CONTROL DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING A VENTILATION DEVICE FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE

Abstract

A control device for controlling a ventilation device (2) for a motor vehicle (10) is provided. The control device (1) is designed to receive image data from an interior camera device (3) of the motor vehicle (10) (S1), evaluate the image data (S2) to determine whether an object (5) is located in an interior (11) of the motor vehicle (10) from which an unpleasant odor potentially emanates for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle (10), and control the ventilation device (2) (S3) to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object (5) is located in the interior (11).

Description

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a ventilation system for a motor vehicle, and / or a motor vehicle comprising the control device. Additionally or alternatively, a computer program is provided, which comprises instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially execute the method. Additionally or alternatively, a computer-readable medium is provided, which comprises instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially execute the method.

[0002] Motor vehicles are usually equipped with ventilation systems or air conditioning systems which draw in fresh air from outside to ventilate the vehicle interior and feed it into the vehicle interior via a system of air ducts and air outlets provided at various locations in the vehicle interior.

[0003] However, to ventilate the vehicle interior, for example because an unpleasant odor is spreading in the vehicle interior, it is necessary for a vehicle occupant, e.g. the driver, to manually activate the respective ventilation device.

[0004] Against the background of this prior art, the object of the present disclosure is to provide a device and / or a method that are each suitable for enriching the prior art. For example, the object may be to provide an improved control system for a ventilation system of a motor vehicle, e.g., an intelligent control system.

[0005] The problem is solved by the features of the independent claims. The subordinate claims and the dependent claims each contain optional developments of the disclosure.

[0006] According to this, the problem is solved by a control device for (optionally intelligent and / or automated) controlling a ventilation system for a motor vehicle. The ventilation system can be, for example, an air conditioning system (or an automatic climate control system) for a motor vehicle or at least a part of the air conditioning system.

[0007] The control device is designed to receive image data from an interior camera device of the motor vehicle.

[0008] The control device is designed to evaluate the image data (e.g. by means of image recognition) in order to determine whether there is an object in an interior of the motor vehicle that potentially emits an unpleasant odor for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle.

[0009] The control device is designed to control the ventilation device to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object is located in the interior.

[0010] The control device can be configured for electronic data processing and / or at least partially embodied as an electronic data processing device, which can, for example, have one or more microprocessors and data memories. The control device can, for example, operate at least one piece of software and / or at least one algorithm for image recognition or image analysis of the image data, e.g., for object recognition. It is conceivable that a machine learning model, e.g., at least one neural network, is used for image recognition or image analysis.

[0011] The control device or control unit can, for example, be part of a driver assistance system or represent it. The control device can be, for example, an electronic control unit (ECU). The electronic control unit can be an intelligent processor-controlled unit that can communicate with other modules, for example, via a central gateway (CGW), and can optionally form the vehicle's on-board network via fieldbuses such as the CAN bus, LIN bus, MOST bus, FlexRay, and / or via the automotive Ethernet, e.g., together with telematics control units and / or environmental sensors.

[0012] The control device described above offers a number of advantages. Among other things, it provides improved technology that enables the automated detection of a situation in which a potentially unpleasant odor is spreading inside the vehicle's interior, and the automated initiation of appropriate countermeasures without any of the vehicle occupants, e.g., the driver, having to actively intervene. For example, this can provide intelligent or automated ventilation optimization, e.g., when eating in the vehicle. This increases (driving) comfort for the vehicle occupants, e.g., the driver, and can also contribute to increased driving safety, since the countermeasure prevents the driver from being disturbed or distracted by the unpleasant odor, or at least for as short a time as possible, without the driver having to intervene.

[0013] Furthermore, additional implementation costs can be advantageously avoided or at least kept to a minimum, since no odor information is taken into account, thus eliminating the need to install odor sensors in the vehicle. Instead, the detection of the object in the vehicle's interior is based (exclusively) on image recognition, which can be achieved using, for example, cameras in the interior that are typically already installed in modern vehicles.

[0014] Possible further developments of the control device described above are explained in detail below.

[0015] The control device can be configured to identify the object and / or assign it to an object type (e.g., food, drink, sweat stain). The countermeasure can depend on the (e.g., identified and / or assigned) object. In other words, the control device can be configured to select the countermeasure from a collection of possible countermeasures depending on the (e.g., identified and / or assigned) object.

[0016] The control device can be designed to repeatedly (and / or continuously) receive image data from the interior camera device and to evaluate the image data.

[0017] The control device can be configured to control the ventilation device and maintain the initiated countermeasure for a predetermined period of time. Furthermore, it is conceivable that the control device can be configured to control the ventilation device and maintain the initiated countermeasure as long as it has been determined (e.g., repeatedly and / or continuously) that the object is located in the interior and / or as long as it has been determined that the object is no longer located in the interior.

[0018] The countermeasure may include supplying outside air (or fresh air) into the interior and / or activating a fresh air purge (e.g. exchanging the air in the interior with outside air and / or supplying outside air while simultaneously expelling the air in the interior) of the interior.

[0019] The countermeasure may include activating a fragrance dispensing device located within the interior. The (activated) fragrance dispensing device may be configured to emit a fragrance in the interior.

[0020] The countermeasure can comprise adjusting at least one air vent of the ventilation device, which is arranged within the interior, towards the object and simultaneously opening at least one window of the motor vehicle. The control device can be configured to select the at least one air vent from a plurality of air vents of the ventilation device, provided that the at least one air vent is located in an environment of the object and / or is the closest of the plurality of air vents to the object. The control device can be configured to select the at least one window from a plurality of windows of the motor vehicle, provided that the at least one window is located in an environment of the object and / or is the closest of the plurality of windows to the object.

[0021] The control device can be designed to evaluate the image data in order to recognize a food, a drink and / or an object in the image data and to identify it as the object, provided that the recognized food, drink and / or the recognized object corresponds to a (e.g. stored) reference food, reference drink and / or reference object.

[0022] The control device may be configured to evaluate the image data to recognize the food, beverage, and / or item by identifying a logo (and / or a product name and / or restaurant name) on a packaging (e.g., a bag) of the food, beverage, and / or item in the image data.

[0023] The control device can be designed to evaluate the image data in order to recognize an animal (e.g. a pet) in the image data and to identify it as the object, provided that the recognized animal corresponds to a (e.g. stored) reference animal (optionally an animal species, e.g. a dog) and optionally data from a rain sensor of the motor vehicle indicate that it is raining in an environment of the motor vehicle.

[0024] The control device can be designed to evaluate the image data in order to detect a sweat stain of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle (e.g. a sweat stain on a piece of clothing of the vehicle occupant) in the image data and to identify it as the object.

[0025] The control device can be configured to evaluate the image data to detect a facial expression of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle and to determine that the object is located in the interior if the detected facial expression indicates an unpleasant odor. The detected facial expression may, for example, indicate a feeling of disgust on the part of the vehicle occupant.

[0026] The control device can be designed to control the ventilation device exclusively on the basis of the evaluation of the image data and / or without taking into account odor data (e.g. an odor sensor).

[0027] The above description can be summarized in other words and in a possible more concrete embodiment of the disclosure as described below, whereby the following description is not to be interpreted as limiting the disclosure.

[0028] According to the present disclosure, a 2D or 3D camera can be installed, for example, in the interior mirror of a motor vehicle. Relevant objects and / or animals can be detected using computer vision (or image processing) based on images from the 2D or 3D camera.

[0029] Relevant objects can be meals (i.e., food and / or beverages) that emit an (unpleasant) odor, e.g., doner kebabs, burgers, French fries, Asian food, energy drinks and / or alcoholic beverages, and / or other items such as diapers. For example, logos on packaging or bags can be recognized.

[0030] Relevant animals can be dogs, for example, whereby it can also be detected whether a dog is wet, e.g. by including a rain sensor in the vehicle.

[0031] Furthermore, sweat can be detected on vehicle occupants, for example, based on stains on clothing. Furthermore, a feeling of disgust can be detected in vehicle occupants.

[0032] Counter-measures can include switching to outside air, activating a fresh air purge, adjusting air vents to relevant objects, opening a window (so that the smell is blown out of the window as much as possible) and / or activating the fragrance system.

[0033] Furthermore, a motor vehicle is provided which comprises the control device, the ventilation device and the interior camera device described above.

[0034] The ventilation device can have at least one air vent arranged within the interior. The at least one air vent can be designed for the (e.g., adjustable) supply of outside air (or fresh air) into the interior. The at least one air vent can be designed for the (e.g., controllable) adjustment of a supply direction or flow direction of the outside air into the interior.

[0035] The interior camera device can be configured to capture image data in the interior of the motor vehicle. The interior camera device can be arranged in the interior and / or have at least one camera that can be arranged in the interior.

[0036] The interior camera device can have at least one 2D and / or 3D camera arranged in and / or on an interior mirror of the motor vehicle.

[0037] The control device can be connected to the ventilation device and the interior camera device by means of signals (e.g. indirectly via an on-board network of the motor vehicle or directly).

[0038] The motor vehicle may comprise a fragrance dispensing device arranged within the interior (and / or configured to dispense a fragrance into the interior).

[0039] The motor vehicle may include a rain sensor (optionally for detecting rain in the vehicle's surroundings). The control device may be signal-connected to the fragrancing device and / or the rain sensor (e.g., indirectly via the vehicle's electrical system or directly).

[0040] The motor vehicle may include at least one window. The control device may be signal-connected to at least one actuator for opening and / or closing the at least one window (e.g., indirectly via the vehicle electrical system or directly).

[0041] The motor vehicle may be a passenger car, in particular an automobile, or a commercial vehicle, such as a truck.

[0042] What has been described above with reference to the control device also applies analogously to the motor vehicle and vice versa.

[0043] Furthermore, a method for (optionally intelligent and / or automated) controlling a ventilation device for a motor vehicle is provided.

[0044] The method comprises obtaining image data from an interior camera device of the motor vehicle.

[0045] The method includes evaluating the image data to determine whether there is an object in the interior of the motor vehicle that potentially emits an unpleasant odor to the vehicle occupants.

[0046] The method includes controlling the ventilation device to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object is located inside.

[0047] The (control) method may be a computer-implemented method, i.e. one, several or all steps of the method may be carried out at least partially by a computer or a data processing device, optionally the control device.

[0048] What has been described above with reference to the control device and the motor vehicle also applies analogously to the method and vice versa.

[0049] Furthermore, a computer program is provided, comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially carry out or implement the method described above.

[0050] A program code of the computer program may be in any code, in particular in a code suitable for motor vehicle controls.

[0051] What has been described above with reference to the control device, the motor vehicle and the method also applies analogously to the computer program and vice versa.

[0052] Furthermore, a computer-readable medium, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, is provided. The computer-readable medium comprises instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially execute or carry out the method described above.

[0053] This means that a computer-readable medium can be provided that contains a computer program as defined above. The computer-readable medium can be any digital data storage device, such as a USB flash drive, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, an SD card, or an SSD card (or SSD drive / SSD hard disk).

[0054] The computer program does not necessarily have to be stored on such a computer-readable storage medium in order to be made available to the motor vehicle, but can also be obtained via the Internet or otherwise externally.

[0055] What has been described above with reference to the method, the control device, the computer program and the motor vehicle also applies analogously to the computer-readable medium and vice versa.

[0056] Below is an optional embodiment with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 described. Fig. 1 schematically shows a motor vehicle according to the disclosure with a control device for controlling a ventilation device of the motor vehicle, and Fig. 2 schematically shows a flow diagram of a method according to the disclosure for controlling the ventilation device of the motor vehicle.

[0057] The Fig. 1, the motor vehicle 10, which is only shown schematically, comprises the control device 1, the ventilation device 2 and an interior camera device 3, wherein the control device 1 can be connected to the ventilation device 2 and the interior camera device 3 by means of signals.

[0058] The ventilation device 2 can, for example, be an air conditioning system (or an automatic climate control system) of the motor vehicle 10 or at least form part of such an air conditioning system. The ventilation device 2 can be expediently designed to ventilate the interior 11 of the motor vehicle 10, wherein outside air (or fresh air) can be drawn in from the outside and introduced into the interior 11 via a system of air ducts and air outlets provided at various locations in the interior 11.

[0059] The interior camera device 3 can be configured to capture image data in the interior 11. For this purpose, the interior camera device can be arranged in the interior 11 and / or have at least one camera that can be arranged in the interior 11. The at least one camera can, for example, be arranged in and / or on an interior mirror of the motor vehicle 11.

[0060] For (e.g. intelligent and / or automated) control of the ventilation device 2, the control device 1 is designed to carry out the following with reference to Fig. 2 to carry out the procedures 100 described in detail.

[0061] In a first method step S1, image data are obtained from the interior camera device 3.

[0062] In a second method step S2, the image data are evaluated to determine whether an object 5 is located in an interior 11 of the motor vehicle 10, from which an unpleasant odor potentially emanates for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle 10.

[0063] Object 5 can, for example, be a food, a drink, and / or an object. The image data can be evaluated in such a way that a food, a drink, and / or an object is recognized in the image data and identified as object 5, provided that the recognized food, drink, and / or object corresponds to a reference food, reference drink, and / or reference object. References can, for example, be food, drinks, and / or objects that typically (or are known to) emit an unpleasant and / or strong odor. The food, drink, and / or object can, for example, be recognized by identifying a logo on packaging in the image data.

[0064] Furthermore, object 5 can be an animal (or pet). The image data can be evaluated in such a way that an animal is recognized in the image data and identified as object 5, provided that the recognized animal corresponds to a reference animal. Additionally, data from a rain sensor of motor vehicle 10 can be used, whereby it is conceivable that the animal is only identified as object 5 if the data from the rain sensor indicate that it is raining in an area surrounding motor vehicle 10, i.e., directly outside motor vehicle 10. This allows the assumption that the animal's fur has become wet and may therefore be emitting an unpleasant odor.

[0065] Object 5 can, for example, also be a sweat stain of a vehicle occupant of motor vehicle 10, which is detected in the image data and accordingly identified as object 5. It can be assumed that the corresponding vehicle occupant is sweating and may therefore emit an unpleasant odor.

[0066] Furthermore, it is also conceivable that object 5 is detected indirectly. For this purpose, for example, a facial expression of a passenger of motor vehicle 10 can be detected in the image data, and it can be determined that object 5 is located in the interior 11 if the detected facial expression indicates an unpleasant odor. The facial expression can, for example, express a feeling of disgust.

[0067] In a third method step S3, the ventilation device 2 is controlled to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object 5 is located in the interior space 11.

[0068] The countermeasure may, for example, include supplying outside air into the interior 11 and / or activating a fresh air purge of the interior 11. This allows for a continuous air exchange in the interior 11, for example, to remove the unpleasant odor in the interior 11.

[0069] The countermeasure may, for example, include activating a scenting device located within the interior space 1. This allows the unpleasant odor to be masked by the scent from the scenting device.

[0070] Furthermore, it is conceivable that the countermeasure comprises adjusting at least one air outlet of the ventilation device 2, which is arranged within the interior 11, toward the object 5 and simultaneously opening at least one window of the motor vehicle 10. This can generate an air flow, which can expel the unpleasant odor from the open window. List of reference symbols 1 control device 2 Ventilation system 3 Interior camera setup 5 Object 10 motor vehicle 11 Interior of the motor vehicle 100 procedures S1-S3 process steps

Claims

[1] Control device (1) for controlling a ventilation device (2) for a motor vehicle (10), characterized by that the control device (1) is designed to: - to obtain image data from an interior camera device (3) of the motor vehicle (10) (S1); - to evaluate the image data (S2) to determine whether an object (5) is located in an interior (11) of the motor vehicle (10) from which an unpleasant odor potentially emanates for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle (10); and - to control (S3) the ventilation device (2), to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object (5) is located in the interior space (11). [2] Control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the countermeasure includes: - a supply of outside air into the interior (11) and / or an activation of a fresh air purge of the interior (11); and / or - activating a fragrance device arranged within the interior space (11). [3] Control device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by that the countermeasure comprises adjusting at least one air outlet of the ventilation device (2), which is arranged within the interior (11), in the direction of the object (5) and simultaneously opening at least one window of the motor vehicle (10). [4] Control device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that the control device (1) is designed to evaluate (S2) the image data in order to: - to recognize a food, a drink and / or an object in the image data and to identify it as the object (5), provided that the recognized food, drink and / or object corresponds to a reference food, reference drink and / or reference object. [5] Control device (1) according to claim 5, characterized bythat the control device for evaluating (S2) the image data is designed to: - to recognize the food, drink and / or item by identifying a logo on a packaging of the food, drink and / or item in the image data. [6] Control device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that the control device (1) is designed to evaluate (S2) the image data in order to: - to detect an animal in the image data and to identify it as the object (5), provided that the detected animal corresponds to a reference animal and data from a rain sensor of the motor vehicle (10) indicate that it is raining in an environment of the motor vehicle (10). [7] Control device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized by that the control device (1) is designed to evaluate (S2) the image data in order to: - to detect a sweat stain of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle (10) in the image data and to identify it as the object (5), and / or - to recognize a facial expression of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle (10) in the image data, and to determine that the object (5) is located in the interior (11) if the recognized facial expression indicates an unpleasant smell. [8] Motor vehicle (10), characterized by that the motor vehicle (10) comprises: - the control device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 7; - the ventilation device (2); and - the interior camera device (3). [9] Method (100) for controlling a ventilation device (2) for a motor vehicle (10), characterized by that the method (100) comprises: - Obtaining (S1) image data from an interior camera device (3) of the motor vehicle (10); - evaluating (S2) the image data to determine whether an object (5) is located in an interior of the motor vehicle (10) that potentially emits an unpleasant odor for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle (10); and - Controlling (S3) the ventilation device (2) to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object (5) is located in the interior space (11). [10] Computer program and / or computer-readable medium, characterized by that the computer program and / or the computer-readable medium comprises instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method (100) according to claim 9.

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