JP2006130970A - Vehicle with seat device mounted - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically and accurately determine physical characteristic of an occupant and to easily and suitably change a seat position according thereto. <P>SOLUTION: When activation operation of an automatic seat arrangement device is performed, information of a carrying article is read from IC tag of an occupant existing near entrance doors 7-10 by a reader device 24 toward the vehicle outside. Physical characteristic is determined including that the occupant is a person to be cared or a care unnecessary person while tinged with seat attachment information such as attachment of a child seat. If mismatching is in the read information, reading is repeated until the doors 7-10 are opened largely to some extent and the optimum seat arrangement is set based on the physical characteristic of the occupant determined by the finally read information. If the occupant is the person to be cared, automatic seat arrangement is executed before seating and the fact is informed. If the occupant is the care unnecessary person, the automatic seat arrangement is executed when an operation button 25 is pushed within a predetermined time after seating. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle equipped with a seat device that can change the position of a seat cushion, the inclination of a seat back, and the like, and in particular, the technical field of information processing for changing them appropriately and easily according to the physical characteristics of an occupant. Belonging to.

  Conventionally, information on passenger preference, such as the position of the seat cushion of an automobile and the inclination of the seat back, is recorded on a recording medium such as an IC card, and the user simply inserts the IC card into the reader when getting on. The one that can obtain the position is known.

  For example, the in-vehicle profiling system described in Patent Document 1 sets information on the front and rear position, the height of the seating surface, or the inclination of the seating surface and the backrest of each seat other than the driver's seat, and records the information on the IC card. In addition, by automatically adjusting the position for each seat according to this information, it is possible to provide a comfortable seat environment for passengers other than the driver.

  In recent years, electronic or magnetic recording media (referred to as IC tags, electronic labels, electronic labels, etc.) on which various kinds of information are recorded on articles and their packaging can be directly pasted or incorporated. There is also a proposal to use such a recording medium for traffic safety.

That is, for example, the traffic safety support device disclosed in Patent Document 2 receives a signal transmitted from an information tag (IC tag) such as a pedestrian's carry-on item or a bicycle by a wireless receiver installed on the road side, This detects the position and movement speed of a pedestrian, etc., and when a collision with a vehicle such as the pedestrian is predicted, warns the vehicle occupant or activates an air bag device outside the vehicle. It is.
JP 2002-104105 A JP 2003-346297 A

  By the way, in general, a vehicle occupant is not only a person who can easily get on and off the passenger compartment, but also a person who needs assistance when getting on and off, such as an infant or a wheelchair user, or an elderly person. However, there is a person who wants to assist depending on the situation (hereinafter, both are also referred to as a person being assisted). In the case of such a person being assisted, an appropriate seat position (e.g., front / rear / right / left position of the seat cushion) This includes the height of the seating surface, the inclination of the seat back, and the overall position when the seats are folded and stored (hereinafter the same in this specification).

  In this regard, the system of the former conventional example (Patent Document 1) does not give any consideration to the person being assisted, so that it is easy to assist getting on and off of infants, wheelchair users, etc. The seat position cannot be changed so that children and the elderly can easily get on and off.

  Further, not only the person being assisted but also other occupants, that is, occupants who can act quickly without assistance (hereinafter also referred to as assistance unnecessary persons) It is necessary to set the preferred position of the occupant and record it on the IC card, which is troublesome, but is completely useless for the occupant who has not made such setting.

  On the other hand, using the IC tag disclosed in the latter conventional example (Patent Document 2), information on the passenger's carry-on is automatically obtained, and based on this information, for example, the passenger is an infant. Automatically determine the physical characteristics of the occupant, such as determining whether the person is a caregiver or wearing a walking stick or carrying a cane, or determining the physique based on the size of clothing. However, in this case, in order to accurately determine the physical characteristics of the occupant, the problem is how to read information such as an IC tag under what circumstances.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is a physical feature including whether or not an occupant is a person being assisted in a vehicle equipped with a seat whose position can be changed. Therefore, it is possible to easily and appropriately change the sheet position.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the information of the occupant's carrying object read from the IC tag or the like, and the seat position is automatically adjusted based on the determination result. In addition to notifying about the adjustment, the information on the carry-on is surely read under a predetermined condition.

  The determination of the occupant's physical characteristics includes not only determination of the occupant's physique and body shape, but also determination of whether the occupant is a person being assisted as described above. Some people prefer to assist because they are clothes whose movement is restricted, such as Japanese clothes. Accordingly, the physical characteristics do not necessarily mean only the characteristics of the occupant's body itself, but are concepts including wearing clothing and equipment that restrict the movement of the occupant.

  Specifically, the invention according to claim 1 is a vehicle equipped with a seat device capable of changing the seat position, and is disposed corresponding to the entrance door of the vehicle, and records information related to a passenger's carry item. A reading device for reading the information on the carried object from the recording means, a determining means for determining the physical characteristics of the occupant based on the carried object information read by the reading device, and the body determined by the determining means Control means for controlling at least one of automatically adjusting a seat position of the seat device or notifying an occupant about the adjustment of the seat position based on a specific feature, and further comprising the determination According to the present invention, the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on carry-on information read under a predetermined situation by the reading device.

  With the above configuration, when the occupant tries to get into the vehicle, information related to the occupant's carry-on object is recorded directly on the carry-on object such as an IC tag or an electronic label by the reading device under a predetermined condition. In addition to those that are attached to the device, the information is also read from those in which personal information is recorded such as IC cards. Then, based on the physical characteristics of the occupant determined from the carry-on information, the control means automatically adjusts the seat position of the seat device, or notifies the occupant about the adjustment of the seat position. It is possible to easily obtain an appropriate sheet position.

  That is, based on the information obtained from the IC tag etc. of the carried items, the physical characteristics such as whether the occupant is a person being assisted or not requiring assistance, whether the occupant is large or small, and automatically The seat position suitable for the passenger can be determined based on the determination result. For this reason, an appropriate position can be obtained even if it is not the passenger | crew who set own liking beforehand. In addition, the seat position can be appropriately changed so that even if the occupant is a person being assisted, the passenger can easily get in and out of the passenger compartment, or the passenger can be easily assisted.

  In addition, the reading of carry-on information from the IC tag or the like is performed under a predetermined situation suitable for it. That is, in general, a vehicle is equipped with a plurality of seat devices, and when there are a plurality of occupants, it must be determined who sits on which seat device. Since the reading device is arranged in correspondence with the door for getting on and off the vehicle, if it is found that an occupant in the vicinity of this door gets in, if the information on the carried item of the occupant is read, It becomes possible to accurately determine the physical characteristics of the occupant seated on the seat device adjacent to the door.

  Specifically, the reader is installed on the ceiling or pillar of the vehicle compartment for each door of the vehicle, for example, so that the information on the carried items can be read from the recording means of the carried items of the passengers outside the vehicle. Preferred (invention of claim 5). For example, when it is detected by the occupant outside the vehicle that the door is in a predetermined opening state based on a signal from a sensor provided on the door, the information carried by the occupant is read by the reader. (Invention of claim 2) or a selection operation means that allows an occupant outside the vehicle to select whether or not to execute the control by the control means is provided. When this is done, the passenger's carrying information may be read (invention of claim 3).

  By doing so, it is possible to accurately determine that the occupant gets into the vehicle, and the information on the occupant's carry-on that is about to get in can be read without fail by the reading device of each door, and thereby, the seat adjacent to each door The physical characteristics of the occupant seated on the device can be accurately determined.

  In addition to the above-described configuration, preferably, the apparatus further includes an attachment recognition unit that recognizes an article attached to the seat device, and the determination unit includes the physical result of the occupant in consideration of the recognition result by the attachment recognition unit. The feature may be determined (invention of claim 4). In this way, for example, when an infant seat or a child seat, a boarding / alighting aid, or the like is mounted on any of the seat devices, the accuracy of the determination of the physical characteristics of the occupant can be further increased by taking the information into account. it can.

  Further, in addition to the above-described configuration, it is preferable that inconsistency determination means for determining that there is an inconsistency in determining the physical characteristics of an occupant between a plurality of items of information carried by the reader. And the reading device reads the carried object information again when it is determined by the inconsistency determining means that there is inconsistency, and the determining means reads the carried object information read again. The physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the above (invention of claim 6).

  That is, as described above, when the information on the carry-on of an occupant outside the vehicle is read, if another occupant happens to be near the occupant, the information on the carry-on is read, for example, shoes, clothing, and glasses. There may be inconsistencies between multiple items of carry-on information, such as the amount of information for two persons or more, or information on children's clothing and information on reading glasses. Therefore, when it is determined by the inconsistency determination means that there is such an inconsistency, the carrying device information is read again by the reading device, and the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the carried object information. The determination accuracy can be further increased.

  As described above, according to the present invention, in a vehicle equipped with a seat whose position can be changed, the physical characteristics of an occupant are mainly determined based on information on a carried item, and determined based on the determination result. The control means automatically adjusts the seat position or informs the occupant about the adjustment of the seat position so that the appropriate seat position can be obtained. When the occupant is a person being assisted, it is possible to obtain an appropriate seat position that is easy to get on and off.

  In addition, a reading device is provided corresponding to the entrance door of the vehicle, and when it is found that an occupant gets into the vehicle from any of the doors, the information on the carry-on object of the occupant trying to get in is read by the reading device of the door. Therefore, it is possible to accurately determine the physical characteristics of the occupant seated on the seat device adjacent to the door, thereby more appropriately controlling the adjustment of the seat position.

  In addition, the determination accuracy can be further improved by determining the physical characteristics of the occupant in consideration of not only the information on the occupant's carry item but also information on the article mounted on the seat device. Item 4).

Furthermore, when there is inconsistency between the read carried object information, the carried object information is read again, and the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined again based on the read carried object information, The determination accuracy can be further increased (invention of claim 6).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the following description of the preferred embodiment is merely illustrative in nature, and is not intended to limit the present invention, its application, or its use.

  FIG. 1 schematically shows mainly a seat layout of an automobile V (vehicle) according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this car V, as a front seat facing the instrument panel 1 at the foremost part of the passenger compartment, the driver's seat 2 is on the right side (the right side of the vehicle body, hereinafter the same unless otherwise specified), and the assistant is on the left side. The seats 3 are arranged side by side, and the seat cushion can be moved back and forth and up and down, and the inclination of the seat back can be adjusted. Further, assist grips 2a and 3a are attached to the upper side and seat back trays 2b and 3b that are foldable to the lower side, respectively, on the back of the seat back of each of the front seats 2 and 3.

  Behind the front seats 2 and 3 are rear seats 4 and 5 made of left and right independent captain seats (may be bench seats), and behind them are seat backs. A compartment 6 is formed by partitioning. These rear seats 4 and 5 can move the seat cushion back and forth and up and down as well as the front seats 2 and 3, respectively, and adjust the inclination of the seat back, and are slid forward. The rear luggage compartment 6 can be widened. Further, the rear seats 4 and 5 can be folded and stored behind the front seats 2 and 3 by stacking the seat backs on the seat cushions and rotating them together in the forward direction. (So-called double folding) In this way, the luggage compartment 6 is expanded to the back of the front seats 2 and 3.

  In this embodiment, actuators 19, 19,... (Not shown in FIG. 1) such as electric motors are arranged in correspondence with the respective sheets 2 to 5 so that the sheet position can be automatically adjusted. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation of each actuator 19 is controlled by a controller 20. In other words, in the vehicle V, the front / rear / right / left position of the seat, the height of the seating surface, the inclination of the seat back, and the like are adjusted by the operation of the actuator 19 for each of the seats 2 to 5 and further folded and stored. The automatic seat arrangement apparatus A that can automatically perform various seat arrangements is mounted.

  The configuration of the automatic seat arrangement device A is shown in FIG. 2, and the controller 20 is provided with a weight sensor or the like that is disposed on the sea cushion of each of the seats 2 to 5, and detects the seating of the occupant. A seating sensor 21 is connected. Although only shown in FIG. 2, the controller 20 is connected to a door sensor 22 that is disposed on each of the doors 7 to 11 (including the back door 11) of the automobile V and can detect the opening degree (angle). In addition, an in-vehicle device 23 of a keyless entry system mounted on the automobile V is also connected so that signals can be exchanged with each other.

  Further, as will be described later, the controller 20 is connected to a reader device 24 (reading device) for reading predetermined information by wireless communication from an IC tag (recording means) attached to an article in the passenger compartment or an occupant's carrying object. Has been. As shown in FIG. 1, the reader device 24 corresponds to each of the doors 7 to 11 from a predetermined range outside the door opening (schematically shown by a broken line), that is, from an object carried by a passenger outside the vehicle. In order to be able to read the tag information, for example, it is arranged on the ceiling or pillar of the passenger compartment (hereinafter also referred to as a vehicle outward reader), and on the seat cushion corresponding to each of the seats 2 to 5 and the luggage compartment 6. In order to be able to read the IC tag information from the luggage compartment 6, for example, it is arranged on the ceiling of the passenger compartment (hereinafter also referred to as an in-car reader) and is provided so as to be able to read information on luggage inside and outside the car and carried items. Yes.

  Although only shown in FIG. 2, the controller 20 is provided with a pillar or the like corresponding to each of the seats 2 to 5 and each of the doors 7 to 11, and a predetermined operation for allowing automatic seat arrangement as will be described later. An operation button 25 is connected, and a notification device 26 is connected to notify the occupant about the adjustment of the seat position. The alarm 26 may be, for example, a speaker for performing voice guidance for adjusting the seat position, a buzzer for simply notifying that the actuator is in operation, and other than that, an LCD for displaying a seat arrangement procedure, A display device such as an EL may be used.

  In this embodiment, the left and right front doors 7 and 8 and the rear doors 9 and 10 serving as entrance doors adjacent to the front seats 2 and 3 and the rear seats 4 and 5 respectively rotate around the front hinge. Although it is a hinge type that is opened and closed by movement, the present invention is not limited to this, and only the left and right rear doors 9 and 10 may be a slide type that slides back and forth along the outer surface of the vehicle body. In addition, all the entrance doors 7 to 10 may be slide doors. Moreover, although the back door 11 at the rearmost part is a hatch gate of an upper hinge in this embodiment, the rear door 11 is not limited to this and may be a lateral hinge.

(Automatic seat arrangement device)
As a feature of the present invention, the automatic seat arrangement device A of this embodiment automatically determines the physical characteristics of the occupant from the information on the items carried, and automatically adjusts the seat position accordingly. Yes. That is, in recent years, IC tags (also called electronic labels, electronic labels, etc.) that record various information (for example, the type, size, weight, etc.) of articles and their packaging are directly pasted or built in. If the information of these IC tags is read by the reader device 24 mounted on the automobile V, the physique of the occupant and the type of clothes can be estimated based on this information.

  The IC tag generally has an antenna for wireless communication, receives radio waves from the reader device, is activated by electromagnetic induction, and transmits recorded information to the reader device. It has become. Therefore, the IC tag does not require a battery or the like, and can provide information in a non-contact manner within a predetermined distance from the reader device. Based on the information on the items carried, the passenger does not necessarily need assistance, such as an infant or a wheelchair user, who needs assistance when getting on and off, or an elderly person. If it is determined that the person who is moderately sluggish and it is desirable to assist in accordance with the situation, that is, the person being assisted, the seat position is set so that the passenger can easily get in and out of the passenger compartment. Change (seat arrangement).

  Hereinafter, the operation of the automatic sheet arranging apparatus A will be specifically described mainly based on the flowcharts of FIGS. 3 and 4. First, in step S1 after starting in FIG. 3, the automatic sheet arranging apparatus A is used for controlling the automatic sheet arranging apparatus A. Input various data. This is, for example, for confirming the current position of each seat 2 to 5 and the seating situation of the occupant, confirming whether a child seat is attached to the seat, or confirming whether the door is open. Then, in the subsequent step S2, for example, it is determined whether or not the passenger is seated on a predetermined seat such as the driver's seat 2 and the vehicle V is considered to be traveling. If there is, the process proceeds to step S3.

  In step S3, it is determined whether or not an activation operation for selecting activation of the automatic sheet arranging apparatus A has been performed. That is, for example, when the unlock button of the remote controller of the keyless entry system is pressed twice in a predetermined time, or when the entry button provided near the door knob of the automobile V is pressed, etc. When a preset activation operation is performed, it is determined that there is an activation operation (YES), and the process proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, until YES is determined, the process returns to step S1.

  That is, in this embodiment, whether the entry button provided near the unlocking button or door knob of the remote controller of the keyless entry system performs automatic seat arrangement (control relating to adjustment of seat position) or not is determined. Constitutes a selection operation means capable of selection operation. If YES is determined in step S3, the start lamp of the device A provided on the remote controller or the like may be turned on.

  In step S4, the vehicle outward reader device 24 is operated to read information on the IC tag, and this information (carrying item information) is stored in memory. For example, only the reader device 24 of the unlocked doors 7 to 10 of the automobile V that is unlocked may be operated for a predetermined time, or all the reader devices 2 may be operated for a predetermined time. May be activated. Also, instead of storing all of the information on the carried items, main items that are suitable for determining the physical characteristics of the occupant are set in advance, and this information (for example, the size and type of the occupant's clothing) is set. Or only information such as walking sticks, reading glasses, hearing aids, elderly ID cards, and casts worn on the body). Even if information on small items (accessories, watches, stationery, etc.) that are inappropriate for judgment is read, it is not stored.

  In the subsequent step S5, for example, baby seats (infant seats), child seats (infant seats, children's seats), or mounting aids for seats such as whether large assist grips or turn cushions are installed ( The information of the article) mounted on the sheet device is read and stored. The turn cushion is a turntable placed on a seat cushion, and can be changed by turning the body from the front to the left and right so that the passenger can easily get on and off.

  Information on the seat mounting equipment may be set and input in advance in the controller 20 and stored, or information from IC tags of articles on the sheets 2 to 5 by operating the in-car reader device 24. May be read. Alternatively, it is possible to recognize the presence of the mounting equipment based on a signal from the seating sensor 21. When information is read by the in-car reader device 24, information such as baggage is not stored, but only information on mounting equipment (such as a child seat) to a preset seat may be stored. In addition, it is desirable to refer not only to the information on the seat mounting equipment but also to information specific to the automobile, for example, whether the passenger compartment has a layout in which a wheelchair can be mounted.

  Subsequently, in step S6, it is determined whether or not the information acquired in steps S4 and S5 has a predetermined mismatch. This is because, as described above, when reading the information carried by a passenger outside the vehicle by the vehicle outward reader device 24, not only the information about the passenger near the door but also the information carried by another passenger near the door is read. For example, information on shoes, clothing, and glasses is more than two people, and information on clothes of various sizes, large and small, or infants and elderly people such as children's clothes and reading glasses, etc. This is because there is an inconsistency in identifying one physical characteristic of the occupant.

  More specifically, as shown in an example in FIG. 5, when there are a plurality of passengers in the vehicle V, as shown in FIG. 5A, the vehicle outward leader of one of the doors of the vehicle V (the left rear door 10 in the illustrated example). There may be other passengers within the reading range of the device 24 in addition to the passenger trying to get in from this door. When the reader device 24 is operated in this state, only the passenger sitting on the left rear seat 5 Instead, the information on the carry-on of the occupant seated on another seat (for example, the front seat 3 on the left side) is read, and the above information mismatch occurs.

  If there is no such inconsistency in information (NO in step S6), the occupant's physical characteristics can be specified as one, and the optimum seat arrangement corresponding to this can be determined. On the other hand, if the information is inconsistent (YES), it is difficult to specify one physical characteristic of the occupant. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S7, and the vehicle outward reader device 24 is operated again to Read information. At this time, only the reader device 24 having the mismatched information may be operated for a predetermined time. In addition, in the read carry-on information, only the information of main carry-on items set in advance is stored in the same manner as in step S4.

  Subsequently, in step S8, it is determined again based on the signal from the door sensor 22 whether the opening degree of the doors 7 to 10 corresponding to the reader device 24 that has read the information is equal to or larger than the set opening degree. This set opening is for detecting a state in which the door is opened relatively large, and as a result, as shown in FIG. It is possible to detect that the door 10 is largely opened (for example, 30 ° or more) until the reading range is exceeded outward in the vehicle width direction.

  When the door is relatively open, as shown in the figure, it is considered that other than the occupant trying to get in from the door 10 will act to avoid the door 10 that is relatively open. There is a probability that another occupant moving toward the door (left front door 8 in the example shown in FIG. 1) while avoiding the door 10 entering the vehicle will be within the reading range of the reader device 24 of the open door 10. Extremely low. Accordingly, only the occupant trying to get in from the door is within the reading range of the reader device 24, and only the information on the carry-on of the occupant can be read without fail.

  Therefore, NO is determined in step S8 until the doors 7 to 10 are opened to the set opening, and the process returns to the step S7 to repeat reading of the IC tag information, while the doors 7 to 10 are opened to the set opening. If YES is determined, the process proceeds to step S9, and the information read last by the reader device 24 is determined as carrying information. In addition, not only the information read last, but also the information with a relatively high reading frequency may be selected from the read information for a predetermined number of times including this, and the carry-on information may be determined. Alternatively, reading may be performed by the reader device 24 only when the door is opened at a predetermined opening.

  Subsequently, in step S10, it is determined whether or not the information is still inconsistent based on the carry-on information determined in step S9 and the information on the seat equipment acquired in step S5. If YES, the process proceeds to step S22 to be described later shown in FIG. 4, while if there is no inconsistency, the process proceeds to step S11, and the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the information, and the optimum is determined accordingly. A proper sheet arrangement (seat position) is determined.

  The optimum seat arrangement differs greatly depending on whether the occupant is a person being assisted or a person who does not require assistance, and it is intended to provide a comfortable seat position corresponding mainly to the physique and body shape for those who do not require assistance. On the other hand, the main purpose of the seat arrangement is to make it easier for passengers to get in and out of the passenger compartment (or to help them get in and out).

  Specifically, in this embodiment, the information on the passenger's carry-on information is added to the information on the seat mounting equipment, etc., and the physical characteristics of the occupant are first set in advance (large or small, whether the person is a caregiver The user selects the person who does not need assistance, etc., and then adopts a seat arrangement preset for each type.

  That is, for example, there is nothing included in the passenger's carry to determine the person being assisted, and there is no child seat or boarding aid on the seats 2-5. It can be determined that the passenger is a person who does not require assistance. In this case, for example, if the seat cushion is determined to be large based on the size of the occupant's clothes, the seat cushion may be moved backward, whereas if it is determined to be small, it may be moved forward.

  On the other hand, for example, if there is a baby seat on the seats 2 to 5, it is desirable to move the seat cushion forward by a predetermined amount so that the infant can be placed backwards so that it can be easily put down. Further, if there is a child seat on the seats 2 to 5, the seat cushion may be lowered rearward so that an infant can easily sit on the seat or widen the feet so that the child can easily sit.

  In addition, when the occupant carries reading glasses or a cane and is determined to be an elderly caregiver, or the occupant is wearing a cast or wearing a dress or kimono with a long hem, its movement is restricted. It is desirable to raise the seat back in a substantially vertical state so that the passenger can easily get on and off. In addition to this, if the rear seats 4 and 5, the seat cushion may be moved forward by a predetermined amount so that the occupant can grasp the assist grips 2 a and 3 a of the front seats 2 and 3, In order to widen the space between the front seats 2 and 3 and widen the feet, the seat cushions of the rear seats 4 and 5 may be lowered rearward.

  After setting the optimum sheet arrangement as described above, the process proceeds to step S12 in FIG. 4 to check the current state (current sheet arrangement) of each of the sheets 2 to 5 and to change the sheet position to obtain the optimum sheet arrangement. A predetermined state around the sheets 2 to 5 to be changed is determined. This may be, for example, a load placed in the luggage compartment 6 behind the seat, an article placed on the seat cushion or in front of the seat, or another seat 2 adjacent to the front, rear, left and right of the seats 2 to 5 whose position is changed. This state is used to predict the occurrence of various problems such as collapse of the load and physical interference caused by the operation of changing the seat position, or narrowing of the space for the occupant.

  If the current seat arrangement is the same as the optimum seat arrangement, there is no need to change the seat arrangement, and if the optimum seat arrangement is attempted from the state around the seat, there is a problem such as the load collapse or interference. If it is expected to occur, the seat arrangement should not be changed (impossible), and if the seat arrangement is unnecessary or impossible in this way, it is determined as NO in step S13 and will be described later In S18, automatic sheet arrangement is not performed. As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the collapse of cargo.

  Note that not only the automatic sheet arrangement is not performed uniformly, but also it may be suppressed according to the surrounding state. In this case, the adjustment amount of the sheet position in the automatic sheet arrangement is relatively small. Or a relatively slow adjustment speed.

  On the other hand, if the current seat arrangement is different from the optimum seat arrangement in step S13 and the seat arrangement is possible, it is determined that the seat arrangement is changed (YES), and the process proceeds to step S14. From the determination result of the physical characteristics, it is determined whether the occupant is a person being assisted or a person not requiring assistance. If it is determined that the occupant is a person being assisted (YES), it is determined whether or not the doors 7 to 10 are open by a signal from the door sensor 22 in the subsequent step S15, and if the door is closed (NO), it is opened. The process proceeds to step S16 and outputs a drive signal to the actuators 19 of the sheets 2 to 5. As a result, the seat arrangement changing operation is started, and the notification by the notification device 26 is started about the changing operation.

  Thus, when the occupant is a person being assisted, the doors 7 to 7 are arranged so as to change the seat position before sitting on the seats 2 to 5 so that the passengers can easily get on (or easily assist the passenger). Control for seat arrangement is performed with the opening of 10 as an opportunity. Since the operation of changing the seat position is performed only when the door is open as described above, the occupant or the caregiver can visually confirm the operation status, and the safety is also high. Note that a cancel switch may be provided at a predetermined position (for example, a pillar trim) in the vicinity of the seat so that the change of the seat position can be stopped according to the operating state.

  On the other hand, in step S17, which is determined to be NO for the person being assisted in step S14, the seating of the occupant is detected based on the signal from the seating sensor 21, and then within a predetermined time (for example, 60 to 120 seconds). It is determined whether or not the sheet operation button 25 is pressed (is there a predetermined operation?), And if there is this operation, the process proceeds to step S16, and the seat arrangement changing operation and notification are started in the same manner as described above, while the predetermined time has passed. If the operation button 25 is not pressed even after a lapse of time, the process proceeds to step S18 to activate the notification device 26 to notify that the seat arrangement is not performed (non-operation).

  In other words, if the occupant is a person who does not require assistance, it is not necessary to change the seat position before sitting on the seats 2 to 5, so the seat arrangement is detected after detecting the seating so that the occupant does not wait while standing. I do. In addition, the seat position is changed only after the operation button 25 is pushed by the occupant and the seat arrangement is permitted so that unnecessary seat arrangement is not performed. Even when the seat arrangement is permitted by the occupant's judgment, it is preferable to prohibit the seat arrangement while the automobile V is traveling.

  In step S19 after the actuator 19 is driven and automatic seat arrangement and notification are started as described above (step S16), for example, the feedback signal output from the encoder (sensor) attached to the actuator 19 is used. Based on whether or not the deviation of the drive phase of the actuator 19 from the drive signal is greater than a predetermined value, the presence or absence of interference is determined. If YES is determined with interference, the automatic sheet arrangement is stopped, and the process proceeds to step S18 to notify the non-operation of the sheets 2-5. In this way, automatic seat arrangement can be stopped immediately when interference with the surroundings actually occurs.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the drive phase shift of the actuator 19 is not large and no interference has occurred (NO), the process proceeds to step S20, where it is determined whether or not the target operation has been completed. If the operation has not yet been completed and if NO, the flow returns to step S16 to continue the seat arrangement changing operation and notification. If the operation is complete and YES, the flow proceeds to step S21, and the automatic seat arrangement is being executed. The open / close state of the doors 7 to 10 adjacent to the seats 2 to 5 is determined. If the doors 7 to 10 are closed, the control is terminated and the process returns.

  It should be noted that the seat position changing operation speed in step S16 is preferably slower when the occupant is a person being assisted than when not being assisted. This is so that safety can be sufficiently confirmed. In step S18, not only the fact that the seat arrangement is not performed may be notified, but also the reason may be notified.

  Further, in step S22, which proceeds after determining that the information is still inconsistent in step S10 of FIG. 3, the priority is set in advance (for example, priority is given to a person being assisted, priority is given to a large person). The information is weighted based on the information, that is, the optimum sheet arrangement is set based on the information with high priority. That is, for example, although the baby seat and the boarding / alighting aid are mounted on the seat cushion, the information on the carry item includes both infants and the elderly and those who do not require assistance. In some cases, a seat arrangement suitable for the person being assisted is set on the assumption that a person who does not require assistance is helping to get on and off the person being assisted such as an infant or an elderly person.

  Thus, the optimal seat arrangement set based on the high priority information is notified to the occupant for a predetermined time (for example, 60 to 120 seconds) by the notification device 26, and the operation button 25 is displayed until the predetermined time elapses. When a predetermined operation is performed, for example, when the unlock button of the remote controller of the keyless entry system is pressed for a predetermined time or longer, a step S23 is performed according to an operation signal input to the controller 20 thereby. In step S12 to S21, the automatic seat arrangement is performed in the same manner as described above. If the predetermined operation is not performed within the predetermined time and no operation signal is input, the process proceeds to step S23. If NO, the process proceeds to step S18.

  In other words, if the information is still inconsistent after reading the carry-on information multiple times, the optimal seat arrangement is based on at least one of the types of physical features selected based on the information. Is temporarily determined, and when this is notified and the occupant confirms, the seat position is automatically changed. By doing so, it is possible to prevent erroneous sheet arrangement. It should be noted that even when there is no inconsistency in carry-on information etc., automatic seat arrangement can be performed after notifying the passenger and confirming it just in case.

  3 and 4, the control procedure of steps S3, S4, and S11 is used, based on the carry-on information read by the vehicle outward reader device 24 under predetermined conditions, and the seat mounting equipment information is added to this. Thus, determination means 20a for determining the physical characteristics of the occupant is configured. In this embodiment, the predetermined condition is when an activation operation for selecting activation of the automatic sheet arranging apparatus A (a selection operation for selecting when control related to adjustment of the seat position is executed) is performed.

  In this embodiment, the determination means 20a is capable of determining whether the occupant is a predetermined person who is desired to assist when getting in and out of the passenger compartment, or is a person requiring no other assistance. Thus, it is determined that the occupant is the person being assisted when the information on the carry-on object includes information previously set corresponding to the person being assisted.

  Further, in step S5 of the flow, the attachment recognition means 20b for recognizing the articles attached to the seats 2 to 5 is configured, and the information of the seat attachment equipment recognized in this way is the physical body of the occupant by the determination means 20a. It is added to the feature determination.

  Further, in step S6, inconsistency determination means 20c is configured to determine that there is an inconsistency in determining the physical characteristics of the occupant between the plurality of items of information carried by the reader device 24. Yes.

  When it is determined by the inconsistency determining means 20c that the information is inconsistent, the carrying device information is read again by the reader device 24 as in step S7, and thus again based on the read carrying item information. The determination means 20a determines the physical characteristics of the occupant (step S11).

  Further, based on the physical characteristics of the occupant thus determined, the optimum seat arrangement corresponding to this is determined, and the seat positions of the respective seats 2 to 5 are automatically adjusted so as to be the optimum seat arrangement. At the same time, according to the control procedure of steps S11, S16, and S18, the seat position adjustment is notified to the occupant based on the physical characteristics of the occupant determined by the determination means 20a. Control means 20d is configured.

  When the determination means 20a determines that the occupant is a person who does not require assistance, the control means 20d performs control such as seat arrangement after the occupant is detected by the seating sensor 21 and the operation button 25 is pressed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the occupant is a person being assisted, control is performed before the occupant is seated on the seats 2 to 5 such as when the doors 7 to 10 are opened.

  Further, according to the control procedure of steps S12 and S19, a sheet peripheral state determination unit 20e is configured to determine a predetermined state around the sheets 2 to 5 where the sheet position is changed by the control of the control unit 20d. The state determination means 20e predicts problems such as load collapse and physical interference caused by the seat position changing operation, or narrowing of the space for the occupant (S12), and by the seat position changing operation. It is configured to detect that interference with the surroundings has actually occurred (S19).

  Thus, the control means 20d does not perform automatic seat arrangement when the seat peripheral state determination means 20e predicts the occurrence of cargo collapse or interference, or the occupant space is narrowed. When the interference is detected, the automatic sheet arrangement is stopped immediately.

  Next, a series of operations of the automatic seat arrangement device A when the occupant gets on the automobile V is divided into a case where the occupant is a person being assisted and a case of a caregiver, and further, the read information is inconsistent. This will be described with reference to the time charts of FIGS.

  First, in the time chart of FIG. 6 showing the case where the occupant is a person being assisted, an operation for selecting activation of the automatic seat arrangement device is performed at time t1 (corresponding to step S3 of the flow of FIG. 3). ) When an activation operation signal is input from the in-vehicle device 23 to the controller 20, the carrying information and the mounting equipment information relating to the seat are read accordingly (steps S4 and S5), and the information reading signal is input and read. It is determined whether there is any inconsistency in information (step S6).

  If there is no inconsistency in the information as a result of the determination, the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the information, the optimal seat arrangement is set, the seat peripheral state is determined, and the like (steps S11 and S12). If a failure such as a load collapse or interference is not expected, when the doors 7 to 10 are opened at time t2 and a door sensor signal is input (step S15), as shown in FIG. A drive signal is output to the actuators 19 of the sheets 2 to 5 adjacent to 10 to start the change of the sheet position, and a notification is given by the notification device 26 (step S16). Note that if the load collapse or interference is expected, the seat position is not changed.

  Thereafter, after the change of the seat position is finished at time t3, when the doors 7 to 10 are closed at time t4 (step S21), the control is finished. However, although not shown, during the change of the seat position due to the operation of the actuator 19, for example, based on a feedback signal from the actuator 19 side, interference with the seat cushion or seat back periphery of the seats 2 to 5 in operation Is determined, the automatic seat arrangement is stopped, and this is notified to the occupant.

  If the occupant activates the automatic seat arrangement device after opening the doors 7 to 10, the doors 7 to 10 are already opened when the information has been read, as indicated by broken lines in the figure. Therefore, a drive signal is immediately output to the actuators 19 of the sheets 2 to 5, and the seat arrangement is performed.

  On the other hand, if there is an inconsistency in the reading result of the carried item information at the time t1, the reading of the carried item information is repeatedly performed as shown in FIG. When 10 reaches the set opening degree, the reading is finished (step S8), and the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the last read carrying unit information (steps S9 to S11). Then, as in the case where there is no inconsistency, the optimum sheet layout is set and the sheet peripheral state is determined (steps S11 and S12). If no load collapse or interference is expected, the doors 7 to 10 are already opened. (Step S15), the sheet position is changed and notified immediately as described above (Step S16).

  Thus, when the occupant is a person being assisted, automatic seat arrangement is performed before the passenger is seated, and the occupant who is the person being assisted is likely to be seated on the seats 2 to 5 (or to be easily assisted). At that time, since the seat arrangement is performed on the condition that the doors 7 to 10 are opened, the occupant and the assistant can visually confirm the operation of changing the seat position.

  On the other hand, the operation of the automatic seat arrangement device A when the occupant is a person who does not require assistance is as shown in FIG. 7, and first, at the time t1, as in the case of the person being assisted shown in FIG. When an activation operation signal is input after an operation for selecting activation is performed, the information on the carry-on object and the mounting equipment information on the seat is read and the information reading signal is input, and it is determined whether the read information is inconsistent. As a result, if there is no inconsistency in the information, the physical characteristics of the occupant are immediately determined based on the information, and the optimal seat arrangement is set, the seat peripheral state is determined, and the like.

  Further, if there is inconsistency in the information read as described above, as shown by the phantom line in the figure, the reading of the carry-on information is repeatedly performed, and if the doors 7 to 10 reach the set opening at time t2. The reading is terminated, and the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined based on the carrying unit information read at the end, and the optimum seat arrangement is set, the seat peripheral state is determined, and the like.

  In any of the above cases, if no trouble such as collapse of cargo or interference is expected, when the occupant is seated on one of the seats 2 to 5 at time t3 and a seating sensor signal is input, a timer for a predetermined time is then received. Counting is performed, and when the operation signal 25 is input by operating the operation buttons 25 of the sheets 2 to 5 at time t4 before the predetermined time elapses (step S17), the actuators 19 of the sheets 2 to 5 are driven. A signal is output and the change of the seat position is started, and a notification is given by the notification device 26 (step S16).

  Thereafter, if the change of the seat position is completed at time t5, the doors 7 to 10 are already closed at this time (step S21), and the control is terminated. Even in the case of this person who does not require assistance, automatic seat arrangement will not be performed if a problem such as load collapse is expected depending on the state of the seat, and if interference with the surroundings is detected during the change of the seat position, The seat arrangement will be stopped immediately.

  In this way, if the occupant is a person who does not require assistance, automatic seat arrangement is performed when seated on the seats 2 to 5 and a predetermined operation is performed, and the occupant stands and waits until the seat arrangement is completed. There is no need for this, and there is no risk of extra seat arrangement.

  Therefore, according to the automatic seat arrangement device A according to this embodiment, the physical characteristics of the occupant are automatically determined based on information obtained from an IC tag or the like of the occupant's carry item, and determined based on the determination result. Actuator 19 is actuated to automatically adjust the seat position so that a proper seat arrangement can be made. Can be easily obtained.

  At that time, instead of using all the information of the passenger's carry-on items, based on the information of the main carry-on items (preset) suitable for determining the physical characteristics, Since the determination is made in consideration of whether a child seat or a turn cushion is attached, an appropriate seat arrangement can be determined by a highly accurate determination.

  In addition, reading of carry-on information from the IC tag or the like is performed under a predetermined condition suitable for it. That is, when an occupant outside the vehicle performs an activation operation of the automatic seat arrangement device A, it is predicted that an occupant in the vicinity of the entry / exit doors 7 to 10 will enter, and the vehicle for each of the entry / exit doors 7 to 10 Since the outward reader device 24 reads the occupant's carry-on information, the occupant's carry-on information seated on the seats 2-5 adjacent to each of the entrance doors 7-10 is definitely read, and its physical characteristics Can be determined with high accuracy.

  In addition, when there is inconsistency in the information thus read, the carry-on information by the vehicle outward reader device 24 of the doors 7 to 10 until the boarding doors 7 to 10 are opened to a certain extent. In the situation where only the occupant trying to get in from the doors 7 to 10 is within the reading range of the reader device 24, only the information on the carried items of the occupant can be definitely read. The physical characteristics of the occupant can be determined with high accuracy on the basis of the carry-in information read in this way.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, before performing the automatic seat arrangement, a predetermined state around the seats 2 to 5 where the seat position is changed, that is, on a load or a seat cushion loaded in the luggage compartment 6 behind the seat. Judging the position of the article placed in front of the seat or the other seats 2 to 5 adjacent to the front, back, left and right, and performing automatic seat arrangement, large cargo collapses and the seats 2 and 5 and the surroundings If the occurrence of problems such as interference with the vehicle or the inability to secure space for passengers is expected, the occurrence of the aforementioned problems can be prevented by not changing the seat position. Can do.

(Other embodiments)
In addition, the structure of this invention is not limited to the thing of embodiment mentioned above, It includes other various structures. That is, in the embodiment, as shown in steps S3 and S4 of the flow in FIG. 3, when an operation for selecting activation of the automatic seat arrangement device A is performed by an occupant outside the vehicle (under a predetermined condition), the carrying is performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the passenger doors 7 to 10 are opened by the occupant or the door lock is released, the vehicle outward reader of the doors 7 to 10 is read. Carrying object information may be read by the device 24.

  As a specific example, when it is detected in step S3 of the flow of FIG. 3 that the doors 7 to 10 are opened by a signal from the door sensor 22, the process may proceed to step S4. When the opening of 10 to 10 becomes another set opening smaller than the set opening (for example, 30 ° or more) in step S8, the process may proceed to step S4. By carrying out like this, the passenger | carrying goods information of the passenger | crew who gets in from the opened doors 7-10 can be read more reliably.

  In the embodiment, as shown in steps S4 and S5, the physical characteristics of the occupant are determined by taking into account not only the information of carried items read from the IC tag or the like but also the information of the seat mounting equipment such as the child seat. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the determination may be made only with carry-on information.

  Furthermore, in the said embodiment, in the other sheet | seats 2-5 of the periphery of the sheet | seat 2-5 which changes a sheet | seat position based on the signal from the encoder etc. which were attached to the actuator 19 of each sheet | seat 2-5, for example It may be determined that the seat position has been changed, and automatic seat arrangement may be suppressed during this determination. In this way, when the occupant manually changes the seat position in the other surrounding seats 2 to 5, the manual seat position change is prioritized, and the seat is changed due to an unexpected change in the seat position. Generation | occurrence | production of the malfunction that interference of 2-5, accessories, etc. arises or it becomes impossible to ensure the space for a passenger | crew can be suppressed.

  In this case, suppressing the automatic seat arrangement may mean that the position of the seat is not adjusted by driving the actuator 19, and the adjustment amount is reduced, the adjustment speed is decreased, or the adjustment is postponed. Or you may.

  In the embodiment, both the automatic adjustment of the seat arrangement and the notification thereof are performed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the automatic adjustment of the seat arrangement is performed without notification. On the contrary, it is also possible to just notify the occupant of the optimum seat arrangement. In this case, an appropriate seat arrangement can be realized by manually changing the seat position by an occupant's assistant or the like. In the case where only the passenger is notified of the optimum seat arrangement in this way, suppressing this means that the notification is not performed.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as a recording means for recording information related to the occupant's carry-on object, one that is directly or indirectly attached to the carry-on object such as an IC tag is used. The recorded information is read by the reader device 24 in a non-contact manner. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the recording means may be a readable / writable recording medium on which personal information is recorded, such as an IC card. Good.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the operation button 25 is provided corresponding to each of the seats 2 to 5 so that an occupant or the like can determine whether or not automatic seat arrangement is permitted. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an operation button may be provided on the remote control of the keyless entry system, or when the unlock button of the remote control or the entry button near the doorknob is operated in a manner different from the normal operation, the automatic seat Arrangement may be allowed.

  In addition, the present invention is applicable not only to RV vehicles such as the automobile V shown in FIG. 1 and hatchback vehicles, but also to open cars, trucks, buses, as well as 4-door sedans and 3-door compact cars. It is.

  As described above, the present invention automatically determines the physical characteristics of an occupant and makes it possible to easily perform an optimal seat arrangement according to the automatic determination. Therefore, the present invention is useful for an automobile seat device, and in particular, a seat. It is suitable for RV vehicles with a wide variety of arrangements.

It is a figure showing the schematic structure of the vehicles carrying the seat device concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of an automatic sheet | seat arrangement device. It is a flowchart figure which shows the control procedure of the first half of automatic seat arrangement. It is a flowchart figure which shows the control procedure of the second half of automatic seat arrangement. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example when inconsistency arises in information. It is a time chart figure showing an example of operation of an automatic seat arrangement device in case a crew member is a caregiver. It is a time chart figure showing an example of operation of an automatic seat arrangement device in case a crew member is a person who does not need assistance.

Explanation of symbols

V Automobile (vehicle)
2,3 Front seat (sheet device)
4,5 Rear seat (sheet device)
6 Cargo compartment 7-10 Door 19 for getting on and off 19 Actuator 20 Controller 20a Determination means 20b Attachment object recognition means 20c Inconsistency determination means 20d Control means 20e Peripheral state determination means 24 Reader device (reading device)
25 Operation buttons (operation means)
26 Alarm

Claims (6)

A seat device capable of changing the seat position;
A reading device that is arranged corresponding to a door for getting on and off the vehicle, and that reads information on the carried item from a recording means in which information about the carried item of the occupant is recorded;
Determination means for determining the physical characteristics of the occupant based on the carry-in object information read by the reader;
Control means for controlling at least one of automatically adjusting the seat position of the seat device or notifying the passenger about the adjustment of the seat position based on the physical characteristics determined by the determining means; With
A vehicle equipped with a seat device, wherein the determination means is configured to determine the physical characteristics of the occupant based on carry-on information read under a predetermined condition by the reader. In a vehicle equipped with the seat device of claim 1,
The reading device is capable of reading carry-on information from a recording means for carry-on of an occupant outside the vehicle,
The vehicle in which the seat device is mounted is characterized in that the predetermined state is when the door is in a predetermined opening state by an occupant outside the vehicle. In a vehicle equipped with the seat device of claim 1,
The reading device is capable of reading carry-on information from a recording means for carry-on of an occupant outside the vehicle,
A selection operation means is provided that allows an occupant outside the vehicle to select whether to perform control by the control means,
The vehicle in which the seat device is mounted is characterized in that the predetermined condition is when a selection operation for performing control is performed on the selection operation means. In the vehicle carrying any one seat device of Claims 1-3,
A wearing object recognizing means for recognizing an article attached to the sheet device;
A vehicle equipped with a seat device, wherein the determination unit is configured to determine a physical characteristic of an occupant in consideration of a recognition result obtained by the attachment recognition unit. In a vehicle equipped with the seat device of claim 4,
A vehicle equipped with a seat device, wherein the reading device is installed in a ceiling or pillar of a passenger compartment. In the vehicle carrying any one of the seat devices according to claim 1,
The apparatus further comprises inconsistency determination means for determining that there is an inconsistency in determining the physical characteristics of the occupant among a plurality of items of information carried by the reader.
When the reading device determines that there is inconsistency by the inconsistency determining means, it reads the carry-on information again,
A vehicle equipped with a seat device, wherein the determining means determines the physical characteristics of the occupant based on the information on the carried item that has been read again.

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