WO2023126666A1

WO2023126666A1 - System for mitigating motion sickness in an automotive vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2023126666A1
Application number: PCT/IB2021/062479
Authority: WO
Inventors: Vera Patricia CASTRO VILAS BOAS; Isabel LISBOA; Dário MACHADO; Nelson COSTA; Helena MACEDO
Original assignee: Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal S.A; Universidade Do Minho
Priority date: 2021-12-29
Filing date: 2021-12-30
Publication date: 2023-07-06

Abstract

System for mitigating motion sickness for a user in an automotive vehicle comprising an air-flow device and an air inflatable pocket device, the system comprising: a ceiling air outlet to be mounted to the vehicle's air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user, a plurality of car seat air-inflatable pockets to be mounted to a car seat of the vehicle for reducing body sway of the user, and an electronic data processor configured for: receiving indication that the user is showing signs of motion sickness; actuating an air-flow by said air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user through said ceiling air outlet; inflating the air pockets for compensating motions of the vehicle to reduce body sway of the user. Operating method thereof.

Description

SYSTEM FOR MITIGATING MOTION SICKNESS IN AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE

Technical field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a system and operating method thereof for mitigating motion sickness in an automotive vehicle comprising an air-flow device and an air inflatable pocket device for car seats.

Background

[0002] Document US10293718B1 discloses a seating system for a vehicle. The seating system includes a support surface having a surface contour formed by first springs having fixed stiffness values, a frame, and second springs having adjustable stiffness values coupling the support surface and the frame. The first springs and the second springs together control motion of the support surface in relation to motion of the frame.

[0003] Document US2005087332A1 discloses an air-conditioning system for a truck comprises an air-conditioning unit mounted on a vehicle roof, which has an evaporator and other components for constituting a refrigerating cycle to control temperature of air and to supply the conditioned air into a passenger compartment through multiple blower ducts. The vehicle roof is provided with multiple roof openings, through which the air-conditioning unit and the multiple blower ducts are connected. Each of the blower ducts has an air inlet opening at its upstream side and blower openings at its downstream side, and at least two of the air inlet openings are arranged to close to each other so that a bifurcated connecting element connects the two blower ducts to the unit case through one roof opening. Further, multiple blower openings for different operational modes, such as a face blower opening and a nap-taking blower opening, are formed in a common blower duct, to reduce the number of blower ducts and thereby the number of the roof openings. [0004] Document US20100216386A1 discloses an HVAC vent control system. There is a need for a mechanism by which an operator can easily adjust HVAC vent controls for vents remote from the operator. A roof panel forms a set of air vents and ports. A vent control unit includes left and right door units mounted for rotation on the panel. Each door unit has a louver door and a gear piece connected thereto. The louver doors are movable to control airflow through the ports. The gear pieces are in meshing engagement with the other so that the door units operate symmetrically with respect to each other. A control knob is coupled to the one of the gear pieces so that rotation of the knob causes rotation of the first and second gear pieces and corresponding movement of the left and right louver doors.

[0005] Document US20160046173A1 discloses a vehicle ventilation system to exhaust hot air from the interior of a motor vehicle to the ambient environment. The vehicle ventilation system includes a roof vent having an elongated housing pivotally disposed on a roof of a motor vehicle, wherein the roof vent is movable between an open and a closed configuration. A fan assembly is disposed within the opening and serves to exhaust hot air from the interior of the vehicle. Further, one or more front seat vents are provided that allow cool air to flow into the vehicle as hot air escapes through the roof vent. The vehicle ventilation system further includes a control circuit having a temperature sensor configured to actuate the roof panel and front seat vents when a predetermined temperature is reached.

[0006] Document US2020062240 discloses a negator module of a predictive motion system determines initial parameters for a passenger profile using a virtual reality system of an autonomous vehicle. The negator module receives upcoming driving conditions from an autonomous navigation system of the autonomous vehicle during a ride in which the passenger resides in a seat of the autonomous vehicle and uses the virtual reality system. Using a cognitive model, the negator module predicts a cognitive state of the passenger based on the passenger profile and the upcoming driving conditions. The negator module determines commands for actuators coupled to the seat and commands for the virtual reality system that match the predicted cognitive state of the passenger. The negator module sends the commands to the actuators and the virtual reality system to be executed. [0007] Document DE102019220040A1 discloses a method and apparatus for preventing motion sickness when viewing image content in traveling vehicle.

[0008] These facts are disclosed in order to illustrate the technical problem addressed by the present disclosure.

General Description

[0009] The present disclosure relates to an individualized airflow system that intends to alleviate motion sickness symptoms. In particular, the present disclose can be used in road vehicles, in particular in self-driving cars; nevertheless, it can also be applied to other vehicles or contexts. In an embodiment, airflow individually pointed to the passenger's face, that can be activated manually (the passenger activates the system if feeling sick), automatically (the system monitors the passenger and is able to detect motion sickness symptoms) or via voice commands. The airflow comes from an air exit placed on the ceiling of the vehicle, slightly in front of the head and directed at the face of the passenger; there is an airflow exit per car seat. The present disclosure is able to detect motion sickness symptoms and trigger the aromatic airflow stream. There is also a manual interface that passengers can use to: turn on or off the airflow, and choose if the airflow is with or without the fragrance; they can also regulate the intensity of the stream; and regulate the direction of the flow according to their height and/or position on the seat.

[0010] Motion sickness (MS) is a main concern in the upcoming self-driving paradigm. Free from the primary task of driving, just like passengers have been doing so far, the driver can now read a book, work, have a face-to-face conversation or watch a movie while travelling. However, these changes in driver-vehicle interaction will likely increase MS inside the car.

[0011] Motion sickness is a physiological response characterized by symptoms of cold sweating, pallor, nausea and vomiting, that are typically preceded by lethargy, salivation, enhanced visceral awareness, difficulty in focusing, dizziness and feelings of warmth. Motion sickness provokes discomfort, and severely affects subjects' performance in an ample array of contexts, including in cognitive-work related tasks. Motion sickness will thus impair the passengers' availability to perform other tasks inside the car, thus, in taking full advantage of future autonomous cars.

[0012] The precise mechanisms underlying the causes of motion sickness are not fully understood yet. Nevertheless, one of the most universally accepted theories is the sensory conflict theory (Iskander et al., 2019). This theory poses that motion sickness results from a mismatch between the motion signals transmitted by the eyes, the vestibular system and/or the non-vestibular proprioceptors (Iskander et al., 2019; Warwick-Evans et al., 1998). In the case of travelling in an autonomous car, because the passenger' attention is diverted from the road into a display (e.g., computer screen), passengers experience a sensory conflict between the visual and the vestibular systems. The passenger's visual system signals the body to be stationary, however, his/her vestibular system signals the body to be in motion (the motion of the vehicle). This conflict or sensory mismatch between the visual system and vestibular system is one of the relevant causes for motion sickness or carsickness. Another theory explaining the causes of motion sickness relates this response with the postural instability of the subject. Postural stability is defined as a state in which uncontrolled movements of the perception and action systems are minimized; instability is thus a state of uncontrolled postural movements (Warwick-Evans et al., 1998). The postural instability theory postulates, first, that prolonged postural instability causes motion sickness (Iskander et al., 2019; Smart Jr et al., 2002; Warwick-Evans et al., 1998); and, second, that reductions of postural instability or in postural control of the subject, reduce the incidence or severity of motion sickness (Warwick-Evans et al., 1998).

[0013] In summary, autonomous vehicles free the driver from the driving task; but in order to benefit from this advantage, the driver has to be able to perform other tasks inside the car without feeling sick. The paradigm shift between manual and automated driving opens space for new concepts for vehicles design and occupants packaging, but the current approaches fail to consider solutions to prevent or mitigate motion sickness. As motion sickness symptoms could prevent users from activating the automation or engage in non-driving tasks, new guidelines for mitigating motion sickness in vehicular occupants should be delivered. Finding and developing efficient countermeasures to mitigate carsickness in self-driving cars is also crucial (Smyth et al., 2019).

[0014] So far, a number of medical and behavioural countermeasures have been introduced but with mixed results in mitigating motion sickness. Some of the proposed measures included reducing the sensory conflict by presenting visual motion information that is congruent with the vehicle's motion (Iskander et al., 2019). Nevertheless, countermeasures for self-driving cars should leave the passenger available to execute other tasks. For instance, it would be ideal if they do not require the passenger's attention or the passenger to be looking at a visual display. On the other hand, these should be non-intrusive, comfortable, and hands-free solutions.

[0015] Fragrance or aromatic systems for vehicles or home applications also exist (US9585981B2, US20190160195A1, US6655604B2); these provide aromas that can elicit emotional feelings or a pleasure environment, not fragrances aiming to mitigate motion sickness. There are also air conditioning systems that can provide fragrances (EP1439083A2) but, again, these are not aromas to mitigate or prevent motion sickness.

[0016] The present disclosure comprises an airflow system that sprays an aromatic scent intended to mitigate motion sickness symptoms. In particular, this airflow system can be seen as the first airflow system specifically designed to mitigate motion sickness inside the car.

[0017] Autonomous cars are the future of the automotive industry. Nevertheless, and despite the obvious advantages of self-driving cars - occupants are free from the driving task and the car becomes an office, a social or an entertainment place; in short, a third living space -, there are still some important challenges. The main one is that these new scenarios in autonomous cars would very likely increase occupants' levels of motion sickness inside the car.

[0018] It is intended to achieve this by using air pockets placed on back and side of the car seat that inflate in order to compensate sudden postural changes of the driving context. By inflating, these air pockets can reduce or help passengers keeping their postural control resulting in more postural stability and less motion sickness. [0019] Olfaction might be an appropriate response since it is simple, and does not interfere with other activities for self-driving cars. Therefore, aromatic airflow seems a promising solution to mitigate motion sickness in autonomous driving.

[0020] In respect of the aromatic air-flow device it is noted that the symptom of nausea, that characterizes motion sickness, is commonly linked to the experience of certain odours, and people suffering from motion sickness often report that some odours can ease nausea symptoms. Despite this, the number of studies approaching olfaction or an aromatic airflow as a solution to mitigate motion sickness is very scarce (Keshavarz et al., 2015). The simple use of cool air blow and ventilation is proved to be beneficial for motion sickness (D'Amour et al., 2017; Diels & Bos, 2016; Iskander et al., 2019). There is also evidence that continuous inhaled essential oils reduce nausea and morning sickness during pregnancy (Ferruggiari et al., 2012). More recently, Keshavarz et al. (2015) reported that the rose scent also significantly reduced the severity of visually induced motion sickness.

[0021] A principle behind the present disclosure is that we can reduce or mitigate motion sickness in autonomous driving by reducing the passengers' postural instability in accelerations, braking or cornering driving contexts.

[0022] In respect of the air inflatable pockets for car seats, it is noted that motion sickness can be caused by many different externally induced movements of the body, nevertheless, low frequency translational motion is a crucial trigger (Diels & Bos, 2016; Griffin, 2012). These motions happen mostly during episodes of repeated acceleration and braking and/or variations of lateral accelerations (Turner & Griffin, 1999). Importantly, these are also situations in which the passengers' postural instability is more evident. Thus, one hypothesis to explain the greater incidence of motion sickness in these situations is that the greater postural instability is what causes motion sickness. A system that is able to compensate the passenger body instability thus increases the postural stability of the passengers while seated helps reduce MS.

[0023] There are major advantages of the present disclosure in relation to similar concepts or inventions, in terms of an aromatic airflow system capable of detecting motion sickness symptoms in passengers and activating its functioning accordingly, and also in terms of an air inflating pocket system capable of responding synchronously with the car movement.

[0024] The air inflating pockets can be included in any seat car interior (in contrast with JP2016203789A); Second, unlike JP2020059349A, this invention is non-intrusive, passengers can simply continue with their activities while the system is on. There are similar solutions configured for car seats but these are not specifically intended to mitigate carsickness and they respond only after the car is already in the middle of the movement. Relative to the airflow device, airflow and car air conditioning systems directed at each passenger exist and are implemented; however, none of these systems were designed or are able to detect and mitigate carsickness.

[0025] It is disclosed a system for mitigating motion sickness for a user in an automotive vehicle comprising an air-flow device and an air inflatable pocket device, the system comprising: a ceiling air outlet to be mounted to the vehicle's air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user, a plurality of car seat air-inflatable pockets to be mounted to a car seat of the vehicle for reducing body sway of the user, and an electronic data processor configured for: receiving indication that the user is showing signs of motion sickness; actuating an air-flow by said air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user through said ceiling air outlet; inflating the air pockets for compensating motions of the vehicle to reduce body sway of the user.

[0026] In an embodiment, the system for mitigating carsickness is functionally coupled to the air conditioning system.

[0027] In an embodiment, the system comprises an air-dispensing support for receiving air from the air conditioning system and to send air to the ceiling air outlet

[0028] In an embodiment, the system comprises a two-axis rotational pivoting button for redirecting air with two degrees of freedom, upon which a central air outlet is mounted for redirecting the air flow air towards the face of the user.

[0029] In an embodiment, said air-flow device further comprises a scent filter for directing a scented air flow to mitigate user motion sickness. [0030] In an embodiment, the system comprises an air-flow disabling button for disabling the air-flow towards the face of the user.

[0031] In an embodiment, the system comprises a pocket air-inflation disabling button for disabling the inflating of the air-inflatable pockets.

[0032] In an embodiment, the system comprises a microphone and speaker for oral communication with the electronic data processor for controlling the actuating of the air-flow by said air conditioner and controlling the inflating of the air pockets.

[0033] In an embodiment, the electronic data processor is further configured for: receiving a voice command; actuating of the air-flow by said air conditioner to respond to the voice command received; inflating of the air pockets respond to the voice command received.

[0034] In an embodiment, the two-axis rotational pivoting button is regulatable manually.

[0035] It is also disclosed a vehicle comprising the system according to any of the previous embodiments.

[0036] In an embodiment, said ceiling air outlet is mounted in the ceiling of said vehicle.

[0037] In an embodiment, said car seat air-inflatable pockets are mounted to the car seat of the vehicle.

[0038] It is also disclosed a method of operating a system according to any of the embodiments, comprising using said electronic data processor for: receiving indication that the user is showing signs of motion sickness; receiving indication of a prediction of the vehicle's direction of movement; actuating an air-flow by said air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user through said ceiling air outlet; inflating the air pockets for compensating motions of the vehicle to reduce predicted body sway of the user from the predicted vehicle's direction of movement.

[0039] In an embodiment, said electronic data processor is further configured for: receiving a voice command; actuating of the air-flow by said air conditioner to respond to the voice command received; inflating of the air pockets respond to the voice command received.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0040] The following figures provide preferred embodiments for illustrating the description and should not be seen as limiting the scope of disclosure.

[0041] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of a redirect the flow towards the passenger's face.

[0042] Figure 2 shows a schematic representation of an embodiment of the proposed system.

[0043] Figure 3 presents a schematic representation of details of an embodiment for performing an aromatic air flow to mitigate carsickness.

[0044] Figure 4 presents a schematic representation of an embodiment of the functionality of the car seat air inflating pockets.

[0045] Figure 5 presents a schematic representation of an embodiment of the operability of the car seat air inflating pockets.

[0046] Figure 6 presents a schematic representation of a flowchart of the car seat air inflating pockets.

Detailed Description

[0047] The proposed system is designed to monitor the passenger 1 and detect symptoms of motions sickness. Airflow with a specific scent is used in order to mitigate the symptoms. Sets of air vent devices are mounted above each seat 2 on the car's ceiling 3. The devices receive air 4 from the air conditioner system of the car 5 and redirect the flow 6 towards the passenger's face. If the device is aimed too high, the passenger is able to regulate the height 7 of the flow. Passengers can stop the airflow with the press of a button if desired 8. They can also turn off the scent and keep the airflow with another button 9. Turning off scent and/or airflow can also be done by voice control trough a speaker 10. Passengers can regulate the flow's intensity manually 11 in case they feel too much intensity. The mouth of the air vent can be manually manipulated by the passenger over 3 degrees of freedom pitch 7, yaw 11 and roll 12. A scent filter 14 is inserted in the device, and the airflow can be controlled in order to flow through the filter 15 in order to flow scented air, or avoid it 16 in order to flow normal air.

[0048] The air inflating pocket system intends to reduce the body-sway of passengers and consequently prevent symptoms of motion sickness. This system was conceived to be used in road vehicles, in particular in self-driving cars. It comprises a set of air pockets, installed on the seat wings, as well as on the seat back. The air pockets inflate at the same time as the vehicle curve sharply, in order to reduce passenger's body sway and increase postural stability and comfort. For that, on left curves, the passengers' body moves to the right thus the pockets located on the right side of the seat inflate. The same happens in case of a right curve, the passengers' body moves to the left thus left pockets inflate; finally, in case of braking, both right at left pockets inflate.

[0049] One of the main components of the disclosed system is its synchronous activation with the movement of the car. The existence of an autonomous driving system allows the prediction of the most pronounced movements to be performed by the car, thus a Motion Sickness calculator, identifies the future movements of the car that are most likely to cause MS in passengers and automatically activates this compensation system. Consequently, the air inflating pockets system can be activated in a timely manner, so that insufflation begins at the very beginning of the car's movement. This synchrony is expected to minimize the passenger's movements and postural instability when the vehicle makes tighter turn.

[0050] Another disclosed component is the system ability to detect motion sickness and activate accordingly.

[0051] There is also a manual interface that passengers can use to: turn on or off the MS calculator. [0052] In an embodiment of the present disclosure can ease the sensation of motion sickness during travel because: it allows to maintain postural stability; it promotes a comfortable environment by reducing excessive movements of the passenger's body; it might reduce the sensory conflict between the visual and the vestibular system thought to be the cause of motion sickness in self-driving cars (D'Amour et al., 2017).

[0053] This embodiment comprises a seat (1) that is equipped with air inflating pockets located both on the right (2) and left (3) side of the seat and on the seat back - see Figure 4. These pockets inflate in order to compensate sharp motions of the vehicle thus they are able to reduce the passengers' body sway. For that, on left curves (4), the passengers' body moves to the right (5) thus the pockets located on the right side of the seat inflate (6) - see Figure 5. The same happens in case of a right curve, the passengers' body moves to the left thus left pockets inflate; finally, in case of braking, both right at left pockets inflate. This system can be activated only in case of a winding road or when it detects motion sickness symptoms; it can also be turned on and off manually by the passenger - see Figure 6.

[0054] It was designed an experiment to study the role of an aromatic airflow in reducing visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). We tested subjects in a driving simulator and not in a real driving context. To induce VIMS, participants viewed a first- person video of a 15 min car-driving scene in an urban scenario. The video is highly dynamic and is intended to induce VIMS. After the first 5 min of the video, participants were exposed to one of the following conditions: (1) pleasant aromatic airflow (an airflow with the aroma of citrus, indented to reduce MS, is dispersed during the following lOmin of the video); and (2) baseline (participants watch the 15min video without any airflow).

[0055] During the procedure, and to capture participants' subjective level of motion sickness, we used the Fast Motion Sickness Scale (FMS) (Keshavarz & Hecht, 2011). In this questionnaire, participants are asked to evaluate their sickness on a scale from 0 ("no sickness at all") to 20 ("frank sickness"). [0056] Our preliminary results indicate that, overall participants in the baseline condition suffered from more sickness than participants in the pleasant aroma condition.

[0057] Flow diagrams of particular embodiments of the presently disclosed methods are depicted in figures. The flow diagrams illustrate the functional information one of ordinary skill in the art requires to perform said methods required in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0058] It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that unless otherwise indicated herein, the particular sequence of steps described is illustrative only and can be varied without departing from the disclosure. Thus, unless otherwise stated the steps described are so unordered meaning that, when possible, the steps can be performed in any convenient or desirable order.

[0059] It is to be appreciated that certain embodiments of the disclosure as described herein may be incorporated as code (e.g., a software algorithm or program) residing in firmware and/or on computer useable medium having control logic for enabling execution on a computer system having a computer processor, such as any of the servers described herein. Such a computer system typically includes memory storage configured to provide output from execution of the code which configures a processor in accordance with the execution. The code can be arranged as firmware or software, and can be organized as a set of modules, including the various modules and algorithms described herein, such as discrete code modules, function calls, procedure calls or objects in an object-oriented programming environment. If implemented using modules, the code can comprise a single module or a plurality of modules that operate in cooperation with one another to configure the machine in which it is executed to perform the associated functions, as described herein.

[0060] The term "comprising" whenever used in this document is intended to indicate presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof, but not to preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. [0061] The disclosure should not be seen in any way restricted to the embodiments described and a person with ordinary skill in the art will foresee many possibilities to modifications thereof. The above-described embodiments are combinable. The following claims further set out particular embodiments of the disclosure.

[0062] References

[1] D'Amour, S., Bos, J. E., & Keshavarz, B. (2017). The efficacy of airflow and seat vibration on reducing visually induced motion sickness. Experimental Brain Research, 235(9), 2811-2820.

[2] Diels, C., & Bos, J. E. (2016). Self-driving carsickness. Applied Ergonomics, 53, 374-382. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.09.009

[3] Iskander, J., Attia, M., Saleh, K., Nahavandi, D., Abobakr, A., Mohamed, S., Asadi, H., Khosravi, A., Lim, C. P., & Hossny, M. (2019). From car sickness to autonomous car sickness: A review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 62, 716-726. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.02.020

[4] Warwick-Evans, L. A., Symons, N., Fitch, T., & Burrows, L. (1998). Evaluating sensory conflict and postural instability. Theories of motion sickness. Brain Research Bulletin, 47(5), 465-469. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0361-

9230(98)00090-2

[5] Smyth, J., Jennings, P., & Birrell, S. (2019). Are You Sitting Comfortably? How Current Self-driving Car Concepts Overlook Motion Sickness, and the Impact It Has on Comfort and Productivity. International Conference on Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics, 387-399.

[6] Bertolini, G., & Straumann, D. (2016). Moving in a moving world: A review on vestibular motion sickness. Frontiers in Neurology, 7(FEB), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2016.00014

[7] D'Amour, S., Bos, J. E., & Keshavarz, B. (2017). The efficacy of airflow and seat vibration on reducing visually induced motion sickness. Experimental Brain Research, 235(9), 2811- 2820. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-017-5009-l [8] Diels, C., & Bos, J. E. (2016). Self-driving carsickness. Applied Ergonomics, 53, 374-382. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.apergo.2015.09.009

[9] Griffin, M. J. (2012). Vibration and Motion. In Gavriel Salvendy (Ed.), Handbook of Human Factors and Ergonomics (4th ed., pp. 616-637). Southampton, England: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1016/0141- 9382(88)90068-6

[10] Iskander, J., Attia, M., Saleh, K., Nahavandi, D., Abobakr, A., Mohamed, S., ... Hossny, M. (2019). From car sickness to autonomous car sickness: A review. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 62, 716-726. https://doi.Org/10.1016/j.trf.2019.02.020

[11] Mansfield, N. J. (2017). Human Response to Vehicle Vibration. In Automotive Ergonomics: Driver-Vehicle

Interaction (CRC Press, pp. 77-95). Loughborough University, UK: Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.Org/https://doi.org/10.1201/bl3017

[12] Smart, Leonard & Stoffregen, Thomas & Bardy, Benoit. (2002). Visually Induced Motion Sickness Predicted by Postural Instability. Human factors. 44. 451-65. 10.1518/0018720024497745.

[13] Turner, M., & Griffin, M. J. (1999). Motion sickness in public road transport: The relative importance of motion, vision and individual differences. British Journal of Psychology, 90(4), 519-530. https://doi.org/10.1348/000712699161594

[14] Warwick-Evans LA, Symons N, Fitch T, Burrows L. Evaluating sensory conflict and postural instability. Theories of motion sickness. Brain Res Bull. 1998 Nov 15;47(5):465-9. doi: 10.1016/s0361-9230(98)00090-2.

PMID:10052575.

Claims

C L A I M S System for mitigating motion sickness for a user in an automotive vehicle comprising an air-flow device and an air inflatable pocket device, the system comprising: a ceiling air outlet (11) to be mounted to the vehicle's air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user, a plurality of car seat air-inflatable pockets to be mounted to a car seat of the vehicle for reducing body sway of the user, and an electronic data processor configured for: receiving indication that the user is showing signs of motion sickness; actuating an air-flow by said air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user through said ceiling air outlet; inflating the air pockets for compensating motions of the vehicle to reduce body sway of the user. System according to the previous claim further comprising an air conditioning system wherein the system for mitigating carsickness is functionally coupled to the air conditioning system. System according to the previous claim comprising an air-dispensing support (4) for receiving air from the air conditioning system and to send air to the ceiling air outlet System according to any of the previous claims comprising a two-axis rotational pivoting button for redirecting air with two degrees of freedom, upon which a central air outlet (11) is mounted for redirecting the air flow air towards the face of the user. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein said air-flow device further comprises a scent filter for directing a scented air flow to mitigate user motion sickness. System according to any of the previous claims, comprising an air-flow disabling button for disabling the air-flow towards the face of the user. System according to any of the previous claims comprising a pocket air-inflation disabling button for disabling the inflating of the air-inflatable pockets. System according to any of the previous claims comprising a microphone and speaker for oral communication with the electronic data processor for controlling the actuating of the air-flow by said air conditioner and controlling the inflating of the air pockets. System according to any of the previous claims, wherein the electronic data processor is further configured for: receiving a voice command; actuating of the air-flow by said air conditioner to respond to the voice command received; inflating of the air pockets respond to the voice command received. System according to any of the previous claims wherein the two-axis rotational pivoting button is regulatable manually. Vehicle comprising the system according to any of the previous claims. Vehicle according to the previous claim, wherein said ceiling air outlet (11) is mounted in the ceiling of said vehicle. Vehicle according to the previous claim, wherein said car seat air-inflatable pockets are mounted to the car seat of the vehicle. Method of operating a system according to any of the claims 1-10, comprising using said electronic data processor for: receiving indication that the user is showing signs of motion sickness; receiving indication of a prediction of the vehicle's direction of movement; actuating an air-flow by said air conditioner for directing an air-flow towards the face of said user through said ceiling air outlet; inflating the air pockets for compensating motions of the vehicle to reduce predicted body sway of the user from the predicted vehicle's direction of movement. Method of operating a system according to the previous claim, wherein said electronic data processor is further configured for: receiving a voice command; actuating of the air-flow by said air conditioner to respond to the voice command received; inflating of the air pockets respond to the voice command received.

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