Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Takahiro Kamei

Yasuki Motozawa

Yasushi Kawamura

Makoto Tsuruta

Kazuya Yoshida

Yoshimasa Eguchi

Yoshitaka Sekiguchi

Tatsuo Iwabe

Shigeo Tobaru

Shinji Hinosawa

Takeaki Nakajima

Takahiro Ohmoto

Ken Hanayama

Hisakazu Okuhara

Hiroyuki Mae

Yoshiyasu Sakata

Masahiro Saitou

Tokuji Takahashi

Yoshiji Terada

A sensor assembly includes a elongate article and a plurality of elongate piezoelectric elements provided to the elongate article. Each of the piezoelectric elements is configured so that when a load is applied in a direction perpendicular to a surface of the piezoelectric element, a short axis direction of the piezoelectric element becomes a sensitivity direction in which a voltage is generated, and a major axis direction becomes a non-sensitivity direction in which a voltage is not generated.

Sensor assembly

A sensor module mounted on a vehicle body includes a base plate, a sensor and a signal processing unit. The sensor includes a plurality of piezoelectric films for detecting an external force applied to the vehicle body. The signal processing unit is connected to the sensor for processing sensor signals output from the sensor. The sensor and the signal processing unit are attached to the base plate.

Sensor module for vehicle

A deformation detection sensor including: a piezoelectric element which generates an output signal due to a deformation; a reference signal input device which inputs a reference signal of a predetermined cycle to the piezoelectric element; a first signal extraction device which extracts a first output signal due to the deformation of the piezoelectric element out of an output signal from the piezoelectric element; a second signal extraction device which extracts a second output signal due to the reference signal out of the output signal from the piezoelectric element; a first evaluation device which evaluates the first output signal extracted by the first signal extraction device; and a second evaluation device which evaluates the second output signal extracted by the second signal extraction device.

Deformation detection sensor with temperature correction

A collision detection sensor for a vehicle of the present invention includes a single piezoelectric film which is flat, plural pairs of electrodes which sandwich the piezoelectric film and measure voltages between the electrodes, and spaces provided between the plural pairs of electrodes.

Collision detection sensor for vehicle and collision detection device for vehicle

A lock plate and a movable plate are provided to fix a seat at an optional position, and an actuator is provided between the seat and the movable plate. The seat is moved to the rear of a vehicle body in an initial stage of impact by the actuator. Acceleration is generated in the seat through impact abutment of a collapsible tube in the actuator against a piston head in an intermediate stage of impact. In a final stage of the impact, the seat is made integral with the vehicle body. The deceleration of the vehicle body and the seat and the deceleration of an occupant can be made equal to each other at an earlier timing. The apparatus can be installed by making use of a space under the seat, whereby the necessity of securing a special vacant space for installation of the apparatus can be obviated.

Vehicle occupant protection apparatus

A lock plate and a movable plate are provided to fix a seat at an optional position, and an actuator is provided between the seat and the movable plate. The seat is moved to the rear of a vehicle body in an initial stage of impact by the actuator. Acceleration is generated in the seat through impact abutment of a collapsible tube in the actuator against a piston head in an intermediate stage of impact. In a final stage of the impact, the seat is made integral with the vehicle body. The deceleration of a vehicle body and a seat and the deceleration of an occupant can be made equal to each other at an earlier timing. The apparatus can be installed by making use of a space under the seat, whereby the necessity of securing a special vacant space for installation of the apparatus can be obviated.

As a moveable part of the vehicle body carrying a vehicle seat moves rearward under the action of an active or passive power source as a result of a vehicle crash, the seat belt which is anchored at the moveable part at one end and a fixed part of the vehicle body at another end is pulled rearward, and performs the function to apply a deceleration to the vehicle occupant in an early phase of the vehicle crash. This is followed by a slight slackening of the seat belt as the moveable part is subjected to a forward force. The active power source typically consists of a high pressure gas generating device, and a passive power source typically consists of a G control member which transmits the deceleration of a vehicle crash to the vehicle occupant from an early phase of the crash, and/or a stopper which applies a forward force to the moveable part as the moveable part moves rearward by a prescribed distance under the action of the power source. Thus, an early application of a forward deceleration followed by the application of an acceleration which tends to mitigate the unacceptable sharp rise of the deceleration of the vehicle occupant achieves a desirable time history of deceleration for the vehicle occupant, and minimizes the injury to the vehicle occupant for a given stroke of deformation of the vehicle body.

Vehicle occupant protection system

Provided is a seat belt pretensioner device for a seat belt having a plurality of anchor points attached to different parts of a vehicle body which includes a G control vehicle body member which deforms in a different pattern from a remaining part of the vehicle body at the time of a vehicle crash. One of the anchor points, which typically consists of a seat belt buckle, is attached to the G control vehicle body member via a force transmitting member such as a cable member which is adapted to move the anchor point in a direction to increase a tension of the seat belt at the time of a vehicle crash. A seat belt pretensioner device can be thus achieved in a simple manner without requiring any special power actuator.

Seat belt pretensioner device powered by vehicle body deformation

In an automotive vehicle body structure including a crash load transmitting member extending from a front end of the vehicle body to a part adjacent to the floor member, and integrally carrying a seat thereon, a stopper is fixedly attached to the main frame, and adapted to abut a part of the crash load transmitting member upon a rearward movement of the crash load transmitting member by a prescribed distance. A guide member normally retains the crash load transmitting member firmly to the vehicle body main frame as a part of the vehicle body, but allows the crash load transmitting member to move rearward, and hit the stopper so that the desired deceleration time history may be achieved in the crash load transmitting member which is integral with the seat, and the deceleration of the vehicle occupant may be favorably controlled.

Vehicle body structure for improved crash safety

The vehicle occupant protection system can significantly reduce the peak deceleration of the vehicle occupant even with a small vehicle body. The system comprises a seat supported on a vehicle body so as to be slidable in a direction of an input crash load resulting from a vehicle crash; a first member connected to the seat and adapted to deform under the crash load upon occurrence of a vehicle crash; a second member connected to a main part of the vehicle body and adapted to deform under the crash load; and a power actuator for applying a forward force to the seat relative to the vehicle body with a certain time delay after the occurrence of the vehicle crash; the first member being adapted to substantially deform only after the forward force is applied to the seat upon occurrence of a vehicle crash. Thus, in case of a vehicle crash or other high deceleration situations, the seat is accelerated rearward upon the occurrence of a vehicle crash by the first member resisting deformation while the second member deforms so that the restraining capability of the seat belt is enhanced. Thereafter, an acceleration in the opposite direction is applied to the seat by the application of the forward force to the seat relative to the vehicle body so that the equalization of the decelerations of the vehicle body and the vehicle occupant is achieved in an early stage of the crash.

In an automotive vehicle body structure comprising a seat carrying member that is moveable with respect to the main part of the vehicle body at the time of a vehicle crash so as to reduce the peak deceleration of the vehicle occupant in the seat, the seat carrying member comprises an elongated member extending in a fore-and-aft direction of the vehicle body and having a portion adapted to be deformable at the time of a vehicle crash. The seat is preferably connected to the elongated member of the seat carrying member at a widthwise center of the seat so that at the time of a vehicle crash, the inertial force of the seat and the vehicle occupant will act in the direction that the elongated member extends and substantially no horizontal moment will be applied on the seat carrying member. A seat position adjustment mechanism is preferably provided between the seat and the elongated member of the seat carrying member.

Automotive vehicle body structure

In a vehicle occupant protection system, the seat is subjected to a forward deceleration by a power actuator following a frontal vehicle crash substantially without any time delay, and following a rearward movement of the seat with respect to the vehicle body by a prescribed distance, the seat is subjected to a forward acceleration by a stopper attached to a vehicle body to prevent any excessive rise in the forward deceleration of the vehicle occupant. Thereafter, the vehicle seat is required to move substantially integrally with the vehicle body to allow the vehicle occupant to decelerate at a tolerable deceleration level by virtue of a controlled deformation of the vehicle body, and the one-way motion mechanism ensures the vehicle seat to move jointly with the vehicle body once the stopper has stopped the rearward movement of the seat.

The vehicle occupant protection system can significantly reduce the peak deceleration of the vehicle occupant even with a small vehicle body. The system comprises a seat supported on a vehicle body so as to be slidable in a direction of an input crash load resulting from a vehicle crash; a first member connected to the seat and adapted to deform under the crash load upon occurrence of a vehicle crash; a second member connected to a main part of the vehicle body and adapted to deform under the crash load; and a stopper or an actuator for applying a forward force to the seat relative to the vehicle body with a certain time delay after the occurrence of the vehicle crash; the first member being adapted to substantially deform only after the forward force is applied to the seat upon occurrence of a vehicle crash. Thus, in case of a vehicle crash or other high deceleration situations, the seat is accelerated rearward upon the occurrence of a vehicle crash by the first member resisting deformation while the second member deforms so that the restraining capability of the seat belt is enhanced. Thereafter, an acceleration in the opposite direction is applied to the seat by the application of the forward force to the seat relative to the vehicle body so that the equalization of the decelerations of the vehicle body and the vehicle occupant is achieved in an early stage of the crash.

A push rod of a vacuum booster includes an inner rod section, a pipe-shaped outer rod section which is slidably fitted over an outer periphery of a rear portion of the inner rod section and connected to a brake pedal, and a buffer member made of a synthetic resin and fitted over the outer periphery of the inner rod section in front of the outer rod section. Usually, an end face of the outer rod section is retained in a position in which it abuts against a projection of the inner rod section. When an axial compressing force is applied to the push rod upon a collision of an automobile, the end face of the outer rod section slides forwards over and past the projection, while buckling the buffer member. Thus, the pushing-up of the brake pedal toward a vehicle compartment due to the retreating movement of a master cylinder is prevented, and the load applied to a driver's foot is alleviated.

Brake device for automobile

In a vehicle subframe including a pair of longitudinal members which extend in parallel with each other along a longitudinal direction of a vehicle body, and lateral members which extend across the longitudinal members, a connecting member extends across intermediate points of two of the lateral members which are disposed adjacent to each other, and one of the engine mounts is provided on the connecting member. Thereby, the load from the engine can be favorably distributed over the lateral members, and the rigidity at the points for mounting the engine can be increased, whereby the vibrations from the engine are effectively shut off from the passenger compartment. Additionally, the lateral members are not subjected to any significant localized stresses, and can be therefore made lighter in weight.

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Wako, Japan

Takahiro Kamei