Method for controlling an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle and motor vehicle

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an air conditioning system (1) in a motor vehicle (2), in which - a camera (3) captures images of a vehicle occupant (4) and transmits them to a computer device (5), - the computer device (5) determines a pulse of the vehicle occupant (4) from the images transmitted by the camera (3), - the computer device (5) controls the air conditioning system (1) depending on the determined pulse of the vehicle occupant (4). This can significantly increase driving comfort.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for controlling an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle. The invention also relates to a motor vehicle having an air conditioning system, a camera and a computer device for carrying out this method.DE 10 2015 221 416 A1 discloses a method for air-conditioning a seat position for an occupant of a vehicle. The method comprises ascertaining a set target temperature for the seat position and ascertaining a current state of an occupant in the seat position. The method also includes adjusting a climate at the seating position depending on the target temperature and the current state of the occupant.DE 10 2011 016 772 A1 discloses a method for monitoring at least one vehicle occupant in a vehicle, in which images of the vehicle occupant are recorded by means of at least one image recording unit and evaluated by means of an image processing unit. In this case, at least one vital parameter of the vehicle occupant is determined by the image evaluation of the captured images.DE 196 48 038 A1 discloses a method for controlling a heating and / or air conditioning system, in which a physiological parameter of a vehicle occupant is determined by means of a sensor system and the system is controlled in accordance with this parameter and in accordance with a corresponding program.From DE 11 2013 003 595 T5 a vehicle is known with climate control with a number of sensors for detecting climate control information, such as states of a human body, e.g. a temperature or a heart rate, of the human occupants of the vehicle, and with a processing unit and climate control. The processing unit uses the data regarding the conditions of the human body from the sensors to activate the climate control and adjust the climate conditions for the human occupants.Generally, the feeling of heat in humans is a complex phenomenon influenced by various physiological factors. Each human has a highly sensitive thermoregulation that regulates the overall heat balance. There are around 3,000 thermal receptors on the skin surface associated with nerve cells that transmit temperature changes to the brain. Also, the human body can tolerate a temperature rise of 5°C at maximum. In the case of cold, the cold receptors react, the dermal vessels contract and vasoconstriction occurs, in which the blood is conducted into the interior in order to keep the organs warm. This results in a very individual feeling for different persons.In addition, the pulse of a vehicle occupant, more precisely his heart rate, is also an indicator of the heart activity and the blood circulation. Stress associated with increased pulse may also affect heat sensation. The stress-induced increased cardiac activity can lead to more blood flowing through the arteries, which leads to increased blood circulation through the skin. This in turn may result in the skin becoming warmer, which may be perceived as a feeling of heatNowadays, in particular in motor vehicles of the premium segment, there is usually fully automatic vehicle interior air conditioning. In addition to the automatic system, a user also has the option of making settings with regard to the air conditioning itself. At present, the setting of the air conditioning (temperature, air intensity, air jet position) with (mechanical or sensory / touch) operating elements is defined by the user. When the vehicle is used for the first time (from the factory), a default setting is generally preselected (e.g. 22° C.), which can then be adapted to its personal preferences subsequently by the user. An adjustment of an air flow, which previously was effected mechanically manually, is currently also possible electromechanically. For this purpose, the user can freely position the desired position of the air flow in the room via a touch screen. In this case, he "pulls" the air flow of each individual air outflow nozzle on the touchpad to the desired position.In addition, the heat distribution can also be divided from "top", "middle" and "bottom", as a result of which the user can select whether he wishes to feel more heat / cold in the upper region (upper body), middle or in the lower region (foot space, legs, feet). Furthermore, a user can also directly flow onto particularly sensitive areas of the body, such as hands or face / head. Since the skin in these sensitive areas is typically not covered by clothing, the feeling of heat is particularly high here.Via personalization, the air-conditioning system can "note" these personal preferences and store them. The adaptation is thus generally concluded. If the user unlocks the motor vehicle after another user has used the vehicle in the meantime, the adjustable parameters are returned to the values parameterized in the key.A disadvantage here is that the settings are static, which is disadvantageous on the basis of frequently changing heat sensation, which is also influenced by external influences (such as stress, solar radiation, day / night), so that the user must frequently readjust and adapt various parameters, inter alia the air flow. Since the settings are currently always reset to the stored values, such systems are also not flexible. The user must thus intervene manually again and again in the control and reset the personally changed preferences, which represents a considerable loss of comfort.The present invention therefore addresses the problem of specifying a method for regulating an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle, by means of which method the disadvantages known from the prior art can be at least partially overcome.This problem is solved according to the invention by the subject matter of independent claim 1. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims.The present invention is based on the general idea of capturing images of a vehicle occupant by means of a special camera and transmitting them to a computer device, which in turn determines a pulse and thus indirectly a heart rate of the vehicle occupant from this and is moreover capable, on the basis of programming, of adapting an air conditioning system as a function of the pulse captured by the camera. This allows for an extremely short-term adaptation of a temperature to a stress-induced pulse rise of the vehicle occupant, which is also associated with a rapid and stress-induced increase in the heat feeling. With the method according to the invention, the aforementioned camera first captures images of the vehicle occupant and transmits them to the computer device. Here, only one camera can be provided for each motor vehicle, which captures images of a driver, wherein purely theoretically, a corresponding camera or a corresponding image capture of a person sitting on the respective motor vehicle seat is also possible for each seat in the motor vehicle. The computer device then determines a pulse or a heart rate of the vehicle occupant or occupants from the images transmitted by the camera and controls the air conditioning system as a function of the determined pulse / occupants. The pulse is the pulse waves which can be measured per minute on the arteries. They are produced by the movement of the blood which is pressed against the arterial walls with each heart beat, wherein the pulse generally also corresponds to the heart rate, i.e. the heart beat per minute. The images of the vehicle occupant recorded by the camera thus record a pulsation, for example of veins at a forehead or a neck of the vehicle occupant, from which the computer device communicatively connected to the camera can draw conclusions about the pulse or the heart rate. If, for example, the pulse therefore rises abruptly, for example triggered by an external event, such as stress, this is detected by the camera and answered by the computer device with a corresponding control of the air conditioning system, for example an increased cooling of the vehicle occupant. In this case, it is in particular conceivable for the computer device to actuate the air conditioning system and in the process to reduce the temperature of the blown-out air in such a way that, in particular, heat-sensitive regions, such as hands and a head of the vehicle occupant, are subjected directly to flow in order to permanently reduce the feeling of heat. The great advantage of the method according to the invention is in particular that the vehicle occupant does not have to take action themselves, but rather the computer device permanently monitors the pulse of the vehicle occupant via the camera and takes appropriate, air-conditioning countermeasures, which bring about an increase in the driving comfort. This also makes it possible to detect external events, such as a wild type, which suddenly jumps to a roadway in front of the motor vehicle and leads to a sudden pulse rise of the vehicle occupant, directly and also to take appropriate countermeasures directly. The setting of the air conditioning system adapted by the computer device is thus already carried out at a very early point in time. Normally, the pulse first rises, whereupon an increased heat sensation only subsequently occurs, whereupon the vehicle occupant in turn actuates the air conditioning system manually, so that in turn an increased cooling power is provided only in a subsequent step. However, by means of the method according to the invention, as a result of the permanent monitoring of the pulse of the vehicle occupant by means of the camera, direct actuation of the air conditioning system by the computer device is possible, with the result that an increased cooling capacity can already be output to the vehicle occupant even before its heat sensation or its body temperature increases significantly. As a result, the increased cooling power is already available when the increased heat sensation only occurs slowly.According to the invention, the camera captures a depth 3D image. By means of such a 3D image, the computer device is capable of permanently capturing and also monitoring the pulse and thus indirectly also the heart rate of the vehicle occupant, since the pulse is manifested, for example, by a pulsating widening of the arteries in the depth 3D image. Purely theoretically, it is even conceivable that a driving observation camera already installed in the motor vehicle, which for example likewise has a depth 3D image, is also used for the method according to the invention, as a result of which an additional camera is not required. The computer device connected in communication with the camera and the air conditioning system is usually also already present in common motor vehicles, so that here too no additional costs for additional components for realizing the method according to the invention are to be expected.In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the computer device determines a change in the pulse of the vehicle occupant from the images transmitted by the camera, wherein the computer device actuates the air conditioning system as a function of the determined change in the pulse. If, for example, an unexpected event occurs in front of the motor vehicle, for example a wild change, the pulse of the vehicle occupant, in particular of a driver, changes rapidly on account of the stress arising as a result, whereupon the computer device can actuate the air conditioning system on the basis of the ascertained change in the pulse. Predefined ranges of the change can of course be stored here, wherein individual control signals for the air conditioning system are likewise stored for the respective stored ranges of the change of the pulse. In this case, for example, the computer device can increase a cooling capacity of the air conditioning system to a greater extent the higher the change / increase in the pulse of the vehicle occupant.In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the computer device controls a power of a blower and / or an alignment of individual air outlet nozzles of the air conditioning system on the basis of the images transmitted by the camera. This offers the great advantage that the air conditioning system can bring about a more rapid cooling, which is perceived as particularly pleasant on the part of the vehicle occupant by an appropriate alignment of the air outlet nozzles on regions of the vehicle occupant, for example regions of the vehicle occupant not covered, for example a face and / or the hands. This allows a particularly rapid adaptation of a cooling or heating power of the air conditioning system to a pulse change detected at the vehicle occupant to be achieved, which significantly increases the driving comfort for the vehicle occupant. This can also be aided by the adaptation of the output of the blower, so that in the event of a rapid pulse rise, for example, the output of the blower is increased by means of the computer device in order to be able to supply rapidly cool air to the vehicle occupant.In a particularly preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention, the computer device controls a temperature of the air blown out by the air conditioning system on the basis of the images transmitted by the camera. In order to be able to achieve rapid cooling in the event of a detected rapid pulse rise, the temperature of the air blown out by the air conditioning system can be greatly reduced by the computer device, in order to likewise be able to quickly remedy this in the event of a rapid pulse rise and a associated rapid increase in the heat sensation of the vehicle occupant.In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the method according to the invention, the camera captures a forehead area and / or a neck area of the vehicle occupant and transmits the images captured from there to the computer device. Arteries run in particular on the forehead or on the neck region, in which a pulsation and thus the pulse and indirectly also the heart rate can be easily removed in the same way. In particular, a forehead area or a neck area of the vehicle occupant is thus predestined for capturing the images for the method according to the invention.The present invention is further based on the general idea of specifying a motor vehicle having an air conditioning system with a blower and air outlet nozzles, and having a camera directed at at least one vehicle occupant, which camera is designed for capturing images of the vehicle occupant and for transmitting these images to a computer device. The computer device is in turn connected in communication with the air conditioning system and the camera and is designed to carry out the method described in the preceding paragraphs. As a result, the advantages described with respect to the method according to the invention can also be transferred to the motor vehicle according to the invention. Specifically, these advantages lie in a setting-independent actuation of the air conditioning system solely on the basis of the individual pulse of the vehicle occupant. A further great advantage is that the vehicle occupant no longer has to intervene manually for controlling the air conditioning system, but rather is set automatically by means of the method according to the invention and the computer device. The adaptation of the air conditioning is carried out at an already very early point in time, which is perceived as very pleasant by the vehicle occupant. If an already existing computer device or a camera already existing in any case is used in the motor vehicle according to the invention, no additional components are furthermore required, so that the method according to the invention can be implemented in the motor vehicle according to the invention almost in a cost-neutral manner and the advantages can thus also be achieved preferably in a cost-neutral manner.In a further advantageous embodiment of the motor vehicle according to the invention, the camera is arranged on an A-pillar, a B-pillar, a C-pillar, an instrument panel or a roof lining. This non-exhaustive list already suggests what many possible arrangements for the camera are conceivable. Thus, for example, in the case of a camera arranged on a C-pillar, a neck region of a rear passenger can be monitored and the method according to the invention can be initiated, while in the case of a camera arranged on the A-pillar or the B-pillar or a roof lining or on the dashboard, pulse monitoring can be carried out without problems on a driver seat or passenger seat. Purely theoretically, of course, other possible arrangements are also conceivable.According to the invention, the camera is designed as a 3D camera. This makes it possible to capture spatial images by means of the depth 3D camera, by means of which images the pulse of the observed vehicle occupant can be captured particularly easily. Depth 3D cameras of this type can nowadays be implemented in a cost-effective manner and extremely small with regard to the requirement for installation space, with the result that an arrangement at virtually any desired locations in the motor vehicle is conceivable.Further important features and advantages of the invention are evident from the dependent claims, from the drawings and from the associated description of the figures with reference to the drawings.It is understood that the features mentioned above and those still to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims. The above-mentioned components of a superordinate unit, such as a device, a device or an arrangement, which are designated separately, can form separate components or components of this unit or can be integral regions or sections of this unit, even if this is illustrated differently in the drawings.Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and are explained in more detail in the following description, wherein the same reference numerals refer to the same or similar or functionally the same components.They show, in each case schematically, FIG. 1 shows individual method steps of a method according to the invention for controlling an air conditioning system in a motor vehicle according to the invention, FIG. 2 shows an internal view of a motor vehicle according to the invention.According to FIG. 1, a method according to the invention for regulating an air conditioning system 1 (compare FIG. 2 ) in a motor vehicle 2 according to the invention has a total of three method steps A to C. In a first method step A, a camera 3 first captures images of a vehicle occupant 4 and transmits these to a computer device 5. in subsequent method step B, the computer device 5 determines a pulse of the vehicle occupant 4 from the images transmitted by the camera 3, i.e. indirectly a heart rate of the same, to which point the computer device 5 actuates the air conditioning system 1 in dependence on the determined pulse of the vehicle occupant 4 in method step C.As a result, a particularly rapid and thus also pleasantly perceived temperature control of a vehicle interior 6 and / or of the vehicle occupant 4 can take place, provided that its body temperature / heat sensation increases greatly, for example on account of suddenly occurring stress.The camera 3 is in this case capable of capturing a depth 3D image, as a result of which the camera, for example, extending arteries of the vehicle occupant 4, can capture particularly well. The widening of the arteries during one minute is referred to as the pulse or heart rate.In an advantageous development of the method according to the invention, the computer device 5 determines a change in the pulse of the vehicle occupant 4 from the images transmitted by the camera 3 and controls the air conditioning system 1 as a function of the determined change in the pulse. If, for example, an unexpected event occurs in front of the motor vehicle 2 according to the invention, for example an abrupt wild change, this leads to a stress situation in the vehicle occupant 4, as a result of which the pulse thereof increases. This pulse increase, i.e. the change in the pulse, is detected by the camera 3 and transmitted to the computer device 5, whereby the latter can immediately initiate corresponding measures. The abrupt increase in the pulse usually also entails an increased feeling of heat, i.e. an increase in a body surface temperature, wherein by means of the method according to the invention, even before the actual, slightly time-delayed increase in the feeling of heat after the pulse increase, an early cooling of the vehicle occupant 4 can already take place. If the camera 3 thus detects a rapid change in the pulse of the vehicle occupant 4 and transmits this to the computer device 5, the latter can already actuate the air conditioning system 1 in such a way that it provides increased cooling for the vehicle occupant 4. The increased cooling is thus already available when the time-delayed increased heat sensation or the time-delayed increased body surface temperature of the vehicle occupant 4 begins, without the vehicle occupant 4 having to take action for this purpose. The driving comfort for the vehicle occupant 4 can thereby be considerably increased, since appropriate countermeasures can be initiated already at an extremely early stage, even before the actual increase of the body temperature of the vehicle occupant 4.It is also conceivable here for the computer device 5 to actuate a temperature of the air blown out by the air conditioning system 1 on the basis of the images transmitted by the camera 3 or to perform a power of a blower and / or an alignment of individual air outlet nozzles 7. If the camera 3 thus detects an increased pulse of the vehicle occupant 4, the computer device 5 is able, on account of the method according to the invention, to increase a blower output of the air conditioning system 1 or to direct one or more air outlet nozzles 7 directly onto the vehicle occupant 4, as a result of which said vehicle occupant is cooled directly better by means of the relatively strong air flow.Additionally or alternatively, it is of course also possible to reduce the temperature of the air stream blown out in the direction of the vehicle occupant 4. A reduction in the temperature of the blown-out air flow or an increase in the blower output of the air conditioning system 1 can turn out to be all the more pronounced the earlier the change in the pulse of the vehicle occupant 4 within a predefined time period.The camera 3 can, for example, capture a forehead area 8 and / or a neck area 9 of the vehicle occupant 4 and transmit the images recorded from there to the computer device 5. Arteries run particularly at the forehead or at the neck, which are particularly suitable for determining the pulse and thus indirectly the heart rate of the vehicle occupant 4.In addition to the method according to the invention, the present application is also intended to protect a motor vehicle 2 which comprises an air conditioning system 1 having a blower and air outlet nozzles 7 and at least one camera 3 which is directed toward a vehicle occupant 4 and is designed for capturing images of the vehicle occupant 4 and for transmitting these images to a computer device 5. The computer device 5 is in turn capable of executing the method described in the preceding paragraphs.The camera 3 is arranged in an A-pillar 10 in the motor vehicle 2 shown in FIG. 2, but can additionally or alternatively also be arranged in a B-pillar 11, a roof lining 12 or an instrument panel 13. An arrangement on a C-pillar, not shown, is also conceivable, wherein a camera 3 arranged there can monitor laterally a neck region 9 of a vehicle occupant 4 seated on a rear seat. The camera 3 is designed as a depth 3D camera and is thereby able to transmit plastic, i.e. spatial images, to the computer device 5, which can comparatively easily detect depth changes therefrom and, via this, a pulse of the vehicle occupant 4.All in all, the method according to the invention and the motor vehicle 2 according to the invention can clearly increase driving comfort for the vehicle occupant 4, wherein, for example, stress-related rapid pulse changes and subsequent increases in a body temperature or a feeling of heat can be directly counteracted by the computer device 5 processing the pulse increase from the images transmitted by the camera 3 and converting it into corresponding control signals for the air conditioning system 1. This eliminates, in particular, the need for manual actuation of the air conditioning system 1 by the vehicle occupant 4 after the latter experiences an increased feeling of heat as a result of stress. If already existing computer devices 5 or such cameras 3 are used in the motor vehicle 2 in any case, the method according to the invention can preferably be implemented almost cost-neutrally.

Claims

Method for regulating an air-conditioning system (1) in a motor vehicle (2), in which a camera (3) captures images of a vehicle occupant (4) and transmits them to a computer device (5), characterized - in that the computer device (5) uses the images transmitted by the camera (3) to determine a pulse of the vehicle occupant (4), - in that the computer device (5) actuates the air-conditioning system (1) on the basis of the determined pulse of the vehicle occupant (4), - in that the camera (3) captures a depth 3D image.Method according to Claim 1, characterized - in that the computer device (5) uses the images transmitted by the camera (3) to determine a temporal change in the pulse of the vehicle occupant (4), - in that the computer device (5) actuates the air-conditioning system (1) as a function of the determined temporal change in the pulse of the vehicle occupant (4).Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the computer device (5) controls a power of a blower and / or an alignment of individual air outlet nozzles (7) of the air conditioning system (1) on the basis of the images transmitted by the camera (3).Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the computer device (5) controls a temperature of the air blown out by the air-conditioning system (1) on the basis of the images transmitted by the camera (3).Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the camera (3) captures an end region (8) and / or a neck region (9) of the vehicle occupant (4) and transmits it to the computer device (5).Motor vehicle (2), - with an air conditioning system (1) with a blower and air outlet nozzles (7), - with a camera (3) directed towards a vehicle occupant (4) and designed for capturing images of the vehicle occupant (4) and for transmitting these images to a computer device (5), - wherein the computer device (5) is connected in a communicating manner to the air conditioning system (1) and the camera (3) and is designed for carrying out the method according to one of the preceding claims, - wherein the camera (3) is designed as a 3D camera.Motor vehicle (2) according to Claim 6, characterized in that the camera (3) is arranged on an A-pillar (10), a B-pillar (11), an instrument panel (13) or a roof lining (12).

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