WO2006120542A1

WO2006120542A1 - Vehicle or aircraft seat system

Info

Publication number: WO2006120542A1
Application number: PCT/IB2006/001196
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sonja Bissbort; Pedro Mi-Plaza
Original assignee: Sonja Bissbort; Pedro Mi-Plaza
Priority date: 2005-05-12
Filing date: 2006-04-27
Publication date: 2006-11-16
Also published as: DE102005022818A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system for motor vehicle seats, in particular car seats, seat arrangement and/or control being based on objective medical findings and tailored to the individual user. Novel modular combinations of technical systems which are often already available in vehicles lead to novel adjustment, displacement or activation possibilities of seats or other systems of importance for the comfort, health or safety of the driver or other vehicle occupants. The essential principle consists in that a motor-controllable or motor-adjustable vehicle seat, an input device or module with an exchangeable memory, an on-board computer connected to the input device and to the vehicle seat control unit, and a computer program which controls the on-board computer form a system in which the programme-controlled computer controls the vehicle seat or other systems depending on data and instructions received via the input module or other modules.

Description

Vehicle or airplane seat system

DESCRIPTION

Field of the invention

The present invention relates to a system for vehicle and aircraft seats, in particular car seats, wherein the device and / or control of the seat on the one hand on the basis of objective medical knowledge takes place, on the other hand tailored to the individual user. As a result, (1) typical long-term damage to vehicle drivers or pilots and possibly other occupants is avoided, (2) fatigue is reduced, and (3) road safety is increased.

Background and prior art Since the beginning of the engine, the driver's or pilot's seat plays a special, often neglected role in the vehicle or FlugΣeugkonstruktion. If, for the sake of simplicity, the term "driver", "vehicle", "vehicle seats" are used below, this shall include the corresponding terms for aviation. However, the present invention is not limited to the driver or pilot's seat, but includes all seats in any vehicle, including those of inmates in any kind of vehicles, including rail vehicles (trains), road vehicles, off-road vehicles for military ode civilian use, aircraft or watercraft. As an example, however, the situation in the automotive sector will be examined below.

In particular, in the automotive industry, the simple coach seat on seating that resembled a sofa and possibly allowed a longitudinal adjustment, as they were until the 1970s, were common to today's more or less well-confluence of individual seats, as at least for the driver - including female drivers, of course - developed; a long way.

For a long time, the comfort of the seat was the decisive criterion for its design, not the special requirements for suspension, damping, lateral support, accident safety, etc., which are specifically to be placed on a vehicle seat. One exception was in some ways seats for sports and racing cars, which at least in terms of lateral guidance, were far superior early on. While sofas still prevailed in the mass-produced car, there were already good individual seats in sports and racing car construction, often called "bucket seats". There were also really individualized seats: racers often towed their own individualized seat insert to the vehicle tailored to him (or her).

The widespread use of electronics in motor vehicles has lately led to quite elaborate, ergonomic seat designs. In the upper car segment electrically adjustable seats are standard today, often they allow an individual seat adjustment via stored user information. Such improvements are, so to speak, passive, i. they require a presetting, save them and give them back to query, which can also be automated. In most cases, they also affect only the seat adjustment, this distance from the pedals and the steering wheel, seat height, backrest tilt and possibly adjustment of the headrest concerns.

However, active seating systems have also been proposed. Thus, DE 40 22 423 A1 of Nissan Motor Co. relates to a seat with a device for preventing fatigue, in which the air pressure is measured by a plurality of air cushions provided in the seat, from which changes in air pressure are made to the fatigue of the driver and, if so determined, By rhythmically inflating and releasing the pressure in a lumbar support cushion, the driver is massaged, which is said to reduce fatigue.

EP 1 149 729 of the Faurecia Sieges d'automobile in France proposes a "massage seat" in which oscillating movements of the seat are produced by mechanical crankshafts, whereby an automatic, preparatory positioning process takes place as soon as a person sits down on the seat. For this purpose, pressure sensors are provided in the seat, the pressure values of which can be stored in separate storage means.

In Katoh et al. U.S. Patent No. 5,320,409 to Nissan Motor Co. discloses a vehicle seat having a plurality of airbag actuators that are inflated by a compressor in a predetermined pattern, which pattern varies in response to sensors for speed and road condition becomes.

Finally, Kishi et al. US Patent a vehicle seat described in which the inflatable air chambers provided with seat and back surfaces computer-controlled depending on the weight of the user - overweight, normal or slim - to be inflated to reduce the fatigue of the user.

However, all these solutions lack certain properties. First, they are not "upgradeable", ie new medical or ergonomic insights arising after the construction of the seat do not exist, even if the design and variability of the seat would permit this. Second, the user can usually customize the seat or seats to his needs only as part of the vehicle owner's manual. Such operating instructions are always linguistically and technically well-adapted to broad sections of the population and can therefore ne individually optimal solutions result. Third, nowhere in the art is combinability with telematics data suggested, such as the input and processing of heart rate / pulse, blood glucose via a steering wheel system, or the incorporation or consideration of updates or modifications that are individualized, for example, by a team of medical experts ,

On the other hand, more and more people are suffering from back problems and other postural problems. In Germany alone, around 70% of the population deals with their backs at least once a year; other countries have similar numbers. The follow-up costs amount to several billion euros per year in Germany alone.

It can not be denied that one of the causes of these problems is the car, as more and more people spend more and more time sitting in the car. Not only professional drivers, such as taxi or truck drivers, are meant here, but also commuters, sales representatives or suppliers. Also the normal holiday trip is part of it. The currently available car seats or seating systems solve only a small part of the problems, if any. This is where the present invention comes in by proposing a comprehensive and integrated vehicle seat system that not only allows for individualized seat adjustment, but also allows new medical or ergonomic insights to be applied and used for well-being and road safety. Furthermore, by entering telematics-medical parameters such as blood sugar, heart rate or blood pressure, the seat system, whether in the airplane, car or train, can be activated so that a holistic solution in the sense of a philanthropic technology is achieved. The invention

Roughly speaking, the invention consists of a novel, modular combination of per se known technologies, whereby the technical equipment already present in vehicles is often linked and used in a novel way. Furthermore, novel adjustment, Verstell, or activation possibilities of the seats or other facilities that are important for the driver or other vehicle occupants for convenience, health or driving safety, in the inventive here is missing a part of the sentence

The principle consists essentially in that

• a motor-controllable or adjustable vehicle seat built according to the latest ergonomic and medical findings, • an input device or module with a removable storage,

An on-board computer connected to both the input device and the vehicle seat control, and

A computer program that controls this on-board computer to form a system such that the computer programmatically controls the vehicle seat in dependence on the data and instructions received via the input device.

In addition, vehicle data such as travel time, driving speed, load, road condition, and / or driver data such as weight, heart rate, eye movement, visible signs of fatigue and / or external or

Weather conditions such as day / night, rain, fog, etc. are detected and processed and the vehicle seat depending on these external factors each optimally set or activated. Furthermore, a manual influence of the driver is provided, ie he / she must be able to turn off certain automatisms.

The memory of the on-board computer records the activities performed, these can be evaluated and used to improve or modify the computer program. Transferred to the removable storage, this activity data can be collected for external evaluation and -. vehicle specific - examined, compared, or otherwise processed.

Details of the invention can be taken from the following description of an embodiment and the claims.

Short description of the drawings

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is described in detail below with reference to drawings. On the drawings shows:

Fig. 1 shows a first, relatively simple embodiment of

Invention;

Fig. 2 shows a second, more complex embodiment of

Invention;

Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of the invention with a

Input of external influencing factors; and

Fig. 4 shows a fourth embodiment of the invention with a wireless telematics connection. Descriptions of Ausführunpsbeispiele

Fig. 1 shows a first, relatively simple embodiment of the invention. An on-board computer with a stored program receives external inputs via an input module, which can be, for example, a floppy disk station, a wireless Bluetooth connection, an infrared connection or a CD-ROM input, the latter being located in a mostly existing car radio or a navigation device can be integrated. This input can also be made as a remote input via a GSM channel or a hotspot of a W-LAN. It is not difficult for the person skilled in the art to implement these and / or possibly further input options.

As input data are primarily provided:

• seat type with adjustment and activation options;

• personal data and / or preferences of the driver or driver.

As further input data are optionally provided:

• predetermined and other fixed vehicle data

• Use data of the vehicle or aircraft, e.g. as a taxi, for long-haul routes, deliveries (postal services), road patrol, traffic surveillance from the air, etc.

• updates and modifications of the stored control program,

• manual inputs by the driver (s) or other occupants to customize the program.

The goal is a "philanthropic" activation and mobilization system based on evidence-based medicine (EBM), which consists of innovative seating technology and tailor-made, customizable and updatable Driver Assistence technology that damages health (such as back pain and the like). relieves and, in the ideal case, even prevents and at the same time increases traffic safety. About systems like GPS and / or Galileo, the data can be automatically transferred via sensor to the online central office, evaluated there and incorporated in updates, and thus benefit the person "on the spot". People who are already in physiotherapeutic, physiotherapeutic or orthopedic treatment can carry out the gymnastic or therapeutic measures "on the way" while driving / sitting in the car, train or plane. In the literal sense of the word, you will experience holistic, all-round seating technology for the continuous improvement of your well-being.

The computer provided is preferably an in-vehicle on-board computer, as it is already provided by many vehicle manufacturers already for a variety of functions. Such a more or less standardized computer with a suitable operating system processes the entered data according to the stored program and, if necessary, manually entered modification data and controls the activation devices of the vehicle seat (s).

Entries such as speed, road condition, damping adjustment in vehicles with adjustable suspension / damping, vehicle load, etc. These are variable vehicle data in contrast to the fixed vehicle data over the input module be supplied to the processing. This vehicle module is not a necessary component of the entire system, but can also be omitted. This is especially true for low-cost vehicles, or for vehicles where the system has been retrofitted.

The activation devices, simply represented in FIG. 1 as the module "seat control", can consist of air cushions in the seat with corresponding lines and valves and a compressor, ie substantially an arrangement as already described in connection with the prior art above. Of course, if necessary, other actuating devices, such as electric motors for seat adjustment and / or electro-pneumatic or electro-hydraulic activation devices of various types, may also be used.

While Fig. 1 - with the exception of ds vehicle module - so to speak, the minimum arrangement for the inventive system, an expanded embodiment of the invention is shown in Fig. 2. The enhancements consist mainly in the intended feedback from or to the various modules, resulting in completely new design possibilities for the system functions. The feedback option is indicated by the double arrows between the modules. It should be understood that not all modules need to be bidirectional, but that the system may be designed so that only one or two modules provide feedback to the program.

The input module has mutated to the input / output module. Now can be read via a removable data storage device, such as a floppy disk, a CD-ROM described, or via a wireless connection via Bluetooth or W-LAN, recordings of the computer program and processed externally. On the one hand, the read-out data can be used to improve the program, but on the other hand, they can also be used to improve the vehicle by, for example, evaluating the influence of suspension and damping characteristics on the driving ability or fatigue of the driver or drivers. Another possibility is to pass read data as information to a team of medical experts and to use these data collected under stress to confirm or optimize an existing or to be developed therapy. The module for seat control, which previously only executed commands from the computer, has now become the input unit for the computer or the program. By means of sensors mounted on or in the seat data of the driver or passengers can be passed on. These data may relate directly to symptoms of fatigue, discomfort or postural problems, or may directly convey medical data such as blood pressure, pulse rate or sweating.

The module "vehicle" now contains, in addition to the sensors that previously reported vehicle data to the computer, active elements which, for example, adjust the suspension characteristic or damping characteristic and thus contribute to driving comfort corresponding to the road condition or the desire of the driver or occupant. This can be e.g. by evaluating the spring movements, the rolling or pitching movements of the body, determine positive or negative accelerations or the hardness of the brake application by the driver. Also, an automatic speed limit can be made when, for example, we find driver fatigue or the road speed or road speed is too high.

Fig. 3 shows a modification of the invention with another module, designated "Weather / Road". Since it has not yet been possible to significantly influence the weather, this module is alone suitable to provide external data to the computer, which in turn can be evaluated for vehicle or seat control. Here, for example, weather phenomena such as rain, snow or fog can be converted directly into corresponding actions that affect the vehicle seat or seats or influence the vehicle control. The same applies to the road condition, whereby wet, snow-covered or even icy road surfaces can be evaluated or a bad condition the road or a modified road surface, eg an unpaved road represent examples.

An extension can also be arranged outside the seat sensors for monitoring the driver, in particular for the detection of fatigue, these sensors are also connected to the computer and programmatically can serve to activate the seat and / or influencing the vehicle control. Such sensors may e.g. be housed in the rearview mirror and control the eye movements of the driver.

Another extension may include additional devices for adjusting the operating devices of a vehicle, in particular the steering wheel adjustment in motor vehicles, these additional devices may be designed as computer programmable electromotive and / or electropneumatic and / or electro-hydraulic activators.

Finally, FIG. 4 shows an extension of the invention with a pair of telematics modules which are distinguished by the designation "external" and "inter". The internal telematics module is located in or on the vehicle and is connected to the computer. The external telematics module can be located as a fixed station at any point but can be reached by radio. This can be done via a wireless network, eg GPRS. Several operating options are provided. In one-sided operation, data determined by the computer are transmitted wirelessly to the external module, processed there and corresponding program updates are created, which are developed, for example, by a medical expert team. By means of storage medium, this update is then supplied to the input module or it can be entered via one of the above-mentioned methods, eg via Bluetooth. If a two-way connection exists, so can If you also send the external module to the internal one, such updates can be immediately imported, which means that virtually instant updates can be achieved. In addition, it is also possible to make settings and / or activations, which were determined directly from the data sent wirelessly to the external telematics module. In other words, a "real-time" setting / activation of the seat or seats is possible. As can easily be seen, this opens up unusual and novel possibilities that can be implemented by the skilled person as needed without great difficulty.

There are apparently a variety of other modifications that can be determined and implemented by those skilled in the art without inventive step; The following claims are also intended to cover these non-inventive modifications.

Claims

1. System for vehicle, train and aircraft seats, in particular car seats, with a motor-activated seat and a control device for the seat activation characterized by

An input device or module for data and instructions, preferably with a removable memory,

A computer connected to both the input device and the seat activation control, and

A computer program controlling computer program, wherein at least the seat is controlled in dependence on the data and instructions received via the input device.

The system of claim 1, further characterized by sensors mounted in or on the seat particularly for sensing user data or seat load data, which sensors are connected to the computer for feedback to the same.

3. System according to claim 1 or 2, further characterized by a vehicle module with sensors or other means for receiving variable vehicle characteristics or data, in particular speed, suspension course as an indication of the road condition, vehicle load, rolling or pitching movements of the structure, positive or negative acceleration Payments that are determined and routed to the computer for processing.

4. System according to claim 3, characterized in that the vehicle module contains active elements that can be controlled by the computer and in particular an influencing the Fahrzeugfede- tion and / or damping and / or a forced speed limit.

5. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the input module is additionally set up for outputting data, in particular as a diskette station and / or CD-ROM read / write or as a wireless transceiver station, in particular Bluetooth or infrared station or a Receiver is designed for GSM or W-LANs.

6. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, further characterized by a module for receiving external data, in particular weather and / or street ssensandsdaten, which is also connected to the computer and the data supplied serve to activate the seat and / or driving - influence tool control.

7. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, further characterized by outside of the seat, in particular on a control device, arranged sensors for monitoring the driver, in particular for detecting fatigue, said sensors are also connected to the computer and programmatically to activate the seat serve and / or influence the vehicle control.

8. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the input module is designed as a floppy disk station and / or CD-ROM reader or as a wireless input station, in particular Bluetooth or infrared station or a receiver for GSM or W-LANs.

9. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the seat activating devices are designed as controlled inflatable air cushion and / or electromotive and / or electro-pneumatic and / or electro-hydraulic activation devices.

10. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, further characterized by

Devices for the adjustment of the operating devices of the vehicle, in particular the steering wheel adjustment in motor vehicles, said additional borrowed devices being designed as program-controlled by the computer electromotive and / or electropneumatic and / or electro-hydraulic activators.

11. System according to at least one of the preceding claims, further characterized by a device for the wireless transmission from the vehicle to an external, not in or on the vehicle located receiver, for example a telematics transmission, of medical and / or physiological parameters, in particular blood sugar , Heart rate and / or blood pressure, for evaluation.

12. System according to claim, further characterized by a device for the wireless transmission from an external, not in or on the vehicle located transmitter on a in or on the vehicle lent receiver, in particular telematics transmission of setting or activation data or programs for Setting or activation of the seat system.