Control unit for independent control of applicator devices for generating a magnetic field for functional magnetic stimulation of an occupant, as well as seat system and vehicle

Abstract

A method is provided for controlling an applicator device located in a vehicle seat to generate a magnetic field for the functional magnetic stimulation of at least one muscle group of an occupant seated in the vehicle. In a first step, the vehicle's interior sensors detect whether an occupant is seated in the vehicle. If so, activation of the magnetic stimulation is requested. In a second step, the muscle groups to be stimulated, the current driving situation, and the type of clothing worn by the occupant are identified. From this, the system determines which muscle groups of the occupant should be stimulated and with which parameters. In a third step, the applicator device is controlled accordingly to stimulate the muscle groups.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a control unit for the independent control of applicator devices for generating a magnetic field for the functional magnetic stimulation of an occupant, as well as to a seating system and a vehicle.

[0002] Muscle training using electrical stimulation or the application of a magnetic field is already known in the therapy and wellness sectors. For example, therapy chairs are known, as described in DE 10 2016 116 399 A1. In the automotive sector, applications are known in which electromagnetic fields are used to treat muscle tension in passengers, for example, from DE 10 2018 201 760 B4. Further prior art can be found in DE 10 2014 218 744 A1 and DE 10 2022 105 007 A1.

[0003] It is an object of this invention to provide a seating system for a vehicle that improves the comfort of a vehicle occupant. This object is achieved according to the invention by the features of the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0004] A control unit is provided for the independent control of applicator devices arranged in a vehicle seat for generating a magnetic field for the functional magnetic stimulation of at least one muscle group of an occupant sitting on the vehicle seat, wherein the control unit is in communication with an interior sensor system of the vehicle and is configured to process information received from the interior sensor system in such a way that it is detected whether an occupant is sitting on the vehicle seat and, if so, muscle groups to be stimulated are detected, a current driving situation is detected, and a type of clothing of the occupant is detected and determined, and from this it is determined which muscle groups of the occupant (100) are to be stimulated with which parameters of the magnetic stimulation, wherein the control unit is configured toto control the applicator devices for generating the magnetic field for magnetic stimulation.

[0005] Also provided is a seat system for a vehicle, comprising a vehicle seat configured for an occupant of the vehicle to sit thereon, and at least one controllable applicator device arranged within the vehicle seat and in the region of at least one seat contact surface of the vehicle seat with the occupant, wherein the applicator device is configured to generate a magnetic field for functional magnetic stimulation, and a control unit operatively connected to each applicator device, which control unit is configured to independently control each applicator device such that it outputs a magnetic field for functional magnetic stimulation in the direction of the seat contact surface.

[0006] Furthermore, it is provided that the at least one controllable applicator device is part of a seat cover or is arranged below a seat cover and within a foam of the vehicle seat.

[0007] Furthermore, a vehicle is proposed, comprising the seating system, and interior sensor system which is arranged and configured to detect that an occupant is sitting on the vehicle seat and what type of clothing he is wearing, wherein the control unit is in communication with the interior sensor system and is configured to process the information received from the interior sensor system.

[0008] Furthermore, it is intended that the interior sensor system includes one or more interior cameras. Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, with reference to the figures of the drawing, which illustrate details of the invention, and from the claims. The individual features can be implemented individually or in combination in a variant of the invention.

[0009] Preferred embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0010] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of important components of the seating system for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] In the following descriptions of the figures, the same elements or functions are provided with the same reference symbols.

[0012] The basic concept of the invention is to provide a contactless stimulation of muscle groups of an occupant 100 of a vehicle 1 depending on the current driving situation.

[0013] The contactless stimulation is achieved by a magnetic field used for functional magnetic stimulation (FMS for short) and generated in the area of ​​seat contact surfaces 11 on the vehicle seat 10. The principle of FMS is sufficiently known, so it will not be described in detail. According to the invention, the magnetic field is designed to stimulate one or more muscle groups of an occupant 100 in such a way that muscle contractions occur that are either noticeable or imperceptible to the occupant 100. For this purpose, at least one applicator device 2 is arranged in a predetermined area of ​​the vehicle seat 10, which serves as the seat contact surface 11. A seat contact surface 11 is a surface of the vehicle seat 10 where an occupant 100 has contact with the vehicle seat 10, for example, the seat surface (buttocks, thighs), backrests (upper, middle, lower back, shoulders), armrests (upper arm, forearm), leg rests (calf / lower leg), foot rests.Advantageously, an applicator device 2 is provided for each muscle group to be stimulated so that targeted stimulation of individual muscle groups can take place.

[0014] Each applicator device 2 is formed as a coil integrated into the vehicle seat 10, e.g. beneath the seat cover and / or in the foam, with associated components such as cooling and magnetic field generation, into which a (changing) magnetic field is induced by means of electric current. The power supply can come from an energy source of the vehicle 1, e.g. an accumulator or a battery, and in this context is also considered part of the applicator device 2. The change in the magnetic field induces a voltage in the body of the person to be treated (occupant 100). If the resulting current reaches a sufficient strength, muscle cells in the body are stimulated, among other things, and muscle contraction occurs. Muscle training can therefore take place. This is also referred to as functional magnetic stimulation, or FMS for short.

[0015] Each applicator device 2 is controlled via a control unit 4, which is either part of the applicator device 2 or part of an internal vehicle control unit 5 that is in communication with the applicator device 2 in order to control it and generate a magnetic field for muscle stimulation.

[0016] Furthermore, it is provided that when controlling an applicator device 2, the intensity of the stimulation is selected depending on the current driving situation. For this purpose, a control unit 4 associated with (and operatively connected to) the applicator device 2 is in communication with an internal vehicle control unit 5, in particular the on-board computer, which receives, among other things, data from the interior sensors 3, 12 of the vehicle 10 and then provides this data to the control unit 4 for processing.

[0017] The interior sensors, e.g., interior camera 3 and / or seat occupancy sensor(s) 12, can detect that an occupant 100 is actually sitting on the vehicle seat 10. This information can be used to permit activation of the applicator device(s) 2 (when an occupant 100 is sitting on the vehicle seat 10) or to disallow it (when no occupant 100 is sitting on the vehicle seat 10). Occupant 100 can also be recognized, and a user profile stored for him or her can be set. This profile includes both the seat adjustment and the type of muscle stimulation, e.g., which area may or may not be stimulated and with what intensity.

[0018] In addition, the interior sensor system 3, 12, in particular an interior camera 3, can detect what clothing the occupant 100 is wearing in order to be able to adjust the strength of the magnetic field for stimulation as optimally as possible. In this case, it is important to detect the type of clothing, i.e. what items of clothing the occupant 100 is wearing (jacket, coat, trousers, skirt), what material it is made of (wool, silk, cotton, artificial fiber, a mixture), and the number of layers of clothing (shirt and jacket; shirt, jacket, coat, etc.). The detection that an occupant 100 is sitting on the vehicle seat and the detection of the type of clothing can be detected via various interior sensor systems 3, 12 of the vehicle 1. An interior camera 3, which is designed to monitor the interior of the vehicle 1 and individual occupants 100, is particularly suitable.

[0019] Such an interior camera 3 can also record a physical and / or psychological state of the occupant 100, including their vital parameters, such as their breathing, their condition (mood), whether they are currently on the phone or having a conversation or not communicating. Based on this recording, the control unit 4 can evaluate whether stimulation should be carried out at all and, if so, which parameters, such as duration and intensity, should be used. For example, stimulation may not be useful or may only be useful with a very low intensity if the occupant 100 is currently in a dynamic driving situation in which stimulation would not be useful. For example, when cornering, it would not be useful to be additionally pushed out of the seat due to the stimulation.If it is detected that the clothing layer is very thick, a higher stimulation intensity is selected in order to be able to work through the clothing.

[0020] In one embodiment, it may be provided that in addition to the optical detection of the type of clothing of the occupant 100, an impedance measurement is carried out in order to detect both the condition of the body and the clothing situation (layer thickness) in order to determine the correct intensity level for the stimulation.

[0021] Furthermore, the in-vehicle control unit 5 can output information about the driving situation of the vehicle 1, i.e. whether it is currently moving or stationary. The moving state includes not only whether the vehicle 1 is moving, but also additional information about, for example, the current traffic situation, the route, the weather, etc., i.e. essentially all information that is available from the vehicle sensors. Depending on the current state, the muscle stimulation can then be adjusted accordingly, for example the duration and the intensity. In particular, when the vehicle is moving and when the occupant 100 is driving themselves, certain muscle groups should not be stimulated or not stimulated too strongly so that the occupant 100 is not hindered in their driving task.

[0022] In the event that the energy source is not at a predetermined charge level, it can additionally be provided that the control unit 4 does not allow activation of the applicator device(s) 2. It can also be provided that deactivation occurs if the energy source falls below a predetermined charge level during stimulation.

[0023] In addition, the information can be output to the control unit 4 via the in-vehicle control unit 5 if a user profile is stored for the occupant 100. This can then be taken into account by the control unit 4 when controlling the applicator device 2. Information provided by an external information service, e.g., a mobile phone or an external server, or data transmitted from a telemedicine service or a health database, can also be used. In particular, indications and contraindications for the application are stored and transmitted to the control unit 4. A user profile can, for example, contain data on which muscle groups of the occupant 100 should or should not be stimulated, and / or which magnetic stimulation parameters should be used for this occupant 100 (=user).It can also be specified that no stimulation may occur in certain driving situations, e.g. if the occupant is on the phone.

[0024] By providing targeted muscle stimulation depending on information about the occupant 100 and their clothing, as well as the current driving situation of the vehicle 1, muscle training optimized for the occupant 100 can be carried out in different driving situations and conditions. Muscle stimulation can be used for muscle building, muscle stabilization, and muscle regeneration, as well as for cosmetic purposes such as cellulite reduction. Preferred muscle groups stimulated with functional magnetic stimulation are muscles in the lower back area, but also muscle groups in the middle or upper back area. Muscle groups in the arm and / or legs and buttocks can also be stimulated. Advantageously, an applicator device 2 is provided for each muscle group potentially to be stimulated.The one or more applicator devices 2 can be controlled separately or in groups by means of the control unit 4, depending on the muscle stimulation program to be executed.

[0025] It can also be provided that the occupant 100 can make certain settings themselves, in particular regarding the parameters duration and intensity of the stimulation. However, it can also be provided that they define certain driving situations or psychological states in which stimulation may or may not be performed. This is stored as a user profile in the control unit 5 of the vehicle 1 or the control unit 4 of the applicator device 2. List of reference symbols 1 vehicle 10 vehicle seat 11 Seat contact surface 12 Seat occupancy sensor 2 Applicator device 3 interior camera 4 control unit of 2 5 control unit / on-board computer from 1 100 inmates

Claims

[1] Control unit (4) for the independent control of applicator devices (2) arranged in a vehicle seat (10) for generating a magnetic field for the functional magnetic stimulation of at least one muscle group of an occupant (100) located on the vehicle seat (10), wherein the control unit (4) is in communication with an interior sensor system (3, 12) of the vehicle (1) and is designed to process information received from the interior sensor system in such a way that it is detected whether an occupant (100) is sitting on the vehicle seat (10), and if so, muscle groups to be stimulated are detected, a current driving situation is detected, and a type of clothing of the occupant (100) is detected and determined therefrom, and from this it is determined which muscle groups of the occupant (100) are to be stimulated with which parameters of the magnetic stimulation, wherein the control unit (4) is designed toto control the applicator devices (2) for generating the magnetic field for magnetic stimulation., [2] Control unit (4) according to claim 1, which is arranged to determine a duration and an intensity of the magnetic stimulation to be carried out. [3] Control unit (4) according to one of the preceding claims, which is designed to process information received from the interior sensor system (3, 12) in such a way that the current physical and / or psychological state of the occupant (100) is detected and evaluated and, from this, the muscle groups to be stimulated are detected, and the control is adapted to the state of the occupant (100). [4] Control unit (4) according to one of the preceding claims, which is designed to record a user profile for the occupant (100) and to use this to determine the muscle groups of the occupant (100) to be stimulated and / or to record the parameters of the magnetic stimulation with which stimulation is to be carried out. [5] Seating system for a vehicle, comprising: - a vehicle seat (10) adapted for an occupant (100) of the vehicle (1) to sit thereon; - at least one controllable applicator device (2) which is arranged within the vehicle seat (10) and in the region of at least one seat contact surface (11) of the vehicle seat (10) to the occupant (100), wherein the applicator device (2) is designed to generate a magnetic field for functional magnetic stimulation; - a control unit (4) according to one of the preceding claims, which is operatively connected to each applicator device (2) and is designed to control each applicator device (2) independently in such a way that it outputs a magnetic field for functional magnetic stimulation in the direction of the seat contact surface (11). [6] Seat system according to claim 5, wherein the at least one controllable applicator device (2) is part of a seat cover or is arranged below a seat cover and within a foam of the vehicle seat (10). [7] Vehicle (1), comprising - the seating system according to claim 5 or 6, and - Interior sensor system (3, 12) arranged and configured to detect that an occupant (100) is sitting on the vehicle seat (10) and what type of clothing he is wearing, wherein the control unit (4) is in communication with the interior sensor system (3, 12) and is configured to process the information received from the interior sensor system (3, 12). [8] Vehicle (1) according to claim 7, wherein the interior sensor system (3, 12) comprises one or more interior cameras (3).

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