DE102023002039A1 - Disinfectable handle system for a vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

Disinfectable handle system for a vehicle, comprising at least one handle and a disinfectant spray nozzle. The disinfectant spray nozzle is connected, in particular via pipelines, to a disinfectant supply device, and the disinfectant spray nozzle sprays disinfectant onto a predetermined target in a controlled manner. In particular, the disinfectant spray nozzle can spray disinfectant onto the hands and/or feet of people in order to carry out a disinfection activity. The handle system is installed in particular on a vehicle and disinfects people who come into contact with the handles. In particular, if there is a risk of the spread of epidemics, the spread of viruses through direct contact can be effectively prevented, thereby increasing the safety protection for people inside and outside the vehicle.

Description

The present invention relates to a disinfectable handle system for a vehicle. In particular, the handle system is installed on a vehicle and can spray disinfectant onto people's hands and/or feet to perform a disinfection activity.

Current vehicle handles are typically only used to open and close the vehicle doors when getting in and out and have no other functions. However, since vehicle handles are exposed to the outside environment for a long time, microbes, bacteria, etc. accumulate on them. Even when people open a vehicle door using a handle, they can contaminate the handle with the bacteria or viruses on their hands, causing the bacteria or viruses to... Contaminate the hands of the next person who touches the handle.

Current technology also includes devices for disinfecting vehicle door handles, but disinfecting vehicle door handles alone is not sufficient. If people outside the vehicle come into contact with contaminated objects, they can also potentially bring bacteria, viruses, etc. into the vehicle interior (particularly through their hands or feet).

The present invention provides a disinfectable handle system in view of the problem described above. The handle system is installed in particular on a vehicle and disinfects people who come into contact with the handles. In particular, if there is a risk of the spread of epidemics, the spread of viruses through direct contact can be effectively prevented, thereby increasing the safety protection for people inside and outside the vehicle.

The disinfectable handle system for a vehicle according to the present invention includes at least a handle and a disinfectant spray nozzle. The disinfectant spray nozzle is connected to a disinfectant supply device, and the disinfectant spray nozzle can spray disinfectant onto a predetermined target in a controlled manner. In particular, the disinfectant spray nozzle can spray disinfectant onto the hands and/or feet of people in order to carry out a disinfection activity.

The disinfectant can be, for example, 84-grade disinfectant liquid or disinfectant alcohol, which can kill most bacteria and viruses, so that a person can attack the bacteria and / or viruses before their hands come into contact with a handle or before the person enters the vehicle your hands and/or feet (particularly on the outer surface of shoes on your feet).

Preferably, the disinfectant spray nozzle is connected to the disinfectant supply device via pipes, in particular hoses, with the hoses connecting a plurality of disinfectant spray nozzles to a common disinfectant supply device. It is also possible for each disinfectant spray nozzle to be connected to an associated disinfectant supply device. It is also possible for each disinfectant spray nozzle to be connected directly to the associated disinfectant supply device and does not have to be connected via a pipeline, which means that the disinfectant supply device is arranged in particular on the handle.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle may be a handle installed on a vehicle door and/or a trunk lid and used to open the vehicle door and/or the trunk lid, respectively.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle system can further have cameras and a control device. The cameras can record a person near the handle and send the recorded data to the controller to assess whether the person meets the conditions for disinfection. If the conditions for disinfection are met, a disinfection activity can in particular be carried out automatically. If the conditions for disinfection are not met, no disinfection activity will be carried out. For example, no disinfection activity is carried out if there is food in the person's hands. The cameras are preferably arranged on the exterior mirrors on both sides of the vehicle. Many of today's vehicles are equipped with vehicle environment detection systems, in particular 360° environment detection systems, which are used, for example, when reversing to support the driver, so that the driver can immediately see the vehicle and its surroundings, in particular a top view of the vehicle, on the central display in the vehicle its surroundings. In the context of the present invention, the cameras can in particular be cameras of the environment detection system, whereby the costs can be effectively reduced.

Within the scope of the present invention, the control device can be integrated into a vehicle control system. The vehicle control system is a control device or a group of control devices for the vehicle and includes, for example, application-specific integrated circuits, one or more processors and non-volatile memories with instructions stored therein. The vehicle control system is, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU), which is also commonly referred to as a “driving computer”, “on-board computer”, etc. It is also possible that the control device is designed as a control device that is independent of the vehicle control system and is used specifically for the disinfectable handle system.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle system further includes floor lighting, and the floor lighting may provide illumination and/or create a light pattern on the floor. The floor lighting is preferably arranged on the handle. Preferably, each disinfectant spray nozzle is equipped with an associated floor light, and the disinfectant spray nozzles and floor lights are arranged adjacent to the corresponding handles. Using floor lighting, not only can lighting be achieved, but a light pattern can also be created on the floor. This light pattern can guide people to extend their hands or feet to the appropriate area to perform the disinfection activity.

For example, a person near the handle positions his hands and/or feet in a specified area under the guidance of a pattern on the floor created by the floor lighting, a camera captures and transmits the images of the person's hands and/or feet captured image data to a control device or to the on-board computer to assess whether the hands and/or feet are in the disinfection area, and then the disinfection activity is started automatically. It is also conceivable, for example, to detect whether the person's hands and/or feet are in the disinfection area by means of a sensor arranged next to the disinfection spray nozzle, in particular an infrared sensor.

In addition, after switching on the floor lighting, small animals can be chased away from the disinfection area in order to avoid unintentional injury to small animals caused by disinfectants.

Preferably, after the cameras have recognized the image of a person and it has been assessed by the control device that the conditions for disinfection are not met, the instructions for the disinfection process using the floor lighting are not started.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle system can be connected to a T-Box (Telematics BOX), which is used to remotely control the disinfection process using a mobile terminal, and / or the handle system can be connected using a vehicle key and / or a button Manually start/switch off the disinfection activity inside the vehicle. Within the scope of the present invention, the on-board computer (if the control unit is integrated in the on-board computer) can communicate with the T-Box via a CAN bus, thereby realizing a transmission of the on-board computer's commands and information. The T-Box can be used for communication between the on-board computer and a remote server and thus in turn with a mobile device, so that vehicle information can be displayed and controlled on the mobile device, in particular in a mobile phone app. In particular, the T-Box and the remote server communicate indirectly via a data connection. For example, the vehicle owner can access information such as vehicle health reports, driving reports, fuel consumption statistics, malfunction notices, violation queries, position tracking, driving behavior, theft protection, service appointments, remote vehicle tracking, etc. in a mobile phone app over a network from the remote server. Furthermore, the vehicle can be controlled to a certain extent via the mobile phone app, for example with regard to vehicle doors, windows, lights, locks, horn, hazard lights, mirror folding, sunroof, querying central control warnings, airbag status, etc.

Within the scope of the present invention, the vehicle owner can, for example, control the disinfection activity using a mobile terminal. In particular, it can manually start/switch off the disinfection activity remotely.

Within the scope of the present invention, the vehicle owner/driver can manually start/switch off the disinfection activity, for example using a vehicle key and/or a button inside the vehicle. The button on the vehicle key may be a dedicated button for the disinfection activity, and a common button may also be used for other functions, pressing to switch between different functions. The interior button may be a physical interior button or a touch button a touch screen inside the vehicle. In particular, the physical button may be located on the central control inside the vehicle, or it may be located at another position, such as on a vehicle door inside the vehicle. In particular, the disinfection activity can preferably be started by pressing the button once, and the disinfection activity can be stopped by pressing the button twice.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cameras can capture the image data of a person who is near a handle. The image data can be compared with image data stored in advance in a database to determine the identity of the person so that it can be assessed whether the person meets the conditions for a disinfection activity. The database can be stored, for example, on a storage device of the on-board computer or on a storage device of the control unit, and a comparison of the captured image data and the image data in the database is carried out by means of a processor of the control unit or a processor of the on-board computer in order to determine the identity of the person. For example, in the case of a family vehicle, the image data of the people who may use the vehicle can be stored in advance, while at the same time the personal preferences of those people are stored. This makes it possible, for example, to ensure that no disinfection activity is carried out for people with allergies to disinfectants.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle system can perform a disinfection operation of the external surfaces and/or the tires of the vehicle. In particular, when the vehicle passes a danger area, for example a hospital and/or at a time or place with an epidemic outbreak, the handle system can be triggered via the T-Box to automatically disinfect the external surfaces and/or the tires of the vehicle to carry out. The method may, for example, be such that the T-Box receives real-time updated data on danger areas from a remote server in order to compare it with that recorded by a positioning system (e.g. the global positioning system GPS, the BeiDou positioning system, etc.). Compare position data to assess whether the vehicle is in or passing through a danger zone. If it is in or passes through a dangerous area, a disinfection activity of the external surfaces and/or tires of the vehicle is automatically started. It is also possible to inform the people inside the vehicle that they are in or passing through a danger zone, whereupon the people inside the vehicle, in particular the driver, start the disinfection activity manually. It is also possible that the on-board air conditioning system is caused to switch to recirculation mode when passing a danger area.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle system further has an actuator. By means of the actuator, a disinfectant spray nozzle can be moved from a hidden position into a spraying position and/or the spray angle of the disinfectant spray nozzle can be adjusted. Preferably, the disinfection spray nozzle is hidden inside the handle when it is not carrying out a disinfection activity, and only when a disinfection activity needs to be carried out is it moved into the spraying position by means of the actuator.

In addition, the disinfectant spray nozzle can preferably set a suitable spray angle according to the image information of a person captured by the cameras. Specifically, the spray angle is set, for example, by the on-board computer or the control unit according to the image information of a person captured by the cameras by controlling the actuator.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handle system further has a heating device, in particular an electrical heating wire. The heating device is preferably installed in the disinfection spray nozzle, so that in cold weather disinfectant can be sprayed that has a temperature that is comfortable for the human body, and / or a temperature sensor is arranged in the disinfection spray nozzle of the handle system, so that the function of the automatic, especially when the disinfectant is frozen Disinfectant spraying is no longer carried out.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the disinfectant storage device is arranged in the trunk and has a liquid level sensor. The parameters of the liquid level sensor can in particular be displayed visualized on a screen inside the vehicle. The disinfectant spray nozzles are connected to the disinfectant supply device via pipelines, in particular hoses. “Display visually” specifically means that the fluid level sensor parameters are converted into an immediate fluid level graphic that is displayed on a screen inside the vehicle. For example, this could be a stylized graphic of a storage device and the disinfectant it contains.

• 1 zeigt eine Moduldarstellung eines Ausführungsbeispiels eines Griffsystems gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung;
• 2a-2e zeigen unterschiedliche Betriebszustände des Griffsystems gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung;
• 3 zeigt eine Desinfektionsmittelvorratsvorrichtung des Griffsystems gemäß der vorliegenden Erfindung.

The disinfectable handle system for a vehicle according to the present invention is described schematically below using exemplary embodiments.

• 1 shows a module representation of an exemplary embodiment of a handle system according to the present invention;
• 2a-2e show different operating states of the handle system according to the present invention;
• 3 shows a disinfectant storage device of the handle system according to the present invention.

An embodiment of the disinfectable handle system for a vehicle according to the present invention is described below only by way of example, which does not mean any limitation of the handle system of the present invention.

The disinfectable handle system according to the present invention includes a handle and a disinfectant spray nozzle. The disinfectant spray nozzle is preferably connected to a disinfectant supply device via a pipeline, and the disinfectant spray nozzle can spray disinfectant onto a predetermined target in a controlled manner. In particular, the disinfectant spray nozzle can spray disinfectant onto the hands and/or feet of people in order to carry out a disinfection activity. According to this embodiment, the handle may be a handle installed on a vehicle door and/or a trunk cover and used to open the vehicle door and/or the trunk cover, respectively.

1 1 shows a modular representation of an embodiment of the handle system according to the present invention, showing a case in which the control unit of the handle system is integrated in the ECU. The ECU may collect camera data, map data (real-time vehicle position data), liquid level sensor data from the disinfectant supply device, and data from temperature sensors (located in the spray nozzles, for example) of the handle system.

In this embodiment, the cameras can be cameras belonging to the vehicle's environment detection system, in particular at the circled location of the exterior mirror in 2a . Many of today's vehicles are equipped with cameras arranged on the exterior mirrors on both sides of the vehicle for vehicle environment detection systems, in particular 360° environment detection systems, which support the driver when reversing, for example, so that the driver can directly see the vehicle and its on the central display in the vehicle Surroundings, in particular a top view of the vehicle and its surroundings, can be seen. By sharing the handle system cameras and the environment sensing system cameras, the costs can be effectively reduced.

As in 2a As shown, the cameras can record a person near a handle and send the recorded data to the ECU to assess whether the person meets the conditions for disinfection. If the conditions for disinfection are met, a disinfection activity can be carried out automatically. If the conditions for disinfection are not met, no disinfection activity will be carried out.

As in 1 shown, after collecting the camera data, the ECU judges whether the person near the handle meets the conditions for disinfection. For example, if it is determined that food is present when assessing whether the person has food in his hand, the disinfection activity is not started. In addition, the cameras can also capture the image data of a person who is near the handle. The image data can be compared with image data stored in advance in a database to determine the identity of the person, so that it can be assessed whether the person with this identity meets the conditions for a disinfection activity. The database may be stored on a storage device of the ECU, and a comparison of the captured image data and the image data in the database is performed by means of a processor of the ECU to determine the identity of the person. In particular, the image data of the people who may use the vehicle can be saved in advance, while at the same time the personal preferences of the corresponding people are saved, which is particularly advantageous for family vehicles. This makes it possible, for example, to ensure that no disinfection activity is carried out for people with allergies to disinfectants.

As in 1 As shown, after the ECU judges that the disinfection activity can be started according to the camera data, the ECU first sends a control signal to the ground lighting, the ground lighting performs lighting and/or creates a light pattern on the ground. As in 2 B shown is in this version In this embodiment, each disinfectant spray nozzle is equipped with an associated floor light, and the disinfectant spray nozzles and floor lights are arranged adjacent to the corresponding handles. Floor lighting creates a pattern of light on the floor in front of the person. This light pattern can guide the person to extend their hands or feet to the appropriate area to perform the disinfection activity. As in 2c shown, a person near the handle positions their hands and/or feet in a specified area under the guidance of a pattern created by the floor lighting on the floor, a camera captures and transmits the images of the person's hands and/or feet the captured image data to the ECU, which judges that the hands and/or feet are in the disinfection area, and then the ECU sends a control signal to the spray nozzle to start the disinfection activity. It is also conceivable, for example, to detect whether the person's hands and/or feet are in the disinfection area using a sensor installed next to the disinfection spray nozzle, in particular an infrared sensor.

In addition, after switching on the floor lighting, small animals can be chased away from the disinfection area in order to avoid unintentional injury to small animals caused by disinfectants.

In this embodiment, the vehicle owner/driver can manually start/switch off the disinfection activity using a vehicle key or a button inside the vehicle. As in 1 As shown, the button inside the vehicle or the vehicle key sends a radio signal to the ECU, and the ECU receives the emitted radio signal by means of a signal receiver, whereupon it sends a control signal to the spray nozzles and the floor lighting, so that manual start/stop of the disinfection activity is realized. The button on the vehicle key may be a dedicated button for the disinfection activity, and a common button may also be used for other functions, pressing to switch between different functions. The in-vehicle button may be a physical button in the vehicle interior or a touch button on a touch screen in the vehicle interior. In particular, the physical buttons may be located on the central control inside the vehicle, or they may be located at other locations, such as on the vehicle doors inside the vehicle. Preferably, the disinfection activity can be started by pressing the button once, and the disinfection activity can be stopped by pressing the button twice.

As in 2d shown, the spray nozzle can spray disinfectant onto the person's hands and feet after starting the disinfection process. As in 2e shown, a spray nozzle arranged on the trunk cover can also spray disinfectant onto luggage. The spraying of luggage with disinfectant can be started in particular using a vehicle key or a button inside the vehicle.

As in 2d shown, the handle system also has an actuator. By means of the actuator, a disinfectant spray nozzle can be moved from a hidden position into a spraying position and/or the spray angle of the disinfectant spray nozzle can be adjusted. The disinfection spray nozzle is hidden inside the handle when no disinfection activity is being carried out, and only when a disinfection activity needs to be carried out is it moved to the spraying position by means of the actuator. Preferably, the disinfectant spray nozzle can set a suitable spray angle according to the image information of a person captured by the cameras (spray arrow in 2d ). Specifically, the spray angle is adjusted, for example, by the ECU according to the image information of a person captured by the cameras by controlling the actuator.

As in 1 shown, according to this embodiment, the handle system or the ECU is connected to a T-box to remotely control the disinfection activity using a mobile terminal or an app on a mobile terminal. The T-Box and a remote server communicate indirectly via a data connection. For example, the vehicle owner can retrieve information about the vehicle from the remote server in a mobile phone app over a network. Furthermore, the vehicle can be controlled to a certain extent via the mobile phone app. In the handle system according to the present invention, the vehicle owner can remotely control the disinfection activity using a mobile device or a mobile phone app. In particular, it can manually start/switch off the disinfection activity remotely.

In addition, the handle system, as in 1 shown, further collect map data or real-time position data of the vehicle, whereby when the vehicle passes a danger area, for example a hospital and / or at a time or place with an epidemic outbreak, the handle system can be triggered via the T-Box to automatically one External disinfection activity ren surfaces and / or the tires of the vehicle, the method can be such that the T-Box receives real-time updated data on danger areas from a remote server and the ECU compares these with those from a positioning system (e.g. the global positioning system GPS, BeiDou positioning system, etc.) compares position data collected to assess whether the vehicle is in or passing through a danger zone. If it is in or passes through a dangerous area, a disinfection activity of the external surfaces and/or tires of the vehicle is automatically started. It is also possible to inform the people inside the vehicle that they are in or passing through a danger area, whereupon the people inside the vehicle, in particular the driver, manually start the disinfection activity using a button inside the vehicle.

It is also possible that the on-board air conditioning system is caused to switch to recirculation mode when passing a danger area.

It is also possible for the handle system to further have a heating device, in particular an electric heating wire. The heating device is preferably installed in the disinfection spray nozzle, so that in cold weather disinfectant can be sprayed that has a temperature that is comfortable for the human body, and / or a temperature sensor is arranged in the disinfection spray nozzle of the handle system, so that the function of the automatic, especially when the disinfectant is frozen Disinfectant spraying is no longer carried out. For example, the heating device (the electric heating wire) is designed to maintain the disinfectant sprayed from the disinfectant spray nozzle at at least 26°C. For example, at relatively low temperatures in winter, the control unit or on-board computer controls the heating power of the electric heating wire according to the temperature sensor in the disinfectant spray nozzle, so that the sprayed disinfectant is kept at at least 26 ° C; At relatively high temperatures in summer, the disinfectant supply may reach at least 26 ° C, whereby the electric heating wire is not activated when spraying disinfectant.

As in 3 shown, the disinfectant storage device is arranged in the trunk and has a liquid level sensor. The parameters of the liquid level sensor can in particular be displayed visualized on a screen inside the vehicle. “Display visually” specifically means that the fluid level sensor parameters are converted into an immediate fluid level graphic that is displayed on a screen inside the vehicle. For example, this could be a stylized graphic of a storage device and the disinfectant it contains.

The pipelines that connect the disinfectant spray nozzles to the disinfectant supply device can be hoses, with the hoses connecting a plurality of disinfectant spray nozzles to a common disinfectant supply device.

It is also possible for each disinfectant spray nozzle to be connected to an associated disinfectant supply device (not shown in the figures). It is also possible for each disinfectant spray nozzle to be connected directly to the associated disinfectant supply device and does not have to be connected via a pipeline, which means that the disinfectant supply device is arranged in particular on the handle.

It should be understood that the above illustrated embodiments of the present invention are merely exemplary, but not limiting, and are intended to illustrate embodiments of the disinfectant handle system according to the present invention. More specifically, in addition to the foregoing embodiments, a variety of modified solutions created by a combination of the features of the present invention and which will make sense to those skilled in the art are also possible.

Claims (10)

Disinfectant-capable handle system for a vehicle, comprising a handle and a disinfectant spray nozzle, wherein the disinfectant spray nozzle is connected to a disinfectant storage device for storing disinfectant, and wherein the disinfectant spray nozzle sprays disinfectant in a controlled manner onto a predetermined target and in particular the disinfectant spray nozzle sprays disinfectant onto the hands and/or feet can be sprayed by people to carry out a disinfection activity. Handle system Claim 1 , wherein the handle can be installed on a vehicle door and/or a trunk cover and the handle can be used to open the vehicle door and/or the trunk cover, respectively. Handle system Claim 1 or 2 , wherein the handle system also has cameras and a control device and the cameras are located near the Person located on the handle can be recorded in order to assess whether the person meets the conditions for disinfection, whereby, in particular if the conditions for disinfection are met, a disinfection activity is automatically carried out and in particular no disinfection activity is carried out if there is in the hands there is food on the person. Handle system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle system further comprises floor lighting and the floor lighting can provide illumination and/or create a light pattern on the floor to guide the disinfection activity. Handle system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle system can be connected to a telematics box that is used to remotely control the disinfection activity using a mobile terminal, and / or the handle system can manually start / switch off the disinfection activity using a vehicle key and / or a button in the vehicle interior can. Handle system Claim 3 , wherein the cameras can capture the image data of a person who is in the vicinity of the handle and the image data can be compared with image data stored in advance in a database to determine the identity of the person so that it can be judged, whether the person meets the conditions for the disinfection activity. Handle system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle system can carry out the disinfection activity of the external surfaces and / or the tires of the vehicle, wherein, in particular when the vehicle passes a danger area, the handle system can be caused via the telematics box to carry out the disinfection activity of the external surfaces and /or the tires of the vehicle to be carried out automatically. Handle system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle system further has an actuator and by means of the actuator the disinfectant spray nozzle can be moved from a hidden position into a spray position and / or the spray angle of the disinfectant spray nozzle can be adjusted. Handle system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the handle system further comprises a heating device and the heating device is preferably arranged in the disinfection spray nozzle, so that in cold weather disinfectant can be sprayed that has a temperature that is comfortable for the human body, and / or in the disinfection spray nozzle of the A temperature sensor is installed in the handle system so that the function of automatically spraying disinfectant is no longer carried out, especially if the disinfectant is frozen. Handle system according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the disinfectant storage device is arranged in the trunk, has a liquid level sensor and the parameters of the liquid level sensor can be displayed in particular visualized on a screen inside the vehicle, and wherein the disinfectant spray nozzles are connected to the disinfectant storage device via pipes.

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