, it is possible to achieve protection in accordance with the object P when the object P collides with the vehicle C.

[ Effect of the embodiment ]

As described above, according to the vehicle protection device (1) of the present embodiment, the control device (6) operates the protection devices (2, 5) in different manners based on whether or not the protection object (P) includes a predetermined loaded object. Thus, the protection devices (2, 5) can protect the object (P) when the object (P) collides with the vehicle (C).

The protection devices (2, 5) include an airbag device (2) for deploying an airbag (21) in front of the vehicle and an ejector device (5) for moving a hood (11) provided at the front upper portion of the vehicle, and the control device (6) operates the ejector device (5) without operating the airbag device (2) when the protection object (P) includes the loaded object (P14, P34, P44), and operates the airbag device (2) and the ejector device (5) when the protection object (P) does not include the loaded object (P14, P34, P44). Thus, when the protection object (P) includes the loaded object (P14, P34, P44), the airbag device (2) can be prevented from bouncing off the loaded object, and the loaded person can be properly protected.

The control device (6) determines the center of gravity position of the object to be protected (P) based on the information from the measurement device (3), and when the center of gravity position falls within a1 st range (high), the control device raises the hood (11) and moves the hood rearward with respect to the ejection device (5), when the center of gravity position falls within a2 nd range (middle) that is lower than the 1 st range (high), the control device raises the rear portion of the hood (11) with respect to the ejection device (5), and when the center of gravity position falls within a 3 rd range (low) that is lower than the 2 nd range (middle), the control device does not operate the ejection device (5). Thus, the ejection device (5) can properly protect the protected object (P) according to the position of the center of gravity of the protected object (P).

The pop-up device (5) is provided with a motor as a drive source, and the control device (6) predicts a collision between the protected object (P) and the vehicle in advance based on information from the measurement device (3). Thus, the pop-up device (5) can be driven before the protection object (P) actually collides with the vehicle (C).

The ejection device (5) further comprises: a front ejection device (51) which is provided with a gas generating device using gunpowder as a driving source; and a rear side ejecting device (52) which is provided with a motor as a driving source and is arranged at the rear side of the front side ejecting device (51). Thus, the front part of the hood (11) which is predicted to collide with the protected object (P) early can be driven more early.

The vehicle protection device (1) is further provided with acceleration sensors (GS 1-GS 3) that are provided at the front end (18) of the vehicle (C) and that detect a collision between the vehicle (C) and the protected object (P), the protection devices (2, 5) are provided with a pop-up device (5) that is activated by a gas generation device using explosive and that moves a hood (11) provided at the front upper portion of the vehicle, and the control device (6) activates the pop-up device (5) based on the detection results of the acceleration sensors (GS 1-GS 3). Thus, the protection devices (2, 5) can be operated according to the detection results of the acceleration sensors (GS 1-GS 3).

[ modified examples ]

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. The above-described embodiments are merely illustrative for easily understanding the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to having all the configurations described. Further, other configurations may be added to the configuration of the above embodiment, and a part of the configuration may be replaced with another configuration. In addition, the control lines and information lines shown in the drawings show control lines and information lines which are considered necessary for the description, and do not necessarily show all the control lines and information lines required for the product. It is also contemplated that virtually all structures may be interconnected. Modifications of the above embodiment are possible as follows.

(1) Since the hardware of the processing unit 61 in the above-described embodiment can be realized by a general computer, the programs and the like shown in fig. 6 and 8 may be stored in a storage medium or distributed via a transmission path.

(2) The processes shown in fig. 6 and 8 are described as software processes using programs in the above embodiment, but some or all of them may be replaced with hardware processes using ASICs (Application Specific integrated circuits), FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), or the like.

(3) In the above embodiment, the front and rear pop-up devices 51 and 52 are driven by the motor, but they may be driven by a gas generator using an explosive, and the hood 11 may be raised in accordance with the position of the center of gravity of the object P to be protected.

(4) Further, the drive mechanisms of the front and rear ejectors 51, 52 may be different. For example, the front side ejector 51 may be driven by a gas generator using gunpowder since it first comes into contact with the object to be protected, and the rear side ejector 52 may be driven by an actuator using a motor since it comes into contact with the object to be protected. In this way, the configuration of the ejector 5 can be made to have a degree of freedom.

(5) In the above embodiment, the airbag device 2 and the ejector 5 are independently controlled by separate programs (fig. 6 and 8), but both may be controlled simultaneously by a common program.

(6) The above embodiment is configured such that the airbag 21 pushes up the hood edge cover 17 when the airbag 21 is deployed. In the modification shown in fig. 4 (b), the hood 11 is slightly opened when the airbag 21 is deployed. However, a hole for deployment may be provided in the hood 11 in advance, and the airbag 21 may be deployed through the hole without raising the hood 11. Alternatively, the deployment hole may be covered with a low-strength cover, and the airbag 21 may be deployed from the hole by opening the cover.