Kinesia suppression device

Abstract

To provide a kinesia suppression device that can improve comfort of an occupant.SOLUTION: A kinesia suppression device applicable to a vehicle includes: a suppression unit 10 that regulates deep body temperature of an occupant such that a change per unit time in the deep body temperature of the occupant of the vehicle becomes smaller than a reference width and suppresses kinesia of the occupant; a route acquisition unit 20 that acquires a travel route to a destination; an occurrence determination unit 30 that determines whether or not a kinesia-occurrence route where a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant becomes equal to or greater than the reference width due to passage of the vehicle exists on any travel route in the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit; and a control unit 40 that controls the operation of the suppression unit. When the occurrence determination unit determines that the kinesia-occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit activates the suppression unit before the vehicle reaches the kinesia-occurrence route.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to motion sickness prevention devices. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a physical condition estimation device that includes a blood flow measurement unit, a physical condition estimation unit, and an output control unit is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This physical condition estimation device estimates the motion sickness level of a vehicle occupant, which indicates one of the physical conditions of the occupant, based on the blood flow of the vehicle occupant measured by the blood flow measurement unit. If the occupant's motion sickness level is higher than a threshold, the output control unit reduces the sensitivity of the accelerator and brake to reduce sudden starts and sudden acceleration so that the occupant does not become more sick, or softens the active suspension to reduce vibrations applied to the body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-99846 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, if the vehicle is controlled after motion sickness symptoms such as nausea have occurred, the passengers may experience discomfort due to symptoms such as nausea.

[0005] The present disclosure aims to provide a motion sickness that can improve passenger comfort. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the disclosure, A motion sickness prevention device applied to a vehicle, a suppression unit (10) for suppressing motion sickness in an occupant by adjusting the deep body temperature of the vehicle occupant so that a change in the deep body temperature per unit time in the occupant of the vehicle becomes smaller than the reference range, where the reference range is a change in the deep body temperature per unit time estimated based on a circadian rhythm; A route acquisition unit (20) that acquires a driving route to a destination; an occurrence determination unit (30) that determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit, the motion sickness occurrence route being such that the change in the core body temperature of the occupant due to the passage of the vehicle exceeds a reference range; A control unit (40) that controls the operation of the suppression unit, When the occurrence determination unit determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit starts operation of the suppression unit before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0007] According to this, the control unit starts operation of the suppression unit before the motion sickness occurrence route is reached, where there is a possibility that the change in the occupant's deep body temperature will exceed the reference range, thereby suppressing the change in the occupant's deep body temperature from reaching the motion sickness occurrence route until passing through it. Therefore, since the change in deep body temperature that may trigger the occurrence of motion sickness when passing through the motion sickness occurrence route can be suppressed, the occupant becomes less likely to develop motion sickness, and the comfort of the occupant can be improved.

[0008] The reference symbols in parentheses attached to each component indicate an example of the correspondence between the component and specific components described in the embodiments described below. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the time it takes for a person to reach the MISC2 state when motion sickness occurs. [Diagram 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a change in deep body temperature when a person takes a footbath. [Figure 4]FIG. 13 shows the difference in core body temperature and MISC changes with and without a footbath. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a control process executed by the motion sickness prevention device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a control process executed by the motion sickness prevention device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the difference in time it takes to reach the MISC2 state when the motion sickness prevention device is activated. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the difference in change in a person's core body temperature when a motion sickness prevention device is activated. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the degree of decrease in the core body temperature of an occupant when stress is applied due to driving a vehicle. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the degree of decrease in the occupant's core body temperature that changes depending on the driving road. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing that the time it takes for motion sickness to develop into the MISC2 state varies depending on the person. [Figure 15] FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 16] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between oxygen saturation and arterial blood oxygen partial pressure. [Figure 17] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the relationship between oxygen saturation, arterial blood oxygen partial pressure, and inspired oxygen partial pressure. [Figure 18] FIG. 13 is a schematic configuration diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a sixth embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a seventh embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the effect of carbon dioxide concentration on a person's health condition. [Figure 21]FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to an eighth embodiment. [Figure 22] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a motion sickness prevention device according to a ninth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are used for parts that are the same as or equivalent to those described in the preceding embodiments, and the description thereof may be omitted. In addition, in the embodiments, when only a part of the components is described, the components described in the preceding embodiments can be applied to the other parts of the components. In the following embodiments, each embodiment can be partially combined with each other, even if not specifically stated, as long as it does not cause any trouble in combination.

[0011] (First embodiment) This embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 1 to 8. The motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment shown in Fig. 1 is configured with an electronic control device mounted on a vehicle, and is mounted on the vehicle. Specifically, the motion sickness suppression device 1 is mounted on an autonomous vehicle that can switch the vehicle's driving mode between an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode. The autonomous driving mode is a mode in which, when a destination is set by an occupant on board the vehicle, the vehicle can be driven automatically without the occupant operating a steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, etc. (not shown). In contrast, the manual driving mode is a mode in which the occupant on board the vehicle can drive the vehicle by operating the steering wheel, accelerator pedal, brake pedal, etc. (not shown) by the occupant himself / herself.

[0012] The motion sickness prevention device 1 mounted on an autonomous vehicle is configured with a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown), and executes a computer program stored in semiconductor memory such as ROM and RAM, which are non-transient physical storage media. That is, an electronic control device mounted on the vehicle functions as the motion sickness prevention device 1 by executing various control processes in accordance with the computer program. The electronic control device mounted on a vehicle is called an ECU, and the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is configured with an ECU. Note that ECU is an abbreviation for Electronic Control Unit.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 1, the motion sickness suppression device 1 includes a suppression unit 10 for suppressing motion sickness in the occupant, a route acquisition unit 20, an occurrence determination unit 30, and a control unit 40, and suppresses the occurrence of motion sickness in the occupant and suppresses the progression of motion sickness that has occurred in the occupant. In other words, the occupant is the subject of motion sickness suppression, and the motion sickness suppression device 1 suppresses motion sickness in the occupant who is on board the vehicle. As the vehicle on which the motion sickness suppression device 1 is mounted, various vehicles can be assumed, such as passenger cars, commercial vehicles, and MaaS vehicles. In addition, as the occupant whose motion sickness is suppressed using the motion sickness suppression device 1, various occupants can be assumed, such as the driver and occupants other than the driver. Note that MaaS is an abbreviation for Mobility as a Service.

[0014] Here, we will explain motion sickness suppressed by the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment. Motion sickness causes symptoms such as nausea (retching), vomiting, dizziness, facial pallor, and cold sweat in humans. Motion sickness is said to occur when there is a mismatch between a sensory information pattern based on visual information (information from the eyes), auditory information (information from the ears including the vestibule), and tactile information (information from muscles, tendons, etc.) and a spatial perception information pattern based on past experience. Motion sickness is also said to occur when there is a mismatch between semicircular canal information and otolith information in the vestibule trachea.

[0015] A mismatch between sensory information patterns and spatial perception information patterns is likely to occur when reading or operating a mobile phone while on a vehicle, when riding on a vehicle that rocks a lot, or when watching waves from a moving ship. A mismatch between sensory information patterns and spatial perception information patterns is also likely to occur when moving your head while wearing inverted glasses that reverse the left and right images, or when watching movies while wearing VR goggles or an HMD, or on a large display. VR is an abbreviation for Virtual Reality. HMD is an abbreviation for Head Mounted Display.

[0016] In contrast, inconsistencies between semicircular canal information and otolith information are likely to occur when the semicircular canal input does not match the otolith input, or when either the otolith input or the semicircular canal input is missing due to being in a weightless environment such as space or on an airplane in bad weather.

[0017] Motion sickness that occurs when riding in a vehicle is also called motion sickness. Motion sickness that occurs when wearing VR goggles or HMD is also called VR sickness. Motion sickness that occurs when watching movies on a large display is also called screen sickness. Motion sickness that occurs in a weightless environment such as space is also called space sickness.

[0018] Incidentally, motion sickness that occurs when riding in a vehicle is likely to occur when, for example, a mismatch occurs between the visual perception of the occupant and the perception of the vestibular system due to vibrations accompanying the running of the vehicle or loads accompanying turning. In an autonomous vehicle running in autonomous driving mode, compared to when a person drives the vehicle, sudden starts and stops occur, and people relax inside the vehicle, reducing the opportunities to see the scenery outside the vehicle, which can cause motion sickness in occupants in a relatively short period of time.

[0019] Therefore, passengers may suppress the occurrence of motion sickness by taking anti-sickness medicine before boarding a vehicle. However, anti-sickness medicines generally have a sleep-inducing effect. For this reason, passengers who have taken anti-sickness medicine have difficulty being active after getting off the vehicle. In addition, if a passenger repeatedly rides in a vehicle for a short period of time, taking anti-sickness medicine every time may cause problems in the passenger's daily life. For this reason, the inventors investigated the symptoms of motion sickness when a passenger develops motion sickness in order to consider suppressing motion sickness without taking anti-sickness medicine.

[0020] In this embodiment, the progression of the motion sickness symptoms is explained in 11 stages from "MISC0" to "MISC10" using MISC (Misery Scale) as an index of the motion sickness symptoms. The higher the value of MISC, the more the motion sickness symptoms progress. Specifically, "MISC0" indicates a state in which a person has no motion sickness symptoms. "MISC1" indicates a state in which a person has almost no motion sickness symptoms or a state in which a person feels slight discomfort. "MISC2" indicates a state in which a person does not feel nausea but slightly feels stomach discomfort, cold sweat, dizziness, warmth, headache, etc. "MISC3" indicates a state in which a person does not feel nausea but feels stomach discomfort, etc. more than "MISC2". "MISC4" indicates a state in which a person does not feel nausea but feels stomach discomfort, etc. more strongly and clearly than "MISC3". "MISC5" indicates a state in which a person does not feel nausea but feels stomach discomfort, etc. more strongly and very strongly than "MISC4". "MISC6" indicates a state in which nausea is felt slightly. "MISC7" indicates a state in which the nausea symptoms are felt more strongly and clearly than in "MISC6". "MISC8" indicates a state in which nausea is felt more strongly and very clearly than in "MISC7". "MISC9" indicates a state in which nausea is felt more strongly and very clearly than in "MISC8", just before vomiting. "MISC10" indicates a state in which vomiting has occurred.

[0021] The inventors focused on the fact that the symptoms of motion sickness change according to the running of the vehicle, and conducted the following experiment to investigate the time it takes for the subject occupant to reach the "MISC2" state, which indicates a slight stomach discomfort, etc. The experimental results are shown in Figure 2.

[0022] In the experiment, the time it took for subjects to experience "MISC2" was compared when they were at home, when they were in a vehicle traveling on a highway, when they were in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road, and when they were wearing inverted glasses that gave the viewer left and right views.

[0023] In the experiment in which the subjects were at home, the time it took for the subjects to reach "MISC2" was investigated while they were relaxing at home so as not to cause stress to the subjects. According to the inventors' experiment, as shown in Figure 2, in the stress-free state of relaxing at home, the subjects did not develop motion sickness even after 100 minutes had passed, and did not reach the "MISC2" state.

[0024] In addition, even when the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a highway, the subject did not enter the "MISC2" state after 100 minutes had passed. In the experiment in which the vehicle traveled on the highway, the vehicle was traveled at a substantially constant speed close to the speed limit of the highway. This resulted in the vehicle traveling with relatively little acceleration or deceleration, and relatively little change in traveling speed.

[0025] In contrast, when the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road, the subject entered the "MISC2" state about 5 minutes after the subject started traveling on the mountain road. Meanwhile, mountain roads have more uphill and downhill sections than expressways and general roads, and many curves with small turning radii. For this reason, when a vehicle travels on a mountain road, the vehicle accelerates and decelerates more than when traveling on an expressway, and also makes more turns than when traveling on an expressway. As a result, when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road, the stress on the occupant is greater than when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on an expressway.

[0026] In addition, in order to make the subject more susceptible to motion sickness than when he is in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road, an experiment was conducted in which the subject was made to wear inverted glasses that show reversed images and shook his head from side to side to simulate motion sickness. In this experiment, the time it took for the subject to reach "MISC2" when the subject wore the inverted glasses and shook his head from side to side at a frequency of 0.25 Hz, which is a frequency at which motion sickness is likely to occur, was investigated. According to the inventors' experiment, when the subject was made to wear the inverted glasses and shook his head from side to side at a frequency of 0.25 Hz, the subject reached the "MISC2" state about 2 minutes after starting to shake his head. This is because the stress on the subject is greater when the subject is made to shake his head from side to side while wearing the inverted glasses, compared to when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road.

[0027] The experiment in which the subjects wear the inverted glasses assumes a situation in which the subjects are in a vehicle traveling on a road that requires repeated rapid acceleration and deceleration, and requires steep steering when turning. In this case, the subjects are more susceptible to motion sickness than when they are in a vehicle traveling on a general mountain road.

[0028] As shown by the results of this experiment, the time it takes for a passenger to develop motion sickness varies depending on the road the vehicle is traveling on. The greater the stress on the passenger, the shorter the time it takes for the passenger to develop motion sickness.

[0029] Further research by the inventors has revealed that when a person develops motion sickness, the person's core body temperature drops. Specifically, when a person develops motion sickness, the person first feels a sign of feeling unwell, then sweats, and the core body temperature drops. It has also been found that the core body temperature of a person when motion sickness develops tends to drop as the motion sickness progresses. It has also been found that the greater the change in the core body temperature per unit time, the greater the MISC value tends to be, whereas the smaller the change in the core body temperature per unit time, the smaller the MISC value tends to be. The core body temperature is the temperature inside the body, such as the brain and internal organs.

[0030] Meanwhile, deep body temperature is generally around 37°C, but changes by about 1°C in a cycle of about 24 hours due to circadian rhythms. Specifically, deep body temperature gradually changes to be highest in the afternoon, and then gradually changes to be lowest at dawn. Such changes in deep body temperature are normal when the human body is normal. When the human body is normal, the range of change in deep body temperature per unit time when it changes due to circadian rhythms is at most about 0.2°C.

[0031] However, when a person's body is not in good condition, the deep body temperature may change by a larger amount per unit time than the amount of change per unit time when the deep body temperature changes based on the circadian rhythm. It has been found that such a change in deep body temperature per unit time is more likely to induce vomiting in a person when the change in deep body temperature per unit time is larger than the amount of change per unit time when the deep body temperature changes based on the circadian rhythm. For example, if the deep body temperature rises or falls by a change of 0.2°C in 10 minutes, such a change in deep body temperature may induce vomiting in a person.

[0032] Here, the range of change in core body temperature per unit time expected based on the circadian rhythm is defined as the reference range, and the range of change per unit time that is greater than the range of change per unit time expected based on the circadian rhythm and that induces vomiting due to a physical disorder in a person is defined as the induced range.

[0033] The inventors have found that when the range of fluctuations in deep body temperature that causes motion sickness is smaller than the standard range, there is little individual difference and the occupant is unlikely to be induced to vomit. The inventors have also found that when the amount of fluctuation in deep body temperature that accompanies the occurrence of motion sickness is smaller than the standard range, the occurrence of motion sickness can be suppressed and the progression of motion sickness that has occurred in the occupant can be suppressed even if the occupant is in a vehicle traveling on a road where motion sickness may occur. Therefore, the inventors have considered suppressing the occurrence of motion sickness and suppressing the progression of motion sickness that has occurred in the occupant by suppressing the change in the occupant's deep body temperature.

[0034] However, for example, if the occupant's core body temperature drops and then the core body temperature is increased in response to the drop in the occupant's core body temperature, the occupant may already be suffering from motion sickness. Also, if the occupant's core body temperature drops and then the core body temperature is increased, if there is a time lag before the core body temperature rises, the progression of motion sickness may not be suppressed. In this case, the occupant's comfort may be impaired due to symptoms such as nausea.

[0035] For this reason, the inventors have studied a motion sickness suppression device 1 that suppresses fluctuations in the core body temperature of the occupant when traveling on a road where motion sickness may occur by increasing the core body temperature of the occupant before the vehicle reaches the road where motion sickness may occur. A specific motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment will be described below.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 1, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is provided in a vehicle equipped with a heating device 100. The heating device 100 is connected to a suppression unit 10, and heats parts of the body of the occupant in response to a control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10. The motion sickness prevention device 1, for example, operates the heating device 100 to heat parts of the body of the occupant and suppress a drop in the core body temperature of the occupant.

[0037] Here, the inventors conducted an experiment to investigate the change in deep body temperature when a specific part of a human body is heated. Figure 3 shows the results of an experiment in which the part of the body below the knees, which is the part below the knees, was immersed in hot water for 30 minutes, and then the part below the knees was removed from the hot water, and the change in deep body temperature over time was investigated. In Figure 3, the circles show the results of an experiment in which the average hot water temperature was set to 40°C, and the squares show the results of an experiment in which the average hot water temperature was set to 37°C.

[0038] As shown in Figure 3, when the foot was bathed by immersing the lower part of the knee in hot water, the core body temperature rose over time compared to before the foot was bathed. Specifically, while the lower part of the knee was kept in the hot water, the core body temperature rose over time. Then, when the lower part of the knee was taken out of the hot water, the core body temperature dropped compared to before the foot was taken out. In addition, the core body temperature rose to a higher temperature when the average temperature of the water was set at 40°C compared to when it was set at 37°C.

[0039] In this way, when a part of the body is heated, the core body temperature can be increased. In addition, according to the inventors' intensive study, it was found that the core body temperature can be easily increased by heating a local part of the body including an arteriovenous anastomosis. The arteriovenous anastomosis is a part that connects an artery and a vein before the blood vessels branch into capillaries, and is present, for example, in the sole of the foot, the palm, the neck, the cheek, etc. In addition, the arteriovenous anastomosis can contract and expand to adjust the amount of blood flowing through the arteriovenous anastomosis in order to maintain the core body temperature. Therefore, by heating a local part of the body including an arteriovenous anastomosis, it is easy to warm the blood, and thus the core body temperature can be increased. In addition, the closer the part of the local part including the arteriovenous anastomosis to be heated is to the head, the easier it is to warm the head, and the increase in the cerebral blood flow of the occupant can be promoted.

[0040] Although FIG. 3 shows the experimental results for one subject, when a similar experiment was performed on multiple subjects, approximately the same experimental results were obtained.

[0041] The inventors conducted an experiment to obtain the results shown in Fig. 4 in order to investigate whether it is possible to suppress motion sickness by heating a local area including a human arteriovenous anastomosis to increase deep body temperature. In this experiment, the inventors heated the sole of the foot, which has arteriovenous anastomosis, and investigated the deep body temperature when taking a footbath.

[0042] The experimental results shown in Figure 4 show the difference in the deep body temperature and MISC of the subjects when they were wearing inverted glasses that showed reversed images, and when they were made to shake their heads left and right by ±45° at a frequency of 0.25 Hz to make them more susceptible to motion sickness, between cases where they were given a footbath and where they were given a footbath. In this experiment, under the condition where a footbath was not given, the subjects were stopped from shaking their heads when they started to feel nauseous and the MISC value reached "MISC6". In contrast, under the condition where a footbath was given, the subjects did not start to feel nauseous, so the head shaking was stopped 15 minutes after the head shaking started. Under the condition where a footbath was given, the subjects started to shake their heads 10 minutes after immersing their lower legs in hot water. In Figure 4, the solid line shows the change in the deep body temperature and the MISC of the subjects when they were given a footbath, and the dashed line shows the change in the deep body temperature and the MISC of the subjects when they were not given a footbath.

[0043] As shown in Figure 4, when subjects were asked to wear inverted glasses and shake their heads without a foot bath, after about 7 minutes had passed since they started shaking their heads, their core body temperature gradually decreased over time. Without a foot bath, the core body temperature decreased by only 0.2°C after about 13 minutes.

[0044] Furthermore, when the foot bath was not performed, the MISC value rose immediately after the head started to shake. Specifically, when the foot bath was not performed, the MISC value rose in a step-like manner, and the MISC value reached "MISC4" approximately 9 minutes after the head started to shake. Then, the MISC value reached "MISC6" approximately 13 minutes after the head started to shake, when the core body temperature had dropped by 0.2°C.

[0045] In contrast, when taking a footbath, if the subject is made to wear inverted glasses and shake his / her head, the deep body temperature rises for about three minutes after the subject starts shaking his / her head due to the warmth from the hot water, and is maintained thereafter as long as the area below the knees is kept submerged in the hot water. This is presumably because the symptoms of a drop in deep body temperature caused by motion sickness caused by wearing inverted glasses and shaking the head are offset by the effect of the footbath raising the deep body temperature. And as long as the area below the knees is kept submerged in the hot water, the deep body temperature is maintained even if the subject continues to shake his / her head.

[0046] In addition, the MISC was maintained at "MISC 0" for about four minutes after the head shaking began. In other words, the foot bath was able to delay the rise in MISC caused by head shaking.

[0047] In addition, the MISC began to rise gradually about 4 minutes after the head started to shake. Then, about 13 minutes after the MISC value rose to "MISC6" without the foot bath, it dropped to "MISC4" with the foot bath.

[0048] In this way, when a specific part of a person is heated, the time until the onset of symptoms of motion sickness can be delayed compared to when the heating is not performed. In other words, when a local part of a person's body, including an arteriovenous anastomosis, is heated, the occurrence of motion sickness can be suppressed compared to when the heating is not performed.

[0049] Furthermore, when localized areas of a human body that include arteriovenous anastomoses are heated, the MISC value can be suppressed from "MISC6" to "MISC4" compared to when the area is not heated. In other words, when localized areas of a human body that include arteriovenous anastomoses are heated, the progression of motion sickness can be suppressed compared to when the area is not heated.

[0050] Although FIG. 4 shows the experimental results for one subject, when the same experiment was performed on multiple subjects, approximately the same experimental results were obtained.

[0051] From the above experimental results, the inventors have considered suppressing the occurrence of motion sickness in an occupant by heating a local area of ​​the occupant's body, including an arteriovenous anastomosis, by operating a heating device 100 provided in a vehicle using a motion sickness suppression device 1. As shown in FIG.

[0052] The air conditioner 110 blows conditioned air toward the occupant, thereby cooling and warming specific parts of the occupant's body. The air conditioner 110 has a face outlet that blows conditioned air toward the occupant's upper body, including the neck and cheeks, and a foot outlet that blows conditioned air toward the occupant's lower body, including the knees, and is configured to be able to cool and warm the occupant's upper body and lower body. The air conditioner 110 is also configured to be able to change the temperature of the conditioned air blown out from the face outlet and the foot outlet. The air conditioner 110 can be, for example, a vehicle air conditioner mounted in a vehicle.

[0053] The heater 120 warms the area below the knees of the occupant's body. The heater 120 is provided, for example, at the feet of the occupant when seated in the seat or under the steering wheel, and is configured to be able to warm the area below the knees of the occupant. The heater 120 is configured as an electric heater that warms the occupant by infrared rays. The heater 120 is also configured to be able to change the amount of heat generated. The heater 120 is not limited to an electric heater, and may be configured as a heating device that blows out hot air to warm the occupant.

[0054] The steering wheel warmer 130 warms the palms of the occupant's body. The steering wheel warmer 130 is provided, for example, on a steering wheel located in front of the driver's seat inside the vehicle cabin, and is configured to be able to warm the palms of the occupant. The steering wheel warmer 130 is also configured to be able to change the amount of heat it generates. The steering wheel warmer 130 is configured as an electric heater that warms the occupant by generating heat when electricity is applied.

[0055] The seat heater 140 warms the neck of the occupant, which is one of the body parts. The seat heater 140 is provided, for example, in a headrest of a seat in which the occupant sits, and is configured to be able to warm the neck of the occupant. The seat heater 140 is configured as a seat air conditioner that warms the neck of the occupant by blowing warm air toward the neck of the occupant. The seat heater 140 is also configured to be able to change the temperature of the warm air that is blown out.

[0056] The neck warmer 150 warms the cheeks of the passenger's body. The neck warmer 150 is provided, for example, on a headrest of a seat in which the passenger sits, and is configured to be able to warm the passenger's cheeks. The neck warmer 150 is configured as a seat air conditioner that warms the passenger's cheeks by blowing warm air toward the passenger's cheeks. The neck warmer 150 is also configured to be able to change the temperature of the warm air that is blown out.

[0057] The heater 120 , the handle warmer 130 , the seat heater 140 and the neck warmer 150 are connected to the suppression unit 10 , and their operations are controlled by control signals transmitted from the suppression unit 10 .

[0058] The motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment controls the operations of the air conditioner 110, heater 120, handle warmer 130, seat heater 140 and neck warmer 150 in the warming device 100, as shown in FIG.

[0059] 1, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment includes a suppression unit 10, a route acquisition unit 20, an occurrence determination unit 30, and a control unit 40. The suppression unit 10, the route acquisition unit 20, the occurrence determination unit 30, and the control unit 40 are configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. (not shown) in the motion sickness prevention device 1 configured by an ECU.

[0060] The suppression unit 10 controls the operation of the heating device 100. Specifically, the suppression unit 10 heats a local area including an arteriovenous anastomosis by transmitting control signals to the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 in the heating device 100. In this embodiment, the suppression unit 10 functions as a local heating unit that heats a local area including an arteriovenous anastomosis in the body of an occupant as a heating target.

[0061] The suppression unit 10, for example, sets the temperature of the conditioned air blown out by the air conditioner 110 and switches the air outlet from which the air conditioner 110 blows out the conditioned air, by sending a control signal to the air conditioner 110. In addition, the suppression unit 10 adjusts the heating capacity of the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 by sending control signals to each of the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150.

[0062] The route acquisition unit 20 acquires information about a driving route to a set destination. The route acquisition unit 20 may acquire the information about the driving route from a navigation device (not shown).

[0063] In this case, when a destination is input by the occupant, the navigation device calculates a planned driving route from the starting point of the vehicle to the destination, and guides the vehicle along the planned driving route. The navigation device also has a position detector such as a GPS receiver, and identifies the current position of the vehicle traveling on the driving route. When the vehicle is set in an autonomous driving mode, the vehicle travels along the planned driving route. When the vehicle is set in a manual driving mode, the navigation device guides the occupant to travel along the driving route.

[0064] The occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not there is a risk that the change in the occupant's core body temperature will exceed a reference range due to the passage of the vehicle when passing through the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit 20. Specifically, the occurrence determination unit 30 has a core body temperature estimation unit 31 that estimates the core body temperature of the occupant, and determines whether or not there is a motion sickness occurrence route on the travel route that is likely to cause the change in the occupant's core body temperature to exceed a reference range, based on the core body temperature estimated by the core body temperature estimation unit 31.

[0065] The deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates in advance a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the vehicle passes through the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit 20. For example, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates stress applied to the occupant when the vehicle passes through the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit 20, and estimates the amount of fluctuation per unit time when the deep body temperature of the occupant decreases based on the estimated stress.

[0066] The control unit 40 controls the operation of the suppression unit 10 based on the result of the determination by the occurrence determination unit 30. When the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0067] The operation of the motion sickness prevention device 1 configured as above will be described with reference to Fig. 5 and Fig. 6. Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are an example of a control flow showing a control process executed by the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment.

[0068] First, when a destination is input by a passenger into the navigation device, as shown in FIG. 5, in step S10, the route acquisition unit 20 acquires information on the travel route from the navigation device.

[0069] In step S20, the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route. Specifically, in step S20, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the change per unit time of the occupant's deep body temperature when the vehicle passes along the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit 20. Then, the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists based on the change per unit time of the occupant's deep body temperature estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31.

[0070] The deep body temperature estimation unit 31 may store a control map showing the relationship between the stress on the occupant and the driving route information obtained by, for example, an experiment, etc. In this case, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature of the occupant in the vehicle when the vehicle passes through the driving route based on the control map.

[0071] The roadway information in the control map includes information that may cause stress to occupants of the vehicle, such as the gradient of the roadway, the turning radius, the interval between turning places, and possible locations for stopping and starting. The greater the gradient of the roadway, the greater the stress that is likely to be caused to the occupants. Also, the smaller the turning radius of the roadway, the greater the stress that is likely to be caused to the occupants. The smaller the interval between turning places, the greater the stress that is likely to be caused to the occupants. The greater the number of stops and starts, the greater the stress that is likely to be caused to the occupants.

[0072] That is, the greater the gradient of the road, the greater the change in the occupant's core body temperature per unit time, the smaller the turning radius of the road, the greater the change in the occupant's core body temperature per unit time, the smaller the interval between turning points on the road, the greater the change in the occupant's core body temperature per unit time, and the more times the vehicle stops and starts before arriving at the destination, the greater the change in the occupant's core body temperature per unit time.

[0073] If it is determined in step S20 that a motion sickness occurrence route does not exist on the travel route, the following processing is skipped. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S20 that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 determines in step S30 whether or not the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The control unit 40 may determine whether or not the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or less than a predetermined distance based on information on the current position of the vehicle identified by a navigation device, for example. The control unit 40 repeats the processing of step S30 until the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route becomes equal to or less than the predetermined distance.

[0074] If it is determined in step S30 that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than the predetermined distance, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 in step S40.

[0075] Specifically, when the suppression unit 10 determines that the distance from the vehicle's current position to the motion sickness occurrence route is less than or equal to a predetermined distance, it transmits a control signal to the heating device 100 to operate the air conditioning unit 110, the heater 120, the steering wheel warmer 130, the seat heater 140 and the neck warmer 150.

[0076] When the air conditioner 110 receives a control signal from the suppression unit 10, it warms the upper and lower bodies of the occupant. When the heater 120 receives a control signal from the suppression unit 10, it warms the area below the knees of the occupant. When the handle warmer 130 receives a control signal from the suppression unit 10, it warms the palms of the occupant. When the seat heater 140 receives a control signal from the suppression unit 10, it warms the nape of the occupant's neck. When the neck warmer 150 receives a control signal from the suppression unit 10, it warms the cheeks of the occupant. Specifically, the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 adjust the deep body temperature in advance based on the control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10 so that the change in the deep body temperature per unit time when the vehicle is traveling along a route where motion sickness occurs is smaller than a reference change.

[0077] The suppression unit 10 stores in advance a control map indicating the relationship between the amount of heat generated by each of the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 and the core body temperature, the control map being previously obtained through experiments, etc. Then, the suppression unit 10 transmits a control signal to each of the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 based on the control map.

[0078] Here, the predetermined distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route, which is used by the suppression unit 10 to activate the warming device 100, is set to a distance that allows the deep body temperature of the occupant to be increased before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route. This makes it possible to increase the deep body temperature of the occupant in advance before the vehicle arrives at the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0079] As a result, local parts of the body of occupants of a vehicle traveling along a motion sickness occurrence route, including arteriovenous anastomoses, are adjusted so that the range of change per unit time in deep body temperature while traveling along the motion sickness occurrence route is smaller than the standard range.

[0080] In addition, when the control unit 40 operates the suppression unit 10, as shown in Fig. 6, in step S100, the control unit 40 judges whether the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If the control unit 40 judges that the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, in step S110, the control unit 40 causes the suppression unit 10 to transmit a control signal for switching the operation of the heating device 100 to strong operation to the heating device 100. If the control unit 40 does not judge that the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, in step S120, the control unit 40 causes the suppression unit 10 to transmit a control signal for switching the operation of the heating device 100 to weak operation to the heating device 100.

[0081] Here, the strong operation of the warming device 100 is an operation that can increase the amount of adjustment of the occupant's deep body temperature per unit time compared to the weak operation. For example, when the suppression unit 10 operates the air conditioner 110, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 in the strong operation, the air conditioner 110, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 blow out hot air at a higher temperature toward the occupant compared to the weak operation. Also, when the suppression unit 10 operates the heater 120 and the handle warmer 130 in the strong operation, the heater 120 and the handle warmer 130 generate heat to a higher temperature compared to the weak operation. In other words, the control unit 40 controls the operation of the suppression unit 10 so that the larger the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31, the larger the amount of adjustment per unit time of the occupant's deep body temperature adjusted by the operation of the suppression unit 10.

[0082] The predetermined threshold is a value that is determined in advance to select the operation of the warming device 100 from strong operation and weak operation, and is set to, for example, 0.1° C., which is a value smaller than the reference range. Note that the predetermined threshold is not limited to 0.1° C., and may be set to a value other than 0.1° C. as long as it is a value smaller than the reference range.

[0083] As a result, for example, by operating the heating device 100 strongly, the temperature of the local area including the occupant's arteriovenous anastomosis can be increased more than by operating the heating device 100 weakly. This allows the occupant's deep body temperature to be increased more than by operating the heating device 100 weakly. Also, by operating the heating device 100 weakly, the temperature of the local area including the occupant's arteriovenous anastomosis can be increased less than by operating the heating device 100 strongly. This allows the occupant's deep body temperature to be increased less than by operating the heating device 100 strongly.

[0084] Here, Fig. 7 shows the results of an experiment investigating the time it takes for an occupant's motion sickness condition to become "MISC2" when the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is used to raise the occupant's core body temperature before the vehicle arrives at the motion sickness occurrence route. The experiment to obtain the experimental results shown in Fig. 7 is the same as the experiment to obtain the experimental results shown in Fig. 2, except that the motion sickness prevention device 1 is operated.

[0085] The solid line in Fig. 7 is the same as the experimental result shown in Fig. 2, and shows the experimental result when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not operated. The dashed-dotted line in Fig. 7 shows the time until the "MISC2" state is reached when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is weakly operated. The dashed-two-dotted line in Fig. 7 shows the time until the "MISC2" state is reached when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is strongly operated.

[0086] As shown in Figure 7, when the subject was at home and when the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a highway, the subject did not enter the "MISC2" state even after 100 minutes had passed, just as when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was not activated.

[0087] In contrast, when the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road, if the motion sickness prevention device 1 was activated, the time it took for the subject to enter the "MISC2" state was longer than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was not activated. Also, when the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road, if the motion sickness prevention device 1 was activated at strong activation, the time it took for the subject to enter the "MISC2" state was longer than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was activated at weak activation.

[0088] Specifically, when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was operated at low activation, the time from when the subject started driving on a mountain road until the subject entered the "MISC2" state was about 7 minutes, which was about 2 minutes longer than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was not operated. Also, when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was operated at high activation, the time from when the subject started driving on a mountain road until the subject entered the "MISC2" state was about 10 minutes, which was about 3 minutes longer than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was operated at low activation.

[0089] Also, when the subject was wearing inverted glasses and was made to shake his head from side to side, the time it took for the subject to enter the "MISC2" state was longer when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was weakly activated than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was not activated. Also, when the subject was wearing inverted glasses and was made to shake his head from side to side, the time it took for the subject to enter the "MISC2" state was longer when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was strongly activated than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was weakly activated.

[0090] Specifically, when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was weakly activated, the time from when the subject started to shake his head until the subject entered the "MISC2" state was about 5 minutes, which was about 3 minutes longer than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was not activated. Also, when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was strongly activated, the time from when the subject started to shake his head until the subject entered the "MISC2" state was about 7 minutes, which was about 2 minutes longer than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was weakly activated.

[0091] In this way, by activating the motion sickness prevention device 1, the time until the subject occupant begins to feel stomach discomfort, etc., can be delayed compared to when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated.

[0092] In addition, to investigate the change in deep body temperature that may trigger motion sickness in occupants, an experiment was conducted to compare the deep body temperatures of the occupants 15 minutes after the start of the experiment. The results are shown in Figure 8.

[0093] The solid line in FIG. 8 indicates the deep body temperature of the occupant 15 minutes after the start of the experiment when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not operated. FIG. 8 shows the deep body temperature of the occupant when the subject is at home and when the subject is not heated, and when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a highway and when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated and when the subject is not. FIG. 8 also shows the deep body temperature of the occupant when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road and when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated and when the subject is wearing inverted glasses. The solid line in FIG. 8 indicates the deep body temperature of the occupant when the subject is not heated. The dashed line in FIG. 8 indicates the deep body temperature of the occupant 15 minutes after the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated at low power. The two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 8 indicates the deep body temperature of the occupant 15 minutes after the motion sickness prevention device 1 is operated at the strong operation level.

[0094] As shown by the experimental results, when the subject is at home and in a stress-free state, the subject's deep body temperature does not change if the subject is not heated. In other words, when the subject is at home and in a stress-free state and the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated, the change in the subject's deep body temperature is 0. Furthermore, when the subject is at home and in a stress-free state and the subject is heated, the occupant's deep body temperature increases compared to when the subject is not heated.

[0095] Furthermore, when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a highway, if the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated, the subject's deep body temperature does not change. This is because the subject, the occupant, is hardly stressed when in a vehicle traveling on a highway. And when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a highway and the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated at low operation, there is no change in the occupant's deep body temperature 15 minutes after the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated at low operation.

[0096] When the motion sickness prevention device 1 was operated at a strong operation while the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a highway, the deep body temperature of the occupant rose compared to when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was not operated. Specifically, when the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a highway, the motion sickness prevention device 1 raised the subject's deep body temperature by about 0.1°, which is smaller than the reference range. This is because the amount of change in deep body temperature when the deep body temperature rises due to the strong operation of the motion sickness prevention device 1 is larger than the amount of change in deep body temperature when the deep body temperature drops due to the subject being in a vehicle traveling on a highway.

[0097] Furthermore, when the subject is in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road and the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated, the subject's core body temperature drops significantly compared to when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated. This is because the subject is under greater stress when in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road than when in a vehicle traveling on a highway.

[0098] When the subject was in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road and the motion sickness prevention device 1 was operated in strong operation, the occupant's core body temperature rose more than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 was operated in weak operation. Specifically, the motion sickness prevention device 1 limited the drop in core body temperature caused by the subject being in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road to about 0.2°, which is the same as the reference width, when operated in weak operation, and to about 0.1°, which is smaller than the reference width, when operated in strong operation. As shown by these experimental results, the motion sickness prevention device 1 can suppress the drop in core body temperature of the occupant more than when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not operated.

[0099] Returning to Fig. 5, in step S60, the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route. The occurrence determination unit 30 may determine whether or not the current position of the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route based on information on the current position of the vehicle identified by a navigation device, for example. The control unit 40 repeats the processes of steps S40 and S50 until the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0100] Then, when it is determined in step S50 that the vehicle has passed through the motion sickness occurrence route, in step S60, the control unit 40 stops the operation of the suppression unit 10. Specifically, when it is determined that the vehicle has passed through the motion sickness occurrence route, the suppression unit 10 transmits a control signal to the warming device 100 to stop the operation of the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150. In other words, the suppression unit 10 stops the operation of the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150 after the vehicle has passed through the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0101] As described above, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment includes a suppression unit 10 that suppresses motion sickness in the occupant by adjusting the occupant's core body temperature so that the change in the occupant's core body temperature is smaller than a reference range. The motion sickness suppression device 1 also includes a route acquisition unit 20 that acquires a driving route to the destination, an occurrence determination unit 30 that determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route, and a control unit 40 that controls the operation of the suppression unit 10. When the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0102] According to this, the control unit 40 starts operation of the suppression unit 10 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route where the change in the occupant's core body temperature may exceed the reference range, thereby suppressing the change in the occupant's core body temperature from when the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route until it passes through the motion sickness occurrence route. This makes it difficult for the occupant to develop motion sickness when passing through the motion sickness occurrence route, thereby improving the comfort of the occupant.

[0103] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0104] (1) In the above embodiment, the control unit 40 controls the operation of the suppression unit 10 so that the greater the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31, the greater the amount of adjustment per unit time of the occupant's deep body temperature adjusted by operation of the suppression unit 10.

[0105] This makes it possible to further suppress the change in deep body temperature from when the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route until it passes through the motion sickness occurrence route, making it even more difficult for passengers to develop motion sickness when passing through the motion sickness occurrence route, thereby further improving passenger comfort.

[0106] (2) In the above embodiment, the control unit 40 stops the operation of the suppression unit 10 after the vehicle has passed through the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0107] According to this, by stopping the operation of the suppression unit 10 after the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route, it is possible to avoid a decrease in the comfort of the occupants due to the unnecessary adjustment of the occupants' core body temperature caused by the operation of the suppression unit 10 after the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0108] (3) In the above embodiment, the reference width is 0.2°C.

[0109] The expected range of change in a person's core body temperature per unit time based on circadian rhythms is generally about 0.2°C. Therefore, by setting the standard range at 0.2°C, the effects of individual differences can be reduced.

[0110] (4) In the above embodiment, the suppression unit 10 heats a local area of ​​the occupant's body including an arteriovenous anastomosis as a heating target. When the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the traveling route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0111] According to this, by heating the area including the arteriovenous anastomosis, it is possible to warm the blood circulating through the body and raise the core body temperature before it reaches the motion sickness occurrence route, making it easier to suppress changes in the core body temperature of the occupants from the time they reach the motion sickness occurrence route until they pass through it.

[0112] (5) In the above embodiment, local areas include the knees, palms, neck, and cheeks.

[0113] This makes it easier to warm the blood circulating through the body compared to when the localized areas do not include the knees, palms, neck, and cheeks, further suppressing changes in core body temperature and slowing the progression of motion sickness.

[0114] (First modified example of the first embodiment) In the above-described first embodiment, an example has been described in which the warming device 100 includes the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0115] For example, the warming device 100 may be configured without any one of the air conditioner 110, the heater 120, the handle warmer 130, the seat heater 140, and the neck warmer 150, or may be configured with one or more of these.

[0116] (Second modified example of the first embodiment) In the above-described first embodiment, an example in which the suppression unit 10 includes the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the suppression unit 10 may be configured not to include the deep body temperature estimation unit 31. In this case, the occurrence determination unit 30 may determine whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route based on information such as the gradient of the travel road, the turning radius, the interval between turning places, and the locations where there is a possibility of stopping and starting, which are included in the travel route information acquired from the navigation device.

[0117] (Third modified example of the first embodiment) In the above-described first embodiment, an example was described in which the operation of the suppression unit 10 is controlled so that the greater the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31, the greater the amount of adjustment per unit time of the occupant's deep body temperature adjusted by operation of the suppression unit 10, but this is not limited to this.

[0118] For example, the operation of the suppression unit 10 may be controlled so that the amount of adjustment per unit time of the occupant's deep body temperature adjusted by the operation of the suppression unit 10 is constant, regardless of the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31.

[0119] (Third modified example of the first embodiment) In the above-described first embodiment, an example has been described in which the control unit 40 stops the operation of the suppression unit 10 after the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0120] For example, the control unit 40 may be configured not to stop the operation of the suppression unit 10 even when the vehicle has passed through a route where motion sickness occurs.

[0121] Second embodiment Next, the second embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the motion sickness suppression device 1 is provided in a vehicle equipped with a deep body temperature detection unit 200, and includes a deep body temperature calculation unit 50 and a deep body temperature storage unit 60. Also, the operation of the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 when estimating the deep body temperature of the occupant differs from that of the first embodiment. Other than this, it is similar to the first embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the explanation of the parts that are similar to the first embodiment may be omitted.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 9, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment is provided in a vehicle equipped with a deep body temperature detection unit 200. The deep body temperature detection unit 200 is a temperature sensor that detects the deep body temperature of an occupant, and is configured to be able to detect information corresponding to the deep body temperature of the occupant. The deep body temperature detection unit 200 is provided, for example, in the steering wheel of the vehicle, directly detects the temperature of the occupant's hands gripping the steering wheel, and transmits a detection signal corresponding to the detected temperature to the deep body temperature calculation unit 50 of the suppression unit 10. The deep body temperature detection unit 200 repeatedly detects the deep body temperature of the occupant aboard the traveling vehicle at a predetermined control period, and transmits a detection signal corresponding to the detected temperature to the deep body temperature calculation unit 50 each time it is detected.

[0123] The deep body temperature detection unit 200 is not limited to the above, and may be configured, for example, as a thermograph that detects the temperature distribution of the occupant in a non-contact manner by acquiring infrared rays emitted from the occupant. Alternatively, the temperature may be detected by a temperature sensor installed in the seat of the occupant. Furthermore, these multiple temperatures may be detected and estimated according to a predetermined formula.

[0124] The motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment includes a deep body temperature calculation unit 50 and a deep body temperature storage unit 60. The deep body temperature calculation unit 50 and the deep body temperature storage unit 60 are configured in a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. (not shown) in the motion sickness prevention device 1 configured by the ECU. The deep body temperature calculation unit 50 calculates the deep body temperature of the occupant based on a detection signal transmitted from the deep body temperature detection unit 200. The deep body temperature calculation unit 50 repeatedly calculates the deep body temperature of the occupant every time it receives a detection signal from the deep body temperature detection unit 200. The deep body temperature calculation unit 50 transmits repeatedly calculated information on the deep body temperature of the occupant to the deep body temperature storage unit 60.

[0125] The deep body temperature storage unit 60 stores the history of changes in the deep body temperature of the occupant that is repeatedly calculated by the deep body temperature calculation unit 50. The deep body temperature storage unit 60 is capable of transmitting the stored information on the history of changes in the deep body temperature of the occupant to the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 in the occurrence determination unit 30.

[0126] A description will now be given of the operation of the thus configured motion sickness prevention device 1. When executing the process of step S20 described in the first embodiment, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 of this embodiment estimates the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant per unit time based on the history of the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant stored in the deep body temperature storage unit 60.

[0127] Here, when the deep body temperature of the occupant drops due to stress imposed on the occupant while the vehicle is running, the degree of the drop varies from person to person. Also, when the deep body temperature of the occupant is adjusted by the operation of the motion sickness suppression device 1, the degree of the adjustment also varies from person to person. That is, among occupants, there are some who are prone to motion sickness and some who are not prone to motion sickness, in other words, there are some who are prone to motion sickness and some who are not prone to motion sickness.

[0128] An example of the degree of decrease in the occupant's core body temperature is shown in Fig. 10. The solid line in Fig. 10 indicates the change in the occupant's core body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated. The dashed-dotted line in Fig. 10 indicates the change in the occupant's core body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is weakly activated, and the dashed-two-dotted line in Fig. 10 indicates the change in the occupant's core body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is strongly activated.

[0129] For example, as shown in Fig. 10, when stress is applied by the running of a vehicle, the core body temperature of a person who is prone to motion sickness drops even when the stress is weaker than that of a person who is not prone to motion sickness, and drops significantly even when the stress is the same. And, a person who is not prone to motion sickness may not have a drop in core body temperature even when the stress is large enough to lower the core body temperature of a person who is prone to motion sickness. For example, a person who is not prone to motion sickness may not have a drop in core body temperature when driving on a road where the core body temperature of a person who is prone to motion sickness drops.

[0130] For this reason, the motion sickness occurrence route, which may cause the change in the occupant's core body temperature to exceed the standard range, may or may not apply depending on the occupant.

[0131] Therefore, if the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant per unit time without using the history of the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant, the estimated value may deviate from the actual change in the deep body temperature of the occupant per unit time. If the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route based on the estimated value deviated from the actual value, the determination result may be erroneous. That is, there is a risk that a route that does not correspond to a motion sickness occurrence route for a specific occupant may be determined to correspond to a motion sickness occurrence route, or a route that corresponds to a motion sickness occurrence route for a specific occupant may not be determined to correspond to a motion sickness occurrence route.

[0132] In contrast, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 of this embodiment estimates the change in deep body temperature per unit time based on the history of changes in the deep body temperature of the occupant stored in the deep body temperature memory unit 60. Then, the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the traveling route based on the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 based on the history of changes in the deep body temperature of the occupant.

[0133] According to this, when the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant, it can estimate based on the history of the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant, so that the estimation accuracy of the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 can be improved. This allows the occurrence determination unit 30 to determine whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the traveling route depending on the occupant. Therefore, the control unit 40 can change the operation of the suppression unit 10 depending on the occupant, and further improve the comfort of the occupant.

[0134] For example, in the case of an occupant whose core body temperature is prone to change and who is therefore susceptible to motion sickness, changes in the core body temperature of the occupant from the time they reach the motion sickness occurrence route until they pass through it can be further suppressed by advancing the start timing of operation of the suppression unit 10. Also, in the case of an occupant whose core body temperature is unlikely to change and who is therefore unlikely to suffer from motion sickness, changes in the core body temperature of the occupant from the time they reach the motion sickness occurrence route until they pass through it can be further suppressed by delaying the start timing of operation of the suppression unit 10.

[0135] In addition, the deep body temperature calculation unit 50 may calculate a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is operated, and the operation of the motion sickness prevention device 1 may be changed according to the calculated deep body temperature. For example, the operation of the warming device 100 may be switched between strong operation and weak operation according to the calculated deep body temperature.

[0136] However, when the heating device 100 heats a local area of ​​the occupant including the arteriovenous anastomosis, the deep body temperature rises. However, when the heating device 100 heats the occupant, the body temperature of the occupant rises. For this reason, when the heating device 100 heats a local area of ​​the occupant including the arteriovenous anastomosis, the comfort of the occupant may decrease. For example, if the skin temperature of the occupant's hands rises and the occupant starts to sweat, the occupant may feel uncomfortable.

[0137] For this reason, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment may lower the occupant's core body temperature by the air conditioner 110 when the occupant's core body temperature calculated by the core body temperature calculation unit 50 rises more than necessary. In this case, for example, when the core body temperature calculated by the core body temperature calculation unit 50 becomes higher than a start judgment temperature that judges when the air conditioner 110 should start operating, the suppression unit 10 transmits a control signal to the air conditioner 110 to start operating the air conditioner 110.

[0138] The air conditioner 110 is configured to be capable of cooling parts of the occupant's body other than the head so that the increase in cerebral blood flow is not easily hindered. For example, the air conditioner 110 cools parts of the occupant's body other than the head as cooling targets by blowing out cooled conditioned air. The air conditioner 110 is configured to be capable of blowing out cooled air from a foot outlet to the occupant's feet, and to blow out cooled air from a face outlet to the occupant's torso, arms, etc.

[0139] In addition, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment may lower the core body temperature of the occupants by having the air conditioning unit 110 blow out cooled air when it is determined in the processing of step S50 described in the first embodiment that the vehicle has passed through a motion sickness occurrence route.

[0140] The air conditioner 110 for lowering the core body temperature of the occupant may be provided in the seat on which the occupant sits, and may be configured to blow cooled air toward the occupant's back and buttocks. The method for lowering the core body temperature of the occupant is not limited to the air conditioner 110, and may be configured with a seat cooling device having a Peltier element provided in the seat on which the occupant sits. In this case, the seat cooling device may have Peltier elements provided in the seat back and the seat cushion, for example, and the Peltier elements provided in the seat back and the seat cushion can cool the occupant's back and buttocks.

[0141] According to this, even if the body temperature of the occupant rises with an increase in cerebral blood flow, the comfort of the occupant can be prevented from decreasing by cooling parts of the occupant other than the head. In this embodiment, the suppression unit 10 functions as a cooling unit that cools parts of the occupant's body other than the head as a cooling target.

[0142] The rest is the same as in the first embodiment. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of the present embodiment can obtain the same effects as in the first embodiment, which are achieved by a configuration common to the first embodiment or an equivalent configuration.

[0143] The information on the history of changes in deep body temperature stored in the deep body temperature storage unit 60 may be configured to be output to the outside. In this case, even if an occupant gets into a vehicle for which no information on deep body temperature has been acquired, the information on the history of changes in deep body temperature can be used when getting into the vehicle.

[0144] (Modification of the second embodiment) In the above-described second embodiment, an example has been described in which when the deep body temperature of the occupant is increased more than necessary by the heating device 100, the occupant is cooled by the air conditioning device 110, but the present invention is not limited to this.

[0145] For example, if the warming device 100 causes the occupant's core body temperature to rise more than necessary, the motion sickness prevention device 1 may encourage the occupant to play a game or read a book. This is because when the occupant relaxes by playing a game or reading a book, the core body temperature drops. In this case, the motion sickness prevention device 1 may output a control signal to a display device provided on the instrument panel of the vehicle to display a message encouraging the occupant to play a game or read a book. The motion sickness prevention device 1 may also output a control signal to a speaker of the vehicle to output a sound encouraging the occupant to play a game or read a book.

[0146] Third embodiment Next, the third embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 11 and 12. This embodiment differs from the second embodiment in that the motion sickness suppression device 1 does not include a deep body temperature memory unit 60, but instead includes a driving history memory unit 70. Also, the operation of the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 when estimating the deep body temperature of the occupant differs from that of the second embodiment. Other than this, it is the same as the first embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the explanation of the parts that are the same as the first embodiment may be omitted.

[0147] 11, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment includes a driving history storage unit 70. The driving history storage unit 70 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, etc. (not shown) in the motion sickness prevention device 1 configured by the ECU. The deep body temperature calculation unit 50 transmits repeatedly calculated information on the deep body temperature of the occupant to the driving history storage unit 70.

[0148] The driving history storage unit 70 collects the history of the deep body temperature calculated by the deep body temperature calculation unit 50 when the vehicle travels along a driving route, and stores the driving history in which the collected information on the history of the deep body temperature is associated with the driving route. The driving history storage unit 70 is capable of transmitting the stored information on the driving history to the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 in the occurrence determination unit 30.

[0149] A description will now be given of the operation of the thus configured motion sickness prevention device 1. When executing the process of step S20 described in the first embodiment, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 of this embodiment estimates the change per unit time of the deep body temperature of the occupant based on the driving history of the occupant stored in the driving history storage unit 70.

[0150] Here, the amount of stress on the occupant when the vehicle is traveling varies depending on the gradient of the road, turning radius, intervals between turning places, and possible locations where the vehicle may stop and start. For this reason, it is difficult to grasp information such as the gradient of the road, turning radius, intervals between turning places, and possible locations where the vehicle may stop and start for each traveling route. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately set the stress on the occupant in the control map used by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 when estimating the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature of the occupant.

[0151] In addition, when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is activated to adjust the occupant's core body temperature, the degree to which the core body temperature is adjusted also varies depending on the gradient of the road, the turning radius, the distance between turning points, and the locations where there is a possibility of stopping and starting.

[0152] An example of the degree of decrease in the occupant's core body temperature, which changes depending on the road, is shown in Fig. 12. The solid line in Fig. 12 shows the change in the occupant's core body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated. The dashed-dotted line in Fig. 12 shows the change in the occupant's core body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is weakly activated, and the dashed-two-dotted line in Fig. 12 shows the change in the occupant's core body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is strongly activated.

[0153] For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the deep body temperature of a passenger in a vehicle traveling on a mountain road with a relatively large gradient and a relatively small turning radius is more likely to decrease and the timing of the decrease is quicker than that of a passenger in a vehicle traveling on a general road. Also, the deep body temperature of a passenger in a vehicle traveling on a general road with a relatively small turning radius and frequent stops and starts compared to that of a passenger in a vehicle traveling on a general road is more likely to decrease and the timing of the decrease is quicker than that of a passenger in a vehicle traveling on a general road. In this way, the degree of decrease in the deep body temperature of a passenger varies depending on the traveling road. And the state of the traveling road is not quantitatively determined.

[0154] Therefore, if the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant per unit time using a control map determined without using the driving history, the estimated value may deviate from the actual change in the deep body temperature of the occupant per unit time. If the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route based on the estimated value deviated from the actual value, the determination result may be erroneous.

[0155] In contrast, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 of this embodiment estimates the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the vehicle passes through a driving route associated with the driving history stored in the driving history storage unit 70. That is, when the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the deep body temperature of the occupant when the driving route is determined, the estimation is based on the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the vehicle has traveled this driving route in the past. Then, the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route based on the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 based on the driving history.

[0156] According to this, when the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 estimates the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant while the vehicle is passing through the travel route, the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 can calculate based on the travel history associated with the history of the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant while passing through this travel route. Therefore, it is possible to improve the estimation accuracy of the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit 31 when the vehicle passes through this travel route again. This allows the occurrence determination unit 30 to determine whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route according to the travel route. Therefore, the control unit 40 can change the operation of the suppression unit 10 according to the travel route, and further improve the comfort of the occupant.

[0157] (Fourth embodiment) Next, the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 13 and 14. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the motion sickness prevention device 1 includes a progress state memory unit 80. Also, the operation of the occurrence determination unit 30 when determining whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route differs from that of the first embodiment. Other than this, this embodiment is similar to the first embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the parts that differ from the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the description of the parts that are similar to the first embodiment may be omitted.

[0158] As shown in FIG. 13, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment includes a progression state storage unit 80. The progression state storage unit 80 is configured by a microcomputer including a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc. (not shown) in the motion sickness suppression device 1 configured by the ECU. The progression state storage unit 80 stores progression state information indicating the progression state of motion sickness when the occupant develops motion sickness. The progression state of motion sickness may be connected to, for example, an instrument panel device or a navigation device provided in the vehicle cabin, and may be configured to be capable of storing progression state information of motion sickness input by the occupant operating these devices. The progression state information of motion sickness input by the occupant's operation may be, for example, "MISC" indicating the symptoms of motion sickness.

[0159] The progress state information of motion sickness stored in the progress state storage unit 80 may be, for example, information on the progress state of motion sickness estimated by the motion sickness prevention device 1.

[0160] The reason why the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is provided with the progress state storage unit 80 will be described.

[0161] As described in the first embodiment, the larger the MISC value, the more the motion sickness symptoms progress. The MISC is based on a person's subjective feeling. According to the inventors' intensive study, the time until the motion sickness symptoms start to appear and the time until the core body temperature starts to drop vary from person to person. Even if the dropped core body temperature is the same, the MISC value may be different. For example, some passengers feel that they have reached "MISC3", which indicates a state where they feel stomach discomfort, when their core body temperature drops by 0.4°C, and some feel that they have reached "MISC1", which indicates a state where they feel slight discomfort, when their core body temperature drops by 0.5°C.

[0162] Fig. 14 shows an example of the time that has passed until the progression of an occupant's motion sickness reaches MISC2 when the occupant is stressed by the vehicle's travel. The solid line in Fig. 14 shows the change in the occupant's deep body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is not activated. The dashed-dotted line in Fig. 14 shows the change in the occupant's deep body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is weakly activated, and the dashed-two-dotted line in Fig. 14 shows the change in the occupant's deep body temperature when the motion sickness prevention device 1 is strongly activated.

[0163] As shown in Fig. 14, when stress is applied by the traveling of a vehicle, a person who is prone to motion sickness takes less time to reach MISC2, even if the stress is the same as that of a person who is not prone to motion sickness. Also, a person who is not prone to motion sickness may not become MISC2 even if the person is subjected to stress of a magnitude that would cause a person who is prone to motion sickness to become MISC2. For example, a person who is not prone to motion sickness may not become MISC2 when traveling on a road where a person who is prone to motion sickness becomes MISC2.

[0164] For this reason, the motion sickness occurrence route, which may cause the change in the occupant's core body temperature to exceed the standard range, may or may not apply depending on the occupant.

[0165] Therefore, if the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route without using the motion sickness progression state information, the determination result may be erroneous. That is, there is a risk that a route that is not a motion sickness occurrence route for a given occupant may be determined to be a motion sickness occurrence route, or a route that is a motion sickness occurrence route for a given occupant may not be determined to be a motion sickness occurrence route.

[0166] In contrast to this, the occurrence determination unit 30 of this embodiment determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route based on the motion sickness progression state information stored in the progression state storage unit 80.

[0167] According to this, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the determination can be made based on the past progression state of motion sickness of the occupant, thereby improving the determination accuracy of the occurrence determination unit 30. Therefore, the control unit 40 can change the operation of the suppression unit 10 according to the occupant, and further improve the comfort of the occupant.

[0168] Fifth embodiment Next, the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 15 to 17. This embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in that the suppression unit 10 includes a partial pressure adjustment unit 11, and the motion sickness suppression device 1 is provided in a vehicle equipped with an atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300. Also, the method of adjusting the deep body temperature of the occupant differs from the first to fourth embodiments. Other than this, this embodiment is similar to the first to fourth embodiments. For this reason, in this embodiment, the parts that differ from the first to fourth embodiments will be mainly described, and the description of the parts that are similar to the first to fourth embodiments may be omitted.

[0169] As shown in FIG. 15, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment is provided in a vehicle equipped with an atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300. The atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 is connected to the suppression unit 10, and adjusts the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin by a control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10. The atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 is configured, for example, as a vacuum pump, and is configured to be able to adjust the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin by sucking in air in the vehicle cabin and reducing the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin. The atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 is connected to a partial pressure adjustment unit 11 included in the suppression unit 10, and its operation is controlled based on a control signal transmitted from the partial pressure adjustment unit 11.

[0170] Incidentally, in the first to fourth embodiments, the motion sickness suppression device 1 has been described, which suppresses motion sickness in a person by adjusting the deep body temperature of the person to increase by heating a local area including the arteriovenous anastomosis of the occupant with the heating device 100. In contrast, when the cerebral blood flow increases, the deep body temperature increases due to the increase in cerebral blood flow.

[0171] Here, the inventors have studied regulating a person's core body temperature by controlling the cerebral blood flow. The cerebral blood flow changes according to oxygen saturation (i.e., SaO2), which indicates the amount of oxygen bound to hemoglobin contained in red blood cells in the person's blood. For example, the normal value of oxygen saturation when the human body is in a normal state is about 95 to 99%, and when the oxygen saturation falls below this normal value, the cerebral blood flow tends to increase.

[0172] The oxygen saturation level correlates with the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure (i.e., PaO2) which indicates the partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood, as shown in Fig. 16. Specifically, the oxygen saturation level decreases as the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure decreases.

[0173] In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, oxygen saturation and arterial blood oxygen partial pressure are correlated with the inspired oxygen partial pressure (i.e., PIO2), which indicates the oxygen partial pressure in the air inhaled by a person. Specifically, oxygen saturation and arterial blood oxygen partial pressure decrease as the inspired oxygen partial pressure decreases. The oxygen saturation, arterial blood oxygen partial pressure, and inspired oxygen partial pressure decrease as the amount of oxygen in the air decreases. Furthermore, the oxygen in the air becomes thinner as the altitude increases. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, the inspired oxygen partial pressure decreases as the altitude at which a person is located increases. This is because the atmospheric pressure decreases as the altitude increases. In other words, the lower the atmospheric pressure, the lower the inspired oxygen partial pressure, and the lower the inspired oxygen partial pressure, the lower the oxygen saturation and arterial blood oxygen partial pressure.

[0174] Here, the partial pressure of oxygen in the intake air can be calculated by the following formula 1. (Formula 1) Partial pressure of inhaled oxygen "Torr" = (atmospheric pressure "mmHg" - 47 "mmHg") x oxygen concentration in the atmosphere [%] According to the above formula 1, the more the atmospheric pressure is lowered, the more the partial pressure of inspired oxygen can be lowered. Also, the more the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere is reduced, the more the partial pressure of inspired oxygen can be lowered. And by lowering the partial pressure of inspired oxygen, the partial pressure of arterial blood oxygen can be lowered, and the oxygen saturation can be lowered. Therefore, by reducing the atmospheric pressure and the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, the oxygen saturation can be lowered below the normal value with almost no individual difference, and an increase in cerebral blood flow can be promoted. This was discovered through the inventors' intensive research.

[0175] In view of the above, the inventors have studied a motion sickness prevention device 1 that reduces the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin to adjust the temperature of the core body of a person to increase the temperature, thereby preventing motion sickness in the person. A specific motion sickness prevention device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described below.

[0176] 15, the motion sickness suppression device 1 is configured to be able to control the operation of the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 by sending a control signal to the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300. Specifically, the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 of the suppression unit 10 adjusts the amount of air sucked by the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300, which is composed of a vacuum pump, by sending a control signal to the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300.

[0177] In addition, the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 is not limited to a vacuum pump, and may be configured, for example, as an ejector or blower that blows air inside the vehicle cabin out of the vehicle cabin, and may be configured to adjust the atmospheric pressure inside the vehicle cabin by blowing the air inside the vehicle cabin out of the vehicle cabin.

[0178] The operation of the motion sickness suppression device 1 thus configured will be described. When the control unit 40 determines in step S30 described in the first embodiment that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, it starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 in step S40. That is, when the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 of the suppression unit 10 determines that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, it transmits a control signal to the atmospheric pressure adjustment unit 300 for operating the atmospheric pressure adjustment unit 300. In other words, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0179] When the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 receives a control signal from the partial pressure adjustment unit 11, it sucks in air in the vehicle cabin to reduce the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin. Specifically, the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 reduces the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin to a target atmospheric pressure based on the control signal transmitted from the partial pressure adjustment unit 11. The partial pressure adjustment unit 11 stores in advance a control map indicating the relationship between the amount of air sucked by the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 and the atmospheric pressure, which is obtained in advance by experiments or the like. Then, the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 transmits a control signal to the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 based on the control map.

[0180] As described above, the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure and the oxygen saturation are correlated with each other. The more the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin is lowered to reduce the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure, the more the oxygen saturation falls from its normal value.

[0181] Also, the lower the oxygen saturation, the higher the core body temperature can be. However, oxygen saturation indicates the amount of oxygen bound to hemoglobin contained in red blood cells of human blood, and it is desirable for the oxygen saturation to be equal to or higher than a certain value so that a person can stably take in oxygen into the body. For example, it is desirable for the oxygen saturation to be maintained at 85% or higher so that a person can stably take in oxygen into the body.

[0182] For this reason, the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 of this embodiment controls the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 so that the occupant's oxygen saturation is 85% or more so that the occupant can stably take in oxygen into the body. Furthermore, in order to raise the occupant's core body temperature, the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 controls the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 so that the occupant's oxygen saturation is 95% or less, which is the lower limit of a general normal value. In other words, the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 controls the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 so that the occupant's oxygen saturation is 85% to 95%, and adjusts the intake oxygen partial pressure in the vehicle cabin, which is the space around the occupant.

[0183] 17, when the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 80 Torr, the oxygen saturation is 95%. When the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 50 Torr, the oxygen saturation is 85%. Therefore, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 of this embodiment controls the atmospheric pressure adjusting device 300 to adjust the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin so that the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 50 Torr to 80 Torr.

[0184] Furthermore, when the control unit 40 determines in the process of step S100 described in the first embodiment that the amount of change per unit time in the core body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it transmits a control signal to the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 in step S110 to switch the operation of the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 to strong operation. When the control unit 40 does not determine that the amount of change per unit time in the core body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, it transmits a control signal to the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 in step S120 to switch the operation of the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 to weak operation.

[0185] Here, strong operation of the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 refers to an operation that can increase the amount of adjustment of the occupant's core body temperature per unit time compared to weak operation. For example, when the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 operates the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 in strong operation, the occupant's oxygen saturation is brought closer to 85% compared to weak operation. Also, when the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 operates the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 in weak operation, the occupant's oxygen saturation is brought closer to 95% compared to strong operation.

[0186] In addition, when it is determined in the processing of step S50 described in the first embodiment that the vehicle has passed through a route where motion sickness occurs, the control unit 40 may operate the atmospheric pressure adjustment device 300 so that the oxygen saturation of the occupants approaches 95%.

[0187] According to this, it is possible to prevent the oxygen saturation of the occupant from decreasing more than necessary, thereby suppressing a decrease in the comfort of the occupant.

[0188] The oxygen saturation of the passenger can be estimated based on the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure measured by a pulse oximeter, for example. Therefore, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 may control the atmospheric pressure adjusting device 300 based on the oxygen saturation measured by the pulse oximeter so that the oxygen saturation of the passenger is 85% to 95%.

[0189] As described above, the suppression unit 10 of this embodiment includes the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 that adjusts the inhaled oxygen partial pressure in the space around the occupant so that the oxygen saturation level is 85% to 95%. When the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the traveling route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0190] According to this, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 before the motion sickness occurrence route is reached, thereby lowering the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure and oxygen saturation, and thereby promoting an increase in the cerebral blood flow of the occupant, and raising the deep temperature of the occupant. This makes it possible to suppress the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant from the time of reaching the motion sickness occurrence route until passing through it. In addition, by adjusting the oxygen saturation to 85% to 95%, it is possible to enable the occupant to stably take in oxygen into the body. Therefore, the occupant is less likely to develop motion sickness when passing through the motion sickness occurrence route, and the comfort of the occupant can be improved.

[0191] The rest of the embodiment is similar to the first to fourth embodiments. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of the present embodiment can obtain the same effects as the first to fourth embodiments, which are achieved by the configuration common to the first to fourth embodiments or the equivalent configuration.

[0192] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0193] (1) In the above embodiment, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 adjusts the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin, which is the space around the occupant, so that the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 50 Torr to 80 Torr.

[0194] 16, the normal oxygen saturation level is about 95-99%, while the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure in a normal state is 80 Torr-100 Torr. Even in this case, if the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is lowered, the oxygen saturation level will be lower than the normal level, which will promote an increase in cerebral blood flow and appropriately suppress a decrease in core body temperature.

[0195] If the oxygen saturation is too low, the subject may feel short of breath. Therefore, in order to maintain the oxygen saturation at 85% or higher, the atmospheric pressure in the vehicle cabin is adjusted so that the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 50 Torr to 80 Torr, and the drop in core body temperature can be appropriately suppressed.

[0196] Sixth embodiment Next, the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 18. In this embodiment, the motion sickness suppression device 1 is provided in a vehicle equipped with an air conditioner 110 having an oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111, and the operation of the air conditioner 110 controlled by the suppression unit 10 differs from that of the fifth embodiment. The rest is the same as the fifth embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the differences from the fifth embodiment will be mainly described.

[0197] 18, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment is installed in a vehicle equipped with an air conditioner 110 having an oxygen concentration adjuster 111 that adjusts the oxygen concentration in the air inside the vehicle cabin by adjusting the oxygen concentration in the air blown into the vehicle cabin. The air conditioner 110 is connected to the suppression unit 10, and its operation is controlled based on a control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10.

[0198] The oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 may have, for example, a nitrogen gas cylinder filled with nitrogen gas, and is configured to be able to mix the nitrogen gas filled in the nitrogen gas cylinder when the air conditioner 110 blows air into the vehicle cabin, thereby reducing the oxygen concentration in the air being blown out. Alternatively, the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 may have an adsorbent that adsorbs oxygen, and may be configured to be able to adsorb the oxygen contained in the air being blown out when the air conditioner 110 blows out air into the vehicle cabin, thereby reducing the oxygen concentration in the air being blown out. In this way, the air conditioner 110 can adjust the oxygen concentration in the vehicle cabin when blowing out air into the vehicle cabin.

[0199] Here, the reason why the air conditioner 110 is configured to be able to adjust the oxygen concentration in the vehicle cabin will be described.

[0200] As explained in the fifth embodiment, by lowering the oxygen saturation level by lowering the partial pressure of oxygen in the intake air of the occupant, the increase in the cerebral blood flow of the occupant can be promoted, and the deep temperature of the occupant can be increased. According to the formula 1 shown in the fifth embodiment, the intake oxygen partial pressure can be lowered as the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere is reduced.

[0201] For this reason, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is configured so that the air conditioning unit 110 reduces the oxygen concentration in the vehicle cabin and thereby reduces the oxygen saturation of the occupants, thereby promoting an increase in the cerebral blood flow of the occupants and raising the core temperature of the occupants.

[0202] Next, the operation of the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment will be described. When the control unit 40 determines in step S30 described in the first embodiment that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 in step S40. That is, when the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 of the suppression unit 10 determines that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 sends a control signal to the air conditioner 110 to operate the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111. In other words, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0203] When the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 receives a control signal from the partial pressure adjusting unit 11, it blows air toward the vehicle interior. At this time, the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 reduces the concentration of oxygen in the air to be blown out to a target concentration based on the control signal transmitted from the partial pressure adjusting unit 11. The partial pressure adjusting unit 11 stores a control map in advance, which indicates the relationship between the amount of nitrogen mixed by the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 and the concentration of oxygen, which is obtained in advance by an experiment or the like. Then, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 transmits a control signal to the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 based on the control map. The partial pressure adjusting unit 11 of this embodiment controls the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 so that the oxygen saturation of the occupant is 85% to 95%, thereby adjusting the intake oxygen partial pressure in the vehicle interior, which is the space around the occupant. Specifically, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 controls the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 so that the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 50 Torr to 80 Torr, thereby adjusting the oxygen concentration in the vehicle interior.

[0204] Furthermore, when the control unit 40 determines in the processing of step S100 described in the first embodiment that the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, in step S110, the control unit 40 transmits a control signal to the oxygen concentration adjuster 111 to switch the operation of the oxygen concentration adjuster 111 to strong operation. When the control unit 40 does not determine that the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, in step S120, the control unit 40 transmits a control signal to the oxygen concentration adjuster 111 to switch the operation of the oxygen concentration adjuster 111 to weak operation.

[0205] Here, strong operation of the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 refers to an operation that can increase the amount of adjustment of the occupant's core body temperature per unit time compared to weak operation. For example, when the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 operates the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 in strong operation, the amount of nitrogen gas mixed into the conditioned air is increased compared to weak operation, bringing the occupant's oxygen saturation closer to 85%. Also, when the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 operates the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 in weak operation, the amount of nitrogen gas mixed into the conditioned air is decreased compared to strong operation, bringing the occupant's oxygen saturation closer to 95%.

[0206] In addition, when it is determined in the processing of step S50 described in the first embodiment that the vehicle has passed through a route where motion sickness occurs, the control unit 40 may operate the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 so that the oxygen saturation of the occupants approaches 95%.

[0207] According to this, it is possible to prevent the oxygen saturation of the occupant from decreasing more than necessary, thereby suppressing a decrease in the comfort of the occupant.

[0208] The partial pressure adjusting section 11 may control the oxygen concentration adjusting section 111 based on the oxygen saturation level measured by a pulse oximeter so that the oxygen saturation level of the occupant is 85% to 95%.

[0209] According to this, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the partial pressure adjustment unit 11 before the motion sickness occurrence route is reached, thereby lowering the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure and oxygen saturation, and thereby promoting an increase in the cerebral blood flow of the occupant, and raising the deep temperature of the occupant. This makes it possible to suppress the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant from the time of reaching the motion sickness occurrence route until passing through it. In addition, by adjusting the oxygen saturation to 85% to 95%, it is possible to enable the occupant to stably take in oxygen into the body. Therefore, the occupant is less likely to develop motion sickness when passing through the motion sickness occurrence route, and the comfort of the occupant can be improved.

[0210] The oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 may be configured to include an airflow direction switching mechanism for switching the direction of the blown air. With this, when there are multiple occupants in the vehicle cabin, the oxygen concentration adjusting unit 111 can adjust the oxygen concentration in the air around a specific occupant by blowing air with a reduced oxygen concentration toward the specific occupant. By promoting an increase in the cerebral blood flow of the specific occupant and increasing the deep body temperature, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the deep body temperature of the specific occupant and suppress the progression of motion sickness.

[0211] The wind direction switching mechanism is composed of, for example, an actuator having left-right louvers that rotate left-right to change the wind direction left-right, and up-down louvers that rotate up-down to change the wind direction up-down.

[0212] The rest of the embodiment is similar to the first to fifth embodiments. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of the present embodiment can obtain the same effects as the first to fifth embodiments, which are achieved by the configuration common to the first to fifth embodiments or the equivalent configuration.

[0213] Seventh embodiment Next, the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 19. In this embodiment, compared to the fifth and sixth embodiments, the suppression unit 10 does not include a partial pressure adjustment unit 11, but instead includes a concentration adjustment unit 12. Also, the air conditioner 110 does not include an oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111, but instead includes an inside / outside air switching device 112, and the concentration adjustment unit 12 in the suppression unit 10 controls the operation of the inside / outside air switching device 112, which is different from the sixth embodiment. Also, the method of adjusting the deep body temperature of the occupant is different from the first embodiment. The rest is the same as the sixth embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the parts that are different from the fifth and sixth embodiments will be mainly described.

[0214] In the fifth and sixth embodiments, a motion sickness suppression device 1 has been described that suppresses the progression of motion sickness by promoting an increase in cerebral blood flow in the occupant and suppressing a decrease in the occupant's core body temperature. In the motion sickness suppression device 1 of the fifth and sixth embodiments, the suppression unit 10 has a partial pressure adjustment unit 11 that adjusts the intake oxygen partial pressure so that the occupant's oxygen saturation is 85% to 95%, in order to promote an increase in cerebral blood flow in the occupant.

[0215] In addition, the human cerebral blood flow has a correlation with the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. For example, when the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is higher than the normal concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the human cerebral blood flow tends to increase. And the higher the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more the human cerebral blood flow increases.

[0216] Here, the inventors have studied a motion sickness prevention device 1 that can promote an increase in the cerebral blood flow of an occupant by increasing the carbon dioxide concentration in the air inside the vehicle cabin. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of the present embodiment will be described below.

[0217] As shown in Fig. 19, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is installed in a vehicle equipped with an air conditioner 110 having an inside / outside air switching device 112. The inside / outside air switching device 112 adjusts the ratio between the amount of inside air introduced into the air conditioner 110 and the amount of outside air introduced into the air conditioner 110 (i.e., inside / outside air ratio). Here, the inside air is the air inside the vehicle cabin, and the outside air is the air outside the vehicle cabin.

[0218] The inside / outside air switching device 112 is configured to be able to change the ratio of the amount of inside air introduced to the amount of outside air introduced by adjusting the opening area of ​​an inside air inlet (not shown) for introducing inside air and an outside air inlet (not shown) for introducing outside air by using an inside / outside air switching door (not shown). The inside / outside air switching device 112 also has an electric actuator (not shown) that rotates the inside / outside air switching door. The electric actuator is connected to the suppression unit 10, and its operation is controlled based on a control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10.

[0219] Incidentally, the inside air, which is the air inside the vehicle cabin, contains more carbon dioxide than the outside air due to the breathing of the occupants. That is, the inside air has a higher carbon dioxide concentration than the outside air. For this reason, the inside / outside air switching device 112 increases the amount of inside air introduced compared to the amount of outside air introduced, and circulates more inside air into the vehicle cabin, so that the air conditioner 110 can reduce the oxygen concentration in the vehicle cabin and increase the carbon dioxide concentration. The inside / outside air switching device 112 is connected to the concentration adjustment unit 12 of the suppression unit 10, and its operation is controlled by the concentration adjustment unit 12.

[0220] The suppression unit 10 of this embodiment includes a concentration adjustment unit 12 as shown in Fig. 19. The concentration adjustment unit 12 controls the operation of the inside / outside air switching device 112. The concentration adjustment unit 12 adjusts the rotation position of the inside / outside air switching door by sending a control signal to the inside / outside air switching device 112 and controlling the electric actuator.

[0221] Next, the operation of the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment will be described. When the control unit 40 determines in step S30 described in the first embodiment that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 in step S40. That is, when the concentration adjustment unit 12 of the suppression unit 10 determines that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 sends a control signal to the air conditioner 110 to operate the inside / outside air switching device 112. In other words, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the concentration adjustment unit 12 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0222] When the inside / outside air switching device 112 receives a control signal from the concentration adjustment unit 12, it rotates the inside / outside air switching door. Specifically, the inside / outside air switching device 112 adjusts the rotation position of the inside / outside air switching door so that the ratio of the introduced air volume of the outside air is smaller than the ratio of the introduced air volume of the inside air. This reduces the oxygen concentration in the air inside the vehicle cabin and increases the carbon dioxide concentration. The concentration adjustment unit 12 adjusts the carbon dioxide concentration of the air inside the vehicle cabin, which is the space around the occupant, to a concentration range in which the cerebral blood flow of the occupant is expected to increase.

[0223] That is, the concentration adjusting unit 12 promotes an increase in the cerebral blood flow of the occupant by controlling the operation of the inside / outside air switching device 112 so that the ratio of the introduced air volume of the outside air is smaller than the ratio of the introduced air volume of the inside air. For example, the concentration adjusting unit 12 rotates the inside / outside air switching door of the inside / outside air switching device 112 to open the inside air inlet and close the outside air inlet. The inside / outside air switching device 112 adjusts the rotation position of the inside / outside air switching door based on a control signal transmitted from the concentration adjusting unit 12 so that the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin approaches a target concentration.

[0224] A control map indicating the relationship between the rotation position of the inside / outside air switching door of the inside / outside air switching device 112 and the carbon dioxide concentration, which is obtained in advance by experiments or the like, is stored in the concentration adjustment unit 12. Then, the concentration adjustment unit 12 transmits a control signal to the inside / outside air switching device 112 based on the control map.

[0225] Here, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air inhaled by a person affects the person's health condition, as shown in FIG. 20. For example, when the carbon dioxide in the air is 500 ppm or more, there are effects such as an increase in the arterial blood carbon dioxide partial pressure (i.e., pCO2), which indicates the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood, an increase in heart rate, and an increase in blood pressure. When the carbon dioxide in the air is 1000 ppm or more, there is an effect on cognitive abilities such as decision-making and problem solving. When the carbon dioxide in the air is 10000 ppm or more, there is a risk of an increase in respiratory rate and the occurrence of respiratory acidosis, which is one of the acid-base balance disorders. When the carbon dioxide in the air is 50000 ppm or more, there is a possibility of adverse effects on the person's health condition, such as dizziness and headaches.

[0226] Therefore, the concentration adjusting unit 12 of this embodiment controls the inside / outside air switching door of the inside / outside air switching device 112 so that the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin is 1000 to 50000 ppm, thereby adjusting the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin, which is the space around the occupants.

[0227] Furthermore, if the control unit 40 determines in the process of step S100 described in the first embodiment that the amount of change per unit time in the occupant's core body temperature is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, then in step S110 it transmits to the inside / outside air switching device 112 a control signal for switching the inside / outside air switching device 112 to strong operation. If the control unit 40 does not determine that the amount of change per unit time in the occupant's core body temperature is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, then in step S120 it transmits to the inside / outside air switching device 112 a control signal for switching the inside / outside air switching device 112 to weak operation.

[0228] Here, strong operation of the inside / outside air switching device 112 refers to an operation that can increase the amount of adjustment of the occupant's core body temperature per unit time compared to weak operation. For example, when the concentration adjustment unit 12 operates the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 in strong operation, the proportion of the volume of inside air introduced is increased compared to weak operation. Also, when the concentration adjustment unit 12 operates the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 in weak operation, the proportion of the volume of inside air introduced is decreased compared to strong operation.

[0229] In addition, when the control unit 40 determines in the processing of step S50 described in the first embodiment that the vehicle has passed through a route where motion sickness occurs, it may operate the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 so as to reduce the proportion of the volume of internal air introduced.

[0230] This makes it possible to prevent the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin from becoming higher than necessary, thereby suppressing a decrease in passenger comfort.

[0231] The air conditioner 110 may be configured to include an air direction switching mechanism for switching the direction of the air blown out. With this, when there are multiple occupants in the vehicle cabin, the air conditioner 110 can adjust the carbon dioxide concentration in the air around a specific occupant by blowing air with an increased carbon dioxide concentration toward the specific occupant. By promoting an increase in the cerebral blood flow of the specific occupant and increasing the deep body temperature, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the deep body temperature of the specific occupant and suppress the progression of motion sickness.

[0232] As described above, the suppression unit 10 of this embodiment includes the concentration adjustment unit 12 that adjusts the carbon dioxide concentration in the space around the occupant to a concentration range in which the cerebral blood flow of the occupant is expected to increase. When the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the traveling route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the concentration adjustment unit 12 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0233] According to this, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the concentration adjusting unit 12 before the motion sickness occurrence route is reached, and as the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin increases, the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the occupant's arterial blood is increased, thereby increasing the cerebral blood flow of the occupant. The increased cerebral blood flow can increase the deep temperature of the occupant. Therefore, if the carbon dioxide concentration is adjusted to a concentration range in which the cerebral blood flow of the occupant is expected to increase, the decrease in the deep body temperature of the occupant can be suppressed, and the change in the deep body temperature of the occupant from the time the motion sickness occurrence route is reached to the time the motion sickness occurrence route is passed can be suppressed. Therefore, the occupant is less likely to develop motion sickness when passing the motion sickness occurrence route, and the comfort of the occupant can be improved.

[0234] Furthermore, according to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

[0235] (1) In the above embodiment, the concentration adjusting unit 12 adjusts the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin so that the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin is 1000 to 50000 ppm.

[0236] When the carbon dioxide concentration is 1000 or more, the increase in cerebral blood flow becomes significant. On the other hand, when the carbon dioxide concentration exceeds 50,000 ppm, there is a risk of adverse effects on the body. For this reason, it is desirable to adjust the carbon dioxide concentration to the above concentration range.

[0237] The rest of the embodiment is the same as the fifth and sixth embodiments. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of the present embodiment can obtain the effects achieved by the configuration common to the fifth and sixth embodiments or the equivalent configuration, similar to the fifth and sixth embodiments.

[0238] Eighth embodiment Next, the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 21. This embodiment differs from the seventh embodiment in that the air conditioner 110 does not include the inside / outside air switching device 112, but instead includes a carbon dioxide concentration adjusting unit 113. The rest is the same as the seventh embodiment. Therefore, in this embodiment, the differences from the seventh embodiment will be mainly described.

[0239] The carbon dioxide concentration adjusting unit 113 has, for example, a carbon dioxide gas cylinder in which carbon dioxide gas is sealed. The carbon dioxide concentration adjusting unit 113 is configured to be able to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air being blown out by mixing the carbon dioxide gas sealed in the carbon dioxide gas cylinder when the air conditioner 110 blows out air into the vehicle cabin. Alternatively, the carbon dioxide concentration adjusting unit 113 may have an adsorbent that adsorbs oxygen, and may be configured to be able to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air being blown out by adsorbing the oxygen contained in the air being blown out by the air conditioner 110 when the air conditioner 110 blows out air into the vehicle cabin. In this way, the air conditioner 110 can adjust the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin to a concentration range in which the cerebral blood flow of the occupant is expected to increase when the air is blown out into the vehicle cabin.

[0240] 21, the carbon dioxide concentration adjuster 113 is connected to the concentration adjuster 12 in the suppression unit 10, and its operation is controlled by the concentration adjuster. The suppression unit 10 controls the operation of the carbon dioxide concentration adjuster 113 by transmitting a control signal to the carbon dioxide concentration adjuster 113, thereby adjusting the amount of carbon dioxide gas to be mixed into the air blown into the vehicle cabin.

[0241] Next, the operation of the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment will be described. When the control unit 40 determines in step S30 described in the first embodiment that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 in step S40. That is, when the concentration adjustment unit 12 of the suppression unit 10 determines that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 transmits a control signal for operating the carbon dioxide concentration adjustment unit 113 to the air conditioner 110. In other words, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the concentration adjustment unit 12 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0242] When the carbon dioxide concentration adjuster 113 receives a control signal from the concentration adjuster 12, it mixes carbon dioxide gas into the air blown into the vehicle cabin. The concentration adjuster 12 controls the air conditioner 110 so that the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin is 1000 to 50000 ppm, thereby adjusting the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin, which is the space around the occupants.

[0243] Furthermore, if the control unit 40 determines in the processing of step S100 described in the first embodiment that the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, then in step S110 it transmits a control signal to the inside / outside air switching device 112 to switch the operation of the carbon dioxide concentration adjustment unit 113 to strong operation. Furthermore, if the control unit 40 does not determine that the amount of change per unit time in the deep body temperature of the occupant is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, then in step S120 it transmits a control signal to the carbon dioxide concentration adjustment unit 113 to switch the operation of the inside / outside air switching device 112 to weak operation.

[0244] Here, strong operation of the carbon dioxide concentration adjustment unit 113 refers to an operation that can increase the amount of adjustment of the occupant's core body temperature per unit time compared to weak operation. For example, when the concentration adjustment unit 12 operates the carbon dioxide concentration adjustment unit 113 in strong operation, the amount of carbon dioxide gas mixed into the conditioned air is increased compared to weak operation. Also, when the concentration adjustment unit 12 operates the carbon dioxide concentration adjustment unit 113 in weak operation, the amount of carbon dioxide gas mixed into the conditioned air is decreased compared to strong operation.

[0245] In addition, when the control unit 40 determines in the processing of step S50 described in the first embodiment that the vehicle has passed through a route where motion sickness occurs, it may operate the oxygen concentration adjustment unit 111 so as to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide gas mixed into the conditioned air.

[0246] The rest is the same as in the seventh embodiment. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment can obtain the same effects as in the seventh embodiment, which are achieved by a configuration common to the seventh embodiment or an equivalent configuration.

[0247] Ninth embodiment Next, the ninth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 22. This embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in that the motion sickness suppression device 1 is provided in a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device 400. Also, the method of regulating the occupant's core body temperature differs from the first to fourth embodiments. Other than this, this embodiment is similar to the first to fourth embodiments. For this reason, in this embodiment, the differences from the first to fourth embodiments will be mainly described, and descriptions of the similarities to the first to fourth embodiments may be omitted.

[0248] As shown in Fig. 22, the motion sickness suppression device 1 of this embodiment is provided in a vehicle equipped with a vehicle control device 400. The vehicle control device 400 is connected to the suppression unit 10, and is capable of controlling the traveling of the vehicle by a control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10. Specifically, the vehicle control device 400 controls a brake device that controls the braking of the vehicle, an accelerator device that controls the acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle, a suspension device that controls the ride comfort, and the like. The vehicle control device 400 is connected to the suppression unit 10, and its operation is controlled based on the control signal transmitted from the suppression unit 10.

[0249] In the first to fourth embodiments, the motion sickness prevention device 1 has been described, which uses the warming device 100 to heat local areas of the occupant, including arteriovenous anastomosis, thereby adjusting the person's deep body temperature to increase and suppress motion sickness in the person. In contrast, when a person is stressed by the running of a vehicle, their deep body temperature drops, and when the stress is reduced, the amount of drop in deep body temperature per unit time becomes smaller. For this reason, the motion sickness prevention device 1 of this embodiment is capable of reducing the stress imposed on the occupant by the running of the vehicle, by controlling the operation of the control device 400.

[0250] The operation of the motion sickness suppression device 1 configured as above will now be described. When the control unit 40 determines in step S30 described in the first embodiment that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the suppression unit 10 in step S40. That is, when the suppression unit 10 determines that the distance from the current position of the vehicle to the motion sickness occurrence route is equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance, the suppression unit 10 transmits a control signal to the vehicle control device 400 for operating the vehicle control device 400. In other words, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route, the control unit 40 starts the operation of the vehicle control device 400 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route.

[0251] When the vehicle control device 400 receives a control signal from the suppression unit 10, it controls the brake device, accelerator device, suspension device, etc. so as to reduce stress on the occupant caused by the running of the vehicle. Specifically, the vehicle control device 400 reduces the sensitivity of the brake device to reduce sudden stops and braking loads, reduces the sensitivity of the accelerator device to reduce sudden starts, sudden acceleration, and sudden deceleration, and softens the suspension device to reduce vibrations on the body.

[0252] This reduces the stress imposed on the occupant when the vehicle is traveling, and reduces the amount of decrease in core body temperature per unit time caused by the vehicle being traveled.

[0253] Furthermore, when it is determined in the process of step S50 described in the first embodiment that the vehicle has passed through a route where motion sickness occurs, the control unit 40 may control the vehicle control device 400 so that the stress on the occupants caused by the traveling of the vehicle increases. Specifically, the sensitivity of the brake device may be increased, the sensitivity of the accelerator device may be increased, or the suspension device may be made stiffer, compared to when the suppression unit 10 controls the operation of the vehicle control device 400 in step S40.

[0254] The reason for controlling the vehicle control device 400 so that the stress on the occupant increases due to the vehicle traveling will be described below. If the vehicle control device 400 performs control to reduce the stress on the occupant due to the vehicle traveling by the process of step S40, there is a risk that the time required to reach the destination will be longer. In contrast, by controlling the vehicle control device 400 so that the stress on the occupant increases due to the vehicle traveling, control that causes stress in the occupant due to the vehicle traveling can be permitted, and the time required to reach the destination can be shortened. In this embodiment, the suppression unit 10 functions as a stress reduction unit.

[0255] As described above, in this embodiment, when the occurrence determination unit 30 determines that a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route, the control unit 40 starts operation of the suppression unit 10 before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route, thereby reducing the stress placed on the occupants by the vehicle's driving.

[0256] According to this, the control unit 40 can increase the deep temperature of the occupants in advance by starting the operation of the suppression unit 10 before the motion sickness occurrence route is reached. Therefore, the occupants are less likely to develop motion sickness when passing through the motion sickness occurrence route, and the comfort of the occupants can be improved.

[0257] The rest of the embodiment is similar to the first to fourth embodiments. The motion sickness prevention device 1 of the present embodiment can obtain the same effects as the first to fourth embodiments, which are achieved by the configuration common to the first to fourth embodiments or the equivalent configuration.

[0258] (Other embodiments) Representative embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be modified in various ways, for example, as described below.

[0259] In the above embodiment, the motion sickness prevention device 1 is mounted on an autonomous vehicle that can switch the vehicle's driving mode between an autonomous driving mode and a manual driving mode. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the motion sickness prevention device 1 may be mounted on a vehicle that cannot operate in the autonomous driving mode.

[0260] In the above embodiment, an example in which the reference width is 0.2° C. has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The reference width may be smaller than 0.2° C. (e.g., 0.15° C.) or larger than 0.2° C. (e.g., 0.3° C.) depending on individual differences between occupants.

[0261] In the above fifth and sixth embodiments, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 adjusts the inhaled oxygen partial pressure of the air surrounding the subject so that the oxygen saturation is 85% to 95%, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when adjusting the inhaled oxygen partial pressure of the air surrounding the subject, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 may adjust the oxygen saturation to be less than 85% or more than 95% as long as it is possible to increase the cerebral blood flow of the subject.

[0262] In the above fifth and sixth embodiments, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 adjusts the inhaled oxygen partial pressure of the air surrounding the subject so that the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure is 50 Torr to 80 Torr, but is not limited thereto. For example, when adjusting the inhaled oxygen partial pressure of the air surrounding the subject, the partial pressure adjusting unit 11 may adjust the arterial blood oxygen partial pressure to be less than 50 Torr or more than 80 Torr, as long as it is possible to increase the cerebral blood flow of the subject.

[0263] In the seventh and eighth embodiments described above, the concentration adjusting unit 12 adjusts the carbon dioxide concentration in the vehicle cabin to 1000 to 50000 ppm, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, when adjusting the partial pressure of inhaled oxygen in the air around the subject, the concentration adjusting unit 12 may adjust the carbon dioxide concentration to be less than 1000 ppm or more than 50000 ppm, as long as it is possible to increase the cerebral blood flow of the subject.

[0264] In the above fifth to ninth embodiments, examples have been described in which the motion sickness prevention device 1 is provided in a vehicle that is not equipped with a deep body temperature detection unit 200, and the suppression unit 10 does not include a deep body temperature calculation unit 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the fifth to ninth embodiments, the motion sickness prevention device 1 may be provided in a vehicle that is equipped with a deep body temperature detection unit 200, and the suppression unit 10 may include a deep body temperature calculation unit 50.

[0265] In the above-described embodiments, it goes without saying that the elements constituting the embodiments are not necessarily essential, except in cases where it is particularly expressly stated that they are essential or where they are clearly considered to be essential in principle.

[0266] In the above-described embodiments, when numerical values ​​such as the number, values, amounts, ranges, etc. of components of the embodiments are mentioned, they are not limited to the specific numbers unless expressly stated as required or clearly limited to a specific number in principle.

[0267] In the above-described embodiments, when referring to the shapes, positional relationships, etc. of components, etc., there is no limitation to those shapes, positional relationships, etc., unless specifically stated or in principle limited to a specific shape, positional relationship, etc.

[0268] The control unit 40 and the method of the present disclosure may be implemented in a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor and memory programmed to execute one or more functions embodied in a computer program. The control unit 40 and the method of the present disclosure may be implemented in a special-purpose computer provided by configuring a processor with one or more dedicated hardware logic circuits. The control unit 40 and the method of the present disclosure may be implemented in one or more special-purpose computers configured by a combination of a processor and memory programmed to execute one or more functions and a processor configured with one or more hardware logic circuits. The computer program may also be stored in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium as instructions executed by a computer. [Explanation of symbols]

[0269] 10 Suppression part 20 Route Acquisition Section 30 Occurrence determination unit 40 Control section

Claims

1. A motion sickness prevention device applied to a vehicle, a suppression unit (10) for suppressing motion sickness in an occupant by adjusting the deep body temperature of the occupant so that a change in the deep body temperature per unit time in the occupant of the vehicle becomes smaller than a reference range, where the change range per unit time in the deep body temperature is assumed based on a circadian rhythm; A route acquisition unit (20) that acquires a driving route to a destination; an occurrence determination unit (30) that determines whether or not a motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route acquired by the route acquisition unit, whereby the passage of the vehicle causes a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant to be equal to or greater than the reference range; A control unit (40) that controls the operation of the suppression unit, The control unit of the motion sickness suppression device starts operation of the suppression unit before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route when the occurrence determination unit determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route.

2. a deep body temperature estimation unit (31) that estimates in advance a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the vehicle passes through the travel route; a deep body temperature calculation unit (50) that calculates the deep body temperature of the occupant while the vehicle is passing through the travel route; a deep body temperature storage unit (60) for storing a history of changes in the deep body temperature calculated by the deep body temperature calculation unit; The deep body temperature estimation unit estimates a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant based on a history of changes in the deep body temperature stored in the deep body temperature storage unit, The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 1 , wherein the occurrence determination unit determines whether or not the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route based on a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit.

3. a deep body temperature estimation unit (31) that estimates in advance a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the vehicle passes through the travel route; a deep body temperature calculation unit (50) that calculates the deep body temperature of the occupant while the vehicle is passing through the travel route; a driving history storage unit (70) that collects a history of the deep body temperature calculated by the deep body temperature calculation unit when the vehicle travels along the driving route, and stores a driving history in which the collected information on the history of the deep body temperature is associated with the driving route; The deep body temperature estimation unit estimates a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant when the vehicle passes through the driving route associated with the driving history stored in the driving history storage unit, The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 1 , wherein the occurrence determination unit determines whether or not the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route based on a change in the deep body temperature of the occupant estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit.

4. The motion sickness suppression device of claim 2 or 3, wherein the control unit controls the operation of the suppression unit so that the greater the amount of change per unit time of the deep body temperature estimated by the deep body temperature estimation unit, the greater the amount of adjustment per unit time of the deep body temperature of the occupant adjusted by operation of the suppression unit.

5. The motion sickness suppression device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit stops operation of the suppression unit after the vehicle has passed the motion sickness occurrence route.

6. a progression state storage unit (80) for storing progression state information indicating a progression state of the motion sickness of the occupant, 2. The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the occurrence determination unit determines whether or not the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the travel route based on the progress state information stored in the progress state storage unit.

7. 2. The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the reference width is 0.2 degrees Celsius.

8. The suppression unit includes a local heating unit (10) that heats a local area including an arteriovenous anastomosis in the body of the occupant as a heating target, The motion sickness prevention device of claim 1, wherein the control unit starts operation of the local heating unit before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route when the occurrence determination unit determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route.

9. The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 8 , wherein the local area includes one of the area below the knee, the hand, the nape of the neck, and the cheek.

10. 2. The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the prevention section includes a cooling section (10) that cools a part of the occupant's body other than the head as a cooling target.

11. The suppression unit includes a partial pressure adjustment unit (11) that adjusts the partial pressure of inhaled oxygen in the space around the occupant so that the oxygen saturation level is 85% to 95%; The motion sickness prevention device of claim 1, wherein the control unit starts operation of the pressure division adjustment unit before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route when the occurrence determination unit determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route.

12. 12. The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 11, wherein the partial pressure adjustment unit adjusts the intake oxygen partial pressure to be 50 to 80 Torr.

13. The suppression unit includes a concentration adjustment unit (12) that adjusts the concentration of carbon dioxide in the space around the occupant to a concentration range in which the cerebral blood flow of the occupant is expected to increase, The motion sickness prevention device of claim 1, wherein the control unit starts operation of the concentration adjustment unit before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route when the occurrence determination unit determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route.

14. The motion sickness prevention device according to claim 13, wherein the concentration range is 1000 to 50000 ppm.

15. The suppression unit includes a stress reduction unit (10) that controls the vehicle so as to reduce stress applied to the occupant due to the traveling of the vehicle, The motion sickness suppression device of claim 1, wherein the control unit starts operation of the stress reduction unit before the vehicle reaches the motion sickness occurrence route when the occurrence determination unit determines that the motion sickness occurrence route exists on the driving route.

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