Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-12
2001-07-17
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C180S268000, C180S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06260880
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle travel safety device which, in the case where a driver actively carries out a braking operation when it is determined that there is a possibility of the subject vehicle coming into contact with an object, generates a braking force to support the braking operation by the driver.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, the distance between the subject vehicle and a vehicle in front is detected by an ultrasonic sensor or an infrared sensor. Automatic braking is carried out when the above-mentioned distance between the vehicles becomes less than a threshold value where there is a possibility that the subject vehicle might come into contact with the vehicle in front. Japanese Utility Model Registration Publication No. 2573248 has proposed that, when an occupant does not wear a seat belt, the deceleration rate of the automatic braking is set at a small value so as to prevent the occupant from moving forwards due to the inertia accompanying the braking.
Furthermore, when considering the difficulty of effectively exhibiting the performance of an air bag in restraining an occupant when proximate expansion of the air bag (expansion of the air bag in a state in which its distance from the occupant is too small) is effected during collision of a vehicle, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-159838 has proposed that the distance between the air bag and the occupant is detected on the basis of the position of the seat on the lengthways slide, the angle of inclination of the seat back, the length of the seat belt that is extended, etc. and the timing of the expansion of the air bag is changed according to the distance.
However, with regard to the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Registration Publication No. 2573248, since the problem of proximate expansion of the air bag at a time when automatic braking is operated is not considered, there is a possibility that the performance of the air bag might not be exhibited effectively. Furthermore, with regard to the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-159838, since the distance between the air bag and the occupant is detected in a non-decelerating period, forward movement of the body of the occupant due to the deceleration resulting from automatic braking is not considered and there is a possibility that proximate expansion of the air bag might result.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been conducted in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and with regard to a vehicle travel safety device which carries out automatic braking in order to prevent a subject vehicle from coming into contact with an object, it is an objective of the present invention to effectively prevent proximate expansion of an air bag.
To achieve the above-mentioned objective, a first aspect of the invention is characterized in that a vehicle travel safety device comprises an object detecting means, a contact possibility determining means, an automatic braking means, an air bag, and a seat belt. The object detecting means detects an object present in the direction in which a subject vehicle travels. The contact possibility determining means determines the possibility of the subject vehicle coming into contact with the detected object. The automatic braking means automatically brakes the subject vehicle when the contact possibility determining means determines that there is a possibility of contact of the subject vehicle with the object. The air bag is expanded by the impact resulting from contact of the subject vehicle with the object so as to protect an occupant. The seat belt restrains the occupant in a seat. The device further comprises a seat belt wear state detecting means which detects the state in which the seat belt is worn by the occupant and an air bag expansion possibility estimating means which estimates the possibility of the air bag expanding at a time when automatic braking is operated by the automatic braking means. The automatic braking means changes the braking force used for automatic braking based on the result of the detecting made by the seat belt wear state detecting means and the result of the estimation made by the air bag expansion possibility estimating means.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, when it is determined that there is a possibility of the subject vehicle coming into contact with an object, the braking force used for the automatic braking is changed based on the state in which the seat belt is worn by the occupant and the possibility of the air bag expanding at a time when automatic braking is carried out in order to prevent contact with the object. Therefore, when there is no possibility of proximate expansion of the air bag, sufficient braking force is generated to prevent contact with the object, and when there is a possibility of proximate expansion of the air bag, the braking force is suppressed so as to prevent the occupant from moving forwards due to the inertia resulting from the braking and approaching the air bag.
The invention described in a second aspect, in addition to the arrangement of the first aspect, comprises a vehicle speed detecting means which detects the speed of the subject vehicle. The air bag expansion possibility estimating means estimates the possibility of the air bag expanding based on the speed of the subject vehicle at the time when the automatic braking means starts automatic braking.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, when the speed of the subject vehicle is high, since it is difficult to prevent contact with the object, it can be determined that there is a high possibility of the air bag expanding, and when the speed of the subject vehicle is low, since it is easy to prevent contact with the object, it can be determined that there is a low possibility of the air bag expanding.
The invention described in the third aspect, in addition to the arrangement of the first aspect, is characterized in that the air bag expansion possibility estimating means estimates the possibility of the air bag expanding based on the relative speed between the subject vehicle and the object detected by the object detecting means.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, when the relative speed between the subject vehicle and the object is high, since it is difficult to prevent contact with the object, it can be determined that there is a high possibility of the air bag expanding. When the relative speed between the subject vehicle and the object is low, since it is easy to prevent contact with the object, it can be determined that there is a low possibility of the air bag expanding.
The invention described in the fourth aspect, in addition to the arrangement of the first aspect, comprises a time estimating means which estimates the time taken for the subject vehicle to come into contact with the object based on a) the speed of the subject vehicle detected by the vehicle speed detecting means, b) the relative speed between the subject vehicle and the object detected by the object detecting means and c) the distance between the subject vehicle and the object detected by the object detecting means. The air bag expansion possibility estimating means estimates the possibility of the air bag expanding based on the time estimated by the time estimating means.
With the above-mentioned arrangement, the time taken for the subject vehicle to come into contact with the object is estimated based on a) the speed of the subject vehicle, b) the relative speed between the subject vehicle and the object detected and c) the distance between the subject vehicle and the object. When the estimated time is short, since it is difficult to prevent contact with the object, it can be determined that there is a high possibility of the air bag expanding. When the estimated time is long, since it is easy to prevent contact with the object, it can be determined that there is a low possibility of the air bag expanding.
The invention described in a fifth aspect, in addition to the arrangement of the f
Hada Satoshi
Ichikawa Shoji
Sugimoto Yoichi
Urai Yoshihiro
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Dickson Paul N.
Fleming Faye M.
Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
LandOfFree
Vehicle travel safety device does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Vehicle travel safety device, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Vehicle travel safety device will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2566690