Collision determination device

Abstract

To provide a collision detection device capable of accurately determining a location of a collision area on a vehicle.SOLUTION: A collision determination device 1 comprises an acceleration acquisition unit 11, a steering angular velocity acquisition unit 12, and a collision location determination unit 14. The acceleration acquisition unit 11 acquires a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle on the basis of detection results of an acceleration sensor 2 of the vehicle. The steering angular velocity acquisition unit 12 acquires a steering angular velocity of the vehicle on the basis of detection results of a steering sensor 3 of the vehicle. The collision location determination unit 14 determines a location of a collision area which has collided with a collision object on the vehicle on the basis of the longitudinal acceleration and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle. If the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a first threshold value and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle exceeds a second threshold value prior to timing when the longitudinal acceleration reaches the first threshold value, the collision location determination unit 14 determines that the collision area is located on a side opposite to a steering direction of the vehicle.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a collision determination device. [Background technology]

[0002] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-137733 is known as a technical document relating to a collision determination device that determines a vehicle collision. The collision determination device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2014-137733 determines the position of a collision site on the vehicle where an object collided with the vehicle based on detection results from an acceleration sensor and a yaw rate sensor. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-137733 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the above-described technology, if the collision is relatively weak, the accuracy of detecting the yaw rate of the vehicle may decrease, which may result in a decrease in the accuracy of determining the position of the collision site on the vehicle.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a collision determination device that can determine the position of a collision site of a vehicle with high accuracy. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The collision determination device disclosed herein is a collision determination device that determines a collision of a vehicle with a collision object located in front of the vehicle, and includes an acceleration acquisition unit that acquires the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle based on the detection results of the vehicle's acceleration sensor, a steering angular velocity acquisition unit that acquires the steering angular velocity of the vehicle based on the detection results of the vehicle's steering sensor, and a collision position determination unit that determines the position of the collision point on the vehicle that collided with the collision object based on the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle, and the collision position determination unit determines that the collision point is located on the opposite side of the vehicle to the steering direction of the vehicle if the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a first threshold and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle exceeds a second threshold before the timing when the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle reaches the first threshold. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a collision determination device that can determine the position of a collision site of a vehicle with high accuracy. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a collision determination device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the vehicle and the collision object. [Figure 3] 4 is a graph showing an example of changes over time in longitudinal acceleration of a vehicle and in steering angular velocity of a vehicle; [Figure 4] 2 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the ECU shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] 2 is a flowchart showing a process performed by the ECU shown in FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the functional configuration of a collision determination device according to one embodiment. The collision determination device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on, for example, an autonomous vehicle or a driver assistance vehicle. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a vehicle and a collision object. As shown in FIG. 2, a vehicle 8 may collide with a collision object 9 located in front of the vehicle 8. The collision determination device 1 determines a collision of the vehicle 8 with the collision object 9 located in front of the vehicle 8. As shown in FIG. 1, the collision determination device 1 includes an acceleration sensor 2, a steering sensor 3, a communication unit 4, and an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 10.

[0011] The acceleration sensor 2 detects the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8. The longitudinal acceleration is the acceleration of the vehicle 8 in the longitudinal direction. When the vehicle 8 collides with a collision object 9 located in front of the vehicle 8, the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8 changes suddenly. In this embodiment, the vehicle 8 is provided with only one acceleration sensor 2. The acceleration sensor 2 is provided, for example, in an engine compartment of the vehicle 8. The acceleration sensor 2 is provided in the center of the vehicle 8 in the left-right direction. The acceleration sensor 2 is not particularly limited and may be any of various known sensors. The acceleration sensor 2 transmits information regarding the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8 to the ECU 10.

[0012] The steering sensor 3 detects the steering angle, steering angular velocity, etc. of the steering wheel of the vehicle 8. There are no particular limitations on the steering sensor 3, and various known sensors may be used. The steering sensor 3 transmits information relating to the steering angle and steering angular velocity to the ECU 10.

[0013] The communication unit 4 is a communication device that controls wireless communication with the outside of the vehicle 8. The communication unit 4 communicates various types of information with an external server, for example, via a communication network. The communication unit 4 transmits information relating to the position of a collision site 81 (described later) of the vehicle 8 to the server. The communication unit 4 is not particularly limited and may be any of various known communication devices.

[0014] The ECU 10 is an electronic control unit having a central processing unit (CPU) and a storage unit such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a random access memory (RAM). In the ECU 10, various functions are realized, for example, by the CPU executing programs stored in the storage unit.

[0015] The ECU 10 includes, as functional components, an acceleration acquisition unit 11, a steering angular velocity acquisition unit 12, a steering direction determination unit 13, and a collision position determination unit 14.

[0016] The acceleration acquisition unit 11 acquires the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8 based on the detection result of the acceleration sensor 2 of the vehicle 8. The acceleration acquisition unit 11 stores the change in the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8 over time.

[0017] The steering angular velocity acquisition unit 12 acquires the steering angular velocity of the vehicle 8 based on the detection result of the steering sensor 3 of the vehicle 8. The steering angular velocity acquisition unit 12 stores the change in the steering angular velocity of the vehicle 8 over time.

[0018] The steering direction determination unit 13 determines the steering direction of the vehicle 8 based on the detection result of the steering sensor 3. The steering direction is the direction of the steering angular velocity. For example, if the direction of the steering angular velocity at a predetermined timing is right (if the steering wheel is turning right), the steering direction determination unit 13 determines that the steering direction at that timing is right. For example, if the direction of the steering angular velocity at a predetermined timing is left (if the steering wheel is turning left), the steering direction determination unit 13 determines that the steering direction at that timing is left.

[0019] When the vehicle 8 collides with the object 9, the collision position determination unit 14 determines the position of a collision site 81 of the vehicle 8 that collided with the object 9. As shown in FIG. 2 , the vehicle 8 includes a left region L located on the left side of a center line C, and a right region R located on the right side of the center line C. In this embodiment, the center line C of the vehicle 8 is a straight line that passes through the center of the vehicle 8 in the left-right direction and is parallel to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 8.

[0020] When the vehicle 8 collides with a collision object 9 located in front of the vehicle 8, the vehicle 8 tends to steer in a direction away from the collision object 9 before the collision occurs. Specifically, for example, if the collision object 9 is located on the left side of the center line C, the vehicle 8 steers toward the right to avoid collision with the collision object 9. In this case, the collision location 81 is located in the left region L. For example, if the collision object 9 is located on the right side of the center line C, the vehicle 8 steers toward the left to avoid collision with the collision object 9. In this case, the collision location 81 is located in the right region R.

[0021] FIG. 3 is a graph showing an example of changes over time in the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle 8 and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle 8. As shown in FIG. 3, when the vehicle 8 collides with an object 9, the longitudinal acceleration G of the vehicle 8 increases and then decreases again. When the vehicle 8 steers to avoid a collision with the object 9, the steering angular velocity D of the vehicle 8 increases and then decreases again. In this embodiment, the longitudinal acceleration G and the steering angular velocity D are each absolute values.

[0022] The collision position determination unit 14 determines the position of the collision site 81 based on the longitudinal acceleration G of the vehicle 8 and the steering angular velocity D of the vehicle 8. When the longitudinal acceleration G of the vehicle 8 exceeds a first threshold value F, the collision position determination unit 14 determines that a collision has occurred between the vehicle 8 and the collision object 9. The longitudinal acceleration G reaches the first threshold value F at a first timing T1 after a predetermined period has elapsed since the occurrence of the collision. The first threshold value F is a value that is set in advance based on the type of the vehicle 8, etc. When the steering angular velocity D of the vehicle 8 exceeds a second threshold value S, the collision position determination unit 14 determines that the vehicle 8 has steered to avoid a collision with the collision object 9. The steering angular velocity D reaches the second threshold value S at a second timing T2 before the occurrence of the collision. The second threshold value S is a value that is set in advance based on the type of the vehicle 8, etc.

[0023] If the longitudinal acceleration G exceeds the first threshold value F and the steering angular velocity D exceeds the second threshold value S before the first timing T1, the collision position determination unit 14 determines that the collision site 81 is located on the side of the vehicle 8 opposite to the steering direction. If the steering direction at the second timing T2 is, for example, to the right, the collision position determination unit 14 determines that the collision site 81 is located in the left region L of the vehicle 8. If the steering direction at the second timing T2 is, for example, to the left, the collision position determination unit 14 determines that the collision site 81 is located in the right region R of the vehicle 8.

[0024] Next, an example of processing by the ECU 10 of the collision determination device 1 will be described. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing by the ECU 10. As shown in Fig. 4, the ECU 10 determines in step S1 whether the longitudinal acceleration G of the vehicle 8 exceeds a first threshold value F. If the longitudinal acceleration G exceeds the first threshold value F (step S1: YES), the ECU 10 determines in step S2 that a collision has occurred. If the longitudinal acceleration G does not exceed the first threshold value F (step S1: NO), the ECU 10 determines in step S3 that a collision has not occurred.

[0025] When a collision occurs, the ECU 10 determines in step S4 whether the steering angular velocity D exceeds the second threshold value S before the first time T1. When the steering angular velocity D exceeds the second threshold value S before the first time T1 (step S4: YES), the ECU 10 determines that the collision site 81 is located on the opposite side to the steering direction. After step S3 or step S5, the ECU 10 ends the current process.

[0026] 5 is a flowchart showing the details of step S5. As shown in FIG. 5, in step S51, the ECU 10 determines whether the steering direction at the second timing T2 was right. If the steering direction at the second timing T2 was right (step S51: YES), the ECU 10 determines in step S52 that the collision site 81 is located on the left side (left region L of the vehicle 8). If the steering direction at the second timing T2 was not right (step S51: NO), the ECU 10 determines in step S53 whether the steering direction at the second timing T2 was left. If the steering direction at the second timing T2 was left (step S53: YES), the ECU 10 determines in step S54 that the collision site 81 is located on the right side (right region R of the vehicle 8). If the steering direction at the second timing T2 was not left (step S53: NO), the ECU 10 ends the current processing.

[0027] As described above, in the collision determination device 1, if the longitudinal acceleration G of the vehicle 8 exceeds the first threshold value F and the steering angular velocity D of the vehicle 8 exceeds the second threshold value S before the first time T1 at which the longitudinal acceleration G of the vehicle 8 reaches the first threshold value F, the collision position determination unit 14 determines that the collision site 81 is located on the side of the vehicle 8 opposite to the steering direction of the vehicle 8. As a result, the position of the collision site 81 of the vehicle 8 is determined based on the steering direction, so that the position of the collision site 81 of the vehicle 8 can be determined even if the collision is relatively weak. Therefore, the collision determination device 1 can determine the position of the collision site 81 of the vehicle 8 with high accuracy.

[0028] The vehicle 8 is provided with only one acceleration sensor 2. As a result, even if the number of acceleration sensors 2 provided in the vehicle 8 is limited to one for cost reduction or the like, the position of the collision site 81 can be determined with high accuracy as described above.

[0029] The collision determination device 1 includes a communication unit 4 that transmits information about the position of the collision site 81 to a server. This allows the server to manage information about the position of the collision site 81 of the vehicle 8. For example, by managing information about collisions of the vehicle 8 in the server, the history of the vehicle 8 can be more accurately investigated when appraising a used car, etc.

[0030] Although one embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

[0031] In the embodiment, only one acceleration sensor 2 is provided in the vehicle 8, but a plurality of acceleration sensors 2 may be provided in the vehicle 8.

[0032] The collision determination device 1 does not need to include the communication unit 4. In this case, information about the position of the collision site 81 may be stored in a storage unit provided in the vehicle 8. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 1...collision determination device, 2...acceleration sensor, 3...steering sensor, 4...communication unit, 8...vehicle, 9...collision object, 11...acceleration acquisition unit, 12...steering angular velocity acquisition unit, 81...collision location, 14...collision position determination unit.

Claims

1. 1. A collision determination device that determines a collision of a vehicle with a collision object located in front of the vehicle, comprising: an acceleration acquisition unit that acquires a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle based on a detection result of an acceleration sensor of the vehicle; a steering angular velocity acquisition unit that acquires a steering angular velocity of the vehicle based on a detection result of a steering sensor of the vehicle; a collision position determination unit that determines a position of a collision site of the vehicle that has collided with the object to be hit, based on a longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle and a steering angular velocity of the vehicle, The collision position determination unit determines that the collision location is located on the opposite side of the vehicle from the steering direction of the vehicle when the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle exceeds a first threshold and the steering angular velocity of the vehicle exceeds a second threshold before the longitudinal acceleration of the vehicle reaches the first threshold.

2. The collision determination device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle is provided with only one acceleration sensor.

3. The collision determination device according to claim 1 , further comprising a communication unit that transmits information about the position of the collision site to a server.

Images