JP2020083200A - Seat temperature adjustment device - Google Patents

Abstract

To awaken a user further comfortably at a wakeup time which is desired by the user who gets a sleep in a seat of a transport moving body.SOLUTION: A seat temperature adjustment device comprises: an adjustment part 306 for adjusting thermal stimulation by a seat air-conditioning unit 31 arranged at a seat of a transport moving body, and applying a thermal stimulation to a user who is seated on the seat, and a seat heater 32; and a wakeup time specifying part 303 for specifying a desired wakeup time when the user gets a sleep on the seat. The adjustment part 306 performs a hot/cold stimulation in which a hot stimulation for heating the user, and a cold stimulation for cooling the user are alternately repeated before a set time rather than the wakeup time which is specified by the wakeup time specifying part 303 as the thermal stimulation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present disclosure relates to a seat temperature adjusting device that adjusts the temperature of a seat of a transportation vehicle.

When a user spends a long time on a sheet of a transportation vehicle such as an airplane or a vehicle, the user may sleep on the sheet of the transportation vehicle. However, it is difficult to wake up comfortably with a sheet of a transportation vehicle as compared to sleeping in a futon or a bed.

For example, in Patent Document 1, when light non-REM sleep is detected, the subject is given a first stimulus having a stimulus intensity less than a predetermined threshold to prevent the subject from entering deep non-REM sleep, and then the first stimulus. A technique is disclosed in which the subject is comfortably awakened by applying a second stimulus having a stronger stimulus intensity to the subject to wake up.

JP, 2008-229248, A

However, in the transportation vehicle, the time that the user has to wake up from sleep is often determined because the time that the transportation vehicle can stay in the transportation vehicle is limited. On the other hand, the technique of Patent Document 1 does not always result in a light non-REM sleep that is convenient for the wake-up time desired by the user, and thus it is difficult to wake up comfortably at the wake-up time desired by the user. ..

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a seat temperature adjusting device that allows a user who sleeps on a seat of a transportation vehicle to wake up more comfortably at the desired wake-up time.

The above objective is achieved by a combination of features described in independent claims, and the subclaims define further advantageous embodiments of the disclosure. The reference numerals in parentheses in the claims show the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described later as one aspect, and do not limit the technical scope of the present disclosure. ..

In order to achieve the above object, the seat temperature adjusting device of the present disclosure adjusts the temperature stimulus by a temperature stimulating device (31, 32) provided on a seat of a transportation vehicle and performing a temperature stimulus to a user sitting on the seat. A seat temperature adjusting device including an adjusting unit (306) for adjusting a wake-up time specifying unit (303) that specifies a desired wake-up time when the user sleeps on a seat. From the wake-up time specified by, the hot and cold stimulus, which repeats the hot stimulus that warms the user and the cold stimulus that cools the user, is performed as the temperature stimulus before the set time that is set.

According to this, when the user sleeps on the sheet of the transportation vehicle, the warm stimulus that warms the user and the cold stimulus that cools the user are alternately repeated from the set time before the wake-up time desired by the user. It will be a cold stimulus. The heat/cold stimulus accelerates the blood flow of the user and raises the blood pressure and body temperature of the user. Therefore, by performing the heat/cold stimulus during sleep, the sleep state can be reduced. The seat temperature adjustment device of the present disclosure causes the warming and cooling stimulation to be performed from the set time before the wake-up time, so that the user who is sleeping on the seat of the transportation vehicle is put into a state of light sleep before the wake-up time. It becomes possible to shift. Therefore, the user can wake up from a light sleep state at the wake-up time, and can wake up more comfortably as compared with the case where the user wakes up abruptly from a deep sleep state. As a result, it becomes possible to wake up more comfortably at the wake-up time desired by the user who sleeps on the seat of the transportation vehicle.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a seat temperature adjustment system 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of how the seat air conditioning unit 31 is provided and a position where air conditioning air is blown out by the seat air conditioning unit 31. It is a figure which shows an example of a schematic structure of the seat air conditioning unit 31. It is a figure which shows an example of how to provide the seat heater 32. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a seat ECU 30. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of hot and cold stimulation. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the pattern of the temperature of the thermal stimulus for every site|part according to a user characteristic. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of temperature adjustment-related processing in the seat ECU 30.

A plurality of embodiments for disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that, for convenience of description, between a plurality of embodiments, parts having the same functions as the parts shown in the drawings used in the above description are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted. is there. For the parts denoted by the same reference numerals, the description in other embodiments can be referred to.

(Embodiment 1)
<Schematic configuration of seat temperature adjustment system 1>
Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The seat temperature adjustment system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is used in a transportation vehicle such as a passenger car, a bus, a railway vehicle, a ship, and an aircraft, and includes a mobile terminal 2 and a seat side unit 3. In the present embodiment, as an example, the seat temperature adjustment system 1 is used for each seat (that is, seat) of the transportation vehicle. In the following, a case where a vehicle such as a passenger car or a bus is used as a transportation vehicle will be described as an example.

The mobile terminal 2 is carried by a user sitting on a seat. The mobile terminal 2 may be any terminal that can be carried by a user and has a specific communication function and input function, and for example, a multifunctional mobile phone, a tablet terminal, a notebook PC, or the like can be used. In the following, the mobile terminal 2 is a multifunctional mobile phone such as a smartphone and performs communication as a specific communication function according to a wireless communication standard such as Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth is a registered trademark), WiFi (registered trademark), or the like. The description will be given taking the case of having a communication function as an example.

The seat-side unit 3 is provided for each seat, and performs thermal stimulation on the user sitting on the seat. Examples of the thermal stimulus to the user include a stimulus that warms the user (hereinafter, warm stimulus) and a stimulus that cools the user (hereinafter, cold stimulus). It is preferable that the seat-side unit 3 be capable of performing thermal stimulation for each site of the user who sits on the seat. In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example where it is possible to perform thermal stimulation for each site of a user who sits on a seat. Further, the temperature stimulation performed by the seat side unit 3 for each part of the user may be divided into, for example, an upper half body and a lower half body, or may be further divided. In the present embodiment, a case will be described as an example where it is possible to perform thermal stimulation for each of the upper body part and the lower body part. Details of the seat side unit 3 will be described below.

<Schematic configuration of seat side unit 3>
Subsequently, an example of a schematic configuration of the seat side unit 3 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the seat side unit 3 includes a seat ECU 30, a seat air conditioning unit 31, a seat heater 32, a seat sensor 33, a seat HMI (Human Machine Interface) 34, and a communication module 35.

The seat air conditioning unit 31 and the seat heater 32 are temperature stimulating devices that perform a temperature stimulus to a user sitting on a seat. The seat air conditioning unit 31 and the seat heater 32 will be described in detail later.

The seat sensor 33 is a sensor group for detecting various states such as the seated state of the user on the seat and the temperature of each part of the occupant seated on the seat. As the seat sensor 33, there are a seating sensor including a pressure sensitive element provided on the seating surface of the seat, a temperature sensor provided on the seat, and the like. The temperature sensor may be provided at a position on the sheet corresponding to the part depending on how to divide the part to be detected. For example, when the parts to be detected are the upper body and the lower body, the temperature sensor provided on the seat back detects the temperature of the upper body, and the temperature sensor provided on the seat surface of the lower body detects the temperature. And it is sufficient. The seat sensor 33 outputs the detection result to the seat ECU 30.

The seat HMI 34 receives an operation input such as a setting related to the temperature stimulating device from a user sitting on the seat in the operation input unit, and displays an operating state of the temperature stimulating device in the seat on a display. An example of the operation input unit may be a mechanical switch or a touch switch integrated with a display. The seat HMI 34 outputs the received setting information to the seat ECU 30.

The communication module 35 connects to the mobile terminal 2 via wireless communication using the above-described wireless communication standard, and exchanges information. The communication module 35 receives the setting information related to the temperature stimulating device set in the mobile terminal 2 using the input function of the mobile terminal 2 via wireless communication and outputs the setting information to the seat ECU 30.

In the present embodiment, the configuration related to the temperature stimulating device can be set by both the seat HMI 34 and the mobile terminal 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration related to the thermal stimulator may be configured to be performed only on either the seat HMI 34 or the mobile terminal 2. As an example of the settings related to the temperature stimulator, setting of a bed start time desired by the user (hereinafter, desired bed start time), setting of a wake-up time desired by the user (hereinafter, desired wake-up time), setting of user characteristics , Setting of intensity of thermal stimulus, setting of duration of thermal stimulus, setting of start timing of thermal stimulus, etc. The user characteristics referred to here are characteristics relating to the temperature sensitivity of the user, and include, for example, sex, presence/absence of chills, and the like.

The seat ECU 30 is mainly composed of, for example, a microcomputer including a processor, a memory, an I/O, and a bus connecting these, and executes various processes related to thermal stimulation by executing a control program stored in the memory. The execution of this control program by the processor corresponds to the execution of the method corresponding to the control program. The memory here is a non-transitory tangible storage medium that non-temporarily stores computer-readable programs and data. The non-transitional physical storage medium is realized by a semiconductor memory or a magnetic disk. The seat ECU 30 corresponds to a seat temperature adjusting device. The details of the processing in the seat ECU 30 will be described later.

<Schematic configuration of seat air conditioning unit 31>
Subsequently, an example of a schematic configuration of the seat air conditioning unit 31 of the temperature stimulating device will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The seat air conditioning unit 31 is provided on the seat and performs individual air conditioning for the user sitting on the seat. The seat air conditioning unit 31 is controlled by the seat ECU 30 to perform temperature stimulation by individual air conditioning. The seat air conditioning unit 31 may be provided below the seat surface of the seat Se as shown in FIG. 2, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the seat air conditioning unit 31 also includes an air conditioning ECU 310, a refrigeration cycle device 311, a heating device 316, a first blower 317, a second blower 318, and an air mix damper 319.

The refrigeration cycle device 311 cools air using a vapor compression refrigeration cycle of a refrigerant, and includes a compressor 312, a condenser 313, a decompression unit 314, and an evaporator 315. The compressor 312, the condenser 313, the decompression unit 314, and the evaporator 315 are provided in a bypass pipe line that is a closed circuit in which the refrigerant flows. As the refrigerant, a configuration may be adopted in which C134 gas such as R134a or R152a having a small global warming potential or HC gas such as propane is used.

The compressor 312 is an electric compressor driven by a DC voltage supplied from a battery, and compresses the refrigerant flowing through the bypass pipe line to raise the refrigerant temperature. The compressor 312 sucks the low-pressure refrigerant, pressurizes the low-pressure refrigerant, and discharges the high-pressure refrigerant. The compressor 312 may be an engine-driven compressor that is driven by an engine mounted on an automobile. The compressor 312 supplies the compressed high pressure refrigerant to the condenser 313.

The condenser 313 radiates the heat of the refrigerant by providing heat exchange between the air blown by the first blower 317 and the refrigerant. The condenser 313 is also called a radiator. The refrigerant radiated by the condenser 313 is supplied to the decompression unit 314. The decompression unit 314 decompresses the refrigerant supplied from the condenser 313 to generate a low-temperature low-pressure refrigerant, and supplies the refrigerant to the evaporator 315.

The evaporator 315 cools the air blown by the second blower 318 by providing heat exchange between the air blown by the second blower 318 and the low temperature refrigerant. As a result, the air blown by the second blower 318 becomes cold air and is supplied to the blowing duct Du (see FIG. 2 ). The refrigerant cooled by the evaporator 315 is supplied to the compressor 312. The evaporator 315 is also called a heat absorber. As described above, while the refrigerant circulates in the refrigeration cycle device 311, the air blown by the second blower 318 is cooled and the cool air is supplied to the blowing duct Du.

The heating device 316 is an electric heater including a PTC heater, a hot wire heater, and the like, and heats the warm air that has passed through the condenser 313 to further raise the temperature of the warm air. The warm air heated by the heating device 316 is also supplied to the blowing duct Du.

The air mix damper 319 is provided in the connection flow path that connects the outlet of the cool air cooled by the evaporator 315 and the outlet of the warm air heated by the heating device 316 to the outlet duct Du. The air mix damper 319 adjusts the amount of the cool air discharged from the outlet of the cool air to the outlet duct Du and the amount of the warm air discharged from the outlet of the warm air to the outlet duct Du. As a result, the temperature of the conditioned air supplied to the blowing duct Du is adjusted.

As an example of the outlet of the outlet duct Du, as shown in FIG. 2, the outlet ND between the seat back and the headrest, the outlet BD of the seat back, the outlet TD of the seat surface of the seat, the seat pedestal. The air outlet CD on the front side of the. The air-conditioning air blown out from each outlet (see the arrow in FIG. 2) is such that the outlet ND hits the occupant's neck, the outlet BD hits the passenger's back, the outlet TD hits the buttocks and thighs, and the outlet CD calf. It has become. The air outlet may be provided so as to hit another portion of the occupant seated on the seat, or only a part of the above may be provided.

In the present embodiment, the case where cold stimulus is blown to the upper half of the body by the cool air blown from the blowout openings ND and BD, while the cold stimulus is blown to the lower half of the body by the cool wind blown from the blowout openings TD and CD I do. The cold air used as the cold stimulus may be cold air having a temperature of 20° C. or less, for example. It should be noted that the cold air generated by the seat air conditioning unit 31 may be configured to perform cold stimulation for each subdivided site. For example, a cold stimulus may be applied to the nape of the neck by the cool air blown from the blowout port ND, to the back by the cool air blown from the blowout port BD, to the thigh by the cool wind blown from the blowout port TD, and to the toes of the toes by the cool wind blown from the blowout port CD.

Further, although the present embodiment shows a configuration in which the temperature of the cold stimulation does not differ for each part, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a Peltier element may be provided at a position corresponding to each site of the user who sits on the seat, so that the temperature of the cold stimulus can be different for each site.

<Schematic configuration of seat heater 32>
Next, an example of a schematic configuration of the seat heater 32 of the temperature stimulating device will be described. The seat heater 32 is provided on the seat and performs a thermal stimulus that warms a user sitting on the seat. The seat heater 32 is controlled by the seat ECU 30 to perform temperature stimulation. As the seat heater 32, a heating element such as a PTC heater or a hot wire heater may be used.

As an example, as shown in FIG. 4, the seat heater 32 may be provided on the seat back and the seat surface of the seat Se, respectively. Hereinafter, the seat heater 32 provided on the seat back will be referred to as a seat heater 32a, and the seat heater 32 provided on the seat surface will be referred to as a seat heater 32b. In the present embodiment, the following description will be given by exemplifying a case where the upper half of the body is thermally stimulated by heating the seat heater 32a and the lower half of the body is thermally stimulated by heating the seat heater 32b. Note that the thermal stimulation may be stimulation at a temperature of 40° C. or higher, for example. In addition, the seat heater 32a and the seat heater 32b are independently controlled by the seat ECU 30 and can generate heat at different temperatures.

Note that the heat generated by the seat heater 32 may be used to perform thermal stimulation for each subdivided site. In this case, the seat heater 32 may be provided in a subdivided manner than that shown in FIG. As an example, the neck heater is warmed by the seat heater provided on the more ceiling side of the seat back, while the back is warmed by the seat heater provided on the more floor side of the seat back. Further, the thighs may be warmed by the seat heater provided on the seat surface, while the toes may be warmed by the seat heater provided on the footrest, for example.

<Schematic configuration of seat ECU 30>
Here, the schematic configuration of the seat ECU 30 will be described with reference to FIG. The seat ECU 30 includes a setting acquisition unit 300, an adjustment-related specification unit 301, a temperature acquisition unit 305, and an adjustment unit 306 as functional blocks. It should be noted that some or all of the functions executed by the seat ECU 30 may be configured as hardware by one or a plurality of ICs or the like. Further, some or all of the functional blocks included in the seat ECU 30 may be realized by a combination of software execution by a processor and hardware members.

The setting acquisition unit 300 acquires, from the sheet HMI 34, the setting (that is, the setting information) accepted by the operation input unit of the sheet HMI 34. In addition, the setting acquisition unit 300 acquires the settings accepted by the mobile terminal 2 from the mobile terminal 2 via the communication module 35. Therefore, the setting acquisition unit 300 corresponds to the mobile information acquisition unit. As the settings acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300, the desired sleep start time setting, the desired wake-up time setting, the user characteristic setting, the temperature stimulation intensity setting, the temperature stimulation start timing setting, and the temperature stimulation continuation are performed. There is time setting etc.

For example, the setting of the intensity of the temperature stimulus may be selected from a plurality of stages such as weak, medium and strong. Further, the setting of the intensity of the thermal stimulus may be such that the thermal stimulus and the cold stimulus can be set independently, or the temperature stimulus and the cold stimulus can be set in common. In addition, the intensity of the thermal stimulus may be set for each site where the thermal stimulus is performed. For example, when the upper body of the user is thicker than the lower body, the user can set the strength of the upper body thermal stimulus to “strong” while setting the strength of the lower body thermal stimulus to “medium”. do it. In this case, it is preferable that the temperature of the cold stimulation can be independently controlled for each site.

The setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulus is a setting of how long before the sleep start time and the wake-up time the user desires the thermal stimulus. For example, if the setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulation is 30 minutes (hereinafter, min) before, the start timing of the thermal stimulation is 30 minutes before the bed start time and the wake-up time. The setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulus may be such that the thermal stimulus at the start of sleeping and the thermal stimulus at the time of waking up can be set independently.

The setting of the duration of the thermal stimulus is a setting of how long the user desires to continue the thermal stimulus. For example, when the setting of the duration of thermal stimulation is 30 minutes, 30 minutes is the duration of thermal stimulation. The setting of the duration of the thermal stimulus may be such that the thermal stimulus at the start of sleep and the thermal stimulus at the time of waking up can be set independently.

The adjustment-related identification unit 301 identifies information related to adjustment of thermal stimulus from the settings acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. The adjustment-related identification unit 301 has a bedtime start time identification unit 302, a wakeup time identification unit 303, and a characteristic identification unit 304.

The bedtime start time specifying unit 302 specifies the bedtime start time when the user sleeps on a seat from the setting of the desired bedtime start time acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. For example, when the desired bedtime is set to PM 10:00, PM 10:00 is specified as the bedtime.

The wake-up time specifying unit 303 specifies the desired wake-up time when the user sleeps on the seat, from the setting of the desired wake-up time acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. For example, when the desired wake-up time is set to 6:00 AM, 6:00 AM is specified as the wake-up time.

The characteristic specifying unit 304 specifies the user characteristic related to the temperature sensitivity of the user from the user characteristic setting acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. For example, when the user characteristic setting is female, the user characteristic is specified as female. Further, when the setting of the user characteristic is with cold sickness, the user characteristic is specified as having the cold sickness.

The temperature acquisition unit 305 acquires, from the temperature sensor of the seat sensor 33, the measurement result of the temperature of each part of the user who sits on the seat. In the example of the present embodiment, the measurement result of the upper body temperature and the measurement result of the lower body temperature are acquired.

The adjusting unit 306 adjusts the temperature stimulus by the temperature stimulating device such as the seat air conditioning unit 31 and the seat heater 32. The adjustment unit 306 starts the operation of the seat air conditioning unit 31 to perform cold stimulation with cold air, or stops the operation of the seat air conditioning unit 31 to stop cold stimulation with cold air. Further, the adjustment unit 306 adjusts the temperature of the cold air (that is, the intensity of the cold stimulation) by turning on/off the operation of the heating device 316 and adjusting the air mix damper 319. The adjusting unit 306 starts the operation of the seat heater 32 to perform the thermal stimulation, and stops the operation of the seat heater 32 to stop the thermal stimulation. The adjustment unit 306 also adjusts the amount of heat generated by the seat heater 32 (that is, the intensity of the thermal stimulus) by adjusting the power supplied to the seat heater 32. The adjustment unit 306 will be described below by taking as an example a case where the intensities of the warm stimulus and the cold stimulus are adjusted to three levels of “weak”, “medium”, and “strong”. The higher the temperature, the higher the intensity of the warm stimulus, and the lower the temperature, the higher the intensity of the cold stimulus.

The adjustment unit 306 causes the seat heater 32 to perform a thermal stimulus that warms the user as a thermal stimulus before the sleep start time specified by the sleep start time specifying unit 302. For example, the seat heater 32a may be used to perform thermal stimulation on the upper half of the user, while the seat heater 32b may be configured to perform thermal stimulation on the lower half of the user. The thermal stimulus to the upper body and the thermal stimulus to the lower body may be configured to be continuously performed at the same timing, for example. The adjustment unit 306 may be configured not to perform the cold stimulation by the cold air from the seat air conditioning unit 31 when performing the thermal stimulation before the bedtime.

Further, the adjusting unit 306 may perform the thermal stimulus before the set time according to the setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulus acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300 at the sleep start time specified by the sleep start time specifying unit 302. .. For example, if the start timing of the thermal stimulation is set to 30 minutes before, the thermal stimulation will be performed from 30 minutes before the bedtime. Further, when the thermal stimulation is performed, the adjustment unit 306 may perform the thermal stimulation for a time period along the duration acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. For example, if the duration of the thermal stimulation is 30 minutes, the thermal stimulation is continued for 30 minutes. It should be noted that the start timing and duration of the thermal stimulus may be fixed and set to default values in advance, and no new setting may be made.

It is considered that if the user can enter a deep sleep state in the first non-REM sleep during the sleep of the user on the transportation vehicle, the brain can easily take sufficient rest and help the user to wake up more comfortably. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, the core body temperature is lowered at the start of sleep by thermally stimulating the user before the bedtime to raise the skin temperature of the user and promoting heat dissipation from the limbs. It will be possible. When the user's core body temperature is lowered, it becomes easier to enter a deep sleep state, and thus even in a place where it is difficult to enter a deep sleep state such as a transportation vehicle, it is easy to enter a deep sleep state. Therefore, even when the user sleeps on the transportation vehicle, he/she can easily enter a deep sleep state in the first non-REM sleep. Therefore, it becomes possible to help the user to wake up more comfortably.

Further, the adjustment unit 306 repeats, as the temperature stimulus, the hot stimulus that heats the user and the cold stimulus that cools the user alternately as the temperature stimulus before the wake-up time specified by the wake-up time specifying unit 303. Cause stimulation. For the hot and cold stimulation, for example, the seat heater 32 may be used for warm stimulation while the seat air conditioning unit 31 may be used for cold stimulation. The thermal stimulus may be configured such that the seat heater 32a applies thermal stimulus to the upper half of the user while the seat heater 32b applies thermal stimulus to the lower half of the user. As for the cold stimulus, a cold stimulus is made to cool the upper body of the user by the cold air blown from the blowout port ND and the blowout port BD, and a cold stimulus is made to be made to the lower body of the user by the cool wind blown from the blowout port TD and the blowout port CD. do it. In order to enhance the sauna effect, it is preferable that the site for performing the warm stimulation of the cold and cold stimulation and the site for performing the cold stimulation are the same site.

Here, an example of the hot and cold stimulation will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 shows the on/off timing of the thermal stimulus by the seat heater 32 and the on/off timing of the cold stimulus by the seat air conditioning unit 31. As an example, when the duration of the hot and cold stimulation is 30 minutes, the hot and cold stimulation is performed for 12 minutes by turning on the seat heater 32 for 12 minutes and turning off the seat air conditioning unit 31 for 12 minutes. Let Subsequently, while the seat heater 32 is turned off for 3 minutes, the seat air conditioning unit 31 is turned on for 3 minutes, so that the cold stimulation is performed for 3 minutes. The warm and cold stimulations are performed by alternately repeating the warm and cold stimulations.

In the hot/cold stimulation, it is preferable that the period for continuing the warm stimulation is longer than the period for continuing the cold stimulation. This is because the user's blood flow is further promoted by performing hot and cold stimulation similar to that of a sauna. In the case of a configuration in which the duration of the hot and cold stimulation is changed according to the duration of the thermal stimulation acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300, the thermal stimulation may be set such that the ratio of cold stimulation to thermal stimulation is 4:1. The ratio between the cold stimulation and the cold stimulation may be fixed, and the duration may be changed.

Further, the adjustment unit 306 may perform the thermal stimulus from a set time before the wake-up time specified by the wake-up time specifying unit 303 according to the setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulus acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. For example, when the start timing of the thermal stimulation is set to 30 minutes before, the hot and cold stimulation is performed from 30 minutes before the wake-up time. In addition, the adjustment unit 306 may perform the heat/cold stimulation for a time period along the duration acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300 when performing the heat/cold stimulation. For example, when the duration of the thermal stimulation is 30 minutes, the hot and cold stimulation is continued for 30 minutes. It should be noted that the start timing and the duration of the hot and cold stimulation are fixed and set to default values in advance, and new settings may not be made.

It is considered that if the user can wake up in a light sleep state while sleeping on the transportation vehicle, he/she can easily wake up the brain and wake up more comfortably. On the other hand, according to the above configuration, the user is stimulated with cold heat before the wake-up time to simulate a state similar to that of a sauna and to promote blood flow. When blood flow is promoted, blood pressure and body temperature rise, resulting in a light sleep state. Therefore, it is possible to put the user into a light sleep state by the time of getting up. If the user is in a light sleep state by the wake-up time, it becomes easier to wake up more comfortably even when the user is forced to wake up at the wake-up time by an alarm or the like. Therefore, it becomes possible to wake up more comfortably.

Further, the adjustment unit 306 switches the temperature pattern of the thermal stimulation to be performed for each part of the user according to the user characteristic specified by the characteristic specifying unit 304. For example, the temperature pattern of the temperature stimulus to be performed for each site may be switched so that the temperature of the site where it is estimated that it is preferable to raise the temperature is made higher according to the user characteristics.

Here, with reference to FIG. 7, an example of a temperature pattern of the thermal stimulus for each site according to the user characteristic is shown. Here, the type of user characteristics will be described by taking as an example the case where there is sex and presence/absence of cold sickness. Further, the temperature is changed in three stages of levels 1 to 3, and the default is level 2. For warm stimulation, the higher the level value, the higher the temperature, and for cold stimulation, the higher the level value, the lower the temperature.

For example, when the user characteristic is male and there is no cold sensation, as shown in FIG. 7, all of the thermal stimulation of the upper body, the thermal stimulation of the lower body, the cold stimulation of the upper body, and the cold stimulation of the lower body are set to level 2. When the user characteristic is at least one of female and cold, as shown in FIG. 7, the upper body temperature is level 2, the lower body temperature is level 3, the upper body cold level is level 1, and the lower body temperature is cold. Stimulation is level 1.

According to this, it becomes possible to weaken the cold stimulus to the user having a user characteristic that the body is easily chilled such as female and cold sensation, or to increase the thermal stimulus to the lower body which is particularly chilly. Therefore, it is possible to make appropriate thermal stimuli for each user, such as a thermal stimulus at the time of starting to sleep and a thermal stimulus at the time of getting up. Although an example in which there are a plurality of types of user characteristics is shown here, a configuration in which there is only one type of user characteristics, such as a case where the user characteristics are only gender, may be used. If the cold stimulus can be changed for each part, the cold stimulus for the lower half of the body can be changed to a pattern weaker than the cold stimulus for the upper half of the body, depending on the characteristics of the user who tend to feel cold, such as female and cold. Good.

Further, the adjustment unit 306 may perform the temperature stimulation with the intensity according to the setting of the intensity of the thermal stimulation acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. For example, when the intensity setting of the thermal stimulus is “strong”, the warm stimulus and the cold stimulus of the upper body and the lower body may be performed at the above-mentioned temperature of level 3. If the intensity of the temperature stimulus is set for each site, or if the temperature stimulus and the cold stimulus are separately set, the temperature stimulus may be performed in accordance with these settings. For example, when the setting acquisition unit 300 acquires the setting of the intensity of the thermal stimulus, that is, when the user sets the intensity of the thermal stimulus, the adjustment unit 306 sets the thermal stimulus according to the user characteristic described above. The configuration may be such that priority is given to the thermal stimulation in accordance with the setting of the strength of the thermal stimulation. According to this, it becomes possible to perform thermal stimulation in accordance with the setting of the intensity of thermal stimulation performed by the user. Therefore, it becomes possible to perform thermal stimulation according to the user's preference.

In addition, the adjustment unit 306 switches the temperature pattern of the temperature stimulus to be performed for each user's site, according to the measurement result of the temperature for each site of the user acquired by the temperature acquisition unit 305. For example, the following configuration may be adopted. First, the non-volatile memory of the seat ECU 30 stores in advance the correspondence between the temperature of the user-specific site-specific temperature stimulus and the target temperature of the user-specific site by the temperature stimulus. The adjustment unit 306 refers to this correspondence relationship based on the temperature of the site-specific thermal stimulus that is performed according to the user characteristics or according to the setting of the intensity of the temperature stimulus, and specifies the target temperature for each site. To do. Then, the specified target temperature for each part is compared with the measurement result of the temperature for each part of the user acquired by the temperature acquisition unit 305. If the deviation is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the part is filled for the difference. Correct the intensity of temperature stimuli. The predetermined value referred to here is a value that can be set arbitrarily, and may be set to, for example, 1°C.

Here, an example will be described. Here, it is assumed that all of the upper half body temperature stimulation, the lower half body temperature stimulation, the upper half body cold stimulation, and the lower half body cold stimulation are set to level 2. Here, when the temperature deviation of the upper body for the warm and cold stimuli of the upper body is less than a predetermined value, while the temperature deviation of the lower body for the heat and cold stimulation of the lower body is a predetermined value or more, the temperature of the upper body is The stimulus and the cold stimulus may be maintained at level 2, while the warm and cold stimuli of the lower body may be switched to the level 3.

According to the above configuration, even if the temperature stimulus for each part of the user is less likely to cause a temperature change due to the temperature stimulus for each part, the target temperature can be changed by the temperature stimulus for each part. It is possible to get closer. For example, even if the user's upper body is thicker than the lower body and the temperature change of the lower body is less likely to occur due to thermal stimulation, by changing only the temperature of the lower body thermal stimulation to high, Not only the upper body but also the lower body temperature can be brought close to the target temperature.

<Temperature control-related processing in seat ECU 30>
Next, an example of the flow of processing related to adjustment of temperature stimulation in the seat ECU 30 (hereinafter, temperature adjustment-related processing) will be described using the flowchart of FIG. The flowchart of FIG. 6 may be configured to start when the user sits on the seat. The seat ECU 30 may determine that the user is seated on the seat based on the signal from the seat sensor of the seat sensors 33. Note that, here, a case will be described as an example where the mobile terminal 2 communicatively connected to the communication module 35 performs settings related to the temperature stimulating device.

First, in step S1, the setting acquisition unit 300 acquires the settings related to the temperature stimulating device from the mobile terminal 2 communicatively connected to the communication module 35 via the communication module 35. In step S2, the sleep start time specified by the sleep start time specifying unit 302 from the desired sleep start time setting acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300 is set in accordance with the setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulation acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. If the time is reached (YES in S2), the process proceeds to step S3. On the other hand, if the sleep start time has not arrived before the set time (NO in S2), the process of S2 is repeated. In step S<b>3, the adjustment unit 306 causes the seat heater 32 to perform a thermal stimulus for warming the user as a thermal stimulus for a time corresponding to the duration time acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300.

In step S4, before the set time according to the setting of the start timing of the thermal stimulus acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300 of the wake-up time specified by the wake-up time specifying unit 303 from the setting of the desired wake-up time acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300. When it reaches (YES in S4), the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, when the wake-up time has not reached the set time (NO in S4), the process of S4 is repeated. In step S<b>5, the adjustment unit 306 causes a thermal stimulus that alternately repeats a warm stimulus that warms the user and a cold stimulus that cools the user, as the thermal stimulus, for a time period along the duration acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300.

In step S6, if it is the end timing of the temperature adjustment related processing (YES in S6), the temperature adjustment related processing is ended. On the other hand, if it is not the end timing of the temperature adjustment-related processing (NO in S6), the processing returns to S1 and is repeated. Examples of the end timing of the temperature adjustment-related processing include turning off the power of the seat ECU 30 and leaving the user's seat. The fact that the user has left the seat may be determined by the seat ECU 30 based on the signal from the seating sensor of the seat sensors 33.

Although FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which the seat ECU 30 acquires from the mobile terminal 2 the settings relating to the temperature stimulating device received by the mobile terminal 2, the present invention is not limited to this. The seat ECU 30 may be configured to acquire, from the seat HMI34, the settings related to the temperature stimulating device received by the operation input unit of the seat HMI34.

<Summary of Embodiment 1>
According to the configuration of the first embodiment, in addition to the warm and cold stimulation for the user before the wake-up time of the user, the thermal stimulation for the user is performed before the sleep start time. Therefore, it is possible to easily enter a deep sleep state by stimulating the user before the bedtime of sleep of the user, and to make a shallow sleep state before the wakeup time by stimulating the user of the heat before and after the wakeup time of the user. It becomes possible to Therefore, it becomes possible for the brain to wake up at a wake-up time in a light sleep state after taking sufficient rest, so that the user can wake up more comfortably.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the configuration related to the temperature stimulating device can be acquired from both the mobile terminal 2 and the seat HMI 34, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that it can be acquired from only one of the mobile terminal 2 and the seat HMI 34. When the setting related to the temperature stimulating device can be acquired only from the mobile terminal 2 of the mobile terminal 2 and the seat HMI 34, there is an advantage that the seat HMI 34 does not have to be provided for each seat. ..

(Embodiment 3)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the temperature pattern of the thermal stimulation to be performed for each part of the user is switched according to the user characteristic has been described, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that this switching is not performed. In this case, the seat ECU 30 may not include the characteristic specifying unit 304.

(Embodiment 4)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the temperature pattern of the thermal stimulation to be performed for each part of the user is switched according to the measurement result of the temperature for each part of the user has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that this switching is not performed. In this case, the seat ECU 30 may not include the temperature acquisition unit 305.

(Embodiment 5)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the thermal stimulation is performed with the intensity according to the setting of the intensity of the thermal stimulation acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300 is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the intensity of the thermal stimulus may be fixed and the configuration change from the user may not be accepted. In addition, the intensity of the thermal stimulus is automatically changed in the seat ECU 30 by changing the temperature pattern of the thermal stimulus to be performed for each part of the user according to the seat characteristics, but the setting change from the user is not accepted. It may be configured.

(Embodiment 6)
In the first embodiment, the configuration has been described in which the temperature stimulation is performed from the set time before the setting of the start timing of the temperature stimulation acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that the start timing of the thermal stimulation is fixed and the setting change from the user is not accepted.

(Embodiment 7)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the temperature stimulation is performed for the time period along the duration acquired by the setting acquisition unit 300 has been described, but the configuration is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the duration of the thermal stimulus may be fixed, and the configuration change from the user may not be accepted. In this case, the duration of the thermal stimulus may be the time to continue until the bed start time or the time to end before the bed start time. The duration of the hot and cold stimulation may be a time that continues until the wake-up time or a time that ends before the wake-up time.

(Embodiment 8)
In the first embodiment, the configuration has been shown in which the user is given a thermal stimulus before the bedtime, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the configuration may be such that the thermal stimulation is not performed before the bedtime. In this case, the seat ECU 30 may not include the sleep start time specifying unit 302. Even with such a configuration, it is possible to make the user sleep more comfortably by stimulating the user with warm and cold before the wake-up time, so that the user can wake up more comfortably. It will be possible.

(Embodiment 9)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the user is stimulated by the cold air by the individual air conditioning of the seat air conditioning unit 31 while the user is stimulated by the heat generated by the seat heater 32, is not necessarily limited thereto. Other configurations may be used as long as the user can perform a warm stimulus and a cold stimulus. For example, it may be configured to use conditioned air that is blown out from an outlet provided other than the seat. In addition, the cold air and the warm air by the individual air conditioning of the seat air conditioning unit 31 may be used as the cold stimulus and the warm stimulus. Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the cold stimulation and the thermal stimulation are performed by the temperature change of the Peltier element provided on the seat.

(Embodiment 10)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the thermal stimulus can be independently controlled for each part of the user has been shown, but the present invention is not necessarily limited to this. For example, the temperature stimulus may not be independently controllable for each part of the user. Even in this case, any configuration may be used as long as it is possible to apply the warm stimulus and the cold stimulus to all or a part of the user.

(Embodiment 11)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which the seat ECU 30 provided for each seat functions as a seat temperature adjusting device has been shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. The ECU functioning as a seat temperature adjusting device may be provided in a place other than the seat, or may be provided in a place other than the seat to adjust the temperature stimulus in a plurality of seats.

It should be noted that the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and are obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present disclosure. Further, the control unit and the method thereof described in the present disclosure may be implemented by a dedicated computer that configures a processor programmed to execute one or more functions embodied by a computer program. Alternatively, the apparatus and method described in the present disclosure may be realized by a dedicated hardware logic circuit. Alternatively, the device and the method described in the present disclosure may be realized by one or more dedicated computers configured by a combination of a processor that executes a computer program and one or more hardware logic circuits. Further, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable non-transition tangible recording medium as an instruction executed by a computer.

1 seat temperature adjustment system, 2 mobile terminal, 3 seat side unit, 30 seat ECU (seat temperature adjustment device), 31 seat air conditioning unit (temperature stimulator), 32 seat heater (temperature stimulator), 33 seat sensor (temperature sensor) ), 34 seat HMI, 35 communication module, 300 setting acquisition unit (mobile information acquisition unit), 301 adjustment related identification unit, 302 bedtime start time identification unit, 303 wakeup time identification unit, 304 characteristic identification unit, 305 temperature acquisition unit, 306 Adjustment unit

Claims (10)

A seat temperature adjusting device comprising an adjusting section (306) provided on a seat of a transportation vehicle and adjusting a temperature stimulus by a temperature stimulating device (31, 32) for stimulating a user sitting on the seat,
A wake-up time specifying unit (303) for specifying a desired wake-up time when the user sleeps on the seat,
The adjusting unit alternately repeats a warm stimulus for warming the user and a cold stimulus for cooling the user as the temperature stimulus from a set time set before the wake-up time specified by the wake-up time specifying unit. A seat temperature adjustment device that stimulates heat and cold. The seat temperature adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the adjustment unit performs the warm/cold stimulation such that a period for continuing the thermal stimulation is longer than a period for continuing the cold stimulation. A mobile information acquisition unit (300) for acquiring information from a mobile terminal carried by the user via wireless communication;
The mobile information acquisition unit acquires the wake-up time desired by the user, which is set by the mobile terminal,
The seat temperature adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the wake-up time identification unit identifies the wake-up time acquired by the mobile information acquisition unit as the wake-up time. A mobile information acquisition unit (300) for acquiring information from a mobile terminal carried by the user via wireless communication,
The mobile information acquisition unit acquires the duration of the thermal stimulus desired by the user, which is set in the mobile terminal,
The said adjustment part makes the said warming/cooling stimulus of the time according to the said continuation time acquired by the said portable information acquisition part, when making the said warming/cooling stimulus carry out. Seat temperature adjustment device. A mobile information acquisition unit (300) for acquiring information from a mobile terminal carried by the user via wireless communication,
The mobile information acquisition unit acquires the set time set in the mobile terminal,
The adjustment unit, when performing the thermal stimulus, performs the thermal stimulus from the wake-up time specified by the wake-up time specifying unit before the set time acquired by the portable information acquisition unit. Item 5. The seat temperature adjusting device according to any one of items 1 to 4. A sleep start time specifying unit (302) for specifying a sleep start time when the user sleeps on the seat,
The seat according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the adjustment unit causes a thermal stimulus to warm the user as the temperature stimulus before the bedtime start time specified by the bedtime start time specifying unit. Temperature control device. A mobile information acquisition unit (300) for acquiring information from a mobile terminal carried by the user via wireless communication,
The mobile information acquisition unit is configured to acquire the bedtime desired by the user, which is set in the mobile terminal,
The seat temperature adjusting device according to claim 6, wherein the sleep start time specifying unit specifies the sleep start time acquired by the portable information acquisition unit as the sleep start time. The thermal stimulation device is capable of performing the thermal stimulation for each part of the user seated on the seat,
The seat temperature adjusting device according to claim 1, wherein the adjusting unit is capable of adjusting the temperature of the thermal stimulus independently for each part of the user. A characteristic specifying unit (304) for specifying a user characteristic related to the temperature sensitivity of the user,
The seat temperature adjusting device according to claim 8, wherein the adjusting unit switches a temperature pattern of the thermal stimulation to be performed for each part of the user according to the user characteristic specified by the characteristic specifying unit. A temperature acquisition unit (305) that acquires a measurement result of a temperature sensor that measures the temperature of each part of the user seated on the seat;
The seat temperature according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the adjustment unit switches the temperature pattern of the temperature stimulus to be performed for each part of the user according to the measurement result for each part of the user acquired by the temperature acquisition unit. Adjustment device.

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