Vehicle collision detection structure

Abstract

To detect a lateral collision of a vehicle quickly.SOLUTION: A vehicle collision detection structure includes an impact sensor 37 which detects an impact applied to a vehicle body 14 through a door 20 during a lateral collision. A sensor support part 144 attached with the impact sensor 37 is provided at the vehicle body 14. The door 20 is provided with an impact beam 26 which receives a buffer load F. The impact beam 26 is provided with a load transmission bracket 30 which protrudes in a direction of the sensor support part 144 of the vehicle body 14 in a door closing position. The impact beam 26 receives the buffer load F to be displaced with the load transmission bracket 30, and the buffer load F is transmitted to the sensor support part 144 of the vehicle body 14 through the load transmission bracket 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle collision detection structure having an impact sensor that detects an impact applied to a vehicle body through a door during a side collision. [Background technology]

[0002] In vehicles, a mechanism is required to quickly detect the collision state of the vehicle in order to protect the occupants by activating the airbag device in the event of a collision. For example, in the event of a side collision of the vehicle, the side collision load is applied to the center pillar through the door, so an impact sensor that detects the impact at the time of the collision is generally attached to the interior side of the center pillar. When the impact sensor detects the collision, the airbag device is activated to protect the occupants.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a mechanism for improving the resistance of a door to a side collision of a vehicle. That is, in the vehicle described in Patent Document 1, as shown in Figures 9 and 10, an impact beam 102 that receives a side collision load is provided on a front door 100. The impact beam 102 is inclined so that the rear side is lower, and the front end of the impact beam 102 is positioned at the same position as a front pillar 104 in the vehicle longitudinal direction, and the rear end 102b is positioned at the same position as a center pillar 105 in the vehicle longitudinal direction.

[0004] As shown in FIG. 10, a mountain-shaped protrusion 102t protruding toward the center pillar 105 is formed on the rear end 102b of the impact beam 102. As a result, when a side collision load is applied to the front door 100, the protrusion 102t of the rear end 102b of the impact beam 102 bites into the outer panel 105f of the center pillar 105, preventing the rear end 102b of the impact beam 102 from moving forward relative to the center pillar 105. As a result, the impact beam 102 does not come off the center pillar 105 during a side collision, and the bearing strength of the impact beam 102 can be fully utilized. In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, an impact sensor (not shown) is generally attached to the inner panel 105e of the center pillar 105. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2007-99219 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In the configuration described in Patent Document 1, the side collision load is transmitted from the impacted portion X of the impact beam 102 (see FIG. 10) to the rear end portion 102b of the impact beam 102, and then from the rear end portion 102b (projection 102t) to the outer panel 105f of the center pillar 105. Then, the load is transmitted from the outer panel 105f of the center pillar 105 to the inner panel 105e and the impact sensor (not shown) via the flange portion Fr. In this manner, the side collision load applied to the impacted portion X of the impact beam 102 is diverted to the rear end portion 102b of the impact beam 102, and is further transmitted to the impact sensor via the outer panel 105f of the center pillar 105 and the inner panel 105e. For this reason, it takes time to detect a side collision.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and the problem that the present invention aims to solve is to make it possible to quickly detect a side collision of a vehicle. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The above-mentioned problems are solved by the inventions of the claims. The first invention is a collision detection structure for a vehicle equipped with an impact sensor that detects an impact applied to a vehicle body through a door during a side collision, the vehicle body is provided with a sensor support part to which the impact sensor is attached, the door is provided with an impact beam that receives a side collision load, the impact beam is provided with a load transmission bracket that protrudes toward the sensor support part of the vehicle body when the door is in a closed position, the impact beam and the load transmission bracket are displaced by receiving the side collision load, and the side collision load is transmitted to the sensor support part of the vehicle body via the load transmission bracket. The load transmission bracket includes a fixed portion fixed to the impact beam, a load transmission portion that transmits the side collision load to the sensor support portion, and a connecting frame portion that connects the fixed portion and the load transmission portion and protrudes from the position of the impact beam toward the sensor support portion, and is provided at a midpoint between the front end portion and the rear end portion of the impact beam. .

[0009] According to the present invention, the impact beam of the door is provided with a load transmission bracket that protrudes toward the sensor support part of the vehicle body. Then, when a side impact load is received, the impact beam of the door and the load transmission bracket are displaced, and the side impact load is transmitted to the sensor support part of the vehicle body via the load transmission bracket. Therefore, the side impact load applied to the impacted part of the impact beam can be transmitted directly to the sensor support part of the vehicle body without being detoured to the end of the impact beam as in the conventional case. Therefore, the time until the side impact load is transmitted to the impact sensor via the impact beam of the door can be shortened compared to the conventional case.

[0010] According to the second aspect of the present invention, the impact beam is configured to bend when it receives a side impact load, and the load transmission bracket is configured to be displaceable in the direction of the sensor support part of the vehicle body by the amount of bending of the impact beam. This allows the time required for the side impact load to be transmitted to the impact sensor to be shortened by the amount of bending of the impact beam. In addition, since the impact beam needs to be formed to be easily bent, the thickness dimension of the impact beam is smaller than that of the conventional impact beam. This allows the door to be made lighter.

[0011] According to the third invention, the front end of the impact beam is fixed to the front end of the door, the rear end of the impact beam is fixed to the rear end of the door, and the load transfer bracket is fixed at a midpoint between the front and rear ends of the impact beam.

[0012] According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the door is a front door, the sensor support portion of the vehicle body is an inner panel of a center pillar, and the load transmission bracket protrudes from the position of the impact beam of the front door toward a flange portion of the inner panel of the center pillar that constitutes the front door opening. Therefore, when the impact beam and the load transmission bracket are displaced due to a side collision load, the load transmission bracket comes into contact with the flange portion of the inner panel of the center pillar.

[0013] According to the fifth invention, the load transmission bracket comprises a fixed portion fixed to the impact beam, a load transmission portion which transmits a side collision load to a flange portion of the inner panel of the center pillar, and a connecting frame portion which connects the fixed portion and the load transmission portion and protrudes from the position of the impact beam toward the flange portion of the inner panel of the center pillar. Effect of the Invention

[0014] According to the present invention, a side collision of a vehicle can be detected promptly. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a vehicle equipped with a collision detection structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the left front. [Diagram 2] 1 is a side view of a vehicle skeleton showing the mounting positions of impact sensors which are components of a vehicle collision detection structure. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a perspective view (view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3) of a state in which an outer panel of a vehicle front door is omitted. [Diagram 5] 2 is a perspective view of a load transmission bracket which is a component of the vehicle collision detection structure. FIG. [Figure 6] 6 is a perspective view (view taken along arrows VI-VI in FIG. 3) of the inner panel of the center pillar, the load transmission bracket, and the like, as viewed from the inside of the vehicle. [Figure 7] 7 is a side view (view taken along arrows VII-VII in FIG. 3) of the inner panel of the center pillar, the load transfer bracket, and the like, as viewed from the inside of the vehicle. [Figure 8] 1 is a cross-sectional plan view that illustrates a schematic diagram of a state in which a side collision load is transmitted during a side collision of a vehicle. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a side view showing a conventional vehicle side structure. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a conventional vehicle side structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] [Embodiment 1] A vehicle collision detection structure according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 8. The vehicle collision detection structure according to this embodiment is a structure that detects an impact applied to a center pillar 14 of a vehicle body 10 through a front door 20 during a side collision of the vehicle by an impact sensor 37. Here, front, rear, left, right, and up and down shown in the drawings correspond to front, rear, left, right, and up and down of a vehicle equipped with the collision detection structure according to this embodiment.

[0017] <Overview of Vehicle Body 10> As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, a front door opening 11 and a rear door opening 12 are provided on the side of a vehicle body 10. As shown in Fig. 2, a locker 19, which is a framework extending in the front-rear direction of the vehicle, is provided at the lower edge positions of the front door opening 11 and the rear door opening 12. A front pillar 13, which is a support pillar on the front side of the front door opening 11, is erected at the front end position of the locker 19. In addition, a center pillar 14 (see Figs. 2 and 3), which is a support pillar that separates both door openings 11, 12, is erected at a midpoint of the locker 19. The front door opening 11 is configured to be openable and closable by a swing-type front door 20, as shown in Fig. 1, and the rear door opening 12 is configured to be openable and closable by a slide-type rear door 50.

[0018] <About Center Pillar 14> As described above, the center pillar 14 is a support pillar that separates the front door opening 11 and the rear door opening 12, and supports the roof panel 16 of the vehicle body 10 as shown in Fig. 2. As shown in the planar cross-sectional view of Fig. 3, the center pillar 14 is formed in a tubular shape extending in the vertical direction from the pillar outer 142, the pillar inner 144, and the reinforcement 145. The pillar outer 142 is a groove-shaped panel whose interior side is open, and its planar cross-sectional shape is formed in a stepped shape to match the planar cross-sectional shape of the rear part of the front door 20. A front end flange portion 142f is formed at the front end edge of the pillar outer 142, and a rear end flange portion 142b is formed at the rear end edge.

[0019] The pillar inner 144 is a groove-shaped panel with an open exterior side, and is formed with a substantially trapezoidal cross section. A front end flange portion 144f is formed at the front end edge of the pillar inner 144, and a rear end flange portion 144b is formed at the rear end edge. The reinforcement 145 is a groove-shaped reinforcing panel with an open interior side, and is formed with a substantially trapezoidal cross section. A front end flange portion 145f is formed at the front end edge of the reinforcement 145, and a rear end flange portion 145b is formed at the rear end edge.

[0020] The pillar outer 142, the pillar inner 144, and the reinforcement 145 are joined in a state where the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, and 144f are overlapped with each other, and the rear end flange portions 142b, 145b, and 144b are joined in a state where they are overlapped with each other. As a result, the center pillar 14 is formed into a cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. 3. A weather strip 11w that seals between the periphery of the front door opening 11 and the front door 20 is attached to the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, and 144f of the pillar outer 142, the pillar inner 144, and the reinforcement 145. In addition, the interior side of the center pillar 14 (pillar inner 144) is covered with an interior material (not shown).

[0021] <Outline of Front Door 20> As shown in FIG. 1, the front door 20 is composed of a door body 20b capable of accommodating a liftable door glass 21, and a window frame 20w provided on the upper side of the door body 20b. As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, etc., the door body 20b is equipped with an outer panel 22 constituting the design surface of the front door 20 and an inner panel 23 on the passenger compartment side. The outer panel 22 and the inner panel 23 are fitted together from the front and back, and the peripheral portions of the panels 22, 23 are joined to each other. As a result, the door body 20b of the front door 20 is configured in a shallow square box shape having an internal space. In addition, a glass opening (not shown) through which the door glass 21 passes when it rises is formed on the upper end surface of the door body 20b.

[0022] 4, reinforcements 24 for reinforcing the outer panel 22 and the inner panel 23 from the inside are provided at upper, central and lower positions on the inside of the door main body 20b of the front door 20 so as to extend in the vehicle front-rear direction. Also, an impact beam 26 for receiving a side collision load F is provided between the central reinforcement 24 and the lower reinforcement 24 on the inside of the door main body 20b of the front door 20. Furthermore, a mechanism (not shown) for moving the door glass 21 up and down is housed on the inside of the door main body 20b of the front door 20.

[0023] <Regarding the impact beam 26 of the front door 20> The impact beam 26 of the front door 20 is a straight steel pipe, as shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, and is positioned in an inclined state so that the rear side is lower. The front end 26f and the rear end 26b of the impact beam 26 are fixed to the inner panel 23 of the door body 20b by a front bracket 27f and a rear bracket 27b, respectively. Here, when the front door 20 is closed, the front end 26f of the impact beam 26 is positioned at a position overlapping the front pillar 13 of the vehicle body 10, and the rear end 26b of the impact beam 26 is positioned at a position overlapping the center pillar 14 of the vehicle body 10, as shown in Fig. 3. In order to make the impact beam 26 more easily deflect when subjected to a side collision load F, the wall thickness of the impact beam 26 has been changed from about 3.2 mm in the past to about 2.6 mm.

[0024] <About the load transfer bracket 30> As shown in Figures 3 and 4, a load transmission bracket 30 is fixed to the impact beam 26 at a position near the rear end 26b. As shown in Figure 8, when the impact beam 26 receives a side collision load F and bends so as to be convexly curved toward the passenger compartment (inner side in the vehicle width direction), the load transmission bracket 30 is a bracket that transmits the side collision load F to the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14. As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the load transmission bracket 30 is composed of a fixing portion 32, a load transmission portion 34, and a connecting frame portion 36.

[0025] The fixing portion 32 of the load transmission bracket 30 is a portion fixed to the impact beam 26, as shown in Fig. 5 and the like. The load transmission portion 34 of the load transmission bracket 30 is a portion that transmits the side collision load F to the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14, and is formed in a band-like shape extending in the vertical direction in accordance with the shapes of the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f, as shown in Fig. 7 and the like. The connecting frame portion 36 of the load transmission bracket 30 is a frame that connects the fixing portion 32 and the load transmission portion 34, and protrudes from the position of the impact beam 26 toward the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14 when the front door 20 is in a closed state.

[0026] With the above-described configuration, when the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 is deflected as described above upon receiving a side collision load F, the load transmission bracket 30 is displaced toward the interior together with the impact beam 26, as shown in FIG. 8, and the load transmission portion 34 of the load transmission bracket 30 presses the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14.

[0027] <About Impact Sensor 37> The impact sensor 37 is an acceleration sensor that detects the deceleration G during a side collision to detect a side collision state of the vehicle. The impact sensor 37 is fixed to the front lower part of the inner pillar 144 of the center pillar 14, as shown in Figures 6 and 7. That is, the impact sensor 37 is fixed near the front end flange portion 144f of the inner pillar 144 at a height position approximately equal to the rear end portion 26b of the impact beam 26 of the front door 20.

[0028] <About the Function of Vehicle Collision Detection Structure> When a side collision load F is applied to the rear of the front door 20 of the vehicle, i.e., at approximately the same position in the vehicle longitudinal direction as the head of a front-row seat occupant, the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 is bent so as to be convexly curved toward the interior as shown in Fig. 8 (see the two-dot chain line). As a result, the load transmission bracket 30 fixed to the impact beam 26 is displaced toward the inside in the vehicle width direction (inside the interior). Here, as described above, the load transmission bracket 30 is fixed to the impact beam 26 so as to protrude from the position of the impact beam 26 toward the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14.

[0029] For this reason, when the load transmission bracket 30 is displaced inward in the vehicle width direction (inner side), the load transmission portion 34 at the tip of the load transmission bracket 30 abuts against the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14 via the inner panel 23 of the front door 20. As a result, the side collision load F is transmitted from the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 to the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14 via the load transmission bracket 30.

[0030] That is, the deceleration G transmitted from the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 to the front end flange portions 142f, 145f, 144f of the center pillar 14 via the load transmission bracket 30 is detected by the impact sensor 37 fixed to the pillar inner 144 of the center pillar 14. In this way, when the impact sensor 37 detects the deceleration G due to a side collision, this signal is transmitted to the airbag device (not shown), which activates the airbag device.

[0031] <Correspondence between terms used in this embodiment and terms related to the present invention> The front door 20 of this embodiment corresponds to the door of the present invention. The pillar inner 144 of the center pillar 14 corresponds to the inner panel of the center pillar of the present invention and the sensor support portion of the vehicle body.

[0032] <Advantages of the vehicle collision detection structure according to this embodiment> According to the vehicle collision detection structure of this embodiment, the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 (door) is provided with a load transmission bracket 30 that protrudes toward the front end flange portion 144f (sensor support portion of the vehicle body) of the pillar inner 144 of the center pillar 14. Then, the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 and the load transmission bracket 30 are displaced upon receiving a side collision load F, so that the side collision load F is transmitted to the pillar inner 144 of the center pillar 14 via the load transmission bracket 30. Therefore, the side collision load applied to the impacted portion of the impact beam 26 can be directly transmitted to the pillar inner 144 of the center pillar 14 (sensor support portion of the vehicle body) without being detouring to the end of the impact beam 26 as in the conventional case. Therefore, the time until the side collision load F is transmitted to the impact sensor 37 via the impact beam 26 of the front door 20 can be shortened compared to the conventional case.

[0033] Furthermore, the impact beam 26 is configured to bend when it receives a side collision load F, and the load transmission bracket 30 is configured to be displaceable in the direction of the pillar inner 144 (sensor support part of the vehicle body) of the center pillar 14 by the amount of bending of the impact beam 26. This makes it possible to shorten the time it takes for the side collision load F to be transmitted to the impact sensor 37 by the amount of bending of the impact beam 26. Furthermore, since the impact beam 26 needs to be formed to be easily bent, the wall thickness dimension of the impact beam 26 is smaller than in the past. This allows the weight of the front door 20 to be reduced.

[0034] [Example of change] The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the impact sensor 37 is fixed to the front lower part of the pillar inner 144 of the center pillar 14. However, it is also possible to fix the impact sensor 37 to the front lower part of the reinforcement 145 of the center pillar 14. It is also possible to fix the impact sensor 37 to the boundary part between the center pillar 14 and the rocker 19. In addition, in the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the load transmission bracket 30 is fixed to the impact beam 26 of the front door 20. However, it is also possible to configure the load transmission bracket 30 to be fixed to the impact beam of the rear door 50 and to protrude in the direction of the sensor support part of the vehicle body. [Explanation of symbols]

[0035] 10. Vehicle body 14 Center pillar (sensor support part of vehicle body) 142 Pillar outer 142f Front flange 144....Pillar inner (sensor support part of vehicle body) 144f Front flange 20. Front door (door) 26. Impact Beam 26b...Rear end 26f...Front end 30...Load transfer bracket 32... Fixed part 34...Load transmission section 36 Connecting frame section 37. Impact sensor F...Side collision load

Claims

1. A vehicle collision detection structure having an impact sensor for detecting an impact applied to a vehicle body through a door during a side collision, the vehicle body is provided with a sensor support portion to which the impact sensor is attached, The door is provided with an impact beam for receiving a side collision load, The impact beam is provided with a load transmission bracket that protrudes toward a sensor support portion of the vehicle body when the door is in a closed position, The impact beam and the load transmission bracket are displaced by receiving the side collision load, and the side collision load is transmitted to a sensor support portion of the vehicle body via the load transmission bracket. The load transfer bracket is A fixing portion fixed to the impact beam; a load transmission portion that transmits the side collision load to the sensor support portion; a connecting frame portion that connects the fixing portion and the load transmission portion and protrudes from the position of the impact beam toward the sensor support portion; and the vehicle collision detection structure is provided at a midpoint between the front end and the rear end of the impact beam.

2. 2. The vehicle collision detection structure according to claim 1, The impact beam is configured to deflect under the side impact load, A vehicle collision detection structure, wherein the load transmission bracket is configured to be displaceable toward a sensor support portion of the vehicle body by an amount equal to the deflection of the impact beam.

3. 3. A vehicle collision detection structure according to claim 1, a front end of the impact beam is fixed to a front end of the door, and a rear end of the impact beam is fixed to a rear end of the door; A vehicle collision detection structure, wherein the load transmission bracket is fixed to a midpoint between the front end and rear end of the impact beam.

4. A vehicle collision detection structure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the door is a front door, the sensor support portion of the vehicle body is an inner panel of a center pillar, The load transfer bracket protrudes from the position of the impact beam of the front door toward a flange portion of the inner panel of the center pillar that defines a front door opening.

5. 5. A vehicle collision detection structure according to claim 4, The load transfer bracket is A fixing portion fixed to the impact beam; a load transfer portion that transfers the side collision load to a flange portion of an inner panel of the center pillar; a connecting frame portion that connects the fixing portion and the load transmission portion and protrudes from the position of the impact beam toward a flange portion of an inner panel of the center pillar; A vehicle collision detection structure comprising:

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