阅读说明：本技术 行人保护装置 (Pedestrian protection device ) 是由 成田宗太郎 于 2019-07-12 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种行人保护装置,其具备：碰撞预测部,其对车辆向车辆前方的行人(100)的碰撞进行预测；格栅(14),其被配置于所述车辆的前表面上并向后上倾斜,并且,该格栅以其上端部能够向前方推出的方式被安装于车辆上；可动机构,其在通过所述碰撞预测部而预测到了向所述行人(100)的碰撞的情况下,以使所述格栅(14)的上端部的前方推出量与下端部的前方推出量相比而较大的方式来移动所述格栅(14)。(The invention provides pedestrian protection devices, which include a collision prediction unit that predicts a collision of a vehicle with a pedestrian (100) in front of the vehicle, a grille (14) that is disposed on a front surface of the vehicle and is tilted rearward and that is attached to the vehicle such that an upper end portion thereof can be pushed forward, and a moving mechanism that moves the grille (14) such that a forward pushing amount of the upper end portion of the grille (14) is greater than a forward pushing amount of the lower end portion thereof when a collision with the pedestrian (100) is predicted by the collision prediction unit.)

1, A pedestrian protection device, comprising:

a collision prediction unit that predicts a collision of a vehicle with a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle;

a grille that is disposed on a front surface of the vehicle and is inclined rearward, and that is attached to the vehicle such that an upper end portion thereof can be pushed out forward;

and a moving mechanism that moves the grille so that a forward pushed amount of an upper end portion of the grille is larger than a forward pushed amount of a lower end portion of the grille when a collision with the pedestrian is predicted by the collision prediction unit.

2. Pedestrian protection arrangement according to claim 1,

the grill is swingably attached to the vehicle so that an inclination angle of the grill can be changed,

the movable mechanism swings the grill to push the upper end portion of the grill forward.

3. Pedestrian protection arrangement according to claim 2,

the grille is swingable about a shaft that is provided below an upper end portion of the grille and is fixed to the vehicle.

4. Pedestrian protection arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 3,

the movable mechanism moves the grille in a range in which an upper end portion of the grille does not protrude forward relative to a front end of the vehicle.

5., the pedestrian protection device of any of claims 1 to 4,

the collision predicting section determines the physique of the pedestrian,

the movable mechanism changes the supporting force of the movable mechanism to the grille according to the physique of the pedestrian.

6. Pedestrian protection arrangement according to claim 5,

the movable mechanism is provided behind the center of the grille in the vehicle width direction.

7., the pedestrian protection device of any of claims 1 to 5,

the movable mechanism is disposed behind a vehicle width direction end portion of the grille.

8. The pedestrian protection apparatus of any of claims 1-7, further comprising:

a cover connected to an upper end of the grating and extending in a substantially horizontal direction;

and a cover raising mechanism that raises the cover upward in conjunction with the forward movement of the upper end of the grille.

9. Pedestrian protection arrangement according to claim 8,

the hood pop-up mechanism raises the hood to the same height as the upper end of the grill that has moved to the front.

10. Pedestrian protection arrangement according to claim 8 or 9,

the hood pop-up mechanism raises the hood upward at the same time as or after the start of the movement of the upper end portion of the grill.

11. A pedestrian protection arrangement as claimed in any one of claims wherein,

the movable mechanism includes a link mechanism in which three arms are link-coupled to each other in a triangular manner,

the three arms are provided with:

an th arm extending from near a lower end to near an upper end of the grille at a back of the grille;

a second arm that is coupled to a lower end of the th arm and extends in a vehicle front-rear direction;

a third arm which is connected to an upper end of the th arm and a rear end of the second arm and which changes an inclination angle of the th arm by extending.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to pedestrian protection devices for protecting a pedestrian in front of a vehicle when the vehicle collides with the pedestrian.

Background

In recent years, as the ring of pedestrian protection, there has been disclosed a technique in which a state around a vehicle is detected by a sensor or the like, and when a collision with the vehicle of a pedestrian is predicted based on the detection result, a part or all of of a grille is moved forward of the vehicle by an actuator.

For example, patent document 1 discloses a technique of moving a grille disposed above a bumper in a front portion of a vehicle in parallel with a vehicle front direction when a collision of the vehicle with a pedestrian is predicted. According to this technique, the grille can support a pedestrian as well as the bumper. As a result, it is possible to effectively prevent the input to the lower body of the pedestrian from locally increasing.

However, in the case of a configuration in which the entire grille is moved in parallel forward as in patent document 1, only portions of the grille support the pedestrian due to the attitude of the grille, for example, in the case where the grille is tilted upward rearward, the lower end of the grille naturally protrudes to the forefront.

Prior art documents

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2007-320530

Disclosure of Invention

Therefore, in this example, kinds of pedestrian protection devices capable of more reliably protecting pedestrians are disclosed.

The pedestrian protection device disclosed in the present specification is characterized by comprising: a collision prediction unit that predicts a collision of a vehicle with a pedestrian ahead of the vehicle; a grille that is disposed on a front surface of the vehicle and is inclined rearward, and that is attached to the vehicle such that an upper end portion thereof can be pushed out forward; and a moving mechanism that moves the grille so that a forward pushed amount of an upper end portion of the grille is larger than a forward pushed amount of a lower end portion of the grille when a collision with the pedestrian is predicted by the collision prediction unit.

According to such a configuration, the amount of protrusion of the grille from the front end of the vehicle can be suppressed as compared with the conventional technique in which the entire grille is moved in parallel forward. Further, since the posture of the grille can be brought close to the collision region of the pedestrian substantially in parallel, the pedestrian can be contacted over a larger surface, and the local concentration of the load can be reduced. As a result, the pedestrian can be protected more reliably.

In this case, the grill may be attached to the vehicle so as to be swingable so that an inclination angle thereof can be changed, and the movable mechanism may swing the grill so that an upper end portion of the grill is pushed forward.

By adopting a structure in which the grill is swung, the amount of forward push of the upper end portion of the grill can be made larger than the amount of forward push of the lower end portion with a simple structure.

In this case, the grille may be swingable about a shaft that is provided below an upper end portion thereof and that is fixed to the vehicle.

By setting the swing shaft lower than the upper end portion of the grill, the amount of forward push of the upper end portion of the grill can be made larger than the amount of forward push of the lower end portion of the grill.

Further, the movable mechanism may move the grille in a range in which an upper end of the grille does not protrude forward relative to a front end of the vehicle.

According to this configuration, the grille does not protrude forward of the front end of the vehicle, and therefore unnecessary collision with a pedestrian can be prevented.

In addition, the collision predicting unit may determine a physique of the pedestrian, and the movable mechanism may change a supporting force of the movable mechanism to the grill according to the physique of the pedestrian.

Depending on the physical constitution of the pedestrian, the collision site (leg, abdomen, chest, head, etc.) changes. In addition, depending on the location of the collision, the desired support force of the grille changes. Therefore, the pedestrian can be protected more appropriately by changing the support force of the grille according to the physique of the pedestrian.

In this case, the movable mechanism may be disposed behind the center of the grille in the vehicle width direction.

The pedestrian is liable to contact with the vicinity of the vehicle width direction center in the grille. By disposing the movable mechanism that changes the support force in the vicinity of the center in this manner, the support force at the collision site of the pedestrian (i.e., the vehicle width direction center of the grille) can be maintained at the support force set by the movable mechanism, and the pedestrian can be protected more appropriately.

Further, the movable mechanism may be disposed behind an end portion of the grille in the vehicle width direction.

The pedestrian is liable to contact with the vicinity of the vehicle width direction center in the grille. By providing a relatively hard movable mechanism near the end portion while avoiding the vicinity of the center, the center of the grill can be appropriately bent at the time of collision to absorb collision energy.

Further, the present invention may further include: a cover connected to an upper end of the grating and extending in a substantially horizontal direction; and a cover raising mechanism that raises the cover upward in conjunction with the movement of the grille in the forward direction.

With this configuration, even when the grille is moved and erected, the height difference between the upper end of the grille and the upper surface of the hood can be reduced, and the load of a pedestrian falling over to the hood side can be reduced.

In this case, the hood pop-up mechanism may raise the hood to the same height as the upper end of the grille that has moved forward.

With such a configuration, the difference in height between the upper end of the grille and the upper surface of the cover can be substantially eliminated, and the load of a pedestrian falling over to the cover side can be further reduced.

Further, the flip-up hood mechanism may raise the hood upward at the same time as or after the start of the movement of the upper end portion of the grille.

With such a configuration, the grille, which collides with the pedestrian earlier than the cover, can be easily moved at the same time or earlier than the cover, and therefore the pedestrian can be protected more reliably.

The movable mechanism may include a link mechanism that links and couples three arms to each other in a triangular shape, and the three arms may include an th arm that extends from near a lower end of the grille to near an upper end thereof behind the grille, a second arm that is coupled to a lower end of the th arm and extends in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and a third arm that is coupled to an upper end of the th arm and a rear end of the second arm and extends to change the inclination angle of the th arm.

With such a configuration, since a member extending in the vehicle front-rear direction is not required, the dimension of the movable mechanism in the vehicle front-rear direction can be reduced, and the degree of freedom of installation can be improved.

According to the pedestrian protection apparatus disclosed in the present specification, the amount of protrusion of the grille from the front end of the vehicle can be suppressed as compared with the conventional art in which the entire grille is moved in parallel forward. Further, since the pedestrian can approach the collision portion substantially in parallel with the grille by setting the attitude of the grille to the upright attitude, the grille can contact the pedestrian over a larger surface, and the concentration of local load can be reduced. As a result, the pedestrian can be protected more reliably.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a vehicle mounted with a pedestrian protection apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a front portion of a vehicle on which the pedestrian protection apparatus is mounted.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the front of a vehicle on which the pedestrian protection apparatus is mounted.

Fig. 4 shows examples of the movable mechanism.

Fig. 5A is a diagram of another example of the movable mechanism.

Fig. 5B is a diagram of another example of the movable mechanism.

Fig. 6A is a diagram showing examples of the spreader bar.

Fig. 6B is a view showing a state in which the stretcher bar is stretched.

Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the collision predicting unit.

Fig. 8 is a side view showing an appearance of swinging the grill and popping up the cover.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the pedestrian protection process.

Fig. 10 is a diagram illustrating a difference in physique of a pedestrian.

Fig. 11A is a diagram showing another examples of the expansion bar.

Fig. 11B is a cross-sectional view a-a of fig. 11A.

Fig. 12A is a view showing a state in which both the advancing-retreating cylinder and the inside advancing-retreating cylinder are extended.

Fig. 12B is a view showing a state in which only the inner advancing-retreating cylinder is extended.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing another flow of the pedestrian protection process.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, the structure of the pedestrian protection apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a front portion of a vehicle 10 mounted with a pedestrian protection apparatus. Fig. 2 is a schematic plan view of the vehicle 10, and fig. 3 is a schematic side view of the vehicle 10. A bumper 12 extending in the vehicle width direction is provided at the front of the vehicle 10. The bumper 12 is made of resin or the like. The bumper 12 of the present example protrudes forward from the periphery, and the front end surface thereof is slightly inclined so as to be located rearward as it goes upward. A line L1 in fig. 3 indicates the foremost end of the bumper 12, and a line L2 indicates a line extending upward from the front end surface of the bumper 12.

A grill 14 is provided above the bumper 12. A plurality of openings are formed in the grill 14, and the radiator is cooled by outside air introduced through the openings. In this example, the grille 14 is inclined upward toward the rear, and its upper end reaches the front end of an engine hood (hereinafter simply referred to as "hood") 16. In other words, in the present example, the grille 14 and the cover 16 are configured in a connected manner. The grille 14 is attached to the vehicle so that an upper end portion thereof can be pushed forward. More specifically, the grill 14 is fixed to the vehicle near the lower end thereof (i.e., below the upper end of the grill 14), and is attached so as to be swingable about a support shaft R extending in the vehicle width direction so that the inclination angle thereof can be changed. A movable mechanism (not shown) for swinging the grill 14 is provided immediately behind the grill 14, and the movable mechanism will be described in detail later.

The cover 16 is a member that covers an upper opening of a power unit room (also referred to as an engine room), and extends in a substantially horizontal direction. The cover 16 can be opened and closed according to an instruction from a user. As described later, the cover 16 is attached so as to be able to be sprung up in conjunction with the movement (swing) of the grill 14. A pop-up mechanism (hereinafter, simply referred to as "PU mechanism", not shown) for raising the cover 16 upward is disposed below the cover 16.

The structure of the moving mechanism is not particularly limited as long as the grating 14 can be moved so that the amount of forward push of the upper end portion of the grating 14 is larger than the amount of forward push of the lower end portion. Therefore, for example, the movable mechanism 18 may be configured to push the vicinity of the upper end of the grill 14 forward by the extension rod 22 as shown in fig. 4.

As another mechanism, the movable mechanism 18 may be a link mechanism in which three arms 24, 26, 28 are link-coupled to each other as shown in fig. 5A and 5B, and in this case, the link mechanism includes an th arm 24 coupled to the vicinity of the lower end and the vicinity of the upper end of the grille 14, a second arm 26 coupled to the lower end of the th arm 24 by a link, and a third arm 28 coupled to the upper end of the th arm 24 and the rear end of the second arm 26 by a link, the third arm 28 is an extension rod 22 that is extendable in the axial direction thereof and is variable in overall length, and the shape of the link mechanism is changed by extending the third arm 28 (extension rod 22), so that the grille 14 can be changed from an inclined posture (posture of fig. 5A) in which the upper end portion of the grille 14 is inclined upward from the rear side to an upright posture (posture of fig. 5B) in which the amount of forward movement of the upper end portion of the grille 14 is larger than the amount of forward movement of the lower end.

Since such a link mechanism can be configured as units independent of other members, handling during manufacturing of the vehicle 10 is facilitated, and in the case of the link mechanism, since it is not necessary to extend the structural members in the vehicle front-rear direction, the vehicle front-rear direction dimension can be reduced.

The PU mechanism is not limited as long as it is a member capable of pushing up the cover 16 as in the movable mechanism 18, and may be pushed up by a single expansion lever or a link mechanism including an expansion lever, for example.

Further, the structure of the extendable rod used in the movable mechanism 18 and the PU mechanism is not particularly limited, and therefore, the extendable rod may be, for example, a rod that is advanced and retracted by a motor and a screw that is rotationally driven by the motor, or a mechanism that is advanced and retracted by a hydraulic cylinder or a pneumatic cylinder, as another aspect, the extendable rod may be configured by the biasing force of a solenoid and a spring, fig. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing examples of the extendable rod, in this case, the advancing and retracting mechanism of the extendable rod includes a hollow outer cylinder 30 and an advancing and retracting cylinder 32 that can be pushed inside the outer cylinder 30, the advancing and retracting cylinder 32 or a rod (not shown) coupled to the advancing and retracting cylinder 32 functions as the extendable rod, the advancing and retracting cylinder 32 is biased in the pushing direction by a spring 36, a flange 34 that protrudes outward is connected to the advancing and retracting cylinder 32, and a wire winding 38 that can be wound by a motor (not shown) or the like is connected to the advancing and retracting cylinder 32.

Two plungers 40f, 40r are provided around the outer cylinder 30 so as to be able to advance and retreat in the radial direction with a gap therebetween in the axial direction. The plungers 40r and 40f can be retracted in the radial direction of the outer cylinder 30 by the electromagnetic action of the solenoids. Further, if the energization of the solenoid is released, the plungers 40f and 40r are pushed out in the radial direction of the outer tube 30 by the biasing force of the springs.

In the state where the advancing-retreating cylinder 32 is retreated, when the rear plunger 40r is pushed out in the radial direction, the rear plunger 40r engages with the flange 34 to restrict the pushing-out of the advancing-retreating cylinder 32. at this time, as shown in fig. 6A, the advancing-retreating cylinder 32 is advanced by the biasing force of the spring 36 when the rear plunger 40r is retreated in the radial direction by the electromagnetic action of the solenoid and the engagement of the rear plunger 40r with the flange 34 is released, in the state where the advancing-retreating cylinder 32 is completely advanced, when the front plunger 40f is pushed out in the radial direction by the electromagnetic action of the solenoid, as shown in fig. 6B, the rear end of the advancing-retreating cylinder 32 engages with the front plunger 40f, and accordingly, the rearward movement of the advancing-retreating cylinder 32 is restricted, and when the pushed-out cylinder 32 is desired to be retreated by the plunger , the winding wire 38 may be wound in the state where both the front plunger 40f and the rear plunger 40r are retreated in the radial direction.

The position and number of the movable mechanisms 18 are not particularly limited as long as the movable mechanisms 18 can swing the grill 14 so that the upper end portion of the grill 14 can move forward, and therefore, the movable mechanisms 18 may be disposed at the vehicle width direction center of the grill 14 (the position P1 in fig. 2) or may be disposed at the vehicle width direction end portions of the grill 14 (the position P2 or P3 in fig. 2) as another mode, the number of the movable mechanisms 18 may be 1 or 2 or more, and similarly, the position and number of the PU mechanism are not particularly limited as long as the hood 16 can be lifted upward, and the positions P4 and P5 in fig. 2 are examples of the disposition of the PU mechanism.

The vehicle 10 is also provided with a collision prediction unit 41, and the collision prediction unit 41 predicts a collision of the vehicle 10 with the pedestrian 100. Fig. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the collision predicting unit 41. The collision predicting unit 41 includes: a plurality of sensors 42, 44, 46 that detect the state of the vehicle 10 and the surroundings of the vehicle; and a calculation unit 48 that predicts the presence or absence of a collision based on the detection results obtained by the sensors 42, 44, and 46. The calculation unit 48 physically includes a CPU and a memory, and is, for example, an ECU (electronic control unit) mounted on the vehicle 10. The CPU executes arithmetic processing, and the memory stores various data and programs.

Although the type and number of sensors for detecting the state of the vehicle 10 and the vehicle periphery are not particularly limited, in the present example, the image sensor 42, the radar sensor 44, and the load sensor 46 are provided as sensors for collision prediction. The image sensor 42 is a device that images the periphery of the vehicle 10, and is, for example, a CCD camera or the like. In order to obtain parallax information, it is preferable that the image sensors 42 be provided in a stereoscopic arrangement in which two image sensors 42 are provided with an interval in the stereoscopic vehicle width direction. Based on the image data acquired by the two image sensors 42, the distance to the object and the relative speed and direction with respect to the object are detected, for example, by the principle of triangulation. The image sensor 42 is provided near a front side interior mirror, for example (see fig. 2).

The radar sensor 44 emits a detection wave and detects the distance to the object and the relative speed and direction with respect to the object based on the reflected wave that hits and reflects the object, and the detection wave emitted by the radar sensor 44 may be any of an optical wave (for example, a laser wave), an electric wave (for example, a millimeter wave), an acoustic wave (for example, an ultrasonic wave), or a combination thereof, and the radar sensor 44 is installed, for example, on the back side of the grating 14 (see fig. 2).

The load sensor 46 detects the collision load of the bumper 12. Such load sensors 46 are embedded in the bumper 12 at predetermined intervals, for example (see fig. 2). Alternatively, an acceleration sensor may be provided instead of the load sensor 46, or an acceleration sensor may be provided in addition to the load sensor 46, and the collision load may be calculated based on the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor.

The calculation unit 48 predicts and detects a collision of the pedestrian 100 with the vehicle 10 based on the information detected by the sensors 42, 44, and 46. For example, the presence or absence of a pedestrian in the vicinity of the vehicle 10 is determined based on the detection results of the image sensor 42 and the radar sensor 44, and if a pedestrian is present, the distance to the pedestrian, the speed and the direction of the pedestrian are calculated. Next, the calculation unit 48 determines whether or not a collision with a pedestrian can be avoided based on the calculated distance, relative speed, direction, and the like. When determining that the collision with the pedestrian cannot be avoided, the calculation unit 48 drives the movable mechanism 18 and the PU mechanism 20 to reduce the load on the pedestrian 100. After the movable mechanism 18 and the PU mechanism 20 are driven, the arithmetic unit 48 determines whether or not the collision with the pedestrian 100 actually occurs, based on the detection result obtained by the load sensor 46.

Fig. 8 is a side view showing a state in which the movable mechanism 18 and the PU mechanism 20 swing the grill 14 and spring up the cover 16, as shown in fig. 8, when a collision with the pedestrian 100 is predicted, the arithmetic unit 48 drives the movable mechanism 18 to swing the grill 14 so that the upper end thereof moves forward, the swing is centered on the support shaft R set in the vicinity of the lower end of the grill 14, and therefore the lower end of the grill 14 hardly moves, and is a state in which the entire grill 14 changes from the inclined posture toward the rear to the upright posture standing substantially vertically, in other words, the grill 14 is pushed out to the substantially same front-rear direction position as the front end surface of the bumper 12 and becomes a posture substantially parallel to the leg of the pedestrian 100, and as a result, the leg of the pedestrian 100 can be supported with a large area by substantially the entire face of the grill 14 as well as the front end surface of the bumper 12, and accordingly, the input to the lower half of the pedestrian 100 can be effectively prevented from being locally increased.

In addition, although the preferred swing angle of the grille 14 at this time varies depending on the shape of the grille 14 and the bumper 12, the physique of the pedestrian 100 who collides, and the like, it is at least preferred that the grille 14 is swung within a range not exceeding the line L1, and therefore, in the example of fig. 3, it is preferred that the swing is performed within a range not exceeding the line L1. by adopting such a configuration, even if the grille 14 is swung to support the pedestrian 100, the entire length of the vehicle 10 is not increased, that is, in the case where the grille 14 is moved forward than the foremost end of the vehicle 10 (in the case where the entire length of the vehicle 10 is increased) in accordance with the swing of the grille 14, there is a possibility of an unnecessary collision that the grille 14 collides with the pedestrian 100 who does not originally collide, because the grille 14 is moved forward, and further , as in the present example, it is possible to surely prevent such an unnecessary collision as long as the grille 14 is swung within a range where the entire length of the vehicle 10 is not increased.

When the front end surface of the bumper 12 is inclined or curved in the vertical direction, it is preferable that the grill 14 is swung within a range not exceeding a line extending upward from the front end surface of the bumper 12. Therefore, in the example of fig. 3, it is preferable that the grill 14 is swung within a range not exceeding the line L2. According to this configuration, the pedestrian 100 can be cooperatively supported by both the front end surface of the bumper 12 and the front surface of the grille 14.

In the present example, as shown in fig. 8, when the grill 14 is swung, the cover 16 is sprung upward in conjunction with the forward movement of the upper end portion of the grill 14 (the swing of the grill 14). With such a configuration, the difference in height between the upper end of the grille 14 and the upper surface of the hood 16 can be reduced, and the pedestrian 100 falling over the hood 16 can be protected appropriately. That is, when the grill 14 in the inclined posture is swung to the upright posture in which it becomes substantially vertical, the upper end of the grill 14 moves upward, and a height difference from the upper surface of the cover 16 is generated. The larger the difference in height, the larger the load applied to the pedestrian 100 falling down to the hood side. In addition, if there is a difference in level between the upper end of the grill 14 and the hood 16, the upper end of the grill 14 may sink into the body of the pedestrian 100, thereby adding a localized load to the pedestrian 100. Therefore, in this example, when the grill 14 is swung, the cover 16 is popped up in conjunction with the swing. In this case, although the amount of the hood 16 to be raised is not particularly limited, it is preferable that the hood 16 be raised to a height substantially equal to the upper end of the grill 14 in the upright position.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the flow of the pedestrian protection process. The arithmetic unit 48 determines the presence or absence of the pedestrian 100 based on the detection values of the various sensors 42, 44, 46 (S12). In the case where there is no pedestrian 100, the process returns to step S12. When the pedestrian 100 is present, the calculation unit 48 calculates the distance to the pedestrian 100, the relative speed, and the relative direction based on the detection values of the various sensors 42, 44, and 46 (S14). Then, the arithmetic unit 48 determines whether or not the collision with the pedestrian 100 can be avoided based on the calculation results (S16). If it can be determined that avoidance is possible, the arithmetic unit 48 returns to step S12.

On the other hand, , when it is determined that a collision is unavoidable, the arithmetic unit 48 drives the movable mechanism 18 to swing the grill 14 forward and drives the PU mechanism 20 to bounce the hood 16 upward (S18), here, swinging of the grill 14 and bouncing of the hood 16 are executed almost simultaneously, however, it is also possible to bounce the hood 16 after swinging the grill 14, since a pedestrian comes into contact with the grill 14 earlier than the hood 16, it is possible to ensure protection of the pedestrian by swinging the grill 14 earlier at steps, then, the arithmetic unit 48 determines whether or not there is a collision with the pedestrian 100 actually based on the detection result of the load sensor 46 (S20), when it is determined that a collision actually occurs, the series of processes are ended, and on the other hand, , when there is no collision, the arithmetic unit 48 returns the swung grill 14 and the bounced hood 16 to the original positions (S86 22), returns to step S866725, and repeats the processes after step S12 again.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present example, when a collision with the pedestrian 100 is predicted, the grille 14 is swung forward around the vicinity of the lower end thereof. As a result, the pedestrian 100 can be supported not only by the bumper 12 but also by the grille 14, so that local concentration of the collision load can be prevented, and the load applied to the pedestrian 100 can be reduced. Further, since the cover 16 is also raised in conjunction with the swing of the grill 14, the difference in height between the upper end of the grill 14 and the upper surface of the cover 16 can be reduced.

In the description so far, the pedestrian 100 is assumed to be an adult, and the grille 14 supports the leg of the pedestrian 100. However, the pedestrian 100 collided with by the vehicle 10 has various constitutions. Therefore, the content of the protection processing may be switched according to the physique of the pedestrian 100.

Specifically, the pedestrian 100 includes an adult, a child, and the like. Here, as shown in fig. 10, in the case where the pedestrian 100 is an adult, the height of the grill 14 of the vehicle 10 often corresponds to the leg of the pedestrian 100, but in the case where the pedestrian 100 is low in height such as a child or a baby, the height of the grill 14 of the vehicle 10 often corresponds to the head to the abdomen of the pedestrian 100.

Here, in order to make it easy for the pedestrian 100 to fall down toward the hood 16 in the case of a collision with the leg, it is preferable that the grill 14 firmly supports the leg, and in , since the head to the abdomen is softer than the leg, in the case of a collision with the head to the abdomen, the grill 14 is preferably low in rigidity and is soft in order to reduce the reaction force applied to the head to the abdomen.

Therefore, the movable mechanism 18 may have a function of switching the support force of the grill 14 according to the physique (height) of the pedestrian 100, that is, the support force of the grill 14 may be switched such that the support force of the grill 14 is increased when the physique of the pedestrian 100 is large and the support force of the grill 14 is decreased when the physique of the pedestrian 100 is small, various mechanisms may be considered as the switching mechanism of the support force, for example, an air spring that switches a spring constant by air pressure or a hydraulic damper that switches a damper characteristic by hydraulic pressure, and as another form, a mechanism having two types of advance and retreat cylinders 32, 52 having different rigidity may be used as an advance and retreat rod for the movable mechanism 18 as shown in fig. 11A, a cross-sectional view showing examples of the advance and retreat rod may be used as an advance and retreat rod, as shown in fig. 11B, a-a cross-sectional view of fig. 11A, a cross-a view may be taken as a cross-a view, a view is taken through a state where the advance and retreat rod 22 shown in fig. 11A is similar to fig. 6A view showing that the advance and retreat rod is provided with a lower inside of the advance and retreat cylinder 52, and retreat by a lower rigidity of the advance and retreat cylinder 52, and retreat line 3552, and the inner side of the advance and retreat cylinder is provided by a lower push-up and-out of the advance and retreat cylinder 52, and-push-out of.

Two plungers 60f, 60r are provided around the inner advancing-retreating cylinder 52 so as to be axially advanced and retreated at a distance. In the two plungers 60f, 60r, the inner advancing-retreating cylinder 52 is pushed out in the axial direction with respect to the advancing-retreating cylinder 32 by retreating the rear plunger 60r in the radial direction. In this state, the forward plunger 60f is pushed out in the radial direction, whereby the retraction of the inner advancing-retracting cylinder 52 is restricted. In addition, by winding the winding wire 38 in a state where both the plungers 60f, 60r are alternated, the inner advancing-retreating cylinder 52 is retreated relative to the advancing-retreating cylinder 32.

In this expansion rod, when it is desired to increase the support force of the grill 14, the outer rear plunger 40r is retracted in the radial direction as shown in fig. 12A, and the advancing-retracting cylinder 32 and the inner advancing-retracting cylinder 52 are pushed out in the axial direction, whereby the grill 14 is supported by both the advancing-retracting cylinder 32 and the inner advancing-retracting cylinder 52, and therefore the support force of the grill 14 is increased.

Further, in , when it is desired to reduce the supporting force of the grill 14, the inner rear plunger 60r is retracted in the radial direction as shown in fig. 12B, and only the inner advancing-retracting cylinder 52 is pushed out in the axial direction, whereby the grill 14 is supported only by the inner advancing-retracting cylinder 52 having low rigidity, and therefore the reaction force transmitted from the grill 14 to the pedestrian 100 is reduced.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing a flow of the pedestrian protection process in the case where the support force is switched according to the physique of the pedestrian 100, in this case, the operation unit 48 determines the presence or absence of the pedestrian 100 based on the detection values of the various sensors (S12). in the case where the pedestrian 100 is present, the operation unit 48 calculates the physique (height) of the pedestrian 100 based on the detection values of the various sensors 42, 44, 46 in addition to the distance, the relative speed, and the relative direction to the pedestrian 100 (S14 ＊). furthermore, the operation unit 48 determines whether or not the collision with the pedestrian 100 is avoidable based on these calculation results (S16). if it is determined that the collision is unavoidable, the operation unit 48 swings the grill 14 and causes the hood 16 to bounce (S18A, S18B). in this case, the operation unit 48 determines whether or not the height of the pedestrian 100 is the reference value or more before swinging the grill 14, determines that the height of the pedestrian is the reference value or more (S17). if the height of the pedestrian is 100, the pedestrian is the reference value, the pedestrian is determined that the pedestrian is a high impact with the leg is absorbed by the grill 3514, the head 355631 is supported by the hood 3514, and the pedestrian is supported by the head 3514, so that the pedestrian is supported by the pedestrian is high support the head 3514, the head 3514 is supported by the pedestrian is supported by the hood 355631, and the pedestrian is supported by the hood 3514.

On the other hand, , if the height of the pedestrian 100 is less than the reference value, it is determined that the head-to-abdomen of the pedestrian 100 collides with the grille 14 and the grille 14 is swung while being supported by a second supporting force lower than the -th supporting force (S18B) in . in this case, the grille 14 is likely to be deformed or displaced in association with the collision of the pedestrian 100, so that the reaction acting on the pedestrian 100 is reduced.

After the swing of the grill 14 and the bounce of the cover 16, it is determined whether or not a collision actually occurs, as in the case of fig. 9, and if no collision occurs, the grill 14 and the cover 16 are returned to the original positions (S20, S22). As can be understood from the above description, the pedestrian 100 can be protected more appropriately by switching the supporting force of the grille 14 according to the physique of the pedestrian 100. Further, although an example in which the supporting force of the grille 14 is switched at two levels is described here, the supporting force of the grille 14 may be switched at more levels according to the physique of the pedestrian 100.

Further, if it is desired to provide the grille 14 with a suitable impact absorption, it is preferable that the movable mechanism 18 is provided near the end of the grille 14, for example, at positions P2 and P3 in fig. 2, that is, , in many cases, a pedestrian 100 collides with the vicinity of the center in the width direction of the grille 14, and by providing a relatively hard movable mechanism 18 near the end avoiding the center, the center of the grille 14 can be suitably bent to absorb collision energy when a collision occurs.

However, as described above, when the movable mechanism 18 is capable of changing the supporting force thereof, it is preferable that the movable mechanism 18 is disposed at a position where the pedestrian 100 is likely to collide, that is, the vehicle width direction center P1. According to such a configuration, the supporting force at the collision site of the pedestrian 100 (i.e., the vehicle width direction center of the grille 14) can be maintained at the supporting force set by the movable mechanism 18, and the pedestrian 100 can be more appropriately protected according to the physique thereof.

The above description has been made of examples, and when a collision with the pedestrian 100 is predicted, the grille 14 may be moved so that the amount of forward thrust at the upper end portion thereof is larger than the amount of forward thrust at the lower end portion thereof, and other configurations may be appropriately changed.

Description of the symbols

The automobile collision prediction device comprises a 10 … automobile, a 12 … bumper, a 14 … grille, a 16 … cover, an 18 … movable mechanism, a 20 … PU mechanism, a 22 … extension rod, a 24 … first arm, a 26 … second arm, a 28 … third arm, a 30 … outer barrel, a 32 … advancing and retreating barrel, a 34 … flange, a 36 and 56 … spring, a 38 and 58 … winding wire, a 40f and 60f … front plunger, a 40r and 60r … rear plunger, a 41 … collision prediction part, a 42 … image sensor, a 44 … radar sensor, a 46 … load sensor, a 48 … operation part, a 52 … inner side advancing and retreating barrel and a 100 … pedestrian.