Automatic adjustment of a seat position in a driver's seat

Abstract

A method and an adjustment system for automatically adjusting a seating position in a driver's seat (14) of a motor vehicle is provided, in which a head position (34) of the driver (10) is estimated from a cockpit view (24) of a driver (10), a body posture of the driver (10) is estimated from the estimated head position and / or a current seat setting of the driver's seat (14), an optimal body posture is determined from the estimated body posture, and the seat setting of the driver's seat (14) is changed until the current estimated body posture is sufficiently similar to the optimal body posture.The head position determined in the cockpit view (24) allows the driver's current posture (10) to be determined and adjusted to an optimal posture by automatically changing the seat setting, thus enabling automatic adjustment of the most comfortable and safe seating position possible in a driver's seat (14) of a motor vehicle.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a method, an adjustment system and a motor vehicle, with the aid of which a seating position in a driver's seat of the motor vehicle can be automatically adjusted.

[0002] KR 10-2016-0072983 A discloses a method for determining the seating position of a driver of a motor vehicle, in which various fixed points in the vehicle interior are targeted with the aid of a camera integrated into glasses worn by the driver, and a seating position of a driver's seat is adjusted such that the fixed points are in a desired relative position to the camera, in which a head position of the driver is positioned as optimally as possible to the rear and side mirrors.

[0003] There is a constant need to automatically adjust the driver's seat of a motor vehicle to provide the most comfortable and safest possible seating position.

[0004] The object of the invention is to specify measures that enable the automatic adjustment of the most comfortable and safest possible seating position in a driver's seat of a motor vehicle.

[0005] The problem is solved according to the invention by a method with the features of claim 1, an adjustment system with the features of claim 8, and a motor vehicle with the features of claim 10. Preferred embodiments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims and the following description, each of which can individually or in combination represent an aspect of the invention, the scope of protection being determined by the claims.

[0006] One aspect of the invention relates to a method for automatically adjusting a seating position in a driver's seat of a motor vehicle, in which a head position of the driver is estimated from a cockpit view of a driver, a body posture of the driver is estimated from the estimated head position and / or a current seat setting of the driver's seat, an optimal body posture is determined from the estimated body posture, and the seat setting of the driver's seat is changed in such a way that the current estimated body posture corresponds to the optimal body posture, in particular to a sufficiently similar degree.

[0007] It has been recognized that a driver's head position alone is not a sufficiently reliable criterion for determining the most comfortable and safe seating position in a motor vehicle. For example, gender-specific differences in general body structure between men and women, even at the same height, affect a seating position perceived as comfortable and safe. Even more significant are the differences in perceived comfort and safety between individuals with considerably different heights, weights, and / or pelvic shapes. Therefore, this method automatically adjusts a seating position perceived as comfortable and safe by considering not only the head position but also the driver's posture, whereby the head position can only be one of several pieces of information taken into account in the estimated posture.In particular, this makes it possible to adapt the driver's posture to the safety technology, especially rear-view and side mirrors, and not to adapt the safety technology to the driver's posture, which in this case could be associated with impairments and / or compromises in road safety.

[0008] Furthermore, it has been recognized that the driver's cockpit view can reveal not only distances and head angles, but also other data and reference points relevant to body posture. For example, the driver's hands gripping the steering wheel and / or the orientation of the forearm belonging to each hand can be captured within the cockpit view, particularly when captured via a camera integrated into so-called "smart glasses." This allows for the determination of the length and / or three-dimensional arrangement of the driver's arms using this data. This, in turn, allows conclusions to be drawn about the driver's height. Specifically, it is also possible to determine the orientation of the driver's back and / or the position of the pelvis from the current seat setting.Such data allows for the estimation of joints and the distances of body parts and extremities connected to the joints in a model of the driver, thereby enabling a fairly precise estimation of the driver's posture, including relevant lengths and three-dimensional orientations of body parts and extremities relative to each other.

[0009] Based on the estimated posture of the driver, information about their physique, particularly height and limb length, can be obtained. This information allows for the determination of an optimal posture that is particularly well-suited to that physique. By comparing the estimated posture with the optimal posture, it becomes immediately clear how the seat settings must be adjusted so that the driver assumes the optimal posture. This can be achieved by adjusting the driver's seat actuators to modify the seat settings so that the driver adopts the optimal posture.It can be taken into account that, due to the large number of parameters used to describe body posture, it will generally not be possible to achieve the seat setting for the optimal posture exactly. Therefore, the adjustment of the driver's seat is stopped when a sufficient similarity is reached between the estimated body posture (which has changed in the meantime) and the optimal body posture. Similarity between the estimated body posture and the optimal body posture is achieved when any remaining differences in posture are below a certain tolerance level. For example, the body postures are sufficiently similar when the parameter values ​​associated with the optimal body posture are at least 90%, and preferably at least 95%, of those of the estimated body posture.The head position determined in the cockpit view allows the driver's current posture to be determined and automatically adjusted to an optimal posture by changing the seat setting, thus enabling automatic adjustment of the most comfortable and safe seating position possible in a driver's seat of a motor vehicle.

[0010] The seating position in the driver's seat is determined by the orientation and relative position of the seat cushion, backrest, side bolster, headrest, and / or similar components. The orientation and relative position of these components can influence the driver's posture while seated. However, to a certain extent, variations in posture are possible even for the same person in the same seating position due to their movements. The position and angle of the individual components of the driver's seat can be adjusted, preferably in more than one coordinate direction, using seat actuators. The seat actuators can be operated manually and / or automatically.

[0011] The driver's cockpit view essentially corresponds to the driver's ego-view, as perceived by the driver through natural vision. Typically, at least one camera is provided, positioned laterally to the driver's eyes to prevent it from obstructing their line of sight. This allows the cockpit view captured by the camera to deviate slightly from the driver's natural ego-view, but this deviation should not significantly impair the simulation of the driver's ego-view. The at least one camera can be mounted on eyeglasses, particularly smart glasses.Preferably, a camera is provided for each side of the glasses, in particular for each lens assigned to one eye, so that the cockpit view captured by the at least two cameras can be represented three-dimensionally due to the parallax between the cameras. This facilitates the measurement of distances when evaluating the camera data, especially when the cockpit view includes an object with a known geometry as a reference, for example, a steering wheel with a known outer diameter.

[0012] The driver's head position can coincide with a starting point for the cockpit view. In particular, it is possible to estimate the three-dimensional position of the driver's eyes within the vehicle interior and / or relative to a reference point, such as an instrument panel, from the cockpit view. Assuming a specific head shape, which can also be determined by observation from another camera, a three-dimensional volume within the vehicle interior corresponding to the head position can be estimated. The head position also provides an estimate of the point where the driver's spine must be attached, thus already defining one of several factors for determining the driver's posture.

[0013] The estimated body posture of the driver can be derived from the estimated head position and / or other image data of the driver, as well as from the current seat setting. The driver's posture can be modeled as lines connected by joints, so that determining the position of the joints and / or the length of the lines is sufficient to estimate a sufficiently accurate model of the driver's posture.

[0014] The optimal driving posture can be determined by ensuring that all relevant instruments are visible and unobstructed by components such as the steering wheel. In particular, good visibility of the rearview and / or side mirrors can be considered, and the mirrors can be automatically adjusted to provide the driver with the best possible all-around visibility for safe driving. Furthermore, certain driving postures have proven to be especially comfortable and / or advantageous, particularly for long-distance driving and / or racing. Based on this information, it is possible to define an optimal driving posture for different body types, each particularly suited to a specific driver with a particular physique.Based on the estimated body posture, the driver's physical build can be easily determined, and the optimal posture suitable for that type can be selected from a range of optimal postures available for different body types. It is also possible to maintain a personalized optimal posture for specific, individually identifiable individuals, which should be achieved when changing the seat settings. This allows for a more comfortable and / or advantageous posture to be selected, deviating from a generic optimal posture for a particular body type. Preferably, the differing individual optimal posture is only permitted if no impairment of safety is expected in this differing optimal posture.

[0015] The driver's seat adjustment can be automated using the seat actuators. For this purpose, the repeatedly determined estimated body posture can be compared with the optimal body posture until the seat adjustment achieved by the actuators essentially results in the optimal posture. It can be taken into account that achieving the exact optimal posture is rather unlikely, and a sufficiently similar estimated body posture is good enough to avoid further adjustments to the seat setting.It is particularly preferred that the seat setting is changed only when the driver first sits down in the driver's seat, so that further changes to the seat setting at a later time, especially while driving, are avoided, for example, to prevent the driver from being startled by a sudden activation of the seat actuators and a sudden movement of individual parts of the driver's seat.

[0016] In particular, a posture classifier is used to estimate body posture, preferably employing a posture model based on joints and the segments connected across the joints. The arrangement of the joints and segments is particularly preferably derived from 2D and / or 3D image data using machine learning. A suitable classifier is described, for example, in P. Sunagar, S. Rajarajeswari, S. Bhave, S. Kamate, S. Bhave and SS Seru, “Classification of Human Poses Using Deep Learning Techniques,” 2023 7th International Conference on Computation System and Information Technology for Sustainable Solutions (CSITSS), Bangalore, India, 2023, pp. 1-7 (Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109 / CSITSS60515.2023.10334180), the contents of which are hereby incorporated as part of the invention.With the help of such a classifier, body posture can be modeled and estimated from the available image data, in particular the cockpit view of the driver.

[0017] Preferably, the driver's identity is determined, and the model used utilizes image data acquired from the identified driver. It can be taken into account that a vehicle is typically driven by only a limited number of people, meaning that image data of the same identifiable person is processed repeatedly during the procedure. This allows insights gained in previous executions of the procedure, particularly regarding the specific physique of the identifiable person, to be reused, thereby improving the quality and speed of adjusting the seat position and / or achieving the desired optimal posture. Specifically, insights gained in previous executions of the procedure are only reused if the person concerned explicitly and unambiguously requests and / or permits this.Otherwise, data obtained during the procedure, in particular about the physique of an individually identifiable person, may be automatically deleted after the procedure has been carried out.

[0018] A particularly preferred method is to determine the difference between the estimated posture and the optimal posture, and to use this difference as a translation factor for the drive power and / or travel of seat actuators used when changing the seat position. If there is a large difference between the estimated and optimal posture, a significant seat adjustment can be made. If there is a smaller difference, a smaller seat adjustment can be made. This enables a comparatively fast and precise automatic seat adjustment without overcorrecting or overshooting during the change in seat position.

[0019] In particular, the assessment of body posture takes into account the position of the driver's hands, especially on the steering wheel, and / or the orientation of the driver's back along the backrest of the driver's seat, and / or the position of the buttocks on the seat cushion, and / or the position of the driver's head against the headrest. The hands resting on the steering wheel can be easily captured from the cockpit view and identified as hands. This allows a defined point to be easily identified in a posture model. Similarly, the orientation of the driver's back can be mapped along the contour of the seat back, thus providing further information for the posture model.The position of the driver's seat cushion, in turn, corresponds to the driver's posterior position and can provide a further boundary condition for modeling body posture. Using this easily obtainable information about the driver's posture as fixed points and / or boundary conditions for modeling the estimated posture, it becomes significantly easier to assign and interpret other acquired image data and / or other information in order to estimate the driver's current posture.

[0020] Preferably, when estimating the driver's head position, perspective distortion of a field of view in the driver's cockpit view is taken into account, particularly to determine the distance and viewing angle of the driver to a fixed reference point in the vehicle. A two-dimensional surface in a three-dimensional space can experience perspective distortion depending on its distance and angle. If a defined two-dimensional plane with known dimensions and a known position in the cockpit view is recorded, the distance and angle of the camera used for the driver's cockpit view can be deduced from the perspective distortion of the recorded surface. This, in turn, allows conclusions to be drawn about the position and orientation of the head in three-dimensional space.The position and orientation of the head in the head position is, in turn, an easily obtainable boundary condition for modeling the estimated body posture of the driver.

[0021] The driver's cockpit view is preferably captured using at least one camera integrated into glasses worn by the driver. The camera used to capture the cockpit view can be part of "smart glasses." Such glasses can also enable further interactions with the driver, for example, by displaying driving information on the lenses. This makes it possible to use smart glasses, which are actually intended for other purposes, for automatic seat adjustment.

[0022] A further aspect of the invention relates to an adjustment system for automatically adjusting a seat position in a driver's seat of a motor vehicle, comprising glasses with at least one integrated camera for capturing a driver's cockpit view, seat actuators for adjusting the driver's seat, and an evaluation unit communicating with the glasses for automatically actuating the seat actuators in response to an evaluation of the cockpit view, taking into account a database containing at least one optimal body posture for the driver. In particular, the evaluation unit is configured to carry out the method, which can be developed and further refined as described above. The adjustment system is specifically designed and further refined as described above with reference to the method.The head position determined in the cockpit view allows the driver's current posture to be determined and automatically adjusted to an optimal posture by changing the seat setting, thus enabling automatic adjustment of the most comfortable and safe seating position possible in a driver's seat of a motor vehicle.

[0023] In particular, at least one interior camera is provided for monitoring the vehicle interior, and this interior camera is connected to the evaluation unit for three-dimensional estimation of the driver's head position and / or posture. The interior camera, which is already provided, can be used to supplement the image data obtained from the cockpit view with additional image data acquired from a different location and angle. This allows for a more precise determination of the head position in three-dimensional space. Furthermore, it facilitates three-dimensional modeling of the driver's current posture.

[0024] Another aspect concerns a motor vehicle with a driver's seat and an adjustment system, which, as described above, can be designed and further developed for automatically adjusting the driver's seat position. Based on the head position determined from the cockpit view, the driver's current posture can be determined and automatically adjusted to an optimal posture by changing the seat settings, thus enabling the automatic adjustment of the most comfortable and safe seating position possible in the driver's seat of a motor vehicle.

[0025] The invention is now explained by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings and preferred embodiments, wherein the features shown below can represent an aspect of the invention, either individually or in combination, and the scope of protection is defined by the claims. The drawings show: Fig. 1 a schematic side view into a vehicle interior and Fig. 2 a schematic representation of a three-dimensional model of a body posture.

[0026] As in Fig. As shown in Figure 1, a driver 10 sits in a vehicle interior 12 on a driver's seat 14, which, for example, has a seat cushion 16, a backrest 18, and a headrest 20. These components can be moved and / or pivoted by means of seat actuators to change the driver's seat position 14. In the illustrated embodiment, the driver 10 wears glasses 22, referred to as "smart glasses," with integrated cameras that can capture a cockpit view 24, as it appears to the driver 10 in their current head position. The cockpit view 24 particularly shows a steering wheel 26 and hands 28 gripping the steering wheel 26. Furthermore, the cockpit view 24 can also capture part of the instrument panel 30, the three-dimensional relative position and orientation of which within the vehicle interior 12 may be known to an evaluation unit 32.For example, the evaluation unit 32 can determine a head position and an orientation of the driver's head 34 corresponding to the direction of view of the cockpit view 24 from the perspective distortion of the instrument panel 30 recorded in the cockpit view 24.

[0027] With the aid of an interior camera 36 and / or the current seat setting of the driver's seat 14, further information about the driver's current posture 10 can be obtained. For example, the three-dimensional position and orientation of at least part of the back 38 can be determined via the three-dimensional position and orientation of the backrest 18. The three-dimensional position and orientation of at least part of the pelvic region 40 can be determined via the three-dimensional position and orientation of the seat cushion 16.

[0028] The evaluation unit 32 can estimate a model 42 of the current body posture of the driver 10 from all the information thus obtained, in particular with the help of a suitable classifier, as shown in Fig. Figure 2 illustrates this model. In this model, body posture can be represented by lines connected by joints. This allows for general insights into the driver's physique, such as their height.

[0029] Knowing the general physique of the driver 10, the evaluation unit 32 can determine an optimal posture for this body type, enabling the most comfortable and safest possible seating position in the driver's seat 14. Using the seat actuators, the individual components of the driver's seat 14, in particular the seat cushion 16, the backrest 18, the headrest 20 and / or side bolsters, can be automatically adjusted until a seating position is reached in which the estimated current posture of the driver 10 is sufficiently similar to the optimal posture. QUOTES INCLUDED IN THE DESCRIPTION

[0000] This list of documents cited by the applicant was automatically generated and is included solely for the reader's convenience. The list is not part of the German patent or utility model application. The DPMA accepts no liability for any errors or omissions. Zitierte Patentliteratur

[0000] KR 10-2016-0072983 A

[0002] Zitierte Nicht-Patentliteratur

[0000] P. Sunagar, S. Rajarajeswari, S. Bhave, S. Kamate, S. Bhave and S. S. Seru, „Classification of Human Poses Using Deep Learning Techniques,“ 2023 7th International Conference on Computation System and Information Technology for Sustainable Solutions (CSITSS), Bangalore, India, 2023, pp. 1-7 (Digital Object Identifier: 10.1109 / CSITSS60515.2023.10334180

[0016]

Claims

[1] Method for automatically adjusting a seat position in a driver's seat (14) of a motor vehicle, wherein from a cockpit view (24) of a driver (10) a head position of a head (34) of the driver (10) is estimated, from the estimated head position and / or a current seat setting of the driver's seat (14) a body posture of the driver (10) is estimated, from the estimated body posture an optimal body posture is determined and the seat setting of the driver's seat (14) is changed until the current estimated body posture is sufficiently similar to the optimal body posture. [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein a posture classifier is used when estimating body posture, the classifier using a posture model (42) based on joints and segments connected via the joints, wherein the arrangement of the joints and segments was obtained by machine learning from 2D and / or 3D image data. [3] Method according to claim 2, wherein the identity of the driver (10) is determined and the model (42) used uses image data obtained from the identified driver (10). [4] Method according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a difference between the estimated body posture and the optimal body posture is determined and the determined difference is used for a translation factor of a drive power and / or travel distance of seat actuators to be used when changing the seat setting. [5] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the assessment of body posture takes into account the position of the hands (28) of the driver (10) on a steering wheel (26) of the motor vehicle and / or the orientation of the back (38) of the driver (10) along a backrest (18) of the driver's seat (14) and / or the buttocks position on a seat cushion (16) of the driver's seat (14) and / or the head position of the driver (10) on a headrest of the driver's seat (14). [6] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein, when estimating the head position of the driver (10), a perspective distortion of a field of view in the cockpit view (24) of the driver (10) is taken into account in order to determine a distance and a viewing angle of the driver (10) to a reference point fixed in the motor vehicle. [7] Method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the cockpit view (24) of the driver (10) is determined by means of at least one camera integrated into a pair of glasses (22) worn by the driver (10). [8] Adjustment system for automatically adjusting a seat position in a driver's seat (14) of a motor vehicle, with a pair of glasses (22) having at least one integrated camera for capturing a cockpit view (24) of a driver (10), Seat actuators for adjusting a driver's seat (14) and an evaluation unit (32) communicating with the glasses (22) for the automatic actuation of the seat actuators in response to an evaluation of the cockpit view (24) taking into account a database which has at least one optimal body position for the driver (10). [9] Adjustment system according to claim 8, wherein at least one interior camera (36) is provided for observing a vehicle interior (12) of the motor vehicle, wherein the interior camera (36) is connected to the evaluation unit (32) for three-dimensional estimation of a head position and / or body posture of the driver (10). [10] Motor vehicle with a driver's seat (14) and an adjustment system according to claim 8 or 9 for automatically adjusting a seating position in the driver's seat (14).

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