DE102019132635A1 - Method for recognizing a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle and vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A method is specified for detecting a state (Z) of at least one occupant (I) of a vehicle (2), in particular a motor vehicle, in which at least one sensor (4) is used to automate evaporation (A) from the at least one occupant (I) is detected, by means of an evaluation unit (6) the detected exhalation (A) is evaluated and based on the evaluated exhalation (A) the state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I) is recognized and by means of a control unit (8) as a function of the recognized state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I) is acted on a function of the vehicle and / or on the at least one occupant (I). A vehicle (2) with a recognition system (10) is also specified.

Description

The invention relates to a method for recognizing a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, with a detection system.

The area of the development of (basic) vehicle functions with regard to occupant presence and / or status recognition within the vehicle is becoming increasingly important today.

For example, it is currently difficult to identify a state of an occupant, especially the driver. The term state can include, for example, emotions, alcoholism and / or illness.

It is known that camera systems are used to recognize facial expressions on the part of the driver, which are intended to recognize, for example, repetitive closing of the eyes. An evaluation unit then concludes from this that the driver is overtired and, for example, a warning message for the driver is displayed on the dashboard.

Such camera systems are, however, prone to errors due to the facial expressions of a person, which are sometimes very different.

Another known example of detecting a condition of an occupant and especially the condition of the driver is to subject him to an alcohol test before driving or starting the engine. To enable the engine to start, the driver has to blow into a small tube that is connected to a breath test device inside the vehicle. If the breath alcohol level is too high, the vehicle cannot be started.

Such an alcohol test is on the one hand annoying for the driver, since he has to actively participate in it, and on the other hand, a driver must voluntarily have such test devices installed in the vehicle so that the tests are effective.

Furthermore, the range and amount of recognizable conditions of the occupants is currently limited.

Proceeding from this, the invention is based on the object of specifying a method for recognizing a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle, which is simple and automated and in which several different states are recognized at the same time. It is also an object of the invention to specify a vehicle.

The object directed to the method is achieved according to the invention by a method for recognizing a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle having the features of claim 1. The object directed to the vehicle is achieved according to the invention by a vehicle having the features of claim 9.

Advantageous refinements, developments and variants are the subject of the subclaims.

The advantages and preferred configurations listed with regard to the method are to be transferred accordingly to the vehicle and vice versa.

Specifically, the object directed to the method is achieved by a method for detecting a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle, in particular a motor vehicle, in which in a first step an evaporation of the at least one occupant is automatically detected by means of at least one sensor.

The motor vehicle is preferably, but not exclusively, a passenger vehicle. Alternatively, the vehicle can also be a rail-bound vehicle or an aircraft. The at least one occupant is preferably, but not exclusively, the driver of the vehicle, since this person has an essential role to play with regard to the safety of the vehicle and / or other people, especially during the journey.

The evaporation of the at least one occupant can be understood to mean, for example, the breathing air and / or the sweat of the at least one occupant.

In this context, automated can be understood to mean that the evaporation of the at least one occupant is recorded completely without their active involvement. In other words, the at least one occupant does not need any action, such as blowing into the tube mentioned at the beginning. The vapors that the at least one occupant emits through the skin in the form of sweat, for example in the course of their breathing reflex and / or in the course of the biological moisture exchange, are thus advantageously detected with the at least one sensor.

In a second step, the detected exhalation is evaluated by means of an evaluation unit and the state of the at least one occupant is recognized on the basis of the evaluated exhalation. In other words, the evaluation unit is used to identify the current state of the allows at least one occupant based on an evaluation of his vapors. For this purpose, information about a composition of the evaporation in certain physical and / or emotional states of a person is stored, for example, in an internal memory of the evaluation unit.

A function of the vehicle and / or the at least one occupant is then acted on by means of a control unit as a function of the recognized state of the at least one occupant.

The action on the at least one occupant serves to change his current state in such a way that the above-mentioned safety of the vehicle and / or possible other occupants is not endangered by the current state of the at least one occupant. The action of the control unit on the at least one occupant is thus to be understood such that actions, which are described in detail below, are activated by the control unit, which are primarily aimed at the driver and do not represent a technical intervention in the vehicle.

The effect on a function of the vehicle, on the other hand, can be understood to mean an active effect of the control unit on technical functions, e.g. a braking function of the vehicle. In this case, the control unit is expediently connected to at least one control component of the vehicle, for example to the engine control device or a control unit of the brake system.

The at least one sensor, the evaluation unit and the control unit form a detection system.

The method described above, and in particular the automated detection of the evaporation by means of the at least one sensor, enables a simple detection of the state of the at least one occupant of the vehicle without annoying them. Furthermore, the described method enables the at least one occupant and / or the vehicle to be acted on as a function of the recognized state in order, for example, to at least reduce (potential) dangerous situations and / or their consequences.

In one embodiment, the evaluation unit recognizes at least one drunken state and / or a sick state and / or a tired state and / or an emotional state of mind of the at least one occupant on the basis of the detected exhalation. The emotional state of mind can be understood to mean, for example, aggression or stress. This enables several possible states of the at least one occupant to be recognized solely on the basis of their vapors and to act accordingly on them and / or the vehicle by means of the control unit. It is also possible to recognize further physical and / or emotional states not listed here in this way.

In order to recognize the previous states in a differentiated manner, the respective current state of the at least one occupant is recognized in one embodiment by the evaluation unit on the basis of an evaluation of chemical and / or organic substances and / or molecules. For example, a detected concentration of ethanol and / or carbon dioxide and other chemical or biochemical substances and molecules in the vapors can be used to unambiguously deduce a physical or emotional state of the at least one occupant.

In order for the control unit to act on the at least one occupant and / or on a function of the vehicle, in one embodiment a warning signal and / or an ambient signal is output as a function of the recognized state of the at least one occupant. Alternatively or in addition, active cruise control is also adopted.

If the evaluation unit determines, for example, that the at least one occupant is aggressive due to their vapors, the control unit acts on the at least one occupant, for example, in such a way that soothing fragrances are directed into the interior of the vehicle. As an alternative or in addition to this, a calming ambient signal in the form of ambient lighting can be activated in order to counteract the aggressiveness of the at least one occupant. Furthermore, as an alternative or in addition, in this case the control unit can act on a function of the vehicle in such a way that the driving performance is throttled in order to prevent or stop an aggressive driving style.

If the evaluation unit recognizes, for example, that the at least one occupant is tired, the control unit can also act on the at least one occupant by means of a relaxing program. If the vehicle is an autonomously drivable vehicle, the control unit can alternatively or additionally activate an autonomous driving mode so that the at least one occupant can relax.

If the vapors from the at least one occupant indicate an intoxicated state, it is preferably provided that the Control unit blocks starting the vehicle before the start of the journey. If the vehicle is already in motion and the evaluation unit detects an intoxicated state, the control unit can, for example, act on the vehicle in such a way that it brakes it to a standstill and blocks further travel.

A warning signal can also expediently be output when the evaluation unit recognizes an illness of the at least one occupant on the basis of the evaporation detected. The warning can contain, for example, that the at least one occupant should go to a doctor. In an extreme case and preferably when the vehicle is designed as a rail-bound or air-bound vehicle, it is possible for the control unit to initiate quarantine measures when dangerous pathogens are recognized.

It is also made possible, especially in rail-bound vehicles, to quickly recognize and localize alcoholized and / or aggressive groups and to send a corresponding warning signal to the staff through the control unit.

In summary, the method described has the advantage that the control unit can react individually to different, recognized states.

In a further embodiment, several sensors arranged within an interior of the vehicle are provided. This makes it possible to capture the vapors from several occupants. Thus, an occupant-selective recognition of the states is possible. The above-described possibilities of how the control unit can act on the at least one occupant and / or the functions of the vehicle are thereby advantageously extended to several and in particular all occupants of the vehicle.

In order to advantageously optimize the automated detection of the state of the at least one occupant, the at least one sensor is arranged in one embodiment in part of an air conditioning system of the vehicle. Here, the at least one sensor is arranged, for example, in an outlet of the air conditioning system of the vehicle. In the case of a plurality of sensors, these are preferably arranged in different outlets that are respectively assigned to different seats in order to detect a corresponding differentiation of the vapors from a plurality of occupants.

The circulating air within the interior, which is usually designed to be closed, is then used to detect the evaporation by the at least one sensor by checking the air continuously or at intervals as it flows past the at least one sensor. As a result, the at least one occupant does not have to interact with the detection system.

This embodiment also has the advantage that a more precise localization of the occupants and their states is made possible. If the evaluation unit detects, for example, that one of the occupants is intoxicated, it is decisive whether this person is sitting in the driver's seat or in the front passenger seat, for example. For example, while the control unit would block the engine from starting in the first case, it would not do so in the second case because the person in the front passenger seat does not actively participate in the traffic.

In one embodiment, a connection, in particular the evaluation unit, to vehicle-specific components, such as an interior camera and / or seat sensors, is provided. In this way, a number of occupants and / or a spatial distribution of several occupants within the vehicle can thus be reliably identified. The occupant-selective recognition of the states of several occupants is thus further optimized.

According to an alternative or supplementary embodiment, the control unit is set up to communicate with an external entity. The external entity can be understood to mean, for example, the Internet, a navigation device and / or a mobile phone of the at least one occupant. This is so that when the control unit detects a sick condition of the at least one occupant, for example, the address of the family doctor can be fed into the navigation device and set or, alternatively or in addition, a drug can be automatically ordered from a pharmacy. For this purpose, the control unit can, for example, also be set up to access a contact memory of the mobile phone of the at least one occupant. As an alternative or in addition, such data can also be programmed into an internal memory of the control unit by the at least one occupant in the sense of a user profile.

The object directed at the vehicle is achieved in concrete terms by a vehicle, in particular by a motor vehicle with a recognition system for recognizing a state of at least one occupant. The detection system is preferably designed to carry out the method described above. For this purpose, it has at least one sensor for the automated detection of evaporation from the at least one occupant. The detection system also has an evaluation unit. The evaluation unit is used to evaluate the detected exhalation and to identify the state of the at least one occupant on the basis of the detected exhalation.

Furthermore, the detection system has a control unit for acting on a function of the vehicle and / or on the at least one occupant as a function of the detected state of the at least one occupant.

In one embodiment, the at least one sensor is arranged in part of an air conditioning system of the vehicle.

According to an alternative or supplementary embodiment, the evaluation unit has a connection to vehicle-specific components. This connection is used to identify a number and / or a spatial distribution of several occupants.

• 1 ein Blockschaltbild, das schematisiert ein Verfahren zur Erkennung eines Zustands zumindest eines Insassen eines Fahrzeugs verdeutlicht sowie
• 2 einen schematischen Aufbau eines Erkennungssystems zur Erkennung eines Zustands zumindest eines Insassen eines Fahrzeugs.

Embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the figures. These show in partially simplified representations:

• 1 a block diagram that schematically illustrates a method for recognizing a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle and
• 2 a schematic structure of a recognition system for recognizing a state of at least one occupant of a vehicle.

In the figures, parts with the same effect are always shown with the same reference numerals.

The first step of the in 1 presented method for recognizing a condition Z at least one inmate I. of a vehicle that is only indicated schematically 2 is that by means of at least one sensor 4th Exhalations A. of at least one inmate I. is recorded automatically. In this context, automated can be understood to mean that the detection is carried out without the active and conscious involvement of the at least one occupant I. he follows. The recorded exhalation A. is then preferably sent to an evaluation unit 6th transmitted. Under the exhalation A. can be the breath and / or the sweat of the at least one occupant I. be understood. The vehicle 2 is in the embodiment according to 1 a motor vehicle and especially a passenger vehicle. Alternatively, it can be the vehicle 2 however, it can also be a rail-bound vehicle, for example a train, or an air-bound vehicle, for example an airplane.

In the next step, the evaluation unit 6th the recorded exhalation A. evaluated and analyzed. On the basis of the evaluated evaporation A. becomes the state Z of at least one inmate I. recognized. Under the condition Z of at least one inmate I. Both a physical and an emotional state of the at least one occupant can be understood here. This is how the evaluation unit 6th for example recognized when the at least one occupant I. is drunk, tired, aggressive, sad or sick.

Such a recognition based on the exhalations A. of at least one inmate I. is based on an analysis of the components of the vapors A. and specifically on an analysis of the biochemicals and / or molecules in the vapors A. .

The next step is information about the status Z of at least one inmate I. to a control unit 8th transfer. The control unit 8th then acts depending on the recognized state Z of at least one inmate I. on a function of the vehicle 2 and / or the at least one occupant I. a.

So it is in the embodiment according to 1 For example, it is conceivable that when it is recognized that the at least one occupant I. is tired, an acoustic and / or visual warning signal WS to the at least one inmate I. is issued. Alternatively or in addition, an ambient signal can be used AS , for example in the form of interior lighting, on the at least one occupant I. act when it is recognized, for example, that he is aggressive.

Furthermore, the control unit 8th preferably in the event that it is the vehicle 2 an autonomously drivable vehicle 2 acts and, upon detection of fatigue, act on a driving function of the vehicle E (shown schematically by means of the arrow) in such a way that it activates an autonomous driving mode. The at least one inmate I. provided this is the driver of the vehicle 2 acts, can then recover and no longer have to concentrate on what is happening on the road.

Both the at least one sensor 4th , as well as the evaluation unit 6th and the control unit 8th are part of a detection system 10 .

In the embodiment according to 1 is the control unit 8th set up to do this with an external entity 12th to communicate. Under the external entity 12th can for example use the Internet, a navigation device in the vehicle 2 or a mobile phone of the at least one occupant I. be understood. This is used, preferably in the case when a sick state Z of at least one inmate I. is recognized to inform a doctor and / or a pharmacy or an address of a doctor and / or a pharmacy on the navigation device of the vehicle 2 to play. Thus, at least one occupant can I. be helped as soon as possible. It is also possible that the control unit 8th with multiple external entities 12th can communicate.

This in 2 also shown schematically only by a rectangle vehicle 2 has a recognition system 10 with multiple sensors 4th , an evaluation unit 6th as well as a control unit 8th on.

The multiple sensors 4th , in the embodiment according to 2 four sensors 4th , are part of an air conditioning system 14th arranged. Furthermore are the four sensors 4th so spatially in an interior 16 of the vehicle 2 arranged distributed that each one sensor 4th a seat 18th assigned. Through outlets 20th the climate system 14th and through the spatially distributed sensors 4th are the exhalations A. both the driver, the front passenger and two occupants who are in the rear seats, selectively detectable. In addition, other and additional sensors can also be used 4th arranged and spatially in the vehicle 2 be distributed.

It is thus made possible by the evaluation unit 6th a condition of each occupant I. of the vehicle 2 , in the embodiment according to 2 of the four inmates I. , on the basis of their exhalations A. to recognize. Usually on the respective seats 18th oriented outlets 20th the climate system 14th optimize the occupant-selective recognition of the states Z .

To the recognition of the states Z multiple inmates I. A connection to the evaluation unit has to be optimized further 6th with a vehicle-specific component 22nd intended. In the embodiment according to 2 it is the vehicle-specific component 22nd a seat sensor for each seat 18th , who recognizes whether the respective seat 18th from an inmate I. is busy or not. Alternatively or in addition, it can be the vehicle-specific component 22nd also act around a camera that the interior 16 of the vehicle 2 monitors and detects how many inmates I. are present and where they are located.

Depending on the recognized conditions Z the inmate I. can thus through the control unit 8th these can be acted on in a selective manner. For example, it can act on an aggressive occupant I. in the rear of the vehicle 2 with an ambient signal AS in the form of lighting and / or a fragrance that is applied to the respective occupant I. assigned outlet 20th is initiated, have a calming effect. During, for example, an engine start by the control unit in the front area 8th is blocked because the detection system 10 realized that the inmate I. is intoxicated in the driver's seat.

It thus enables the control unit 8th either only on the occupants I. acts or only on functions of the vehicle 2 . Alternatively, however, it is also possible for the control unit to use a combination thereof 8th is made possible so that this affects both the occupants I. as well as one or more functions of the vehicle 2 acts.

The invention is not restricted to the exemplary embodiments described above. Rather, other variants of the invention can also be derived therefrom by the person skilled in the art without departing from the subject matter of the invention. In particular, all of the individual features described in connection with the exemplary embodiments can also be combined with one another in other ways without departing from the subject matter of the invention.

List of reference symbols

2

vehicle

4th

sensor

6th

Evaluation unit

8th

Control unit

10

Detection system

12th

external entity

14th

Air conditioning system

16

Interior of the vehicle

18th

Seat

20th

Air conditioning system outlet

22nd

vehicle-specific component

A.

Exhalation from the at least one occupant

E.

Effect on a (driving) function of the vehicle

I.

inmate

AS

Ambient signal

WS

Warning sign

Z

Condition of at least one occupant

Claims (11)

Method for detecting a state (Z) of at least one occupant (I) of a vehicle (2), in particular a motor vehicle, in which: - an evaporation (A) of the at least one occupant (I) is automatically detected by means of at least one sensor (4), - The detected exhalation (A) is evaluated by means of an evaluation unit (6) and the state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I) is recognized on the basis of the evaluated exhalation (A) and - A function of the vehicle and / or the at least one occupant (I) is acted on by means of a control unit (8) as a function of the recognized state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I). Procedure according to Claim 1 , wherein by means of the evaluation unit (6) on the basis of the detected exhalation (A) at least - an intoxicated state and / or - a sick state and / or - a tired state and / or - an emotional state of mind of the at least one occupant (I) recognized becomes. Method according to one of the Claims 1 or 2 , the state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I) being recognized by the evaluation unit (6) on the basis of an evaluation of chemical and / or organic substances and / or molecules. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (8) outputs a warning signal (WS) and / or an ambient signal (AS) and / or an active driving control as a function of the recognized state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I) (E) is adopted. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein several sensors (4) arranged within an interior space (16) of the vehicle (2) are provided so that the vapors (A) of several occupants (I) are detected. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one sensor (4) is arranged in part of an air conditioning system (14) of the vehicle, so that the air inside the interior (16) for detecting the evaporation (A) by the at least one sensor ( 4) is used. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a connection to at least one vehicle-specific component (22) is provided, by means of which a number of occupants (I) and / or a spatial distribution of several occupants (I) within the vehicle by the evaluation unit (6) (2) is identified. Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (8) is set up to communicate with an external entity (12). Vehicle (2), in particular motor vehicle, with a recognition system (10) for recognizing a state (Z) of at least one occupant (I), in particular by means of the method according to one of the Claims 1 to 8th , the detection system (10) having: - at least one sensor (4) for the automated detection of an exhalation (A) of the at least one occupant (I), - an evaluation unit (6) for evaluating the detected exhalation (A) and detecting the State (Z) of the at least one occupant (I) based on the detected and evaluated exhalation (A) and - a control unit (8) for acting on a function of the vehicle and / or on the at least one occupant (I) as a function of the recognized state (Z) of the at least one occupant (I). Vehicle (2) after Claim 9 , wherein the at least one sensor (4) is arranged in part of an air conditioning system (14) of the vehicle (2). Vehicle after one of the Claims 9 or 10 , the evaluation unit (6) having a connection to at least one vehicle-specific component (22) for identifying a number and / or a spatial distribution of several occupants (I).

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