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

Abstract

Control device (1) for controlling a ventilation device (2) for a motor vehicle (10), wherein the control device (1) is configured 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) that potentially emits an unpleasant odor to the occupants of the motor vehicle (10); - 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);and characterized in that the control device (1) is designed to evaluate (S2) the image data in order to: - recognize a food, a beverage and / or an object in the image data and identify it as the object (5), provided that the recognized food, beverage and / or object corresponds to a reference food, reference beverage and / or reference object, and - recognize the food, beverage and / or object by identifying a logo on packaging of the food, beverage and / or object in the image data.

Description

The present disclosure relates to a control device for controlling a ventilation device for a motor vehicle, and / or a motor vehicle comprising the control device. Additionally, or alternatively, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially execute the method. Additionally, or alternatively, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising instructions which, when the instructions are executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially execute the method.Ventilation devices or air conditioners are usually installed in motor vehicles, which draw in fresh air from the outside for ventilating the respective vehicle interior and introduce it into the vehicle interior via a system of air guidance channels and air vents provided at different points of the vehicle interior.For ventilating the vehicle interior, however, because, for example, an unpleasant odour spreads in the vehicle interior, it is necessary for a vehicle occupant, for example the driver, to activate the respective ventilation device manually.DE 10 2019, 134 629 A1 describes a motor vehicle having a passenger compartment in which at least one seat and one foot space are provided for the feet of a passenger using the seat, and having a shoe cleaning unit for cleaning the shoes of the passenger using the seat.DE 10 2020 000 235 A1 describes a vehicle for transporting persons, having a signalling device, a monitoring device and an evaluation device. The evaluation device is designed to recognize a section of the person room with a contamination based on received signals from the monitoring device, to determine a blocking of the recognized section and to instruct the signaling device to signal the blocked section.DE 10 2018 217 478 A1 describes a vehicle which has a vehicle interior, a number of sensors for monitoring the vehicle interior and a control unit which is linked to the number of sensors by signal transmission technology.Against the background of this prior art, the object of the present disclosure is to specify an apparatus and / or a method which are each suitable for improving the prior art. For example, the object may be to provide an improved control for a ventilation device of a motor vehicle, e.g. an intelligent control.The object is achieved by the features of the independent claims. The subordinate claims and the dependent claims each have optional developments of the disclosure.The object is then achieved by a control device for (optionally intelligent and / or automated) controlling a ventilation device for a motor vehicle. The ventilation device can be, for example, an air conditioning system (or an air conditioning system) for a motor vehicle or at least a part of the air conditioning system.The control device is configured to obtain image data from an interior camera device of the motor vehicle.The control device is configured to evaluate the image data (e.g. by means of an image recognition) in order to determine whether an object is located in an interior of the motor vehicle from which an unpleasant odour for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle potentially arises.The control device is configured to control the ventilation device to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object is located in the interior.The control device can be designed for electronic data processing and / or can be designed at least partially as an electronic data processing device, which can have, for example, one or more microprocessors and data memories. By means of the control device, for example, at least one software and / or at least one algorithm for image recognition or image evaluation of the image data, for example for object recognition, can be operated. It is conceivable that a model of machine learning, e.g. at least one neural network, is used for image recognition or image evaluation.The control device or control unit can be part of a driver assistance system or can represent it, for example. The control device may be, for example, an electronic control unit (engl. ECU=electronic control unit). The electronic control unit can be an intelligent processor-controlled unit which can communicate with other modules, for example via a central gateway (CGW), and which can optionally form the vehicle electrical system via fieldbuses, such as the CAN bus, LIN bus, MOST bus, FlexRay and / or via the automotive Ethernet, for example together with telematics control units and / or a surroundings sensor system.The above-described control device offers a number of advantages. Among other things, an improved technique is provided which makes it possible to automatically identify a situation in which an unpleasant odour for the vehicle occupants propagates in the interior of the motor vehicle and can initiate a corresponding countermeasure in an automated manner without one of the vehicle occupants, e.g. the driver, having to intervene actively. For example, intelligent or automated ventilation optimization can thus be provided, for example when food is consumed in the motor vehicle. This firstly increases the (driving) comfort for the vehicle occupants, for example the driver, of the motor vehicle, and secondly can also contribute to an increase in driving safety since, owing to the countermeasure, the driver is not disturbed or distracted by the unpleasant odour, at least for a very short time, without having to intervene itself.Furthermore, additional costs can be advantageously avoided or at least kept as low as possible for the implementation, since no odor information is taken into account and therefore no odor sensors have to be installed in the motor vehicle. Instead, the detection of the object in the interior of the motor vehicle is (exclusively) based on image detection, it being possible to use, for example, cameras in the interior which are usually already installed in modern motor vehicles.Possible refinements of the above-described control device are explained in detail below.The control device can be configured to identify the object and / or to assign it to an object type (e.g. eating, drink, spot weld). The countermeasure may depend on the (e.g., identified and / or associated) object. In other words, the control device may be configured to select the countermeasure from a collection of possible countermeasures depending on the (e.g. identified and / or assigned) object.The control device can be configured to repeatedly (and / or continuously) receive image data from the interior camera device and evaluate the image data.The control device may be configured to control the ventilation means to maintain the initiated countermeasure for a predetermined time. It is furthermore conceivable that the control device can be configured to control the ventilation device to 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 space and / or as long as it has been determined that the object is no longer located in the interior space.The countermeasure may include providing outside air (or fresh air) to the cabin and / or activating a fresh air purge (e.g., exchanging the cabin air with outside air and / or providing outside air while purging the cabin air) of the cabin.The countermeasure may include activating a fragrancing device arranged within the interior space. The (activated) fragrancing device can be configured to emit a scent in the interior.The countermeasure can comprise setting at least one air vent of the ventilation device, which is arranged within the interior, in the direction of 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 a vicinity of the object and / or is located closest to the object of the plurality of air vents. The control device may 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 a vicinity of the object and / or is located closest to the object of the plurality of windows.The control device can be configured to evaluate the image data in order to recognize an eating, a beverage and / or an object in the image data and to identify it as the object, provided that the recognized eating, beverage and / or the recognized object corresponds to a (e.g. stored) reference eating, reference beverage and / or reference object.The control device may be configured to evaluate the image data to identify the food, beverage and / or item by identifying a logo (and / or product name and / or restaurant name) on a package (e.g. a bag) of the food, beverage and / or item in the image data.The control device can be configured to evaluate the image data in order to recognize an animal (e.g. a pet) in the image data and 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 display data of a rain sensor of the motor vehicle that it is raining in an environment of the motor vehicle.The control device can be configured to evaluate the image data in order to identify a spot weld of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle (e.g. a spot weld on a piece of clothing of the vehicle occupant) in the image data and to identify it as the object.The control device may be configured to evaluate the image data in order to recognize a facial expression of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle in the image data and to determine that the object is located in the interior if the recognized facial expression indicates an unpleasant odour. The detected facial expression may indicate, for example, a feeling of feeling of the occupant of the vehicle.The control device can be configured to perform the activation of 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).The above description can be summarized in other words and on a possible more specific configuration of the disclosure as described below, wherein the following description is to be interpreted as not restrictive for the disclosure.According to the present disclosure, a 2D or 3D camera can be installed, for example, in the interior mirror of the motor vehicle. Relevant objects and / or animals can be recognized on the basis of images of the 2D or 3D camera by means of computer vision (or by means of image processing).Relevant items may be meals (i.e. eating and / or beverages) that give off an (unpleasant) odour, e.g. doners, burger, french fries, asian eating, energy drinks and / or alcoholic beverages, and / or other items such as diapers. For this purpose, logos on packages or bags can be recognized, for example.Relevant animals can be dogs, for example, wherein it can additionally be detected whether a dog is wet, for example with the inclusion of a rain sensor of the motor vehicle.Further, sweat can be detected at vehicle occupants, e.g., based on spots on garments. Furthermore, a feeling of feeling of feeling ("disgust") can be recognized in vehicle occupants.As (counter) measures, switching to outside air, activation of a fresh air purge, setting air vents to relevant objects and opening a window (so that the odor is blown as far as possible out of the window) and / or activation of the fragrancing can be used.Furthermore, a motor vehicle is provided which comprises the above-described control device, the ventilation device and the interior camera device.The ventilation device can have at least one air vent which is arranged within the interior space. The at least one air vent can be configured for (e.g. adjustable) feeding of outside air (or fresh air) into the interior.The interior camera device can be designed to capture the image data in the interior of the motor vehicle. The interior camera device can be arranged in the interior and / or can have at least one camera which can be arranged in the interior.The interior camera device can have at least one 2D and / or 3D camera, which is arranged in and / or on an interior mirror of the motor vehicle.The control device can be connected to the ventilation device and the interior camera device (e.g. indirectly via an on-board power supply system of the motor vehicle or directly) by signal technology.The motor vehicle may comprise a fragrancing device which is arranged within the interior space (and / or is designed to emit a fragrance into the interior space).The motor vehicle may include a rain sensor (optionally for sensing rain in an environment of the motor vehicle). The control device can be connected to the fragrancing device and / or the rain sensor (e.g. indirectly via the on-board power supply system or directly) by signal technology.The motor vehicle can comprise at least one window. The control device can be connected by signal technology to at least one actuator for opening and / or closing the at least one window (e.g. indirectly via the on-board power supply system or directly).The motor vehicle can be a passenger car, in particular an automobile, or a commercial vehicle, such as a truck.The description above with reference to the control device applies analogously also to the motor vehicle and vice versa.Furthermore, a method for (optionally intelligent and / or automated) controlling a ventilation device for a motor vehicle is provided.The method comprises obtaining image data from an interior camera device of the motor vehicle.The method comprises evaluating the image data in order to determine whether an object is located in an interior of the motor vehicle from which an unpleasant odour for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle potentially arises.The method comprises controlling the ventilation device to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object is located in the interior.The (control) method can be a computer-implemented method, i.e. one, several or all steps of the method can be executed at least partially by a computer or a device for data processing, optionally the control device.The description above with reference to the control device and to the motor vehicle applies analogously also to the method and vice versa.Furthermore, a computer program comprising instructions which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially execute or implement the method described above is provided.A program code of the computer program can be present in any code, in particular in a code suitable for controllers of motor vehicles.The description above with reference to the control device, the motor vehicle and the method also applies analogously to the computer program and vice versa.Furthermore, a computer-readable medium, in particular a computer-readable storage medium, is provided. The computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when the instructions are executed by a computer, cause the computer to at least partially perform the method described above.That is, a computer readable medium including a computer program as defined above may be provided. The computer readable medium may be any digital data storage device, such as a USB stick, hard disk, CD-ROM, SD card, or SSD card (or SSD drive / SSD hard disk).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 externally via the Internet or in some other way.The description above with reference to the method, the control device, the computer program and the motor vehicle applies analogously also to the computer-readable medium and vice versa.An optional embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. 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.The motor vehicle 10 shown only schematically in FIG. 1 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 signal technology.The ventilation device 2 can be, for example, an air conditioning system (or an air conditioning system) of the motor vehicle 10 or can form at least a part of such an air conditioning system. The ventilation device 2 can be expediently designed for ventilating the interior 11 of the motor vehicle 10, wherein external air (or fresh air) can be sucked in from the outside and introduced into the interior 11 via a system of air guidance channels and air vents provided at different points of the interior 11.The interior camera device 3 can be configured to acquire image data in the interior 11. For this purpose, the interior camera device can be arranged in the interior 11 and / or can have at least one camera which can be arranged in the interior 11. The at least one camera can be arranged, for example, in and / or on an interior mirror of the motor vehicle 11.For (e.g. intelligent and / or automated) controlling the ventilation device 2, the control device 1 is configured to execute the method 100 described in detail below also with reference to FIG. 2.In a first method step S 1, image data is obtained from the interior camera device 3.In a second method step S 2, the image data are evaluated in order to determine whether an object 5 is located in an interior 11 of the motor vehicle 10, from which object an unpleasant odour for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle 10 potentially originates.The object 5 can be, for example, an food, a beverage and / or an object. The image data can be evaluated in such a way that an food, beverage and / or object is recognized in the image data and identified as the object 5, provided that the recognized food, beverage and / or the recognized object corresponds to a reference essence, reference beverage and / or reference object. References which can be deposited are, for example, eating, beverages and / or articles which usually (or as known) emit an unpleasant and / or strong odour. The food, beverage and / or item may be detected, for example, by identifying a logo on a package in the image data.Furthermore, the 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. In addition, data of a rain sensor of the motor vehicle 10 can be used, wherein it is conceivable that the animal is only identified as object 5 if the data of the rain sensor indicate that it is raining in the environment of the motor vehicle 10, i.e. directly outside the motor vehicle 10. Thereby, it can be considered that the coat of the animal has become wet and thereby may give off unpleasant smell.The object 5 can also be, for example, a welding spot of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle 10, which spot is recognized in the image data and correspondingly identified as the object 5. It can be assumed here that the corresponding vehicle occupant sweating and can thereby emit an unpleasant odor.In addition, it is also conceivable that the object 5 is detected indirectly. For this purpose, a facial expression of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle 10, for example, can be recognized in the image data and it can be determined that the object 5 is located in the interior 11 if the recognized facial expression indicates an unpleasant odour. The facial expression may express, for example, a feeling of ekel.In a third method step S 3, the ventilation device 2 is controlled to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object 5 is located in the interior 11.The countermeasure may include, for example, supplying outside air into the interior 11 and / or activating a fresh air purge of the interior 11. As a result, an, for example continuous, air exchange can take place in the interior 11 in order to remove the unpleasant odour in the interior 11.The countermeasure may comprise, for example, activating a fragrancing device arranged within the interior 1. As a result, the unpleasant odour can be masked by the odour from the significance device.It is furthermore conceivable that the countermeasure comprises an adjustment of at least one air vent of the ventilation device 2, which is arranged within the interior 11, in the direction of the object 5 and a simultaneous opening of at least one window of the motor vehicle 10. As a result, an air flow can be generated, whereby the unpleasant odour can be led out of the opened window.List of reference characters1 Control device 2 Ventilation device 3 Interior camera device 5 Object 10 Motor vehicle 11 Interior of the motor vehicle 100 Method S 1-S 3 Method steps

Claims

Control device (1) for controlling a ventilation device (2) for a motor vehicle (10), wherein the control device (1) is configured to: - obtain (S1) image data from an interior camera device (3) of the motor vehicle (10); - evaluate (S2) the image data in order to determine whether an object (5) is located in an interior (11) of the motor vehicle (10), from which an unpleasant odour for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle (10) potentially originates; - control (S3) the ventilation device (2) to initiate a countermeasure if it has been determined that the object (5) is located in the interior (11); Method and characterized in that the control device (1) is configured for evaluating (S2) the image data in order to: - identify an eating, a beverage and / or an object in the image data and to identify it as the object (5) if the identified eating, beverage and / or the identified object corresponds to a reference eating, reference beverage and / or reference object, and - identify the eating, the beverage and / or the object in the image data by identifying a logo on a packaging of the eating, beverage and / or object.Control device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the countermeasure comprises: - a supply of outside air into the interior space (11) and / or an activation of a fresh air flushing of the interior space (11); and / or - an activation of a fragrancing device arranged within the interior space (11).Control device (1) according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the countermeasure comprises setting at least one air vent of the ventilation device (2), which is arranged within the interior space (11), in the direction of the object (5) and simultaneously opening at least one window of the motor vehicle (10).Control device (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the control device (1) is designed for evaluating (S2) the image data in order: - to identify an animal in the image data and to identify it as the object (5), provided that the identified animal corresponds to a reference animal and data from a rain sensor of the motor vehicle (10) indicate that it is raining in the surroundings of the motor vehicle (10).Control device (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the control device (1) is configured for evaluating (S2) the image data in order: - to identify a spot of welding of a vehicle occupant of the motor vehicle (10) in the image data and to identify it as the object (5), and / or - to identify 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 identified facial expression indicates an unpleasant odour.Motor vehicle (10), characterized in that the motor vehicle (10) comprises: - the control device (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 5; - the ventilation device (2); and - the interior camera device (3).Method (100) for controlling a ventilation device (2) for a motor vehicle (10), wherein the method (100) comprises: - obtaining (S1) image data from an interior camera device (3) of the motor vehicle (10); - evaluating (S2) the image data in order to determine whether an object (5) is located in an interior (11) of the motor vehicle (10) from which an unpleasant odour for vehicle occupants of the motor vehicle (10) potentially originates; - 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), and characterized in that the evaluation (S2) of the image data comprises: - detecting an eating, a beverage and / or an object in the image data and identifying as the object (5) if the detected eating, beverage and / or the detected object corresponds to a reference eating, reference beverage and / or reference object, and - detecting the eating, the beverage and / or the object by identifying a logo on a packaging of the eating, beverage and / or object in the image data.A computer program and / or computer readable medium, characterized in that the computer program and / or computer readable medium comprises instructions which, when the instructions are executed by a computer, cause the computer to carry out the method (100) of claim 7.

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