JP2021126919A - Vehicle seat and vehicle equipped with vehicle seat, vehicle control method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a vehicle seat that reduces occupant sickness by reducing an acceleration generated by the occupant.SOLUTION: From an image pickup information including a travel path information acquired by an image pickup camera, a predicted acceleration change amount, which is a change amount of an acceleration generated by a control unit on an occupant, is calculated (step S120). When it is determined that the amount is within a predetermined sickness determination threshold range (step S130), a seating surface on which the occupant is seated is tilted to cause the occupant to accelerate by controlling a rotation speed of a motor. At this time, by inclining the seat surface at a speed and direction in which the change amount of the acceleration decreases, the change amount of the acceleration felt by the occupant is reduced to a range that is not included in the predetermined sickness determination threshold range. As a result, a possibility of occupant sickness can be reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle seat and a vehicle provided with the vehicle seat, a vehicle control method and a program.

Conventionally, there have been known occupant attitude control devices that improve riding comfort and stabilize driving posture at each seat position of a vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an RY-axis direction actuator that displaces at least the inclination and / or position of a vehicle seat in the pitch direction, and an X-axis direction acceleration sensor that collects information indicating a vehicle state including vehicle acceleration. , A control unit that adjusts the amount of change in the tilt and / or position of the vehicle seat by the RY axis direction actuator based on the acceleration of the vehicle, and the control unit has the pitch of the vehicle seat with the forward direction of the vehicle as positive. Regarding the gain of directional control, a vehicle occupant posture control device is described in which the absolute value of the gain when the acceleration of the vehicle is positive is smaller than the absolute value of the gain when the acceleration of the vehicle is negative.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-67169

However, in the occupant attitude control device described in Patent Document 1, the occupant is reduced in acceleration generated in the occupant during acceleration or deceleration by changing the inclination in the RY axis direction based on the information indicating the state of the vehicle. The purpose is to improve the comfort of the vehicle, and it is not assumed that the inclination of the vehicle in the RX axis direction is changed.

By the way, when the vehicle turns, the occupant is accelerated in the outward direction of the turning track, or the vehicle moves significantly up and down due to the undulations of the road surface, so that the occupant is accelerated in the vertical direction. become. It is known that such changes in acceleration with respect to occupants contribute to motion sickness. Therefore, in order to reduce the occurrence of motion sickness, it is considered effective to reduce the change in acceleration with respect to the occupant.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a vehicle seat capable of reducing the possibility that the occupant becomes intoxicated by reducing the movement of the occupant's head. Is the main purpose. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle equipped with such a vehicle seat, a vehicle control method and a program.

The present invention has taken the following steps to achieve at least one of the above objectives.

The vehicle seat of the present invention
A tilting means that tilts the seat surface in a direction and speed that cancels the acceleration or jerk predicted by the predicting means that predicts the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant seated on the seat surface provided in the vehicle.
It is characterized by having
It is a thing.

This vehicle seat predicts changes in acceleration or jerk that occur in the occupant, and reduces changes in acceleration or jerk that occur in the occupant by inclining the seating surface on which the occupant is seated. Changes in acceleration or jerk that occur in the occupant can cause vehicle sickness in the occupant. Therefore, by tilting the seating surface on which the occupant is seated in a direction that cancels the acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant, the occupant It is possible to reduce the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs and reduce the possibility that the occupant will feel car sickness. Here, the "running road information" is estimated from, for example, information on the curvature and unevenness of the road surface acquired by an imaging means that images the front side of the vehicle, predetermined map information, and vehicle position information. It means information on the road surface on which the vehicle travels, such as information on the curvature and slope of the road surface on which the vehicle travels.

In the vehicle seat of the present invention, the predictive means includes travel path information which is information on the travel path of the vehicle, acceleration information which is information on the acceleration of the vehicle, and information on the depression angle of the accelerator pedal provided on the vehicle. Acceleration opening information, brake opening information which is information about the depression angle of the brake pedal provided in the vehicle, and steering angle information which is information about the steering angle of the steering wheel provided in the vehicle. It may be characterized by predicting a change in acceleration or jump rate that occurs in the occupant based on the above. All of this information is likely to affect the acceleration or jerk of the vehicle and is likely to affect the changes in acceleration or jerk that occur to the occupants, so it is generated for the occupants based on this information. By predicting changes in acceleration or jerk, it is possible to improve prediction accuracy, reduce changes in acceleration that occur to occupants more accurately, and reduce the possibility that occupants will feel car sickness.

The vehicle seat of the present invention includes a bracket for supporting the vehicle seat, a frame for holding the seat surface, and a pair of front joints and a pair of back joints for slantably fixing the frame to the bracket. , The pair of front joints or the pair of back joints may each have a universal joint structure. By doing so, the frame fixed to the bracket can be tilted not only on the traveling direction side of the vehicle but also on the side surface direction side.

The vehicle of the present invention
A vehicle seat with a seating surface on which the occupant sits,
A tilting means that inclines the seat surface in a direction and speed that cancels the acceleration or jerk predicted by the predicting means that predicts the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant.
It is characterized by having
It is a thing.

In this vehicle, the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant is predicted, and the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant is reduced by inclining the seating surface on which the occupant is seated. Since the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant may cause the occupant's vehicle sickness, the direction in which the acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant is canceled based on the vehicle's travel path information. By inclining to, it is possible to reduce the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant and reduce the possibility that the occupant will feel car sickness.

The vehicle control method of the present invention
A vehicle seat having a seating surface on which an occupant sits, and an inclined means for inclining the seating surface in a direction and speed for canceling the acceleration or jerk predicted by a predicting means for predicting a change in acceleration or jerk occurring on the occupant. It is a control method for controlling a vehicle characterized by being provided with,
A prediction step for predicting a change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant,
A tilting step in which the seat surface is tilted in a direction and speed that cancels the acceleration or jerk predicted in the prediction step.
Characterized by including
It is a thing.

In this vehicle control method, the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant is predicted, and the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant is reduced by inclining the seating surface on which the occupant is seated. Since the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant may cause the occupant's vehicle sickness, the direction in which the acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant is canceled based on the vehicle's travel path information. By inclining to, it is possible to reduce the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant and reduce the possibility that the occupant will feel car sickness.

In the vehicle control method of the present invention, the vehicle control method may include each configuration provided in any of the above-mentioned vehicles, or a step for realizing the function of any of the above-mentioned vehicles. May be added.

The program of the present invention is a program for causing one or more computers to execute each step of the vehicle control method. This program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium (eg, hard disk, ROM, CD, DVD, flash memory, etc.) or a transmission medium (communication network such as the Internet or wired / wireless LAN). It may be sent from one computer to another via the computer, or may be sent or received in any other form. Further, even if the device is executed by the device that executes each step of the control method, the device that executes the program and the device that performs the process may be different. In any case, if this program is executed by one computer or a plurality of computers are assigned to execute each step, the same effect as the control method described above can be obtained.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the structure of the vehicle seat 30. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of the internal structure of the vehicle seat 30. FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the electrical connection of the vehicle 20. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the tilt control processing routine.

Next, the vehicle 20 which is an example of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. The embodiments and drawings described below exemplify a part of the embodiments of the present invention, are not used for the purpose of limiting to these configurations, and do not deviate from the gist of the present invention. It can be changed as appropriate. The corresponding components in each figure are designated by the same or similar reference numerals. Further, by showing an example of the control method in the vehicle 20, an example of the vehicle control method and the control program of the present invention will be clarified.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 20 which is an example of the embodiment of the present invention includes a vehicle seat 30 in which an occupant sits on a seat surface 32 and an imaging camera 50 (see FIG. 3) that images the front direction of the vehicle 20. ), And a control unit 60 that controls the traveling of the vehicle 20 and the inclination of the vehicle seat 30. In this vehicle 20, the inclination of the seat surface 32 is controlled based on the control signal from the control unit 60.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle seat 30 has a frame 34 for holding the seat surface 32 and a bracket 36 for supporting the vehicle seat 30, and the bracket 36 and the frame 34 are The frame 34 is slidably fixed by a pair of front joints 38 and a pair of back joints 40, respectively. Further, the back joint 40 is connected to a motor 42 electrically connected to the control unit 60, respectively. Therefore, when the control signal is transmitted from the control unit 60, the rotation of the motor 42 is controlled and the back joint 40 swings. At this time, since the front joint 38 has a universal joint structure, it swings as the back joint 40 swings, and the seat surface 32 tilts in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined speed. By adopting the universal joint structure in this way, the seat surface 32 can be tilted in a predetermined direction and at a predetermined speed even when all the front joints 38 and the back joints 40 do not have a drive motor. .. In addition, by tilting the seat surface 32 in the direction and speed to reduce the acceleration of the occupant, the change in the acceleration of the occupant is reduced, the change in the acceleration that causes motion sickness is reduced, and the occurrence of motion sickness is prevented. Can be reduced to.

The image pickup camera 50 is a known digital camera corresponding to the traveling road information acquisition means of the present invention, and is provided toward the front side of the vehicle. The image pickup camera 50 is attached in a direction for photographing the front direction of the vehicle 20, images the traveling path on the traveling direction side of the vehicle 20, and transmits the imaging information including the traveling path information to the control unit 60. ..

The control unit 60 corresponds to the control means of the present invention and is configured as a microprocessor centered on the CPU 61. The control unit 60 stores various information such as a ROM 62 that stores various programs including a tilt control processing routine, a RAM 63 that temporarily stores imaging information output from the imaging camera 50, and a sickness determination threshold. An interface 65 (hereinafter, referred to as “I / F65”) for transmitting and receiving various signals between the storage means 64 and the image pickup camera 50, the motor 42, and the like is electrically connected via the bus 66. .. The control unit 60 calculates a predicted value of a future change in acceleration of the occupant based on the image pickup information output from the image pickup camera 50, and inclines the seat surface 32 based on the predicted value of the change in acceleration. By doing so, at least a part of the acceleration due to the traveling of the vehicle 20 can be canceled by the acceleration due to the inclination of the seat surface 32, and the change in the acceleration caused by the occupant can be reduced. Since the change in acceleration that occurs in the occupant causes the occurrence of motion sickness in the occupant, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the occupant becomes motion sick by reducing the change in acceleration. The control unit 60 may only perform a process of determining whether or not the patient is in a sick state, or may be a part of a control unit such as an ECU provided in the vehicle.

Next, an example of an inclination control processing routine for controlling the inclination of the seat surface 32 will be described with reference to FIG. Here, FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an inclination control processing routine for controlling the inclination of the seat surface 32, and this inclination control processing routine is repeatedly executed when the imaging information is output from the imaging camera 50. ..

When this tilt control processing routine is executed, the CPU 61 acquires the imaging information output from the imaging camera 50 and the speed information which is the information regarding the current speed of the vehicle 20 (step S110), and the imaging information and the speed information are used. Based on this, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration that occurs in the occupant is calculated (step S120). Specifically, for example, when the imaging information includes the curvature of the road surface on the traveling direction side, the curvature of the curved road surface is calculated from the imaging information, and the vehicle travels on the curved road surface from the calculated curvature and the speed information. Calculate the predicted value of the acceleration that occurs in the occupant when doing so. By calculating the difference between the predicted value of this acceleration and the current acceleration, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration is calculated.

Next, the CPU 61 determines whether or not the predicted value of the acceleration change amount calculated in step S120 is included in the predetermined sickness determination threshold range (step S130), and is included in the sickness determination threshold range. If it is determined that this is not the case, this routine is terminated. In such a case, it is not necessary to incline the seat surface 32 because it is unlikely that the occupant will get sick.

On the other hand, in step S130, when the CPU 61 determines that the predicted value of the acceleration change amount is within the sickness determination threshold range, the rotation of the motor 42 is controlled (step S140) and the seat surface 32 is tilted. .. Specifically, by adjusting the rotation speed of the motor 42, the change in acceleration is reduced, and the seat surface 32 is set in the speed and direction in which the acceleration is generated in the direction and amount of the acceleration that is not included in the sickness determination threshold range. Tilt. By doing so, it is possible to reduce the change in acceleration generated by traveling and set the amount of change in acceleration not included in the sickness determination threshold range, thereby reducing the possibility of occupant sickness. For example, when the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration indicates that a large acceleration increases to the right on the head of the occupant, the seat is seated by rotating the motor 42 in a direction in which the seat surface 32 is tilted to the left. By tilting the surface 32 to the left, acceleration to the left is generated in the head of the occupant. By doing so, the change in acceleration can be reduced.

According to the vehicle 20 of the embodiment described in detail above, the predicted value of the acceleration change amount generated by the control unit 60 on the occupant is calculated based on the image pickup information including the travel path information acquired by the image pickup camera 50 (step S120). ), When it is determined that the vehicle is within the predetermined sickness determination threshold range, the rotation speed of the motor 42 is controlled to incline the seat surface 32 on which the occupant is seated to cause the occupant to accelerate. .. At this time, the seat surface 32 is tilted at a speed and direction in which the predicted acceleration change amount decreases, and the change amount of the acceleration felt by the occupant is reduced to a range not included in the predetermined sickness determination threshold range. The possibility of sickness can be reduced.

Further, when calculating the predicted value of the acceleration change amount, since the predicted value of the acceleration change amount is calculated based on the traveling road information and the speed information (step S120), the occurrence timing and the generation amount of the acceleration change are accurately calculated. can do.

Further, in the vehicle seat 30, the bracket 36 and the frame 34 are slidably fixed to the frame 34 by a pair of front joints 38 and a pair of back joints 40, respectively, and the front joints 38 both have a universal joint structure. By controlling the number of rotations of the motors 42 connected to the pair of back joints 40, the seat surface is not limited to the traveling direction of the vehicle, but is not limited to the traveling direction of the vehicle. 32 can be tilted.

It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be implemented in various aspects as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration is calculated in step S120, and it is determined in step S130 whether or not the occupant is in a drunken state based on the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration. , The predicted value of the acceleration change amount is time-differentiated in step S120, the jerk (acceleration) change amount is calculated, and the occupant is in a drunk state using the jerk change amount instead of the acceleration change amount in step S130. It may be determined whether or not. In this case as well, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration generated in the occupant is calculated based on the image pickup information and the speed information in step S120, but based on the travel road information and the speed information which are the information on the travel route. The predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration may be calculated. For example, when traveling according to a predetermined driving path, the curvature of the curved road surface of the predetermined traveling path is calculated, and the acceleration generated in the occupant when traveling on the curved road surface from the calculated curvature and speed information. The predicted value of may be calculated. By calculating the difference between the predicted value of acceleration calculated in this way and the current acceleration, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration can be calculated, and the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration generated in the occupant is calculated based on the image pickup information and the speed information in step S120, but the information is related to the depression angle of the accelerator pedal provided on the vehicle. The predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration may be calculated based on the accelerator opening information. For example, when the depression angle of the accelerator is increased, the vehicle is expected to accelerate, and it is expected that acceleration will occur in the rearward direction as the acceleration occurs. By adding the acceleration generated at this time, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration can be calculated more accurately, and the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration generated in the occupant is calculated based on the image pickup information and the speed information in step S120, but the information is related to the depression angle of the brake pedal provided on the vehicle. The predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration may be calculated based on the brake opening information. For example, when the depression angle of the brake is increased, it is expected that the vehicle will decelerate and acceleration will occur in the forward direction as the deceleration occurs. By adding the acceleration generated at this time, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration can be calculated more accurately, and the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration generated in the occupant is calculated based on the image pickup information and the speed information in step S120. The predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration may be calculated based on the steering angle information and the speed information. For example, when the handle is rotated to the right by a predetermined angle, it is expected that acceleration corresponding to the rotation angle and speed will be generated to the left as the vehicle turns to the right. By adding the acceleration generated at this time, the predicted value of the amount of change in acceleration can be calculated more accurately, and the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the imaging camera 50 captures the road surface on the traveling direction side to acquire the imaging information including the traveling road information, but the traveling road information is not limited to this. For example, the route predicted from the predetermined map information and the position information acquired by the GPS system may be used as the travel route information, or the road surface information stored in advance may be read out based on the travel route and used as the travel route information. .. In these cases as well, the same effects as those in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, in step S120, speed information which is information on the current speed of the vehicle 20 is used. However, as a method of acquiring the speed information, for example, the rotation speed of the axle of the vehicle 20 (not shown) is used. The speed information may be acquired by calculating the vehicle speed based on the above, the vehicle speed may be calculated from the mobility of the position information by the GPS system, or the vehicle speed may be calculated based on the information from various sensors such as an acceleration sensor. Speed information may be acquired. In either case, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the pair of front joints 38 all have a universal joint structure, but various known structures can be adopted for this universal joint structure. Regardless of the structure, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the pair of front joints 38 have a universal joint structure, and the seat surface 32 is tilted by connecting the motor 42 to the pair of back joints 40, but the seat surface 32 is changed to the pair of front joints 38. The pair of back joints 40 may have a universal structure, and the motors 42 may be connected to the pair of front joints 38 to incline the seat surface 32. Further, the front joint 38 located on the right side and the back joint 40 located on the right side have a universal joint structure, and the seat surface 32 is formed by connecting the motor 42 to the front joint 38 located on the left side and the back joint 40 located on the left side. The front joint 38 located on the left side and the back joint 40 located on the left side have a universal joint structure, and the motor 42 is attached to the front joint 38 located on the right side and the back joint 40 located on the right side. The seat surface 32 may be tilted by being connected. In either case, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the image pickup camera 50 is a digital camera, but the image pickup camera 50 may be a digital video camera. In this case as well, the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described embodiment, the sickness determination threshold value is set in advance in the storage means 64, but an input means (for example, a touch panel, a ten key, etc.) for inputting the sickness determination threshold value is provided and input is performed from the input means. The value may be stored in the storage means 64 as a sickness determination threshold value. Since there are individual differences among the occupants as to whether or not they feel sick, there are individual differences when controlling the speed and direction when tilting the seat surface 32 by setting the sickness determination threshold value according to the occupants. Can be added.

In the above-described embodiment, the sickness determination threshold value is set in advance in the storage means 64, but a display means for displaying the sickness determination threshold value (for example, a liquid crystal monitor or the like) and a changing means for changing the sickness determination threshold value. (For example, a touch panel, a ten key, etc.), the sickness determination threshold value stored in the storage means 64 is displayed on the display means, and the input information input from the input means (for example, up, up, down, down, etc.) The sickness determination threshold value may be changed based on (a signal intended to change a numerical value such as). Since there are individual differences among the occupants as to whether or not they feel that they are in a sick state, individual differences can be taken into consideration when controlling the speed and direction when tilting the seat surface 32.

As shown in the above-described embodiment, it can be used in the field of vehicle control, particularly as a vehicle seat having a sickness reduction function for occupants.

20 ... Vehicle, 30 ... Vehicle seat, 32 ... Seat surface, 34 ... Frame, 36 ... Bracket, 38 ... Front joint, 40 ... Back joint, 42 ... Motor, 50 ... Imaging camera, 60 ... Control unit, 61 ... CPU , 62 ... ROM, 63 ... RAM, 64 ... storage means, 65 ... interface, 66 ... bus.

Claims (6)

A tilting means that tilts the seat surface in a direction and speed that cancels the acceleration or jerk predicted by the predicting means that predicts the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant seated on the seat surface provided in the vehicle.
It is characterized by having
Vehicle seats. The predicting means includes traveling road information which is information on the traveling road of the vehicle, acceleration information which is information on the acceleration of the vehicle, accelerator opening information which is information on the depression angle of the accelerator pedal provided on the vehicle, and the said. Acceleration or acceleration generated in the occupant based on at least one of brake opening information which is information on the depression angle of the brake pedal provided in the vehicle and steering angle information which is information on the steering angle of the steering wheel provided in the vehicle. Characterized by predicting changes in jerk,
The vehicle seat according to claim 1. In the vehicle seat according to claim 1 or 2.
Brackets that support vehicle seats and
A frame that holds the seating surface and
A pair of front joints and a pair of back joints that slantably fix the frame to the bracket,
With
At least one of the pair of front joints or the pair of back joints has a universal joint structure.
Vehicle seats. A vehicle seat with a seating surface on which the occupant sits,
A tilting means that inclines the seat surface in a direction and speed that cancels the acceleration or jerk predicted by the predicting means that predicts the change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant.
It is characterized by having
vehicle. A vehicle seat having a seating surface on which an occupant sits, and an inclined means for inclining the seating surface in a direction and speed for canceling the acceleration or jerk predicted by a predicting means for predicting a change in acceleration or jerk occurring on the occupant. It is a control method for controlling a vehicle characterized by being provided with,
A prediction step for predicting a change in acceleration or jerk that occurs in the occupant,
A tilting step in which the seat surface is tilted in a direction and speed that cancels the acceleration or jerk predicted in the prediction step.
Characterized by including
How to control the vehicle. A program for causing one or more computers to perform each step according to claim 5.

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