Apparatus and method for controlling child safety measures of vehicle

Abstract

A device for controlling a child safety measure of a vehicle (102) comprises at least one camera (134) of the vehicle (102), which camera is configured to detect at least one mapped image (200, 300) of a region with a vehicle interior and to generate image data corresponding to the image (200, 300). The apparatus further comprises a control unit (136) configured for processing the image data, determining, based on the image data, whether an occupant manipulates a central locking device of the vehicle (102), determining, based on the image data, whether the occupant of the vehicle (102) is a person (206, 302) in need of protection or an adult, and determining, based on the image data, whether the occupant of the vehicle (102) is a person (206, 302) in need of protection. And implement a child safety function when the control unit (136) has determined that the occupant operating the central locking device is a person (206, 302) in need of protection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for controlling child safety measures of a vehicle. The present invention also relates to a method for controlling child safety measures of a vehicle. Background Art

[0002] Document EP3621049A1 discloses a system for operating a vehicle. The system is configured to prevent the vehicle from being locked when the passenger seat is occupied and the vehicle driver's seat is not occupied.

[0003] Document US2015 / 084759A1 discloses a system for notifying a vehicle driver. The system is configured to notify the vehicle driver when a child or pet is left in the vehicle.

[0004] Document US6922622B2 discloses another system for operating a vehicle. The system is configured to notify the vehicle driver of the vehicle and control the air conditioning function of the vehicle when an unattended child is in the vehicle.

[0005] The central locking device of a vehicle usually has operating elements, such as buttons or remote controls in the vehicle interior, which can be easily operated by children. As a result, a situation can quickly arise in which a child accidentally locks himself or herself in the vehicle. For example, when a guardian briefly leaves the vehicle interior to help a child out of a child seat. If the key for the vehicle or the remote control for the central locking device is still in the vehicle interior, the child is first locked out. This is an unpleasant situation for both the child and the guardian. In addition, vehicles can heat up very quickly on sunny days. This can lead to life-threatening situations, especially for children who are locked in the vehicle. Therefore, it is necessary for parents to prevent children from locking themselves in the vehicle. Summary of the invention

[0006] Starting from the known prior art, the object of the present invention is therefore to specify a device and a method for controlling child-proofing measures in a vehicle which increase the safety of persons who need protection in the vehicle interior.

[0007] This object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1 and by a method having the features of the independent method claim. Advantageous developments are specified in the dependent claims.

[0008] The proposed device for controlling child safety measures of a vehicle comprises at least one camera of the vehicle, the camera being configured to detect at least one image with a mapping of an area of ​​the vehicle interior and to generate image data corresponding to the image. The device further comprises a control unit configured to process the image data, determine based on the image data whether an occupant has manipulated a central locking device of the vehicle, determine based on the image data whether an occupant of the vehicle is a person who needs protection, and implement a child safety function when the control unit has determined that the occupant who has manipulated the central locking device is a person who needs protection.

[0009] In the present application, "persons in need of protection" are mainly understood to be children, especially young children. However, adults who are physically or mentally impaired, for example due to old age or illness, can also be persons in need of protection.

[0010] The proposed device identifies whether an occupant who is operating a central locking device of a vehicle is a person who needs protection.

[0011] To this end, the control unit first determines whether the central locking device has been manipulated. For example, the control unit can be configured to determine whether a locking instruction for the central locking device has been given because the operating element of the central locking device has been manipulated. Then, the control unit first determines the occupant who has manipulated the central locking device in the image of the vehicle interior space detected by the camera, and whether the occupant is a person who needs protection. If the device recognizes that the person who needs protection is manipulating the central locking device, the control unit implements the child safety function. The child safety function prevents the person who needs protection from being accidentally locked in the vehicle and / or prevents the locked person who needs protection from being injured. An example of a child safety function is described as an embodiment of the present invention. Through the child safety function, the person who needs protection is protected, thereby improving the safety of the person who needs protection in the vehicle interior space.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the control unit is designed to prevent the actuation of the central locking device as a child safety function if the control unit has determined that the occupant actuating the central locking device is a person who needs protection. In this embodiment, the device prevents the person who needs protection from locking himself in the vehicle interior in a targeted manner. However, it is still possible to lock the vehicle in a targeted manner, for example by a guardian. This further increases the safety of the person who needs protection and at the same time increases user friendliness.

[0013] In another embodiment, the control unit is configured to control the vehicle's air conditioning function and / or operate the vehicle's window lifters as a child safety function to supply the vehicle interior with outside air when the control unit has determined that the occupant who has operated the central locking device is a person who needs protection. In particular, the control unit is configured to control the vehicle's air conditioning function in such a way that the temperature in the vehicle interior does not exceed a specific limit value. In this embodiment, the device prevents the vehicle interior from heating up when the person who needs protection is locked in the vehicle interior. This prevents the locked person who needs protection from sometimes suffering from serious health damage, such as heat stroke or worse. This also improves the safety of the person who needs protection in the vehicle interior.

[0014] The control unit can be designed in particular to prevent manipulation of the central locking device as a child safety function in a first operating mode and to control an air conditioning function of the vehicle and / or to manipulate a window regulator of the vehicle as a child safety function in a second operating mode. In particular, the control unit is designed so that a user can select between the first operating mode and the second operating mode.

[0015] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is configured to output a warning notification as a child safety function when the control unit has determined that the occupant who has operated the central locking device is a person who needs protection. Through the warning notification, the guardian of the person who needs protection, in particular the vehicle driver and / or guardian, such as a parent, is warned that the person who needs protection is locked in the vehicle. This prevents the person who needs protection from being accidentally left in the vehicle. Since the guardian receives the warning immediately, the time that the person who needs protection is locked in the vehicle is also shortened. In this embodiment, the control unit can also be configured to delay the locking of the vehicle for a predetermined time when the control unit has determined that the occupant who has operated the central locking device is a person who needs protection. The predetermined time is especially between 5 seconds and 25 seconds, preferably 10 seconds. This gives the guardian enough time to react to the warning notification.

[0016] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is configured to output a warning notification to a mobile terminal device. Preferably, the warning notification is output to a mobile phone, for example, by means of a communication module of the control unit. For this purpose, for example, contact data of the vehicle driver and / or the owner can be stored in a storage area of ​​the control unit. Thus, even if the guardian of the person who needs protection is not near the vehicle, the guardian of the person who needs protection can also be informed of the warning notification.

[0017] In particular, the control unit can also be configured to receive control commands from the mobile terminal as a response to the warning notification. For example, the control unit can receive control commands for unlocking the central locking device, for activating the vehicle air conditioning function and / or for operating the window lifter of the vehicle from the mobile terminal.

[0018] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is configured to determine whether there is at least one other occupant in the vehicle interior based on the image data, determine whether the other occupant is an adult based on the image data, and activate the child safety function only when the control unit has determined that there are no other occupants in the vehicle interior or the other occupants are also persons who need protection, when the control unit has determined that the occupant who has operated the central locking device is a person who needs protection. In this embodiment, the control unit checks whether there is an adult guardian accompanying the person who needs protection in the vehicle interior. The control unit activates the child safety function only when there is no adult guardian in the vehicle interior. This prevents the child safety function from being accidentally activated. This improves the user-friendliness of the device.

[0019] In another preferred embodiment, the device includes a sensor of the vehicle, which is configured to detect a remote control of a central locking device in the interior of the vehicle and generate sensor data corresponding to the detection. The control unit can be configured to process the sensor data, determine based on the sensor data whether the remote control of the central locking device is arranged in the interior of the vehicle; determine whether the command for operating the central locking device is implemented by the remote control, and activate the child safety function when the control unit has determined that the remote control of the central locking device is arranged in the interior of the vehicle and the command for operating the central locking device is implemented by the remote control. The sensor is in particular an ultra-wideband sensor (UWB sensor). Alternatively, the device includes a plurality of sensors, which are arranged at different positions in the interior of the vehicle and are respectively configured to detect radio signals emitted from the remote control, so that the position of the remote control can be determined by triangulation, for example, by the control unit. The remote control is in particular a key of the vehicle, which has an operating element for controlling the central locking device. Alternatively, the remote control can also be a mobile terminal device, on which an application can be implemented, with the help of which the vehicle can be locked and unlocked. Without the remote control, it may be difficult for the guardian to open the locked vehicle again. In this embodiment, the device thus prevents the person in need of protection from being able to operate the remote control in the vehicle interior when the person in need of protection is unattended, otherwise both the person in need of protection and the remote control would be locked in the vehicle interior, thus further improving the safety of the person in need of protection.

[0020] In another preferred embodiment, the camera is configured to detect a plurality of images that follow one another in time and that include a mapping of the region of the vehicle interior and to generate image data corresponding to the images. The control unit can be configured to determine the movement of the occupant based on the image data and to determine, based on the determined movement, whether the occupant is operating the vehicle's central locking device. In this embodiment, the camera detects an image sequence or a video sequence. From this sequence, the movements of the occupant, for example with his hand, can be better identified. In order to operate the central locking device, the occupant must perform a specific movement. For example, the occupant must operate an operating element for the central locking device, such as a button. Such movements can be extracted from the sequence, for example, using a suitable machine learning method. Therefore, it is possible to determine particularly reliably which occupant is operating the central locking device.

[0021] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is designed to determine the position of at least one operating element of the central locking device, determine the position of at least one arm of the occupant and the hand position of the hand of the arm based on the image data, and determine that the occupant has operated the central locking device of the vehicle when the hand position coincides with the position of the operating element of the central locking device. The operating element is, for example, a button, which can be arranged on the inside of the door or on the center console. If the hand position of the occupant coincides with the position of the operating panel during the issuance of the command for locking the central locking device, it can be concluded that the occupant has issued the command. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine very reliably which occupant has operated the central locking device.

[0022] In another preferred embodiment, the position of the operating element of the central locking device is stored in a memory area of ​​the control unit. In this embodiment, the control unit determines the position of the operating element in such a way that the control unit reads the position from the memory area. This is particularly advantageous when the position of the operating element in the vehicle interior is fixed, for example when the operating element is a button that is fixedly arranged in the vehicle interior.

[0023] In another preferred embodiment, the device comprises a sensor of the vehicle or the sensor, which is designed to detect the position of a remote control of the central locking system or the remote control in the vehicle interior and to generate position data corresponding to the position. The control unit is designed to process the position data and to determine the position of the operating element of the central locking system based on the position data. In this embodiment, the control unit determines the position of the operating element with the aid of the sensor. This makes it possible to determine the position of the operating element very accurately.

[0024] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is designed to determine the position of an operating element of the central locking system based on the image data. This is advantageous in particular when the operating element is not arranged in a fixed position in the vehicle interior, for example when the operating element is a vehicle key with a remote control for the central locking system. The position of the operating element can then be determined very precisely from the image data.

[0025] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is configured to determine the position of the arm and / or the hand based on the image data and using a human posture estimation method. By means of the human posture estimation method, the position of the arm is reliably determined as a three-dimensional vector from the two-dimensional image of the camera. In particular, the hand position can be determined even if it is not visible in the image. Thus, in the present case, the control unit can reliably determine whether the hand position corresponds to the position of the operating element of the central locking device even if the position of the operating element is not visible on the image. If the camera is configured to detect a plurality of images that follow one another in time, the hand position can also be tracked with the aid of the human posture estimation method. In particular, even if the hand is not visible for a short time in the image detected by the camera, the movement of the hand position in the interior of the vehicle can continue to be tracked. As a result, even if the position of the operating element is not visible on the image, it is possible to reliably determine which occupant is operating the operating element.

[0026] In another preferred embodiment, the control unit is configured to determine whether the occupant is a person in need of protection based on the image data and using a machine learning method. In particular, the machine learning method is an age classification method. Alternatively or additionally, the size of the occupant can also be determined by means of a human posture estimation method. Then, for example, the occupant can be classified as a child or an adult based on the size of the occupant. In order to make the classification of the occupant more reliable, additional features can be extracted from the image of the camera. For example, it can be determined by means of a suitable machine learning method whether the occupant is sitting in a child seat or the like, or the age of the occupant can be inferred from the occupant's clothing style. In addition to the image data, the control unit can also use sensor data of other sensors arranged in the interior of the vehicle, in particular ultra-wideband sensors (UWB sensors), in order to make the classification of the occupant more reliable. For example, the breathing rate and pulse of the occupant can be determined very accurately with the help of an ultra-wideband sensor. Using this information, the occupant can be classified more accurately. In addition, the occupant in the interior of the vehicle can be located very accurately with the help of an ultra-wideband sensor. In particular, the control unit can also use a facial recognition method to classify the occupant. For example, known facial recognition methods can classify the occupant as a child or an adult. In addition, facial recognition methods can be trained, for example by the vehicle owner, to recognize persons who need protection, even if they are not children. Machine learning methods can reliably classify people as children and adults. The use of machine learning methods makes it particularly reliable to determine whether the occupant who has actuated the central locking system is a person who needs protection.

[0027] The invention also relates to a method for controlling a child safety measure of a vehicle. In the method, at least one image with a mapping of an area of ​​the vehicle interior is detected. Image data corresponding to the image is generated. Based on the image data, it is determined whether an occupant has manipulated a central locking device of the vehicle. Based on the image data, it is determined whether an occupant of the vehicle is a person who needs protection. Furthermore, when it is determined that the occupant who has manipulated the central locking device is a person who needs protection, a child safety function is implemented.

[0028] The method has the same advantages as the claimed device. In particular, the method can be further developed in combination with the features of the dependent claims directed to the device. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0029] The embodiments of the present invention are described in more detail below with the aid of the accompanying drawings.

[0030] Figure 1 a perspective schematic diagram showing a cockpit of a vehicle;

[0031] Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing an image of the interior space of a vehicle captured by a camera;

[0032] Figure 3 A schematic diagram showing another image of the interior space of the vehicle captured by the camera; and

[0033] Figure 4 A flow chart showing a method for controlling child safety measures of a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Figure 1 A perspective schematic illustration of a cockpit 100 of a vehicle is shown.

[0035] The vehicle driver 104 sits on the driver's seat 106 of the vehicle 102. A button 108 for operating the central locking device of the vehicle 102 is exemplarily arranged in the center console 110 area of ​​the cockpit 100. Other buttons can be arranged, for example, in the area of ​​the door handle 308 on the inner side of the door of the vehicle 102 (see Figure 3 ). Cockpit 100 further comprises a central information display (CID) 112, a head-up display 114 and a graphic instrument cluster 116, which are arranged on a dashboard 118 of vehicle 102. Dashboard 118 also comprises air outlet nozzles 120 of an air conditioning system of vehicle 102. Figure 1 In the figure, air outlet nozzles 120 are shown by way of example in the area of ​​the center console 110 and on the passenger side. The cockpit 100 also includes a steering wheel 122 with operating elements 124, a gear selection switch 126, pedals 128, and an input unit 130 with a rotary wheel and button functions and / or a touch input area. This input unit 130 is also called an ergonomics commander (Ergo Commander).

[0036] A camera 134 is arranged in the upper region of a windshield 132 of vehicle 102. Camera 134 is arranged and oriented in such a way that it can detect images 200, 300 with a projection of an area of ​​the interior of vehicle 102. An exemplary image of camera 134 is shown below with reference to FIG. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The camera 134 is designed in particular to capture a plurality of images that follow one another in time, to generate image data corresponding to the images 200 , 300 , and to transmit these image data to the control unit 136 .

[0037] The control unit 136 has a data output 138 and a data input 140, which are used to connect to other units of the vehicle 102, for example other sensors, input and output units and control units of auxiliary systems. In particular, the control unit 136 is connected to a sensor 142, which is designed to detect a remote control of a central locking device in the vehicle interior, for example a key of the vehicle 102. The control unit 136 also includes a communication module 144, which is designed to establish a connection to a telecommunication network, in particular a mobile network.

[0038] The control unit 136 is configured to implement a method for controlling child safety measures in the vehicle 102. In this method, it is determined with the aid of the camera 134 whether a person who needs protection has manipulated the central locking device of the vehicle 102, for example, in the following manner, the person who needs protection manipulates the button 108 of the central locking device or locks the central locking device with the aid of a remote control. When it is determined that the person who needs protection has manipulated the central locking device, the control unit 136 implements the child safety function. For example, the control unit 136 can prevent manipulation of the central locking device to prevent the person who needs protection from being locked in the vehicle 102. Alternatively, the control unit 136 can also control the air conditioning system of the vehicle 102 and / or manipulate the window lifters of the vehicle 102 to supply outside air to the interior of the vehicle and prevent the vehicle 102 from heating up to a temperature exceeding a predetermined limit value. In particular, the control unit 136 is configured to output a warning notification to a mobile terminal device with the aid of a communication module 144 as a child safety function to alert the guardian. The following is a description of the child safety function of the control unit 136. Figures 2 to 4 This method is described in more detail.

[0039] Figure 2 An image 200 of the interior of vehicle 102 captured by camera 134 is shown in a schematic diagram.

[0040] The camera 134 has a field of view of 120 degrees. In other embodiments, the camera 134 may also have a field of view within a range of 150 degrees or greater. The camera 134 is oriented in the direction of the driver's seat 106 and the front passenger seat 202 of the vehicle 102. A child seat shell 204 is provided on the front passenger seat 202 of the vehicle 102, in which a child 206 sits. The child 206 is a person who needs protection. In addition to the child 206, there are no other occupants in the interior space of the vehicle. In other words, the child 206 is unattended in the interior space of the vehicle. The child 206 holds the key of the vehicle 102 in his hand 208.

[0041] In the exemplary embodiment shown, the control unit 136 is designed to determine the position of the key in the vehicle interior. To this end, the control unit 136 can, for example, process sensor data generated by the sensor 142. Alternatively or additionally, the control unit 136 can process image data generated by the camera 134 to determine the position of the key and thus the remote control of the central locking system.

[0042] When the control unit 136 receives a command to lock the central locking device, the control unit 136 determines which occupant of the vehicle 102 issued the command in order to activate child safety measures if necessary. Figure 2 In the exemplary embodiment shown, the control unit 136 first determines for this purpose that a command for locking has been issued by means of a remote control for the central locking system. The control unit 136 then determines the position of the remote control in the vehicle interior. Based on the image data of the camera 134, the control unit 136 then determines that the only occupant is the child 206 and that the child 206 holds the remote control for the central locking system in his hand 208. In order to determine the position of the hand 208 of the child 206 from the image data, the control unit 136 implements a human pose estimation method. Since the control unit 136 has determined that the command for locking has been issued by means of the remote control for the central locking system and that the child 206 holds the key and therefore the remote control in his hand, the control unit 136 determines that the child 206 has issued a command for locking the central locking system. Since the child 206 has manipulated the central locking system, the control unit 136 then implements a child safety function.

[0043] Figure 3 A further image 300 of the vehicle interior captured by camera 134 is shown in a schematic diagram.

[0044] exist Figure 3 In the situation shown in FIG. 1 , a child 302 is seated on a rear seat 304 of a vehicle 102. The child 302 is a person who needs protection. In addition to the child, there are no other passengers in the vehicle interior space.

[0045] A button 108 for operating the central locking system is arranged on the center console 110. This button 108 is not visible in the image 300 of the camera 134. Another button 306 for operating the central locking system is arranged in the region of a door handle 308 of the door on the driver's side. This second button 306 can be seen in the image of the camera 134. The two buttons 108, 306 are operating elements of the central locking system which are arranged in a fixed position in the interior. The positions of the two buttons 108, 306 are each stored in a memory area of ​​the control unit 136.

[0046] The control unit 136 can determine from the image data of the camera 134 that the only occupant is a child 302. If the child 302 actuates one of the two buttons 108, 306, for example in such a way that the child 302 bends forward into the area of ​​the driver's seat 106, the control unit 136 first receives a command for locking the central locking system. The control unit 136 then determines from the image data the position of the child's arms and the position of the child's hand 310. The control unit 136 then compares the hand position with the stored positions of the buttons 108, 306 to determine whether the child has actuated the central locking system. In this case, the control unit 136 can determine the position of the child's hand 310 with the aid of a human pose estimation method, in particular even if the child's hand is not visible in the image of the camera 134. For example, the control unit 136 can thereby determine whether the child's hand position corresponds to the position of a button 108 on the center console 110 that is not visible in the image 300 of the camera 134. If the control unit 136 has determined that the child 302 has actuated one of the buttons, the control unit 136 implements a child safety function.

[0047] Figure 4 A flow chart of a method for controlling child-proofing measures in a vehicle 102 is shown.

[0048] In step S400, the method starts. In particular, the method starts when the control unit 136 receives an instruction for locking the central locking device. In step S402, the control unit 136 controls the camera 134 so that the camera 134 detects at least one image 200, 300 with a mapping of the vehicle interior. Image data corresponding to the image are generated by the camera 134 and transmitted to the control unit 136. In step S404, the control unit 136 determines which occupant is operating the central locking device of the vehicle 102 based on the image data. In particular, the control unit 136 determines the arm position and hand position for each occupant for this purpose, for example using a human pose estimation method or other suitable machine learning method. By comparing the hand position with the position of the operating element of the central locking device stored in a memory area of ​​the control unit 136 or determined from the image data or sensor data, the control unit 136 can determine which occupant is operating the central locking device.

[0049] In step S406, the control unit 136 then determines based on the image data whether the occupant who is operating the central locking device of the vehicle 102 is a child 206, 302 or an adult. This determination can be done in particular with the aid of a facial recognition method or other suitable machine learning methods. If the control unit 136 has determined that an adult is operating the central locking device, the method ends after step S406.

[0050] If the control unit 136 has determined that the child 206, 302 has manipulated the central locking device, the control unit 136 determines in an optional step S408 whether an adult guardian is accompanying the child 206, 302 in the vehicle interior. Then, in step S410, the control unit 136 implements a child safety function, in particular when no adult guardian is accompanying the child 206, 302 in the vehicle interior. As a child safety function, the control unit 136 can, for example, prevent manipulation of the central locking device and thereby prevent the child 206, 302 from locking himself in the vehicle interior. The control unit 136 can also control the air conditioning system of the vehicle 102 to prevent the vehicle 102 from heating up and / or manipulate the window lifters of the vehicle 102 in order to supply the vehicle interior with outside air. Finally, the control unit 136 can additionally output a warning notification to the mobile terminal device by means of the communication module 144 in order to alert the guardian. The method ends in step S412.

[0051] With the help of Figures 1 to 4 In the depicted embodiment, the camera 134 and the control unit 136 form a device for controlling child-proofing measures of the vehicle 102 . Figures 1 to 4 Other elements and features shown in and mentioned in the preceding description may be part of the device.

[0052] Reference numerals list

[0053] 100 Cockpit

[0054] 102 vehicles

[0055] 104 Vehicle Driver

[0056] 106 Driver's Seat

[0057] 108 buttons

[0058] 110 center console

[0059] 112, 114, 116 display components

[0060] 118 Dashboard

[0061] 120 air outflow nozzle

[0062] 122 Steering Wheel

[0063] 124 operating elements

[0064] 126 gear selection switch

[0065] 128 pedals

[0066] 130 Input Units

[0067] 132 Windshield

[0068] 134 cameras

[0069] 136 Control Unit

[0070] 138 data output

[0071] 140 Data Input

[0072] 142 Sensors

[0073] 200 images

[0074] 202 Co-pilot seat

[0075] 204 Child Seat Shell

[0076] 206Children

[0077] 208 lots

[0078] 300 images

[0079] 302 Children

[0080] 304 rear seats

[0081] 306 Button

[0082] 308 Door Handle

[0083] 310 lots

Claims

1. A device for controlling a child safety measure of a vehicle (102), the device comprising: at least one camera (134) of a vehicle (102), the camera being configured to detect at least one image (200, 300) with a mapping of an area of ​​the vehicle interior and to generate image data corresponding to the image (200, 300); A control unit (136) is configured to process the image data, determine based on the image data whether an occupant has operated a central locking device of the vehicle (102), determine based on the image data whether the occupant of the vehicle (102) is a person requiring protection (206, 302) or an adult, and implement a child safety function when the control unit (136) has determined that the occupant operating the central locking device is a person requiring protection (206, 302).

2. The device according to claim 1, in, The control unit (136) is designed to prevent the actuation of the central locking device as a child safety function if the control unit (136) has determined that the occupant actuating the central locking device is a person who needs protection (206, 302).

3. The device according to claim 1, in, The control unit (136) is configured to control an air conditioning function of the vehicle (102) and / or operate a window lifter of the vehicle (102) as a child safety function in order to supply the vehicle interior with outside air when the control unit (136) has determined that the occupant who has operated the central locking device is a person who needs protection (206, 302).

4. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, in, The control unit (136) is designed to output a warning message as a child safety function if the control unit (136) has determined that the occupant who has actuated the central locking device is a person who needs protection (206, 302).

5. The device according to claim 4, in, The control unit (136) is configured to output a warning notification to a mobile terminal device.

6. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, in, The control unit (136) is configured to determine, based on image data, whether there is at least one other occupant in the vehicle interior when the control unit (136) has determined that the occupant who has operated the central locking device is a person who needs protection (206, 302), determine based on image data whether the other occupant is an adult, and activate the child safety function only when the control unit (136) has determined that there are no other occupants in the vehicle interior or the other occupants are not adults.

7. The device according to claim 6, comprising a sensor (142) of the vehicle (102), the sensor being configured to detect a remote control of a central locking device in the interior of the vehicle and to generate sensor data corresponding to the detection; in, The control unit (136) is configured to process the sensor data, determine based on the sensor data whether a remote control for a central locking device is arranged in the vehicle interior, determine whether a command for operating the central locking device is implemented by the remote control, and activate the child safety function when the control unit (136) has determined that the remote control for the central locking device is arranged in the vehicle interior and the command for operating the central locking device is implemented by the remote control.

8. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, in, The camera (134) is designed to detect a plurality of temporally successive images with a mapping of the region of the vehicle interior and to generate image data corresponding to the images; The control unit (136) is configured to determine a movement of the occupant based on the image data and to determine, based on the determined movement, whether the occupant has operated a central locking device of the vehicle (102).

9. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, in, The control unit (136) is configured to determine the position of at least one operating element of a central locking device, determine the position of at least one arm of the occupant and the hand position of a hand (310) of the arm based on the image data, and determine that the occupant has operated the central locking device of the vehicle (102) when the hand position coincides with the position of the operating element of the central locking device.

10. The device according to claim 9, in, The position of the operating element of the central locking device is stored in a memory area of ​​the control unit (136).

11. A device according to claim 9 or 10, comprising a sensor of the vehicle (102) or the sensor (142), which is configured to detect the position of a remote control of a central locking device or the remote control in the interior space of the vehicle and generate position data corresponding to the position; and the control unit (136) is configured to process the position data and determine the position of the operating element of the central locking device based on the position data.

12. The device according to any one of claims 9 to 11, in, The control unit (136) is designed to determine the position of an operating element of the central locking device based on the image data.

13. The device according to any one of claims 9 to 12, in, The control unit (136) is configured to determine the arm position and / or the hand position based on the image data and using a human pose estimation method.

14. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, in, The control unit (136) is configured to determine whether the occupant is a person who needs protection (206, 302) based on the image data and using a machine learning method.

15. A method for controlling a child safety feature of a vehicle (102), in, detecting at least one image with a mapping of an area of ​​a vehicle interior (200, 300), Generate image data corresponding to the image (200, 300), determining, based on the image data, whether an occupant has operated a central locking device of the vehicle (102), determining whether an occupant of the vehicle (102) is a person in need of protection (206, 302) based on the image data, and When it is determined that the occupant who operates the central locking device is a person who needs protection (206, 302), a child safety function is implemented.

Images