BODY STRUCTURE OF VEHICLE HAVING SIDE-COLLISION DETECTION SENSOR

• US 20090033476A1
• Filed: 07/20/2006
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yao, Takashi, Iwano, Yoshihiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,884,704 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/436
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 5/0427 the elements being arranged along the lower edge of door
• CPC Class Codes: B60J 5/0444 characterised by a special cross section
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 13/04 External Ornamental or guard strips; Ornamental inscriptive devices thereon fastening strips or bars to sheets or plates by means of clips F16B5/12
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2013/046 Foot boards
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/013 including means for detecting collisions, impending collisions or roll-over
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/01332 by frequency or waveform analysis
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/0136 responsive to actual contact with an obstacle , e.g. to vehicle deformation, bumper displacement or bumper velocity relative to the vehicle monitoring crash strength in combination with passenger seat detection B60R21/01558
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 21/157 for side impacts
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 25/025 Side sills thereof

Abstract

A body structure of a vehicle reliably detects, with a side-collision detection sensor disposed on a pillar, a side-collision of a side door of a vehicle body against a pole and particularly a side-collision against a pole in a diagonal direction. A metal bracket that projects toward a vehicle width direction outer side is disposed on an outer side surface in a predetermined position (substantially intermediate position between a front pillar and a center pillar) of a rocker. By setting this metal bracket on the outer side of the rocker, in addition to an impact beam disposed inside a door, an acceleration (sensor G) transmitted to the side-collision detection sensor disposed inside the center pillar increases during a side-collision against a pole in a diagonal direction, so the side-collision state can be reliably and rapidly detected even at a position distant from the center pillar.

Claims

1. A body structure having a side-collision detection sensor configured to include:

a side door that opens and closes a door open portion in a vehicle body side portion;

a rocker disposed along a vehicle anteroposterior direction on a lower edge of the door open portion; and

a pillar that rises toward a vehicle upper side from a predetermined position in a longitudinal direction of the rocker, with a side-collision detection sensor that detects a side-collision state from an acceleration being attached at a predetermined position on a lower portion of the pillar,

wherein a impact transmission member that projects a predetermined length in a vehicle width direction and transmits impact during a side-collision to the side-collision detection sensor is disposed on at least one of a vehicle width direction outer side of a site corresponding to a side region of a seated passenger in the longitudinal direction of the rocker and an inner side of an outer cover member that covers an outer side portion of the rocker.

2. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 1, wherein

a beam-like reinforcement member is disposed inside the side door across substantially the entire length of the side door along the door anteroposterior direction, and

the body structure is configured such that the impact transmission member collides with a colliding object via the side door during a period of time from an input start time when the acceleration begins to be inputted from the reinforcement member to the side-collision detection sensor via the pillar during a side-collision to until an input end time that is a sensing limit for appropriately actuating a passenger protection device using the side-collision detection sensor.

3. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 2, wherein the relative relationship between the reinforcement member and the impact transmission member is set such that a peak value of a composite wave obtained by combining the waveform of the acceleration inputted to the side-collision detection sensor when the impact transmission member is not disposed and just the reinforcement member is disposed and the waveform of the acceleration inputted to the side-collision detection sensor when the reinforcement member is not disposed and just the impact transmission member is disposed appears a predetermined amount of time earlier than the input end time.

4. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the impact transmission member is substantially U-shaped or substantially hat-shaped, and the impact transmission member is fixed to a vehicle width direction outer side surface of the rocker such that the projecting portion of the impact transmission member faces the vehicle width direction outer side.

5. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the impact transmission member is substantially U-shaped or substantially hat-shaped, and the impact transmission member is fixed to a vehicle width direction outer side surface of the rocker such that the projecting portion of the impact transmission member faces the vehicle width direction outer side.

6. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the impact transmission member is substantially U-shaped or substantially hat-shaped, and the impact transmission member is fixed to a vehicle width direction outer side surface of the rocker such that the projecting portion of the impact transmission member faces the vehicle width direction outer side.

7. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 1, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the impact transmission member is substantially U-shaped or substantially hat-shaped, and the impact transmission member is disposed on an inner side surface of the outer cover member such that the projecting portion of the impact transmission member faces the vehicle width direction inner side.

8. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 2, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the impact transmission member is substantially U-shaped or substantially hat-shaped, and the impact transmission member is disposed on an inner side surface of the outer cover member such that the projecting portion of the impact transmission member faces the vehicle width direction inner side.

9. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 3, wherein the cross-sectional shape of the impact transmission member is substantially U-shaped or substantially hat-shaped, and the impact transmission member is disposed on an inner side surface of the outer cover member such that the projecting portion of the impact transmission member faces the vehicle width direction inner side.

10. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 1, wherein the outer cover member is made of resin, and the impact transmission member is a rib-like projecting portion molded integrally with the outer cover member.

11. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 2, wherein the outer cover member is made of resin and the impact transmission member is a rib-like projecting portion molded integrally with the outer cover member.

12. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 3, wherein the outer cover member is made of resin and the impact transmission member is a rib-like projecting portion molded integrally with the outer cover member.

13. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 1, wherein the side door is a front side door.

14. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 13, wherein the pillar to which the side-collision detection sensor is attached is a center pillar.

15. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 13, wherein the pillar to which the side-collision detection sensor is attached is a front pillar.

16. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 1, wherein the side door is a rear side door.

17. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 16, wherein the pillar to which the side-collision detection sensor is attached is a center pillar.

18. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 16, wherein the pillar to which the side-collision detection sensor is attached is a quarter pillar.

19. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 2, wherein the side door is a front side door.

20. The body structure having a side-collision detection sensor of claim 2, wherein the side door is a rear side door.