JP2008230366A - Driving posture automatic adjustment device and adjusting method of driving posture automatic adjustment device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving posture automatic adjustment device to realize a favorable driving posture according to the physique of a driver by precisely assuming the physique of the driver. <P>SOLUTION: This driving posture automatic adjustment device has: foot-operated pedal operation detection means 12, 13 to detect operation of a foot-operated pedal 35; pressure sensors A, B arranged at more than two prescribed parts of a driver's seat and; a front and rear position control means 17a to adjust front and rear positions of the driver's seat in accordance with a pressure value of the prescribed part which the pressure sensors A, B detect when the foot-operated pedal operation detection means 12, 13 detect the operation of the foot-operated pedal 35. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving posture automatic adjustment device that controls the position of an in-vehicle device that determines a driving posture, and a method for adjusting a driving posture automatic adjustment device.

  In consideration of operability and safety, the seat position and the steering position that provide a preferable driving posture are determined according to the physique of the individual. Therefore, the vehicle can be adjusted for the devices related to the driving posture. For example, the front / rear position of the seat is adjusted so that the amount of depression of the brake pedal and accelerator pedal is appropriate, the height of the seat, the reclining angle, etc. are adjusted so as to ensure visibility, and the steering position and angle are It is adjusted to ensure handling operability.

  Although it is conceivable that the adjustment is performed automatically considering the convenience of the vehicle, the adjustment of the device is greatly influenced by the individual physique difference, so the driver's physique is estimated and the device is adjusted according to the estimated value The technique to do is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1). In the driving position setting device described in Patent Document 1, a pressure sensor is arranged in the seat seat surface, and the physique of the driver is estimated by detecting the weight and the hip width, and the device is adjusted according to the estimated value.

In addition, a technique for calculating an appropriate depression amount of a brake pedal and an accelerator pedal by photographing a leg portion or the like has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2). The driving position adjustment system described in Patent Document 2 detects a joint folding angle from an image of a driver by an indoor camera, and calculates a movement amount of a seat or a steering position based on the folding angle.
JP 2006-213150 A JP 2006-123640 A

  However, the driving position setting device described in Patent Document 1 estimates the driver's physique only from the weight and the buttock width, and it can be said that it is difficult to estimate the height and limb length of each individual.

  Further, as in the driving position adjustment system described in Patent Document 2, even if the movement amount of the seat is calculated from the bending angle of the joint, the position of the waist is not taken into consideration, so that the seat position at which the driving posture is optimal is not necessarily considered. I can't control it.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a driving posture automatic adjustment device that accurately estimates the physique of the driver and realizes a preferable driving posture according to the physique of the driver, and an adjustment method of the driving posture automatic adjustment device. Objective.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a pedal pedal operation detecting means (for example, a brake ECU, an engine ECU) for detecting an operation of a foot pedal (for example, a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal) and a driver seat 2. When the pressure sensor arranged in the predetermined part and the foot pedal operation detecting means detect the operation of the foot pedal, the front and rear of the driver's seat are based on the pressure value of the predetermined part detected by the pressure sensor. And a front-rear position control means for adjusting the position.

  According to the present invention, the pressure at which the driver loads the seat while the foot pedal is depressed is detected, so that the front-rear position of the seat can be adjusted so that the relative position between the driver and the driver seat is optimized. .

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the front-rear position control means moves the position of the driver's seat rearward when the driver's leg overbending is detected by the pressure value applied to the front of the seat surface detected by the pressure sensor. The position of the driver's seat is adjusted forward when the separation between the waist and the seat back of the driver is detected based on the pressure value applied to the lower part of the seat back detected by the pressure sensor.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to adjust the front-rear position of the seat by detecting excessive bending of the leg or separation of the waist by the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, a face camera that captures a driver's face image, a physique estimation unit that estimates the physique of the driver from the eye position of the face image and the size / state of the driver seat, and a physique Control position determining means for determining the optimum seat height based on the physique estimated by the estimating means, and height control means for adjusting the height of the driver seat to the seat height determined by the control position determining means It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, since the dimensions and state of the driver's seat are clear, the physique of the driver can be estimated by taking into account the eye position obtained from the face image. It can be adjusted to the optimum seat height.

  Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the physique estimation means for estimating the physique of the driver, and the physique estimation means are estimated from the pressure value applied to the headrest detected by the pressure sensor and the size / state of the driver seat. Control position determining means for determining the optimum seat height based on the physique, and height control means for adjusting the height of the driver seat to the seat height determined by the control position determining means, To do.

  According to the present invention, since the dimensions and state of the driver's seat are clear, the physique of the driver can be estimated by considering the eye position obtained from the headrest pressure sensor. The seat height can be adjusted to the optimum physique. In addition, since no camera or facial image processing is required, the physique can be estimated by simple processing.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the control position determination means determines control position information such as a reclining angle, a headrest height, a mirror angle, and a steering wheel position based on the physique estimated by the physique estimation means, The vehicle-mounted device adjusts the control position of the vehicle-mounted device based on the control position information.

  According to the present invention, not only the front / rear position of the seat and the seat height but also the position of the in-vehicle device related to other driving operations can be adjusted, so that the driver's burden can be reduced and an optimal driving posture can be provided.

  It is possible to provide a driving posture automatic adjustment device and a driving posture automatic adjustment device adjustment method that accurately estimate the physique of the driver and realize a preferable driving posture according to the physique of the driver.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The driving posture automatic adjustment device 10 according to the present embodiment estimates the driving posture of the driver based on pressure values detected by pressure sensors arranged at various positions of the seat, and the front and rear positions of the seat so that the driving posture is optimized. The seat height, reclining angle, headrest height, steering wheel tilt angle, telescopic position (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as “tilt tele position”), mirror position, etc. are automatically adjusted.

  FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a driving posture automatic adjusting apparatus 10 of this embodiment. The automatic driving posture adjustment device 10 includes a face image processing device 11, a face camera 11a, a brake ECU 12, an engine ECU 13, a body ECU 14, a meter ECU 15, a mirror ECU 16, a seat ECU 17, and a tilt / telescopic ECU (hereinafter referred to as a tilt tele ECU) 21. It is configured to be connected by an in-vehicle LAN such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) and a LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The driving posture automatic adjustment device 10 is controlled in cooperation with the body ECU 14 and the seat ECU 17, but this is only one form and does not fix the location of each means described below.

  The face camera 11a is arranged so that the driver's face faces the steering column, for example, with the oblique upper part behind the vehicle as the optical axis. The face camera 11a includes a photoelectric conversion element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), photoelectrically converts incident light according to its intensity, and outputs a digital image having a predetermined luminance gradation (for example, 256 gradations) ( Face image). The face image processing device 11 detects the eye position (eye height in the face image) from the edge information and the like of the face image, and sends the eye height information to the body ECU 14.

  The brake ECU 12 controls the brake actuator and independently controls the wheel cylinder pressure of each wheel without depending on the driver's operation of the brake pedal 35. Also, the brake ECU 12 sends the depression of the brake pedal 35 to the body ECU 14, for example, brake pedal information such as master cylinder pressure and brake pedal stroke. The accelerator pedal information may be transmitted by detecting the accelerator opening.

  The engine ECU 13 performs basic engine control such as engine speed control and throttle opening control, detects a shift position by a connected shift position sensor, and sends shift position information to the body ECU 14.

  The ECU such as the body ECU 14 includes a CPU for executing a program, a RAM for storing data temporarily, a RAM for temporarily storing data, a flash memory (simply referred to as a memory) that retains data even when the ignition is turned off, and a data interface. An input / output interface, a communication controller that communicates with another ECU, a ROM that stores a program, and the like are configured by a microcomputer connected by a bus.

  When the CPU of the body ECU 14 executes the program, the control start determination means 14a is realized, and when the CPU of the seat ECU 17 executes the program, the front / rear position control means 17a, the physique estimation means 17b, the control position determination means 17c, and Height control means 17d is realized.

  The control start determination unit 14a determines whether or not the driving posture can be automatically adjusted based on the brake operation information and the shift position information, and sets the automatic adjustment flag 14b according to the determination result.

  The seat 20 is provided with a pressure sensor A18 (hereinafter simply referred to as pressure sensor A) and a pressure sensor B19 (hereinafter simply referred to as pressure sensor B) at each position, and the front / rear position of the seat 20, the seat height, and the reclining angle. An actuator for adjusting the height of the headrest 34 independently and variably is disposed. The front / rear position control means 17a adjusts the front / rear position of the seat 20 to a position where the driver is in an optimal driving posture based on the pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B.

  The physique estimation unit 17b calculates the height of the viewpoint using the eye height information, the state information of the seat 20, the dimension information, and the like, and estimates the physique of the driver with reference to the viewpoint height table 17f. . The state information is information indicating the current state of the seat 20 such as the front / rear position, the reclining angle, the seat height, and the height of the headrest 34, and is known to the seat ECU 17. The dimension information is information relating to the dimensions of the seat 20 such as the length of the seat back 31 of the seat 20 and the longitudinal length of the seating surface 32, and is determined in advance.

  Then, the control position determination means 17c refers to the control position determination table 17g based on the estimated physique information, and controls the seat height, the reclining angle, the tilt tele position, the mirror angle, etc., which are optimal for the physique of the driver. Determine location information. The height control unit 17d adjusts the seat height and reclining angle of the seat 20 based on the determined seat height and reclining angle of the seat 20.

  The mirror ECU 16 executes a program to realize the mirror angle control means 16a. The mirror angle control means 16a optimizes the mirror angles of the door mirror and the room mirror with respect to the driver's line of sight based on the control position information. Control to be.

  Further, the chill tele position control means 21a is realized by the CPU of the chill tele ECU 21 executing a program, and the chill tele position control means 21a controls the chill tele position so as to be optimal for the driver's physique based on the control position information. To do.

  The meter ECU 15 acquires pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B, eye height information, etc., and provides them according to the request of each ECU, and displays the operating status of the driving posture automatic adjustment device 10 etc. Displayed on the meter or by lighting a predetermined lamp.

[Adjustment of the front and rear position of the seat 20]
The adjustment of the front and rear position of the seat 20 will be described. FIG. 2 shows an example of the driving posture of the driver when the front and rear positions of the seat 20 are at appropriate positions. A pressure sensor A is disposed on the seat back 31 of the seat 20, and a pressure sensor B is disposed on the seat surface 32. The pressure sensor A is disposed at a position where the waist contacts with the driver in a correct driving posture, and the pressure sensor B is positioned at a position where the back contacts with the driver in a correct driving posture. Be placed.

  In the correct driving posture, the knee bends slightly when the brake pedal 35 or the accelerator pedal is fully depressed while sitting on the seat 20 deeply. Accordingly, the pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B when the driving posture is correct, for example, a sufficient load is applied to the pressure sensor A of the seat back 31 and an appropriate load is applied to the pressure sensor B of the seat surface 32. It becomes a state. The driving posture automatic adjustment device 10 adjusts the front-rear position of the seat 20 so as to be the driving posture of FIG.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the relationship between the front-rear position of the seat 20 and the pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B when the foremost position is taken as the zero point. The pressure value detected by the pressure sensor A does not change so much while the driver's waist is in contact with the pressure sensor A, the front / rear position of the seat 20 moves rearward, and the driver's waist floats from the pressure sensor A. It starts to drop sharply. On the other hand, the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor B is zero or very small because the back of the seat 20 is not in contact with the pressure sensor B when the seat 20 is in front and the driver's leg is bent greatly. And even if the seat 20 moves rearward, if the back begins to contact the pressure sensor B, the front-rear position of the seat 20 gradually increases as it moves rearward.

FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating the driving posture when the front-rear position of the seat 20 is too far forward. When the seat 20 is too forward, the driver's waist is in contact with the pressure sensor A, but the back of the driver is separated from the pressure sensor B. Therefore, the pressure value when it is too forward is
Pressure value of pressure sensor A: large (> reference value P1)
Pressure value of pressure sensor B: zero or close to zero (<reference value P2)
It becomes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, it is detected that the front-rear position of the seat 20 is too forward by the pressure values of the two pressure sensors A and B.

FIG. 4B shows the driving posture when the front-rear position of the seat 20 is too backward. When the seat 20 is too far behind, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the driver's waist begins to move away from the pressure sensor A, and the pressure sensor B is strongly loaded from the back by the buttocks. Therefore, the pressure value when it is too far is
Pressure value of pressure sensor A: small (<reference value P3)
Pressure value of pressure sensor B: large (> reference value P4)
It becomes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, it is detected that the seat 20 is too far from the pressure values of the two pressure sensors A and B. The reference values P1 and P3, and P2 and P4 may be the same value or different values.

  The front / rear position control means 17a adjusts the front / rear position of the seat 20 to a position where a correct driving posture is achieved, based on the pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B, when it is too forward and backward when it is too backward. If an example is shown in FIG. 3, the front-rear position control means 17 a adjusts the front-rear position of the seat 20 so that the pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B fall within the optimum range 33, for example. The optimum range 33 set for each driver may be stored in advance.

[Estimation of driver's physique]
The estimation of the driver's physique will be described. The physique estimation means 17b estimates the driver's physique from the dimension information of the seat 20, the state information, and the driver's eye height information.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for estimating the physique of the driver from the dimension information of the seat 20, the state information, and the height information of the driver's eyes. In FIG. 5, the distance from the rear end (driver side) of the face camera 11a to the rear end of the seat surface 32 of the seat 20 is defined as the seat front-rear position s1. Further, the height of the seat surface 32 of the seat 20 is the seat height d, the length of the seat back 31 is the seat back length s2, the reclining angle of the seat back 31 is θ, and the distance from the floor surface to the viewpoint height is the viewpoint height. X. Here, other than the viewpoint height x is known.

a) First, the physique estimation means 17b calculates the horizontal distance L from the face camera 11a to the face. The horizontal distance L may be equal to a value obtained by adding the horizontal distance s3 from the rear end of the seating surface 32 to the headrest to the seat front-rear position s1. s3 is obtained from the reclining angle θ and the seat back length s2 as follows.
s3 = s2 × cos (π / 2−θ)
Therefore,
Horizontal distance L = s1 + s2 × cos (π / 2−θ)
b) Next, the physique estimation means 17b obtains the height x of the viewpoint from the horizontal distance L and the eye height information. FIG. 6 shows an example of a driver's face image. Since the number of pixels of the face image is known, eye height information is represented here by how many pixels the eye has from the lower end of the face image (for example, h pixels). Since the optical axis of the face camera 11a is constant, there is a fixed relationship between the horizontal distance L and eye height information (h pixels).

  In the present embodiment, this relationship is formed in a viewpoint height table 17f as shown in FIG. 7A and stored in advance in a flash memory of the body ECU 14 or the like. The physique estimation means 17b extracts the viewpoint height xi (i: 1 to n) by referring to the viewpoint height table 17f from the horizontal distance L and the eye height information. Note that the viewpoint height x may be calculated by calculation.

  c) The physique estimation means 17b estimates the physique of the driver from the height x of the viewpoint, the dimension information of the seat 20, and the state information. First, the seat height of the driver can be calculated with considerable accuracy by subtracting the seat height d from the height x of the viewpoint and performing a predetermined calculation in consideration of the reclining angle θ.

  Moreover, since the seat height and the length of the hand, and the seat height and the length of the leg, for example, statistics collected for each race such as Asians and Caucasians can be used, by using this statistical information, the physique estimation means 17b The length of the limb can be estimated.

[Position control of in-vehicle devices for optimal driving posture]
If the physique of the driver is estimated, the seat height, the reclining angle, the tilt tele position, the mirror angle, etc., which are the optimum driving posture, will become clear. Since the height of the viewpoint is important so that sufficient visibility can be secured in the driving posture, the height of the viewpoint is first determined. Since the viewpoint height is determined by the seat height d and the reclining angle θ, the seat height d and the reclining angle θ are determined from the seat height. FIG. 7B shows a control position determination table 17g in which the seat height is associated with the seat height d and the reclining angle θ. The control position determination unit 17c extracts the seat height di (i: 1 to n) and the reclining angle θi (θ: 1 to n) based on the estimated seat height. Further, when the headrest 34 is the seat 20 that is extended by an actuator, the height of the headrest 34 may be extracted.

  When the height of the viewpoint is determined, the height of the shoulder is also determined, and the tilt tele position can be determined from the estimated hand length. FIG. 7C shows a control position determination table 17g in which the tilt tele position is associated with the length of the hand. The control position determination unit 17c extracts the tilt tele position mi · ni (i: 1 to n) based on the estimated hand length.

  When the height of the viewpoint is determined, a suitable mirror angle or the like becomes clear from the viewpoint. Therefore, the control position determination unit 17c extracts the mirror angle associated with the physique information from the control position determination table 17g. .

[Processing procedure]
Based on the above configuration, a procedure for controlling the in-vehicle device so that the body ECU 14 or the seat ECU 17 is in an optimum driving posture will be described.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a procedure for determining whether or not the control start determination unit 14a may start automatic control of the front and rear positions. The flowchart of FIG. 8 is repeatedly executed every predetermined cycle time after the ignition is turned on.

  The control start determination means 14a receives information necessary for determining whether or not automatic control can be started (S10). Since it is not preferable that the front / rear position of the seat 20 is adjusted during traveling, the information received here is information for determining that the vehicle is stopped, for example, shift position information.

  The control start determination unit 14a determines whether or not the adjustment of the front / rear position of the seat 20 is permitted (S20). Here, it is permitted when the shift position is parking.

  When the adjustment of the front-rear position of the seat 20 is permitted (Yes in S20), the control start determination unit 14a detects brake operation information (S30). Then, it is determined whether or not the brake pedal 35 is depressed with a depression amount equal to or greater than a reference value (S40). It can be detected that the driver's legs are in a preferable state for determining the front-rear position of the seat 20 because the brake pedal 35 is depressed with a depression amount equal to or greater than the reference value. Therefore, the reference value is a value when the brake pedal 35 is depressed firmly.

  When the depression amount of the brake pedal 35 is equal to or larger than the reference value (Yes in S40), the control start determination unit 14a turns on the automatic adjustment flag 14b (S50). When the automatic adjustment flag 14b is on, the seat ECU 17 can adjust the front-rear position.

  If adjustment of the front-rear position of the seat 20 is not permitted (No in S20), the control start determination unit 14a turns off the automatic adjustment flag 14b (S60).

Adjustment of the front / rear position of the seat 20 FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a procedure for adjusting the front / rear position of the seat 20 so that the front / rear position control means 17a is in an optimal driving posture. The flowchart of FIG. 9 is repeatedly executed every predetermined cycle time.

  The front / rear position control means 17a receives the automatic adjustment flag 14b from the body ECU 14 (S110). Then, it is determined whether or not the adjustment of the front / rear position of the seat 20 is permitted according to the state of the automatic adjustment flag 14b (S120).

  When the automatic adjustment flag 14b is on (Yes in S120), the front / rear position control unit 17a acquires pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B (S130). Then, the front / rear position control means 17a determines whether or not the pressure values detected by the pressure sensors A and B are appropriate values (S140). This appropriate value is, for example, a pressure value that falls within the optimum range 33 of FIG.

  When the pressure value falls within the appropriate value (Yes in S140), the front / rear position control means 17a turns on the height adjustment flag 17e (S150). When the height adjustment flag 17e is on, the front-rear position has been adjusted to the optimum position, so the seat height / reclining angle, the height of the headrest 34, and the position of the vehicle-mounted device other than the seat 20 are adjusted. Adjustment is allowed.

  If the pressure value does not fall within the appropriate value (No in S140), the front / rear position control means 17a turns off the height adjustment flag 17e (S160).

  Next, it is determined whether the pressure sensor A is larger than the reference value P1 and the pressure sensor B is smaller than the reference value P2 (S170). By this determination, it is determined whether the front-rear position of the seat 20 is too forward or too backward.

  When the pressure sensor A is larger than the reference value P1 and the pressure sensor B is smaller than the reference value P2 (Yes in S170 (if it is too forward)), the front / rear position control means 17a moves the seat 20 rearward (S180).

  When the pressure sensor A is not larger than the reference value P1 or the pressure sensor B is not smaller than the reference value P2 (No in S170 (when it is too backward)), the front / rear position control means 17a moves the seat 20 forward ( S190).

  By repeating the movement of the seat 20 by a predetermined amount, the detection values of the pressure sensors A and B enter the optimum range 33, and the front and rear position of the seat 20 can be adjusted to the optimum position for the driving posture.

Adjustment of seat height, reclining angle, height of headrest 34, and position of in-vehicle device other than seat 20 FIG. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure which adjusts the position. The flowchart of FIG. 10 is repeatedly executed every predetermined cycle time.

  The physique estimation means 17b refers to the height adjustment flag 17e held by the seat ECU 17 (S210). It is determined whether adjustment of the seat height, the reclining angle, etc. is permitted according to the state of the height adjustment flag 17e (S220).

  When the height adjustment flag 17e is on (Yes in S220), the physique estimation means 17b receives eye height information (S230).

  Then, as described above, the physique estimation means 17b extracts the viewpoint height x from the horizontal distance L and the eye height information, and the physique of the driver from the viewpoint height x, the dimensional information of the seat 20, and the state information. Is estimated (S240).

  Next, the control position determination means 17c extracts the position to be controlled such as the seat height, the reclining angle, the height of the headrest 34, the tilt tele position, the mirror angle, and the like from the control position determination table 17g based on the physique information. The control means 17d and the like adjust the position (S250). The seat height, the reclining angle, and the height of the headrest 34 are adjusted by the height control means 17d of the seat ECU 17.

  Since the tilt tele position is sent to the tilt tele ECU 21, the tilt tele position control means 21a adjusts the position of the tearing wheel to the tilt tele position determined by the control position determination means 17c. Since the mirror angle is sent to the mirror ECU 16, the mirror angle control means 16a adjusts the angles of the door mirror, the room mirror, etc. to the mirror angle determined by the control position determination means 17c.

  According to the driving posture automatic adjusting apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the load applied to a predetermined portion of the seat 20 when the brake pedal 35 or the like is depressed is detected by the pressure sensors A and B for each driver. It can be adjusted with high accuracy.

  Further, the height of the viewpoint is obtained by using the front-rear position determined based on the load applied to the seat 20, and then the physique such as the sitting height is estimated, so that the physique can be accurately estimated. The position can be adjusted with high accuracy. In addition, since a monocular camera can be used, there is no increase in cost.

  In the first embodiment, the face image taken by the face camera 11a is used to estimate the physique of the driver. In this embodiment, the pressure sensor C provided on the headrest 34 is used instead of the face camera 11a. Note that the adjustment of the front-rear position of the seat 20 is the same as that in the first embodiment, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the driving posture of the driver seated on the seat 20. In FIG. 11, a pressure sensor C <b> 22 (hereinafter simply referred to as pressure sensor C) is disposed on the headrest 34 of the seat 20. When the pressure sensor C is disposed on the headrest 34, it may be considered that the predetermined portion of the head is in contact with the portion where the pressure sensor C detects the maximum pressure, so the portion k that detects the maximum pressure, The viewpoint height x can be calculated from the seat height d, the seat back length s2, and the reclining angle θ. If the portion k for detecting the maximum pressure is the distance from the upper end of the seat back 31, the viewpoint height x can be expressed as follows.

Viewpoint height x = seat height d + s 2 · cos θ + k
Therefore, in this embodiment, the viewpoint height x can be calculated without using the viewpoint height table 17f. The pressure sensor C may be any sensor that detects the head position, such as a capacitance sensor or an ultrasonic sensor.

  Thereafter, the control position information can be determined as in the first embodiment. That is, the physique estimation unit 17b estimates the driver's seat height by subtracting the seat height d from the viewpoint height x and performing a predetermined calculation in consideration of the reclining angle θ. Further, based on the sitting height, the length of the hand and the length of the leg are estimated by using statistics collected for each race such as Asians and Caucasians.

  The control position determination unit 17c refers to the control position determination table 17g to determine the seat height d, the reclining angle θ, the tilt angle, the telescopic position, the mirror angle, and the like.

  According to the driving posture automatic adjustment device 10 of the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the height of the viewpoint can be obtained without extracting eye height information from the face image captured by the face camera 11a. The height of the viewpoint can be calculated with simple processing. And the seat height etc. which become the optimal driving posture based on physique information can be adjusted accurately.

It is a block diagram of a driving posture automatic adjustment device. It is an example of the driving | running posture of a driver | operator when the front-back position of a sheet | seat exists in an appropriate position. It is a figure which shows an example of the relationship between the front-back position of a sheet | seat, and the pressure value detected by the pressure sensors A and B, taking the foremost position as a zero point. It is a figure which shows the driving | running attitude | position when the front-back position of a sheet | seat is too front and back. It is explanatory drawing which estimates a driver | operator's physique from the dimension information of a sheet | seat, state information, and a driver | operator's eye height information. It is a figure which shows an example of a driver | operator's face image. It is a figure which shows an example of a viewpoint height table and a control position determination table. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure which determines whether a control start determination request | requirement means may start the automatic control of a vehicle-mounted apparatus. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure which controls the front-back position of a sheet | seat so that a front-back position control means may become an optimal driving | running posture. It is a flowchart figure of the procedure in which seat ECU etc. control the back-and-front position of the seat which defines a driving posture, and the position of in-vehicle device. It is explanatory drawing which estimates a driver | operator's physique from the dimension information of a sheet | seat, state information, and the pressure value added to a headrest.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Driving posture automatic adjustment apparatus 11 Face image processing apparatus 11a Face camera 12 Brake ECU
13 Engine ECU
14 Body ECU
15 Meter ECU
16 Mirror ECU
17 Seat ECU
18 Pressure sensor A
19 Pressure sensor B
20 seat 21 chill tele ECU
22 Pressure sensor C
31 Seat back 32 Seat 33 Optimal range 34 Headrest 35 Brake pedal

Claims (6)

A foot pedal operation detecting means for detecting the operation of the foot pedal;
A pressure sensor disposed in two or more predetermined portions of the driver seat;
Front / rear position control means for adjusting the front / rear position of the driver's seat based on the pressure value of the predetermined portion detected by the pressure sensor when the foot pedal operation detecting means detects the operation of the foot pedal. When,
A driving posture automatic adjustment device comprising: The front / rear position control means adjusts the position of the driver's seat rearward when the bending of the leg of the driver is detected by the pressure value applied to the front of the seat surface detected by the pressure sensor,
When detecting the separation between the driver's lower back and the seat back by the pressure value applied to the lower part of the seat back detected by the pressure sensor, the position of the driver seat is adjusted forward;
The driving posture automatic adjustment device according to claim 1. A face camera that captures the driver's face image;
Physique estimation means for estimating the physique of the driver from the eye position of the face image and the size and state of the driver seat;
Control position determining means for determining an optimum seat height based on the physique estimated by the physique estimating means;
Height control means for adjusting the height of the driver's seat to the seat height determined by the control position determining means;
The driving posture automatic adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein The physique estimation means for estimating the physique of the driver from the pressure value applied to the headrest detected by the pressure sensor, and the size and state of the driver seat;
Based on the physique estimated by the physique estimation means, control position determination means for determining an optimum seat height;
Height control means for adjusting the height of the driver's seat to the seat height determined by the control position determining means;
The driving posture automatic adjustment device according to claim 1, wherein The control position determination means determines control position information such as a reclining angle, a headrest height, a mirror angle, and a steering wheel position based on the physique estimated by the physique estimation means,
Each in-vehicle device adjusts the control position of the in-vehicle device based on the control position information.
The driving posture automatic adjustment device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that In the adjustment method of the driving posture automatic adjustment device for controlling the position of the in-vehicle device that determines the driving posture,
A step of detecting a stepping pedal operation detecting means;
A step of detecting a pressure value of the predetermined portion by a pressure sensor disposed in two or more predetermined portions of the driver's seat when the step pedal operation detecting means detects the operation of the foot pedal; When,
Front and rear position control means adjusts the front and rear position of the driver's seat based on the pressure value;
A method for adjusting a driving posture automatic adjustment device, comprising:

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