Vehicle occupant protection system and method for restraining vehicle occupant
By designing adjustable vehicle seats and seat belts with tensioning devices, the vehicle occupant protection system can effectively reduce the occupant's load in frontal collisions, solving the problem of increased spinal load caused by the liberalization of the seating position of the occupant in autonomous driving vehicles.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202380064401.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2022-09-09
- Filing Date
- 2023-09-07
- Publication Date
- 2025-04-15
AI Technical Summary
In autonomous vehicles, the seating position of the vehicle occupants becomes more liberalized, resulting in an increase in the load on the spine during frontal collisions, making it difficult for the existing vehicle occupant protection system to effectively protect occupants who are lying down or almost lying down.
A vehicle occupant protection system is designed, including an adjustable vehicle seat and a seat belt with tensioning device, which can be controlled forward and vertically moved in the face of a frontal collision, reducing kinetic energy through the device and limiting the force acting on the occupant.
During frontal collision, the synergy between the seat and the seat belt can effectively reduce the load of the occupants, especially in the lying down position, reducing the load of the spine and improving the protection effect of the occupants.
Smart Images
Figure CN119836364A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention relates to a vehicle occupant protection system and a method for restraining a vehicle occupant. Background Art
[0002] In previous vehicles, the position of the vehicle seat was largely fixedly predetermined during travel. In any case, it was possible to tilt the backrest backwards or to move the vehicle seat linearly forwards or backwards.
[0003] In automated or autonomous vehicles, the driver no longer has to constantly control and monitor the vehicle, but the vehicle drives itself. Newly developed vehicle concepts therefore increasingly require that vehicle occupants be able to choose their seating position in the vehicle interior more freely. This allows the driver to assume a position that is comfortable for him or her in any seat adjustment within a predefined adjustment range.
[0004] However, this also results in the difficulty that previous vehicle occupant restraint systems always strive for a substantially upright position of the upper body of the vehicle occupant.
[0005] Therefore, vehicle occupant protection systems can no longer be developed for a specific, narrowly predefined standard position of a vehicle seat, since the vehicle occupants are given more freedom when choosing a sitting position. The "standard position" does not mean that the position is specified by legal standards, but the term refers to the upright position of the upper body, which is usually located between 90° and 120° in front of the backrest relative to the horizontal. Autonomous driving can also lead to a sitting position that is outside the range of the previous normal position of the vehicle seat. This results in the recumbent vehicle occupant being loaded in a different way due to the forces acting in a frontal collision. Therefore, the load on the spine in the recumbent position is greater than the load in the standard position in the sitting position.
[0006] If a free but still secure seating position in the vehicle interior is desired, it is therefore necessary to implement a restraint concept which also provides good protection for the vehicle occupant, for example, when he or she assumes a lying or almost lying position. Summary of the invention
[0007] The object of the present invention is to increase the possible positioning freedom of a vehicle occupant in the vehicle interior and thereby to provide the vehicle occupant with good protection in all positions when restrained.
[0008] According to the invention, the proposed object is achieved by a vehicle occupant protection system, which has: at least one vehicle seat, the vehicle seat having a sitting surface section and a backrest section connected thereto; and a seat belt with at least one tensioning device, wherein the positioning of the sitting surface section and the backrest section with respect to each other is adjustable and the backrest section can be moved into a lying position, and the vehicle seat is supported so that the vehicle seat can be moved in a controlled manner in the direction of the front of the vehicle by means of a device while maintaining the adjusted lying position in the event of a frontal collision.
[0009] The basic idea of the invention is to move the vehicle seat together with the vehicle occupant sitting thereon horizontally toward the front of the vehicle in the event of a frontal collision in order to reduce the loads on the vehicle occupant by controlled reduction of kinetic energy and limiting the forces acting on the vehicle occupant during the movement of the device toward the front of the vehicle. As a result, on the one hand, the forces acting on the lumbar and shoulder regions of the vehicle occupant via the seat belt and the tensioning device can be reduced in a controlled manner and, on the other hand, the forces acting on the spine when the driver is lying down can be reduced in a controlled manner.
[0010] According to one aspect of the invention, the vehicle seat is supported in such a way that it additionally moves vertically in the event of a frontal collision. This enables the device itself to additionally reduce the kinetic energy in the vertical direction. The combination of horizontal and vertical movement has a particularly advantageous effect, in particular when the direction of the movement component is selected approximately so that it corresponds to the orientation of the spine, in order to further reduce the load on the spine.
[0011] The device can include at least one force limiter acting on the vehicle seat, which limits the forces acting on the vehicle occupant in the horizontal and / or vertical direction when restrained. The force limiter thus allows a controlled build-up of force, but only until an adjustable limit force is reached. It is conceivable that the force limiter is designed to be degressive, which means that the force limiter initially applies a small limit force, which increases more and more with movement in the direction of the front of the vehicle and approaches a maximum limit force.
[0012] At least one belt force limiter may be provided, which additionally contributes to reducing the load on the vehicle occupant via the seat belt in the event of a frontal collision and releases the seat belt when a limit force provided for the belt force limiter is reached on the seat belt.
[0013] According to one variant, an active drive system is provided for moving the seat, which moves the vehicle seat in the event of a frontal collision. Such an active drive system allows the movement to be carried out as controlled as possible. The active drive system can be driven, for example, by an electric motor or also by pyrotechnics.
[0014] However, a passive drive system can also be provided for moving the vehicle seat, which allows the vehicle seat to be moved in the event of a frontal collision by the inertia of the vehicle seat and the vehicle occupant. Passive drive systems generally require less space because they are driven by inertia itself and are cheaper to provide than drive systems with active drives due to the lower complexity.
[0015] In addition, a guide device can be provided for the vehicle seat, along which the vehicle seat moves in the event of a frontal collision. The guide device enables an additional movement of the vehicle seat toward the front of the vehicle in addition to the device described.
[0016] The tensioning device can be a belt tensioner, which is controlled so that it is activated in the event of a frontal collision and when the backrest section is in the lying position. As a result, the vehicle occupant can be positioned and fixed in the vehicle seat in a controlled manner in the event of a frontal collision.
[0017] The object stated at the outset is also achieved by a method for restraining a vehicle occupant, which method restrains the vehicle occupant in the event of a frontal collision while the vehicle occupant is in a lying position by a rearwardly adjusted backrest section, the method being characterized by the following steps: while maintaining the position of the backrest section relative to the seating surface section, the vehicle seat is moved forward by the inertia of the seat and the vehicle occupant or actively by a drive device.
[0018] With regard to the advantages resulting from this, reference is made to the above explanations.
[0019] In the event of a frontal collision, the vehicle seat can move vertically downward in addition to the forward movement. With regard to the advantages resulting therefrom, reference is also made to the above explanations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0020] The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. In these drawings:
[0021] - Figure 1 A schematic diagram showing a vehicle having a vehicle occupant protection system according to the present invention in a normal driving situation, wherein the vehicle seat is in a reclined seating position and is pointed in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle; and
[0022] - Figure 2 Shown during the process of a constraint situation Figure 1 Vehicles in. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] Figure 1 Vehicle 10 is shown with vehicle occupant restraint system 12 during automated driving.
[0024] The vehicle occupant restraint system 12 includes a vehicle seat 14 within a vehicle interior 16 .
[0025] The vehicle seat 14 can occupy an upright seating position and a reclined seating position, which is also referred to as a comfort position and is Figure 1 You can see it.
[0026] The vehicle seat 14 has a seating surface section 18 and a backrest section 20 , by means of which different seating positions can be achieved via a relative adjustment of the seat surface section 18 and a backrest section 20 .
[0027] Furthermore, a device 22 and a guide device 23 for the vehicle seat 14 are arranged below the vehicle seat 14 in the region of the seating surface section 18 .
[0028] The vehicle seat 14 can be moved horizontally in a controlled manner toward the vehicle front 25 and also vertically toward the vehicle floor 24 by means of the device 22 while maintaining the adjusted lying position, whereas the guide device 23 allows movement only in the horizontal direction.
[0029] The device 22 is connected on the one hand to the vehicle seat 14 and on the other hand is fastened to a vehicle floor 24 .
[0030] Furthermore, the device 22 can be coupled to an active drive system 26 or a passive drive system 27 for adjusting the vehicle seat 14 by means of the device 22 in the event of a frontal collision.
[0031] If this is an active drive system 26, it can include, for example, an electric motor 28. Furthermore, a pyrotechnical drive is also conceivable.
[0032] Furthermore, the vehicle occupant restraint system 12 comprises a seat belt 30 which has a shoulder belt section 32 and a lap belt section 34 . The seat belt 30 is associated with a tensioning device 36 which comprises at least one belt tensioner 38 .
[0033] The at least one belt tensioner 38 can be, for example, a lap belt tensioner and / or a shoulder belt tensioner. The shoulder belt tensioner can be designed as a winding tensioner.
[0034] The lap belt tensioner is associated with a lap belt section 34 which extends along a lumbar region 40 of a vehicle occupant 42 sitting on the vehicle seat 14 .
[0035] The shoulder belt tensioner is assigned to the shoulder belt section 32 which extends over a shoulder region 44 and subsequently over an upper body 46 of a vehicle occupant 42 toward a lumbar region 40 .
[0036] Furthermore, the belt tensioner 38 and therefore also the lap belt tensioner as well as the shoulder belt tensioner are assigned a belt force limiter 48 .
[0037] Furthermore, a control unit 50 is provided, which is coupled to the vehicle restraint system 12 and its components.
[0038] The following will use Figure 1 and 2 A method for restraining a vehicle occupant 42 by means of the vehicle occupant protection system 12 in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle 10 is explained.
[0039] Figure 1 The initial state is shown. First, a frontal collision is detected, in which the vehicle 10 experiences a strong deceleration, so that inertial forces act in the direction of the vehicle front 25 on the vehicle seat 14 and the vehicle occupant 42 sitting thereon.
[0040] Once a restraint situation is detected, the seating position, i.e. the arrangement of the seating surface section 18 and the backrest section 20 relative to one another, is checked and it is detected whether the vehicle seat 14 and therefore the vehicle occupant 42 is in a lying position (i.e. a comfort position) (i.e., the lying position is in the reclining position). Figure 1 ), in this lying position the backrest section 20 assumes a significantly pivoted rearward position.
[0041] If it is detected that the vehicle occupant 42 is in a lying position due to the rearwardly adjusted backrest section 20, the belt tensioner 38 / belt tensioners 38 are initially triggered. As a result, at least the lap belt tensioner is activated in order to secure the vehicle occupant 42 in the vehicle seat 14 and, if necessary, to build up a restraining force. Optionally, both the lap belt tensioner and the shoulder belt tensioner can be activated.
[0042] In addition, the vehicle seat 14 together with the vehicle occupant 42 is moved horizontally in the direction of the vehicle front 25 and vertically relative to the vehicle floor 24 via the device 22 and, if necessary, with the assistance of an active drive system 26 or via a passive drive system 27, which allows movement of the vehicle seat 14 via the inertia of the vehicle seat 14 and the vehicle occupant 42.
[0043] The vehicle seat 14 can be moved in the horizontal direction along the guide device 23 .
[0044] If, during a movement of the device 22 in the direction of the vehicle front 25 , a predetermined limit force is exceeded, the force limiters 52 , 54 act in the horizontal or vertical direction, thereby limiting the forces acting on the vehicle occupant 42 .
[0045] The force limiters 52 , 54 are designed to be degressive, so that the limit force permitted thereby is initially low and increases further with increasing horizontal and vertical movements and approaches a maximum value.
[0046] Alternatively, it is also conceivable to use, instead of the two force limiters 52 , 54 , a force limiter which is coupled to the device 22 and limits the force in the direction of movement predetermined by the device 22 and the guide device 23 .
[0047] Furthermore, it is also possible that in the event of a frontal collision, the vehicle seat 14 moves in the horizontal and vertical directions depending on the orientation of the backrest section 20 and / or the seat surface section 18. In this case, the control unit 50 can detect the positioning of the vehicle seat 14 and control the direction of movement via the device 22 and optionally via the guide device 23 in such a way that the direction of movement occurs approximately in the direction of the spine of the vehicle occupant 42.
Claims
1. A vehicle occupant protection system, comprising: at least one vehicle seat (14), the vehicle seat having a seating surface section (18) and a backrest section (20) connected to the seating surface section; and a safety belt (30) having at least one tensioning device (36), wherein: The positioning of the seating surface section (18) and the backrest section (20) relative to each other is adjustable, the backrest section (20) is movable into a lying position, and the vehicle seat (14) is supported so that in the event of a frontal collision the vehicle seat is moved in a controlled manner by a device (22) in the direction of the front of the vehicle while maintaining the adjusted lying position.
2. The vehicle occupant protection system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The vehicle seat (14) is supported in such a way that it is additionally moved vertically in the event of a frontal collision.
3. The vehicle occupant protection system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The device (22) comprises at least one force limiter (52, 54) acting on the vehicle seat (14), which, in a restrained situation, limits the forces acting on the vehicle occupant in the horizontal and / or vertical direction.
4. A vehicle occupant protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that: At least one seat belt force limiter (48) is provided.
5. A vehicle occupant protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that: An active drive system (26) is provided for moving the vehicle seat (14), which moves the vehicle seat (14) in the event of a frontal collision.
6. The vehicle occupant protection system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: A passive drive system (27) is provided for moving the vehicle seat (14), which allows the vehicle seat (14) to be moved by the inertia of the vehicle seat (14) and the vehicle occupant (42) in the event of a frontal collision.
7. A vehicle occupant protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that A guide device (23) is provided for the vehicle seat (14), along which the vehicle seat (14) moves in the event of a frontal collision.
8. A vehicle occupant protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The tensioning device (36) is a belt tensioner (38) which is controlled in such a way that it is activated in the event of a frontal collision with the backrest section (20) in the lying position.
9. A method for restraining a vehicle occupant (42), the method for restraining the vehicle occupant (42) in a frontal collision while the vehicle occupant (42) is in a lying position due to a rearwardly adjusted backrest section (20), the method comprising the following steps: while maintaining the position of the backrest section (20) relative to the seating surface section (18), the vehicle seat (14) is moved forward by the inertia of the seat and the vehicle occupant (42) or actively by a drive device (26).
10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that In the event of a frontal collision, the vehicle seat (14) moves vertically downward in addition to the forward movement.