Methods for increasing comfort and / or minimizing the risk of accident-related consequential damage, as well as a vehicle for carrying out the method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for increasing comfort and / or minimizing the risk of accident-related injuries for a passenger in a vehicle who is seated in a vehicle seat during a journey. The invention further relates to a vehicle equipped for carrying out the method. To propose a method and a vehicle that achieves hairstyle-dependent comfort enhancement and / or hairstyle-dependent risk minimization of accident-related injuries, it is proposed that the method performs the following steps: detecting the passenger's hairstyle at the back of the head, recognizing the detected hairstyle, classifying the recognized hairstyle, identifying classification-dependent comfort limitations and / or risks of accident-related injuries, and issuing a classification-dependent notification to the passenger.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method for increasing comfort and / or minimizing the risk of accident-related consequential damage for a passenger of a vehicle who is sitting on a vehicle seat during a journey with the vehicle.

[0002] Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle which is designed to carry out the method.

[0003] Modern vehicles typically have a driver monitoring camera designed to observe the driver while driving. A suitable evaluation unit analyzes the captured images, specifically checking whether the driver is currently capable of driving the vehicle. For example, it is known to detect the driver's eye-shutdown times and evaluate them to determine whether the driver is showing signs of fatigue. In this case, a warning message or at least a recommendation to take a break is issued, prompting the driver to interrupt their journey. This regularly prevents accidents caused by microsleep, which can lead to significant personal injury and property damage in road traffic.

[0004] Reliable observation of the driver and the clear evaluation of the recorded images require that the driver's eyes can be observed without restriction. If, for example, the driver's hairstyle obscures the driver's eyes, it is reasonable to request that the driver adjust and change their hairstyle to ensure an unobstructed view of their eyes. Drivers with long hair, in particular, are encouraged to tie the hair at the back of their head into a braid or bun. Various hair accessories (or hair utensils) are known for this purpose. In particular, hair ties, hair bands, hair clips, hairpins, headbands, hair slides, hair bows, barrettes, hair sticks, and / or hair pins are used for this purpose.

[0005] While arranging a hairstyle as needed using a hair accessory offers the advantage of allowing unobstructed driver observation, gathering the hair at the back of the head reduces comfort and poses the risk of accident-related injuries, as the back of the head impacts the rear headrest with high kinetic energy in the event of a rear-end collision. Hair accessories with fixed components, such as barrettes, hair clips, or hairpins, are particularly risky. Because accidents are relatively rare, at least compared to the volume of regular road traffic, passenger awareness of the problem is generally low.

[0006] To increase comfort and minimize the risk of accident-related damage, only inadequate solutions are known based on the current state of the art. In particular, so-called frame headrests are available on the market. These feature a central recess for the hair accessory. While this creates a clearance that ensures the hair accessory remains free from impact in the event of a rear-end collision, frame headrests are neither eye-catching in terms of modern design nor advantageous for passengers without ponytails, as they significantly reduce the impact area.

[0007] From US 2003 / 0015898 A1, DE 10 2014 000 974 A1 and US 10,850,693 B1, vehicles with an automatically positionable headrest are known, which does not completely eliminate the problems mentioned.

[0008] The means known in the prior art can only achieve a limited degree of comfort improvement and / or risk minimization of accident-related consequential damage. Therefore, the object of the invention is to propose a method and a vehicle that can achieve a hairstyle-dependent comfort improvement and / or a hairstyle-dependent risk minimization of accident-related consequential damage.

[0009] This object is achieved by the method according to claim 1 and by the vehicle according to claim 8. According to the invention, the method carries out the following steps: - Detecting the passenger's hairstyle in the back of the head; - Recognizing the captured hairstyle; - Classifying the recognized hairstyle; - Determination of classification-dependent comfort restrictions and / or risks of accident-related consequential damage; - Issue a classification-dependent notice to the passenger.

[0010] This initially checks, on a passenger-by-passenger basis, whether the passenger's current hairstyle is causing a reduction in comfort and / or poses a risk of accident-related consequential injury. This passenger-by-passenger check means that the procedure is performed separately for each passenger in the vehicle. Depending on the specific impairment, passengers are individually prompted by separate messages to improve comfort and / or reduce the risk of accident-related injury by making a suitable change to their hairstyle.

[0011] Advantageous further developments are specified below and in the subclaims.

[0012] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the passenger's hairstyle in the back of the head is captured by at least one camera, which is preferably designed as an on-board exterior camera or interior camera. In particular, the interior cameras for passengers in the front row of seats are arranged on the B-pillars of the vehicle. For passengers in the rear row of seats, the interior cameras are preferably arranged on the C-pillars of the vehicle. Alternatively and / or additionally, the interior cameras can also be arranged on the roof lining, the headrests, and / or the backrests.

[0013] The detected hairstyle is preferably recognized using recognition software, which preferably uses a number of digital comparison patterns. The recognition of the detected hairstyle also includes, in particular, identification of the hair accessory worn, so that it is possible to differentiate whether the hair accessory worn has hard and / or soft components, which has a direct impact on the reduction in comfort and the risk of accident-related consequential damage. The recognition software can also include artificial intelligence or use artificial intelligence to improve the identification of different hairstyles. In all of this, an advantageous development of the invention provides for the recognition of passengers exiting the vehicle and the hairstyle present at that time, which allows a prediction for future journeys using artificial intelligence.Based on insights learned from previous trips, predictions can be derived and individual habits can be identified, allowing conclusions to be drawn about passenger behavior. In particular, this can predict what hairstyle passengers typically wear during the trip and whether a hairstyle-dependent alert is likely to be issued.

[0014] According to an advantageous development of the invention, the recognized hairstyle is classified using a rating scale. The rating scale assigns a value to each recognizable hairstyle, representing the hairstyle-related comfort restriction and / or the risk of accident-related consequential damage.

[0015] Based on the determined value, the specific reduction in comfort and / or the specific risk of consequential damage caused by an accident is determined in a catalogue-like manner.

[0016] Preferably, the classification-dependent information is output to the passenger as a visual information, in particular as a pop-up on the infotainment system, and / or as a voice output, in particular as a voice output by means of a speech dialogue system (SDS).

[0017] According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the passenger's hairstyle in the back of the head is recorded and / or recognized by means of a reader that is connected for data exchange to a transponder arranged on a hair accessory of the passenger and contains information for the unique assignment of the hair accessory. Such a transponder can, for example, be designed as an RFID chip that is attached to an unobstructed inner side of the hair accessory. The exchanged information for the unique assignment of the hair accessory can, in particular, include information on the material properties of the hair accessory. This advantageously makes it possible to determine the material properties of the hair accessory, such as the amount of hard and soft components, which in conventional hair accessories usually consist of fabric, hard plastic, soft plastic and / or metal.

[0018] Regardless of the procedure, an alternative is provided for the geometry / detail of the hairstyle in the occipital region to be mechanically determined using an impression device. For this purpose, the headrest has a matrix of freely movable, slidably mounted pins along the headrest surface, so that a negative mold of the geometry is created by leaning the back of the head against the headrest surface once. After the back of the head is removed from the headrest surface, the movably mounted pins are fixed with respect to a longitudinal axial movement, so that the headrest has a permanent negative mold of the hairstyle. As an alternative to the movably mounted pins, the headrest can also be made of memory foam or adjustable air cushions.

[0019] Specific embodiments of the invention are explained below with reference to the figures. They show: Fig. 1 a flow chart of the procedure and Fig. 2 a partially sectioned view of a vehicle.

[0020] Fig. 1 shows a flowchart of a method 100 for increasing comfort and / or minimizing the risk of accident-related consequential damage for a passenger of a vehicle who is sitting on a vehicle seat during a journey with the vehicle. Fig. 2, in contrast, shows a vehicle 200 which is configured to carry out the method 100.

[0021] Within the scope of method 100, the passenger's hairstyle in the back of the head is first captured 10, which may include one or more hair accessories. For this purpose, vehicle 200 has several cameras 20, which are configured as exterior cameras and interior cameras 201 (not shown) and capture the back of the head from different perspectives. In the illustrated embodiment, interior cameras 201 are arranged on the B-pillars 21, the C-pillars 22, the roof lining 23, the headrests 24, and the backrests 25.

[0022] After the hairstyle has been detected, the hairstyle is recognized 11 by an on-board evaluation unit 26. For this purpose, the evaluation unit 26 of the vehicle 200 contains recognition software that compares the detected hairstyle with a variety of digital comparison patterns. The recognition of the detected hairstyle also includes identification of the worn hair accessory, so that it is possible to differentiate whether the worn hair accessory has hard and / or soft components, which directly impacts the reduction in comfort and the risk of accident-related consequential damage. In the embodiment shown, the hairstyle is recognized as follows: 1. No hairstyle-related manifestation was detected in the occipital area. 2. A hairstyle-related manifestation in the back of the head with soft hair accessories was detected. 3. A hairstyle-related manifestation with hard hair accessories was recognized.

[0023] Once the detected hairstyle is recognized, the hairstyle is classified 12 using a rating scale. The rating scale assigns each hairstyle a value 121, 122, 123, which represents the hairstyle-dependent comfort restriction and / or the hairstyle-dependent risk of accident-related consequential damage. In the illustrated embodiment, the rating scale is designed with three levels, so that three different values ​​121, 122, 123 are available to which the detected hairstyle can be assigned during classification 12.

[0024] Based on the classification, the specific classification-dependent comfort restrictions and / or the specific risks of accident-related consequential damage are determined in a catalog-like manner. For example, the identified hairstyles are assigned to the following comfort restrictions and risks: 131: There is no hairstyle-related restriction of comfort and no hairstyle-related risk of consequential accidental damage. 132: There is a risk-related reduction in comfort but no hairstyle-related risk of accident-related consequential damage. 133: There is a hairstyle-related restriction of comfort and a hairstyle-related risk of consequential accidental damage.

[0025] Finally, a classification-dependent notification 141, 142, 143 is issued to the passenger, who, depending on the detected, recognized, and classified hairstyle, receives a recommendation to improve comfort and / or a recommendation to minimize the risk of accident-related consequential damage. In the illustrated embodiment, the following classification-dependent notifications 141, 142, 143 are issued, if necessary: 141: No reference is made due to lack of restriction. 142: “To increase comfort, it is recommended to move or remove the hair accessory at the back of the head.” 143: “To increase comfort and minimize risk, please relocate or remove the hair accessory in the back of the head.”

[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, the information 141, 142, 143 is output both visually as a pop-up 27 on the infotainment system 28 of the vehicle 200 and as a voice output 29 via a voice dialogue system 30.

[0027] As an alternative to the described optical evaluation of the captured images, the passenger's hairstyle in the back of the head can be detected and / or recognized using a reader 31, which is connected for data exchange to a transponder (not shown) arranged on the passenger's hair accessory and containing information for the unique assignment or identification of the hair accessory. The exchanged information for the unique assignment of the hair accessory can, in particular, include information on the material properties of the hair accessory. This makes it possible to determine the material properties of the hair accessory, such as the amount of hard and soft components, which in conventional hair accessories usually consist of fabric, hard plastic, soft plastic and / or metal. List of reference symbols 100 procedures 200 vehicles 10 Capture 11 Recognize 12 Classify 121 Value of a rating scale 122 Value of a rating scale 123 Value of a rating scale 13 Determine 131 concrete comfort restriction / concrete risk 132 concrete comfort restriction / concrete risk 133 concrete comfort restriction / concrete risk 14 Spend 141 Note 142 Note 143 Note 20 Camera 201 Indoor camera 21 B-pillar 22 C-pillar 23 headliner 24 Headrest 25 Backrest 26 Evaluation unit 27 pop-ups 28 Infotainment system 29 Voice output 30 Speech Dialogue System 31 reader QUOTES CONTAINED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents submitted by the applicant was generated automatically and is included solely for the convenience of the reader. This list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA assumes no liability for any errors or omissions. Cited patent literature

[0000] US 2003 / 0015898 A1

[0007] DE 10 2014 000 974 A1

[0007] US 10,850,693 B1

[0007]

Claims

[1] Method (100) for increasing comfort and / or minimizing the risk of accident-related consequential damage for a passenger of a vehicle (100) sitting on a vehicle seat during a journey with the vehicle (100), comprising the steps: - detecting (10) a hairstyle of the passenger in the back of the head; - recognizing (11) the detected hairstyle; - Classifying (12) the recognized hairstyle; - Determination (13) of classification-dependent restrictions on comfort and / or risks of accident-related consequential damage; - issuing (14) a classification-dependent indication (141, 142, 143) to the passenger. [2] Method (100) according to claim 1, characterized by that the hairstyle of the passenger in the back of the head is detected by means of at least one camera (20), which is preferably designed as an external camera or internal camera (201) of the vehicle. [3] Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized bythat the recognition (11) of the detected hairstyle is carried out by means of recognition software which preferably uses a number of digital comparison patterns, wherein the recognition (11) of the hairstyle preferably comprises an identification of a hair accessory. [4] Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that the classification (12) of the recognized hairstyle is carried out by means of a rating scale. [5] Method (100) according to claim 4, characterized by that the rating scale assigns a value (121, 122, 123) to each recognizable hairstyle, which represents the hairstyle-dependent comfort restriction and / or the hairstyle-dependent risk of accident-related consequential damage. [6] Method (100) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized bythat the output (14) of the classification-dependent information (141, 142, 143) to the passenger takes place as a visual indication, in particular as a pop-up (27) on the infotainment system (28), and / or as a voice output (29), in particular as a voice output (29) by means of a voice dialogue system (30). [7] Method (100) according to claim 1, characterized by that the hairstyle of the passenger in the back of the head is recorded and / or recognized by means of a reading device (31) which is connected for data exchange to a transponder which is arranged on a hair accessory of the passenger and has information for the unambiguous assignment of the hair accessory. [8] Vehicle (200), characterized by that the vehicle (200) is set up to carry out the method (100). [9] Vehicle (200) according to claim 8, characterized bythat the vehicle (200) has at least one camera (20) for detecting (10) the hairstyle of the passenger in the back of the head, which camera is preferably designed as an external camera or internal camera (201). [10] Vehicle (200) according to claim 9, characterized by that the at least one interior camera (201) is arranged on a B-pillar (21), a C-pillar (22), a roof liner (23), a headrest (24) or a backrest (25).

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