WO2021197620A1

WO2021197620A1 - Olfactory character control system for the use in vehicles

Info

Publication number: WO2021197620A1
Application number: PCT/EP2020/059613
Authority: WO
Inventors: Etienne Iliffe-Moon; Annabelle Coffinet; Juergen Glaesser
Original assignee: Bayerische Motoren Werke Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2020-04-03
Filing date: 2020-04-03
Publication date: 2021-10-07

Abstract

Provided is an olfactory character control system (100) for the use in vehicles, adapted to provide an olfactory experience inside the cabin by treatment of smell. The system is adapted to receive inputs from one or more olfactory sensors (10) regarding smells inside the cabin (12) and/or outside smells entering the vehicle cabin (11) or user controls (20), analyze the smells and evaluate a treatment concept in order to reach at the predefined smell. It then provides output signals with instructions to one or more air treatment systems (HVAC 30, filter 40, scent emitters 50) of the vehicle to act according to the treatment concept.

Description

Olfactory character control system for the use in vehicles

The present invention relates to an olfactory character control system for the use in vehicles.

Smells such as odors and malodors are ever present in different concentrations, outside the vehicle, inside the vehicle and about our bodies. Outside of the vehicle, smells come from pollution, e.g. vehicle and factory emissions, nature, e.g. humans, animals, plants, etc., commercial, e.g. restaurants, factories, farms, residential activity, etc. Outside smells inevitably get inside the vehicle’s cabin, e.g. when a door or window is opened, window washer fluid, through the climatization system refreshing the internal air to minimize carbon monoxide build up. Inside the vehicle sources of smell can come from the vehicle, e.g. new car smell, smell of the occupants, e.g. excessive perfume, body odor, etc., and from what is brought into the car, e.g. restaurant food, cigarettes, etc.

All those smells are caught by the human nose and affect the users of the vehicle in different manners. In order to provide a smell in the vehicle cabin that suits the occupants, different solutions have been proposed. Purifying technologies are known, which focus on eliminating pollutants. Furthermore, several methods for bringing diverse scents into the car are also already known. Different fragrance dispensers are shown e.g. by EP1184083A1 , WO2018022562A1 or WO2019030771A1.

However, since different people have different preferences and sensitivities to smells, it is an object of the invention to provide an olfactory character control system for the use in vehicles, which is capable of controlling the olfactory conditions within the vehicle cabin. This object is solved by the subject-matter defined in the independent claims. Advantageous modifications are provided by the dependent claims.

Provided is an olfactory character control system for the use in vehicles and/or outside the vehicle, adapted to provide an olfactory experience inside the cabin and/or outside the vehicle by treatment of smell. The system is adapted to receive inputs from one or more olfactory sensors regarding smells inside the cabin and/or outside smells entering the vehicle cabin and/or smells outside the vehicle, analyze the smells and evaluate a treatment concept in order to reach at the predefined smell. It then provides output signals with instructions to one or more air treatment system of the vehicle to act according to the treatment concept.

By providing a strategy to account for sources of distinct or ambient smells, i.e. odors and malodors, and addressing the smell by a combination of sensing, analyzing and treating the air, predefined smells can be provided inside the vehicle cabin and/or outside the vehicle.

In one embodiment, the inputs are received continuously or within predefined intervals or when a predefined action is registered. By sensing smells outside and inside the vehicle cabin continuously or within predefined intervals, a time based change of smell can be recognized and the air treatment can be adapted to the change of the smell. Further, in case a predefined action is registered, the air treatment can react immediately on the change in smell. In any of the above case, the air treatment provides a fast reaction on changes of smell inside and/or the cabin. Thus, irritation and smell disturbance of occupants of the vehicle can be minimized.

In another embodiment, inputs are user controls and/or contextual data. In addition to using sensors for sensing inside and/or outside smells, user control and/or contextual data can be provided in order to improve the air treatment.

In another embodiment, the treatment concept is such that sensed smell is diluted, minimized or eliminated. In another embodiment air treatment systems of the car include air treatment devices, HVAC system integration, scent delivery devices, it can be seen that depending on the sensed smells and the equipment of the vehicle, different approaches and systems can be used to reach at the predefined smell.

In another embodiment, the system measures the resulting olfactory state and/or responses from the occupants of the vehicle, learns from this information and uses it for future scent delivery. By implementing a feedback loop and using artificial intelligence, the air treatment concept can be further improved.

In another embodiment, the information gathered by the system is sent to a cloud system for further use. By sending information to a cloud, information can be used by multiple vehicles. Thus, their systems and air treatment concepts can be improved.

In another embodiment, the term vehicle comprises street bound vehicles, airborne vehicles and rail bound vehicles, since all of those vehicles can be affected by smells from inside and outside of the vehicle.

In another embodiment, the air treatment is accompanied by lighting and/or visual and/or acoustic treatment. This can improve and provide a more complete experience of the system.

Further, a vehicle is proposed, comprising the described olfactory character control system.

Various objects, features, aspects and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, along with the accompanying drawing figures.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of the olfactory character control system according to one embodiment of the present invention.

The following discussion provides many example embodiments of the inventive subject matter. Although each embodiment represents a single combination of inventive elements, the inventive subject matter is considered to include all possible combinations of the disclosed elements.

As already mentioned, smells are present everywhere outside and inside a vehicle such as a car. Smells inside the vehicle do not only originate from the inside of the vehicle, but can also come from people or animals that are or have been in the vehicle, as well as from the outside world, e.g. through an open window or the HVAC (heating, ventilation and A/C) system 30,

Further, many systems have been proposed which try to overlay smells inside the car in different ways, e.g, static fragrance trees that continuously dispense fragrance, up to automatic fragrance dispensers that dispense fragrance only in predefined situations or conditions, e.g. at a certain level of temperature, after a certain period of time, etc. However, in order to improve or control the conditions within the vehicle cabin and outside, it is important to have a strategy to account for sources of distinct or ambient odors or matadors.

The present invention aims to provide a solution for this task by providing an olfactory character control system 100 that can address smell, i.e, odor or matador, by a combination of sensing, analyzing, treating, e.g. by purifying, filtering, absorbing, masking, diluting, etc. and finally scenting the air in order to “beautify” it or provide a functional benefit through scent.

The principle of the present invention is to provide olfactory sensing of smells outside the vehicle and inside the vehicle cabin, analyzing and identifying them and finally treating the smells such that a predefined smell is achieved inside the cabin and/or outside of the vehicle (e.g. in close proximity to an open vehicle door).

Therefore, as shown in Figure 1 , the olfactory character control system 100 will have both inputs IN and outputs OUT. The inputs IN are data sensed by olfactory sensors 10 outside 11 and/or inside 12 the vehicle. Inputs IN may also be user controls 20 such as from an Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) 21, gesture recognition 22 or facial emotion recognition 23, touchscreen interface 24 and/or contextual data 25, e.g. received by a respective system inside the cabin. The outputs OUT are output signals to air treatment systems 30, 40, 50 of the vehicle. They provide instructions to e.g. air treatment devices 40, e.g, photo-catalytic or photoelectric-catalytic purifier, carbon filter, chemical absorption or modification, masking, etc., as well as to the HVAC system 30 of the vehicle in order to control airflow, fresh air, temperature, humidity, etc., and to scent delivery devices 50.

The system gathers data from the olfactory sensor(s) 10 outside 11 and inside 12 the vehicle to analyze smells, i.e. odors and malodors, in a time based way. It then evaluates the smell and makes recommendations for output signals OUT to air treatment systems 30-50 of the vehicle before, during and after the journey.

It can also measure the resulting olfactory state as well as register responses from the occupants, e.g. affective response through emotion recognition or interaction via an IPA 21 or graphical interface. That means that the system 100 can gather feedback information to learn from the past and to intelligently provide future scent releases by adapting the treatment concept.

All those tasks are done in a control unit that may be provided as a separate entity, However, it can also be part of a sensor 10 or another vehicle control system.

The system 100 can use sensors 10 using any olfactory sensing technology such as “e- nose” technology using semi-conductor devices (e.g. MOSFET), MEMS, optical or acoustical devices, and new bio-tech or chemo-sensor approaches, or conventional approaches such as gas chromatography. The thus acquired smells are then analyzed and the system decides how to act by providing a treatment concept In order to provide a proper decision on the treatment concept, the system 100 can be initially trained with respective data or fixed treatment concepts are set depending on the sensed smell(s).

In order to improve the treatment of the smells, the system 100 can be adapted to sensing smells at key moments in a journey, e.g. when a door or window is opened or closed, at the start or end of a journey, when window washer is activated, etc. It can also be adapted to sense the smells continuously throughout a journey, such that it can detect changes in outside odors, body odor, times when a food package is opened, when a beverage is consumed, etc, can be detected immediately. In any case, an immediate reaction on actual smells in the cabin can be provided.

The system 100 interprets the olfactory sensor 10 input by analyzing the sensed smells in known ways in order to be able to adapt and/or determine the olfactory characteristics of the fragrance, which shall be released into the cabin and/or outside the vehicle in order to provide a predefined smell inside the cabin and/or outside the vehicle. It then provides output, i.e. a treatment concept, to one or more air treatment systems 30-50 to adapt or influence the olfactory experience delivered to the cabin and/or outside the vehicle.

The treatment of the air within the vehicle cabin and also outside the vehicle is done with a number of different approaches or technologies. One is using air treatment devices 50 such as purifying technology 51 , e.g. using a photocatalytic or photoelectric- catalytic purifier. Also, a filtering technology 52 can be used, e.g. by using carbon filtration. Further, chemical treatment 53 can be done, e.g, by using chemical absorption or modification such as hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin (HBPCD). Further, a masking technology 54 can be used, e.g. by providing a scent that is compatible to the smell and thus reduces it, i.e. makes the nose/brain believe that it is gone or reduced or more tolerable.

The scent delivered into the cabin and/or outside the vehicle by a scent delivery device 40 can be a fragrance, e.g, an aesthetic smell, and/or a scent with a functional purpose, e.g. aromatherapy, and/or have a chemical composition intended for purposes such as sanitization, odor treatment, e.g. chemical absorption or modification. The olfactory characteristics to be provided can be the type of scent or blend of scents, the intensity and duration, and/or the rhythm of the scent release.

As already mentioned, the system can be connected to the HVAC system 30 and can thus use HVAC functions or parameters such as airflow 31 , e.g. volume, speed, direction and static or dynamic airflow patterns, and fresh air intake 32. Thus, the smell can be diluted. Also the temperature control 33 and humidity control 34 can be used in order to control the presence, location and levels of the scent(s) output. The HVAC system 30 can also be configured to provide targeted scent delivery to specific seats, zones or locations within the cabin.

The sensed and analyzed smell can be diluted, minimized or eliminated in order to reach the predefined smell.

The olfactory sensors 10 can provide a secondary benefit by monitoring the cabin scent levels, calibrating the scent cartridges and monitor the blending of multiple scents. The olfactory sensors 10 can also work alongside other contextual data to adapt the conditions that drive the air treatment systems 30, 40, 50, e.g. when a door or window is opened, and/or when the HVAC system 30 is running, the scent levels are evaluated and the scent delivery is modified to control the intensity levels. In order to provide those functionalities, a control unit is needed, which may also act as the core of the whole system 100, i.e. provide the analysis and the output signals to the air treatment systems 30, 40, 50.

The system 100 can work intelligently or automatically, but can also be controlled by the user 20, e.g. via an Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) 21 , gestures 22 or technologies such as camera based facial emotion recognition 23, or touchscreens 24.

The system 100 can also have a feedback loop to understand the affective response of the cabin occupants. This feedback loop can provide an artificial intelligence (deep learning) approach to improve subsequent scent releases relative to background smells, i.e. odors or malodors. For example, an Intelligent Personal Assistant (IPA) 21 may ask some simple questions at certain times to understand how the occupant is feeling and if they liked the experience/scent. This could be done during a learning or training phase, e.g. for a new user, or at discrete times during certain journeys, or periodically. Other approaches include learning via an ambient interface or conventional control interface, e.g. using interactive button concepts such as thumbs up/down, smiley face buttons, swipe gestures, etc. This feedback can help the system 100 learn about the preference and sensitivity of different people to scent, and adapt the behavior of the system 100 and the scent characteristics delivered. The data gathered by the system 100, e.g. through the feedback loop, can be sent to a cloud 60 for further use. For example, the data on odors or malodors may be used (as a historical record) for the generation of future scents or odor/malodor treatments. That means that e.g. if the sensors identify a prevalence of cigarette smoke, this may suggest that future scents recommended to the user or delivered in the cabin to the user would address and/or treat and/or be compatible with that odor, e.g. the cigarette smell.

Hence, information gathered from one or more vehicles can be used to evaluate the proper design of scents and scent blending profiles, to suit smells coming from outside the vehicle or inside the vehicle cabin. There can be a benefit by using cloud 60 sourcing data, such as collecting regional data on the smell-fragrance preferences of customers, build regional maps for air quality (related to exterior odor and pollution), and monitor the performance of the system and sub-components (e.g. purification and HVAG systems).

In order to intensify the olfactory experience, the output of the system may be integrated with other sensory modalities beyond scent such as lighting (brightness, color, etc.), visual display (ambient display, projection, VR/AR/MR, holographic display, etc.), sound, etc.

Claims

1. Olfactory character control system (100) for the use in vehicle cabins and/or outside the vehicle, adapted to provide an olfactory experience inside the cabin and/or outside the vehicle by treatment of smell, the system is adapted to

- receive inputs (IN) from one or more olfactory sensors (10) regarding smells inside (11 ) the cabin and/or outside (12) smells entering the vehicle cabin and/or smells outside the vehicle,

- analyze the smells and evaluate a treatment concept in order to reach at the predefined smell, and then

- provide output (OUT) signals with instructions to one or more air treatment system (30-50) of the vehicle to act according to the treatment concept

2. Olfactory character control system (100) according to claim 1 , wherein the inputs (IN) are received continuously or within predefined intervals or when a predefined action is registered,

3. Olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein inputs (IN) are user controls and/or contextual data,

4. Olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the treatment concept is such that the sensed smell is diluted, minimized or eliminated,

5. Olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein air treatment systems (30-50) of the car include air treatment devices (50), HVAC system (30) integration, scent delivery devices (40).

6. Olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the system (100) measures the resulting olfactory state and/or responses from the occupants of the vehicle, learns from this information and uses it for future scent delivery to the cabin.

7. Olfactory character control system (100) according to claim 6, wherein the information gathered by the system (100) is sent to a cloud (80) system for further use.

8. Olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the term vehicle comprises street bound vehicles, airborne vehicles and rail bound vehicles.

9. Olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the air treatment is accompanied by lighting and/or visual and/or acoustic treatment.

10. Vehicle, comprising an olfactory character control system (100) according to any of the preceding claims.