JP4545604B2 - Vehicle door lock system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a door lock system for a vehicle such as an automobile.

In vehicles such as automobiles, doors on which passengers get on and off usually have a door lock mechanism. Such a door lock mechanism is locked (locked) according to a user's operation during parking, and automatically prevents the user from opening the door accidentally during driving or during user operation. It is locked by.
However, the door lock mechanism forcibly unlocks when a collision is detected for the purpose of facilitating the escape of the passenger or rescue from the outside when the vehicle has a collision accident with the door locked. What is locked (unlocked) is known.

  In order to prevent the door lock from being released even when the vehicle is intentionally collided during parking, for example, the door lock mechanism described above does not collide until a predetermined time elapses after the ignition is turned off. When it detects, it forcibly unlocks, but when a collision is detected after that, what does not unlock is known (for example, patent documents 1).

In addition, the door lock mechanism is locked until a predetermined time has elapsed after the collision is detected in order to prevent the door from being opened due to an erroneous operation, for example, when the vehicle rolls over (rolls over) after the collision. A device that is maintained and then forcibly unlocked is known (for example, Patent Document 2).
JP-A-8-199880 JP 2004-116244 A

However, since the door lock mechanism described above is forcibly unlocked even when the vehicle is involved in a crime and deliberately collides with the vehicle, the door can be easily opened from the outside of the vehicle. Passenger protection was not considered.
On the other hand, the door lock mechanism can be locked again if the normal lock operation is performed after it is forcibly unlocked. There is a risk of unintended locking operations. For example, such a door lock mechanism is locked even when a part of the passenger's body comes into contact with the operation unit due to an impact.
In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door lock system capable of appropriately locking a door after a vehicle collision.

The present invention solves the above-described problems by the following means.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a lock mechanism for locking or unlocking a door of a vehicle, a collision detection unit for detecting a collision of the vehicle, a vehicle interior of the vehicle, and a lock operation of the lock mechanism are performed. an operation unit that is input, based on the output of the collision detection unit, while unlock the locking mechanism, usually for locking the locking mechanism in response to a first operation pattern inputted to the operating unit from mode, is input to the operation portion is the door locking system for a vehicle and a control unit for switching to the post-collision mode for locking the locking mechanism in response to the second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern .

According to the present invention, when the collision of the vehicle is detected, the control unit switches the operation pattern of the operation unit to a different one from that at the normal time. Therefore, the lock mechanism unit allows the passenger to perform a normal lock operation. It is not locked even if it is performed, and unintentional locking due to an erroneous operation can be prevented.
On the other hand, in this case as well, the passenger can lock the locking mechanism by performing a locking operation different from that in the normal state, so that the passenger can be protected from, for example, a criminal .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle door lock system capable of appropriately locking a door after a vehicle collision. When a deceleration acceleration sensor or a collision acceleration sensor detects a vehicle collision or a pre-crash, the door lock is provided. The problem was solved by controlling the switch so that it is not locked when it is operated normally and is locked when it is repeatedly operated multiple times.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a vehicle door lock system to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the vehicle door lock system of the present embodiment.
The vehicle door lock system includes a deceleration acceleration sensor 1, a collision acceleration sensor 2, a key switch 3, a door lock switch 4, a seating sensor 5, a door lock actuator 6, and a control device 7.

  The deceleration acceleration sensor 1 detects a deceleration acceleration when the vehicle decelerates by a brake operation or the like, and in particular, is a predetermined attribute caused by a sudden deceleration (pre-crash brake) operation performed by the driver to avoid a collision. It is a pre-crash detection unit that detects the presence or absence of a deceleration acceleration equal to or greater than a value. The deceleration acceleration sensor 1 is used not only for the control of the door lock system, but also for, for example, output of an alarm or control for retracting a seat belt.

The collision acceleration sensor 2 detects the acceleration in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and detects the presence or absence of a collision based on the presence or absence of a large acceleration that does not normally occur in the deceleration acceleration caused by the brake operation. . The output of the collision acceleration sensor 2 is not limited to the control of the door lock system, and is used for, for example, determining whether or not the airbag needs to be operated.
In addition, the collision acceleration sensor 2 may be provided to detect acceleration in a corresponding direction in order to detect, for example, a side collision or a rear collision.

  The key switch 3 is an operation unit for a driver to start and stop the engine of the vehicle, and includes a key cylinder (not shown) into which a key is detachably inserted. In response, an on / off signal is output to the control device 7.

The door lock switch 4 is an operation unit that is provided in, for example, an inner surface of a door or a vehicle interior part such as a center console, and an occupant inputs a lock operation and an unlock operation of the door lock actuator 6. Switches such as levers and push buttons are provided. The door lock switch 4 may be provided independently for each of a plurality of doors (not shown) provided in the vehicle, and is a so-called centralized control that collectively controls the door lock actuators 6 of the plurality of doors. It may be a door lock switch.
In a normal state, the door lock switch 4 can be locked by driving the door lock actuator 6 by operating, for example, once (first operation pattern). Later, for example, it is possible to lock only by performing a more complicated operation (second operation pattern) than usual, such as an operation that is repeated five times. This point will be described in detail later.

  The seating sensor 5 includes, for example, a sensor that is incorporated in the seat of the driver's seat and detects a load caused by the weight of the passenger when the passenger is seated, and outputs a signal according to whether the passenger is seated or not. To do.

  The door lock actuator 6 includes an actuator such as a solenoid coil that drives a latch unit (not shown) provided in the door, and locks or unlocks the door.

The control device 7 includes a CPU connected to each of the above-described units, detects a pre-crash and a collision of the vehicle, and controls a door lock system described in detail below. For example, an air bag or a seat belt pretensioner It controls the operation and so on.
In addition, the control device 7 performs the above-described control not only for frontal collisions but also for side collisions, rear collisions, rollovers, and the like.
Further, the control device 7 may be an integrated unit that performs the above-described control at the time of collision together with control of other functions related to the vehicle.

Next, control at the time of a collision in the above-described vehicle door lock system will be described.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing this control, in the case where the door collides with the door unlocked. Hereinafter, the steps will be described step by step.

(Step S01: Key switch on determination)
The control device 7 detects whether or not a key is inserted into the key cylinder based on an on / off signal output from the key switch 3, and when the key is inserted (on), the vehicle is traveling or temporarily It is determined that the vehicle is stopped, and the process proceeds to step S02. On the other hand, when the key is not inserted (OFF), it is determined that the vehicle is parked, and the process proceeds to step S09.

(Step S02: Sitting presence / absence determination)
The control device 7 determines whether or not the occupant is seated on the seat based on the signal output from the seating sensor 5. And when a passenger's seating is detected, it progresses to Step S03, and when it is not detected, it progresses to Step S09.

(Step S03: Judgment of collision)
Based on the output of the deceleration acceleration sensor 1, the control device 7 determines whether or not a pre-crash brake operation, which is a sign of a collision, is being performed. Further, the control device 7 determines whether or not the vehicle has collided based on the output of the collision acceleration sensor 2.
When at least one of the pre-crash brake and the collision is detected, the door lock switch 4 is repeated, for example, five times from the normal mode in which the door lock switch 4 is locked by one operation (first operation pattern). Then, it is determined to switch to the post-collision mode in which locking is performed when operated (second operation pattern), and the process proceeds to step S04. On the other hand, if neither pre-crash brake nor collision is detected, the process proceeds to step S09.
When the control device 7 switches to the post-collision mode, for example, the lock operation method is switched to the passenger via an output unit (not shown) such as a display unit of the navigation system or an audio speaker. A warning to that effect and a lock operation method after switching are output.

(Step S04: Door lock switch operation presence / absence determination)
The control device 7 determines whether or not the operation has been performed on the door lock switch 4. If the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S05. If the operation has not been performed, the process proceeds to step S08.

(Step S05: Count value addition)
The control device 7 adds 1 to the count value indicating the cumulative number of operations of the door lock switch 4, and proceeds to step S06.

(Step S06: Count value judgment)
The control device 7 determines whether or not the current count value is a predetermined number of times, for example, 5 or more, and if it is 5 or more, the process proceeds to step S07. On the other hand, when the count value is 4 or less, the process returns to step S04.

(Step S07: Door lock locking)
The control device 7 outputs a control signal to the door lock actuator 6, locks the door, and proceeds to step S08.

(Step S08: Count value reset)
The control device 7 sets the above-described count value to 0 and ends the control.

(Step S09: Judgment of door lock switch operation)
The control device 7 determines whether or not an operation has been performed on the door lock switch 4. If the operation has been performed, the process proceeds to step S10. If the operation has not been performed, the control is terminated.

(Step S10: Door lock locking)
The control device 7 outputs a control signal to the door lock actuator 6, locks the door, and ends the control.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the pre-crash brake or the collision is detected, the control device 7 performs the operation from the normal mode in which the lock is performed by operating the door lock switch 4 once. Since the operation mode is switched to the post-collision mode in which the lock is performed by repeatedly operating the vehicle, the vehicle is locked by an erroneous operation and the passenger is prevented from being trapped.
In addition, if desired, the passenger can lock the vehicle by repetitive operations.For example, if the passenger is involved in a crime and intentionally collides with the vehicle, the passenger is locked. Can be protected from crime.
Furthermore, since the control device 7 detects the on / off of the key switch 3 and switches to the post-collision mode based on the result, when the vehicle is collided during parking or the like, the control device 7 switches to the post-collision mode. Without locking, it can be locked by normal operation.

(Modification)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the equivalent scope of the present invention.
(1) Although the embodiment described above detects a collision or a pre-crash that is a precursor thereof based on the deceleration acceleration of the vehicle, the present invention is not limited thereto, for example, a monitoring device that monitors an obstacle ahead of the vehicle, Pre-crash may be detected using outputs from radar devices using lasers, millimeter waves, etc., position sensors (switches) for brake pedals or accelerator pedals, vehicle speed sensors, yaw angle sensors for detecting side slip of vehicles, etc. Good.
(2) Although the control in the above-described embodiment has been described by taking as an example the case of a collision in the unlocked state, the present invention automatically locks the door during traveling according to, for example, the vehicle speed, and in principle during traveling. As described above, the present invention can also be applied to a door lock system that is in a locked state and automatically unlocks in the event of a collision.
(3) In the embodiment described above, after the collision, the door lock switch is operated by repeatedly operating it a plurality of times. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As long as the lock operation is complicated. For example, the door may be locked by operating the door lock switch for a predetermined time or longer.
Further, the number of repetitive operations, the duration of continuous operation, and the like may be set by the user himself / herself via a terminal such as an input / output device of a navigation system or a failure diagnosis device connected to a vehicle.
(4) In the above-described embodiment, the traveling state of the vehicle is detected based on on / off of the key switch. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other information such as the transmission position, parking brake signal, vehicle speed, and the like. It may be detected based on the above.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the Example of the vehicle door lock system to which this invention is applied. It is a flowchart which shows the control at the time of the collision in the vehicle door lock system of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Deceleration acceleration sensor 2 Collision acceleration sensor 3 Key switch 4 Door lock switch 5 Seating sensor 6 Door lock actuator 7 Control apparatus

Claims (1)

A locking mechanism for locking or unlocking the door of the vehicle;
A collision detector for detecting a collision of the vehicle;
An operation unit provided in a cabin of the vehicle, to which a lock operation of the lock mechanism unit is input;
Based on the output of the collision detection unit, while unlock the lock mechanism portion, from the normal mode to lock the locking mechanism in response to a first operation pattern inputted to the operation unit, the operating unit A vehicle door lock system comprising: a control unit that is input and switches to a post-collision mode that locks the lock mechanism unit according to a second operation pattern different from the first operation pattern .

Images