JP2014230588A - Biological information detection device with vehicle seat - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a precise detection irrespective of the physique and seating posture of an occupant in a biological information detection device with a vehicle seat by detecting the biological information of the occupant with a biological sensor according to the position of the body of the occupant sitting on the seat.SOLUTION: A biological information detection device with a vehicle seat includes: three, first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C to detect biological information of the body of an occupant which are disposed along the vertical direction of a seat back part 1; occupant detection means for detecting the physique or seating posture of the occupant; and signal processing means for selecting and outputting a detection signal suited for detecting the biological information of the occupant from among detection signals of the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C, on the basis of the detection of the occupant detection means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a biological information detection apparatus with a vehicle seat that can detect biological information such as a breathing state of an occupant in a vehicle such as an automobile or an airplane.

In Patent Document 1 below, in order to detect the health state and sleep state of an automobile occupant, a biological sensor is installed on the occupant's seating seat (corresponding to a vehicle seat) to detect biological information such as the occupant's pulse wave. Technology is disclosed. In the technology disclosed herein, only one biosensor is provided in the seat cushion portion.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses a device in which two biosensors are attached to the seat back portion of a seating seat in order to determine the health condition of the vehicle driver.

JP 2005-168608 A JP 2009-106673 A

However, there is only one biosensor in Patent Document 1 and there are two biosensors in Patent Document 2, but there are only two similar sensors, which is different from the case of only one sensor. does not change. Therefore, depending on the occupant's physique and seating posture, the positional relationship between the occupant's body and the biometric sensor is shifted, and there is a problem that accurate detection cannot be performed.
In view of such a problem, an object of the present invention is to detect the occupant's biological information with a biometric sensor corresponding to the position of the occupant's body seated on the seat, thereby detecting with high accuracy regardless of the occupant's physique and sitting posture. Is to do.

The biological information detecting apparatus with a vehicle seat according to the first aspect of the present invention is provided with a plurality of distributed biological sensors on the occupant seating side of the seat on which the occupant is seated, and detects the biological information of the occupant's body; And a signal processing means for selecting and outputting a detection signal suitable for detecting the biological information of the occupant among the detection signals of the biological sensor.
According to the first invention, detection signals from a plurality of biological sensors provided in a distributed manner on the seat are processed, and signals suitable for detecting biological information are selected and output as detection signals. The biometric information of the occupant can be detected by a biometric sensor corresponding to the position of the body, and accurate detection can be performed regardless of the physique and seating posture of the occupant.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the occupant detection means for detecting the physique or sitting posture of the occupant seated on the seat is provided, and the signal processing means is the physique of the occupant detected by the occupant detection means. Alternatively, based on the sitting posture, a detection signal of a biosensor at a position suitable for detecting the biometric information of an occupant is selected from the plurality of biosensors.
According to the second invention, the detection signal of the biometric sensor at a position suitable for detecting the biometric information of the occupant is selected from the detection signals from the plurality of biometric sensors according to the physique of the occupant or the sitting posture. The biometric information of the occupant can be detected by a biometric sensor corresponding to the position of the occupant's body, and accurate detection can be performed regardless of the physique and seating posture of the occupant.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the biosensors are provided along a vertical direction corresponding to a center portion of the back of the occupant in the left-right direction in the seat back portion. Is a front-rear direction position of the seating position of the occupant on the seat cushion portion, and the signal processing means selects the detection signal of the lower biological sensor as the seating position of the occupant is on the front side, The detection signal of the upper biological sensor is selected as the seating position of the occupant is on the rear side.
According to the third invention, the biological information of the occupant is based on the front-rear direction position of the seating position of the occupant on the seat cushion portion among the detection signals of the plurality of biological sensors installed along the vertical direction on the seat back portion. Since the detection signal of the biosensor located at a position suitable for detecting the occupant is selected, the biometric information of the occupant can be detected by the biosensor according to the position of the occupant's body, regardless of the physique and sitting posture of the occupant Accurate detection can be performed.

1 is a perspective view of an automobile seat according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the seat back part of the embodiment. It is the III-III sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is explanatory drawing explaining the seating area | region in the seat cushion part of the said embodiment. It is a block diagram of the signal processing circuit portion of the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the signal processing circuit of the said embodiment.

1-6 shows one Embodiment of this invention, This embodiment has shown the case where this invention is applied to the front seat for motor vehicles. In each figure, each direction when the seat is mounted on the vehicle is indicated by an arrow. In the following description, the description regarding the direction is made based on this direction.
As shown in FIG. 1, the seat includes a seat cushion portion 2 where the occupant sits down, a seat back portion 1 where the occupant leans back, a headrest portion 3 serving as a pillow that supports the head of the occupant, Arm rest portions 4 on both the left and right sides for supporting both arms of the occupant are provided. The configuration of the above-described automobile front seat is well known.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, first to third biosensors 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> C are provided on the passenger seating side of the seat back portion 1. Three first to third biosensors 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> C are provided along the vertical direction of the seat back portion 1 at a position corresponding to the central portion of the back of the back of the seated occupant in the horizontal direction. Moreover, the first to third biological sensors 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> C are disposed between the back pad 10 on the front side (occupant seating side) and the seat skin 20 in the seat back portion 1. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the first to third biosensors 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> C have the front surface of the back pad 10 slightly cut off (about 10 mm), and the resulting sensor mounting groove 12 It is stored inside. The first to third biological sensors 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> C are pressure sensors formed in a film shape, and detect the pressure based on the degree of bending of the film deformed by an external force.
A hard urethane pad 31 is placed on the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C. Since the first to third biosensors 30A to 30C include the hard urethane pad 31 on the occupant seating side, they are prevented from being deformed by receiving local pressure. In this state, the surface of the hard urethane pad 31 is flush with the surface of the back pad 10, and the entire surface of the back pad 10 including the hard urethane pad 31 is covered with slab urethane (not shown).
Although not shown in FIG. 3, a sheet skin (20) is covered on the upper surface of the back pad 10.
As shown in FIG. 3, the entire back surface (rear surface) of the back pad 10 is covered with the hard felt 13. The hard felt 13 is a non-woven fabric formed by hot pressing, and is bonded to the back surface of the back pad 10 in the mold when the back pad 10 is foam-molded. The hard felt 13 has higher rigidity than the urethane foam that forms the back pad 10.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a suspension groove 11 is formed on the front side (occupant seating side) surface of the back pad 10. The suspension grooves 11 are exactly the same as known ones, and are formed along the vertical direction of the back pad 10 and one along the left-right direction so as to connect the two suspension grooves 11. . Although not shown in the drawings, an insert wire is provided in the suspension groove 11, and the seat skin 20 is suspended by the insert wire so that a predetermined tension is applied to the seat skin 20. A suspension line 21 is formed along the suspension groove 11 on the sheet skin 20 suspended in this manner.
The first to third biological sensors 30 </ b> A to 30 </ b> C are arranged away from the hanging groove 11. That is, the first to third biosensors 30A to 30C are arranged at positions that do not overlap the suspension groove 11 in the direction in which the pressing force enters from the seated occupant to the first to third biosensors 30A to 30C.
In the state where the occupant's body is leaning on the seat back part 1, body movement due to breathing or heartbeat can be detected by the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C, and the occupant's respiratory state or heartbeat state can be detected. Can be detected.

FIG. 4 shows three seating areas detected by a seating sensor (not shown) provided in the seat cushion portion 2. HP + 0, HP + 50, and HP + 100 shown in FIG. 4 respectively represent seating regions in the seat cushion portion 2 from the rear to the front. HP + 0 is the last seating area in the seat cushion part 2, HP + 100 is the foremost seating area in the seat cushion part 2, and HP + 50 is the seating area in the middle part thereof. .
The detection of these seating areas is performed by a pressure sensor (not shown) that constitutes a seating sensor provided under the seat skin (20) of the seat cushion portion 2 corresponding to each area. Specifically, one pressure sensor is provided for each of the seating regions HP + 0, HP + 50, and HP + 100, and the amplitude of the signal is the largest by comparing the detection signals of the pressure sensors. The area where the pressure sensor outputting the signal is installed is determined as the seating area. This determination process is performed by the seating area determination device 42 (corresponding to the occupant detection means of the present invention) in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows a signal processing circuit portion. The signal processing circuit 41 including the computer (corresponding to the signal processing means of the present invention) receives the detection signals from the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C, and the seating region described with reference to FIG. A determination signal from the determination device 42 is input. The signal processing circuit 41 selects a detection signal suitable for detecting the occupant's biological information from the detection signals of the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C based on the determination result from the seating area determination device 42. ing. The selected detection signal is output from the signal processing circuit 41 to the biological information analysis circuit 43, and the biological information analysis circuit 43 analyzes the detection signals of the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C to detect the occupant's body. A respiratory state or a heartbeat state, which is biological information, is acquired. As the biological information analysis circuit 43, a known circuit is used.

FIG. 6 shows a computer processing routine in the signal processing circuit 41. When this signal processing routine is started, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the determination result of the seating area sent from the seating area determination device 42 is in the last seating area HP + 0. If an affirmative determination is made here, the detection signal of the first biological sensor 30A is selected as the output signal to the biological information analysis circuit 43 in step S2.
If a negative determination is made in step S1, it is determined in step S3 whether or not the determination result of the seating area sent from the seating area determination device 42 is in the intermediate seating area HP + 50. If an affirmative determination is made here, the detection signal of the second biological sensor 30B is selected as the output signal to the biological information analysis circuit 43 in step S4.
If a negative determination is made in step S3, it is determined in step S5 whether or not the determination result of the seating area sent from the seating area determination device 42 is in the last seating area HP + 100. If an affirmative determination is made here, the detection signal of the third biological sensor 30C is selected as the output signal to the biological information analysis circuit 43 in step S6.
If a negative determination is made in step S5, the above process is repeated, and thus the process of this routine is temporarily terminated without selecting the detection signals of the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C.

  By performing the above signal processing, in the state where the occupant is seated at the rearmost part of the seat cushion portion 2, it is determined that the occupant is deeply seated on the seat cushion portion 2, and the biological information of the occupant is detected. In addition, the detection signal of the first biological sensor 30A at the top of the seat back portion 1 is selected. Further, in a state where the occupant is seated on the foremost part of the seat cushion part 2, it is determined that the occupant is leaning the seat cushion part 2 by leaning the upper body greatly backward, and the biological information of the occupant is detected. However, the detection signal of the third biosensor 30C at the lowermost part of the seat back portion 1 is selected. Further, in a state where the occupant is seated in the middle part of the seat cushion part 2, it is determined that the occupant is sitting on the seat cushion part 2 in a normal posture that is neither deep nor shallow, and the biological information of the occupant is detected. However, the detection signal of the second biosensor 30B in the middle part of the seat back part 1 is selected.

  According to the above embodiment, among the detection signals of the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C installed in the seat back part 1 along the vertical direction, the seating position of the occupant on the seat cushion part 2 is the front-rear direction. Based on where the seating areas HP + 0, HP + 50, and HP + 100 are located, the detection signal of the biosensor at a position suitable for detecting the biometric information of the occupant is selected. The biological information of the occupant can be detected by the first to third biological sensors 30A to 30C corresponding to the position, and accurate detection can be performed regardless of the physique and the sitting posture of the occupant.

As mentioned above, although specific embodiment was described, this invention is not limited to those external appearances and structures, A various change, addition, and deletion are possible in the range which does not change the summary of this invention. For example,
1. The signal processing means in the present invention may be a circuit that selects a signal having the largest amplitude among the detection signals of a plurality of biological sensors as a signal suitable for detecting the biological information of the occupant.
2. According to the present invention, the signal processing means detects only the biological sensor at a position suitable for detecting the biological information of the occupant among the plurality of biological sensors based on the physique or sitting posture of the occupant detected by the occupant detection means. A signal may be generated. That is, a configuration is adopted in which a detection signal is generated for a biological sensor located at a position suitable for detecting the occupant's biological information, and no detection signal is generated for other biological sensors.
3. The occupant detection means in the present invention may detect the occupant's physique or sitting posture based on image data obtained by photographing the occupant seated on the seat cushion portion.
4). In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a front seat for an automobile, but may be applied to a rear seat for an automobile. Further, the present invention may be applied to seats for airplanes, ships, trains, and the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat back part 2 Seat cushion part 3 Headrest part 4 Armrest part 10 Back pad 11 Suspension groove 12 Sensor attachment groove 13 Hard felt 20 Seat skin 21 Suspension line 30A 1st biosensor 30B 2nd biosensor 30C 3rd biosensor 31 Rigid urethane pad 41 Signal processing circuit (Signal processing means)
42 Seating area determination device (occupant detection means)
43 Biological information analysis circuit

Claims (3)

A plurality of biosensors that are distributed on the occupant seating side of the seat on which the occupant is seated to detect biological information of the occupant's body;
A biological information detection apparatus with a vehicle seat, comprising: signal processing means for selecting and outputting a detection signal suitable for detecting biological information of an occupant among detection signals of the plurality of biological sensors. In claim 1,
Occupant detection means for detecting the physique or seating posture of the occupant seated on the seat,
The signal processing means is a detection signal of a biological sensor at a position suitable for detecting biological information of the occupant among the plurality of biological sensors based on the physique or seating posture of the occupant detected by the occupant detection means. A biological information detection apparatus with a vehicle seat, characterized in that: In claim 2,
A plurality of the biosensors are provided along the vertical direction corresponding to the center part in the left-right direction of the back of the occupant in the seat back part,
The occupant detection means detects a position in the front-rear direction of the seating position of the occupant on the seat cushion portion,
The signal processing means selects the detection signal of the lower biological sensor as the seating position of the occupant is on the front side, and selects the detection signal of the upper biological sensor as the seating position of the occupant is on the rear side. A biological information detecting apparatus with a vehicle seat characterized by the above.

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