Pedestrian protection system

• US 20090242308A1
• Filed: 03/24/2009
• Published: 10/01/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Shigeyuki, Aoki, Masashi, Fukuyama, Takaki, Hayashi, Takeki, Kitte, Hajime, Inoue, Michio, Shiga, Ichizo, Matsuura, Hirokazu, Ida, Hitoshi, Sugiyama, Tsukasa
• Granted Patent: US 7,836,996 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 180/271
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/346 means outside vehicle body
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/36 using airbags

Abstract

A pedestrian protection system is mounted in the front portion of a vehicle, and includes a controller, a forward movement holding mechanism controlled in actuation by the controller, and a contact body that a pedestrian can contact. The controller, when having predicted a collision of a pedestrian with the vehicle based on a signal from a collision predicting sensor, actuates the forward movement holding mechanism to cause a forward movement of the contact body, and based on a signal from a turn sensor when the forward movement holding mechanism carries out an upward rotation or a downward rotation at the time of contact of the forwardly moved contact body with a pedestrian, controls actuation of the restraint body so as to correspond to a pedestrian moving to a front upper side of the vehicle and a pedestrian moving to a front lower side of the vehicle, respectively.

Claims

1. A pedestrian protection system mounted in a front portion of a vehicle and structured to allow disposing a restraint body that is actuated at the time of collision of a pedestrian with the vehicle for protectably receiving in a manner corresponding to the pedestrian moving to a front upper side of the vehicle and the pedestrian moving to a front lower side of the vehicle, respectively, so as to be in a receiving state, comprising:

a contact body that is projected forward from an initial position where the contact body is stored in a front face of the vehicle, for contacting the pedestrian, at the time of actuation;

a forward movement holding mechanism that makes the contact body projectable forward at the time of actuation, for holding the contact body from a rear side thereof;

a turn holding mechanism for holding a rear portion of the forward movement holding mechanism so as to rotate the forward movement holding mechanism to one side of upward or downward, at the time of contact of the forwardly moved contact body with the pedestrian, in response to a magnitude of pressing force toward an upper portion or toward a lower portion of the contact body;

a collision predicting sensor disposed on the vehicle, for predicting the collision of the pedestrian with the vehicle;

a turn sensor for detecting an upward or downward turn of the forward movement holding mechanism; and

a controller for controlling actuation of the forward movement holding mechanism and the restraint body based on signals from the collision predicting sensor and the turn sensor, wherein

when having predicted the collision of the pedestrian with the vehicle based on a signal from the collision predicting sensor, the controller actuates the forward movement holding mechanism to cause a forward movement of the contact body, and

based on a signal from the turn sensor when the forward movement holding mechanism carries out an upward rotation or a downward rotation at the time of contact of the forwardly moved contact body with the pedestrian, the controller controls actuation of the restraint body so as to correspond to the pedestrian moving to a front upper side of the vehicle and the pedestrian moving to a front lower side of the vehicle.

2. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 1, wherein

the forward movement holding mechanism comprises:

a connection supporting member that extends rearward in a manner connected to a rear face of the contact body; and

a drive source that holds the connection supporting member, and is actuated by an actuation signal from the controller to cause a forward movement of the connection supporting member along with the contact body, and

the turn holding mechanism comprises;

a holding shaft disposed, at a rear side of the forward movement holding mechanism, with an axial direction thereof lying along a left and right direction, and being rotatable around the axis; and

a connection holding member for connecting the drive source of the forward movement holding mechanism to the holding shaft, and

wherein a deforming portion that is deformed so as to be able to absorb kinetic energy of the pedestrian when the forward movement holding mechanism turns upward and downward at the time of contact of the forwardly moved contact body with the pedestrian is disposed at, at least a part of the forward movement holding mechanism and the turn holding mechanism.

3. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 1, wherein

the controller actuates the forward movement holding mechanism so as to return the contact body to an initial position after actuating the forward movement holding mechanism to cause a forward movement of the contact body, when the collision of the pedestrian with the vehicle is avoided.

4. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 1, wherein the restraint body for receiving the pedestrian moving to a front lower side of the vehicle is an airbag that makes an inflating gas flow in and projects from a storing part to inflate at the time of actuation to be in a receiving state.

5. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 1, wherein the restraint body for receiving the pedestrian moving to a front upper side of the vehicle is an airbag that makes an inflating gas flow in and projects from a storing part to inflate at the time of actuation to be in a receiving state.

6. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 1, wherein the restraint body for receiving the pedestrian moving to a front upper side of the vehicle is, as a hood panel, moved to rise at the time of actuation to be in a receiving state.

7. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 1, wherein the restraint body is formed of one airbag that makes an inflating gas flow in to inflate at the time of actuation to be in a receiving state,

the forward movement holding mechanism is structured so as to hold the airbag and a case storing the airbag while having an opening from which the airbag is projectable, and arranged at a rear face of the contact body,

an interlock mechanism that faces the opening from which the airbag is projected in the case upward or downward in an interlocked manner with an upward rotation or a downward rotation of the forward movement holding mechanism is disposed, and

the one airbag is disposed so as to inflate, according to a direction of the opening of the case by the interlock mechanism, at the time of actuation, in a manner corresponding to the pedestrian moving to a front upper side or a front lower side of the vehicle.

8. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 7, wherein

the case is disposed, at an upper face and a lower face, with openings from which the airbag is projectable and covers that openably cover the respective openings, respectively,

the interlock mechanism is constructed with connecting members that are connected, for the covers at the upper face and the lower face of the case, respectably, so that an opening movement is possible, and

the respective connecting members are disposed with end portions departing from connecting parts with the covers being held, in the vicinity of a center of rotation of the forward movement holding mechanism, at mutually vertically inverted positions so that an opening movement of the corresponding cover is possible when the forward movement holding mechanism carries out an upward rotation or a downward rotation.

9. The pedestrian protection system according to claim 7, wherein

the case includes, at a front end side arranged at a rear position of the contact body, a front-end opening from which the airbag is projectable, and is held by the forward movement holding mechanism so as to be rotatable with the front-end opening facing upward or downward,

the interlock mechanism is constructed with a supporting member for supporting a further rear-side part than a center of rotation with respect to the forward movement holding mechanism in the case, and

the supporting member is disposed, in order to form a gap where the airbag is projectable between the contact body and the front-end opening, so as to be able to relatively rotate the case with respect to the forward movement holding mechanism at the time of rotation, in order to positionally restrict a rear-side part of the case, so as to be able to move the case forward and rearward and so as to be unable to move the rear-side part of the case upward and downward.