Cabin environment controller

Abstract

To reduce mental fatigue of an occupant.SOLUTION: A cabin environment controller 230 comprises: an occupant information acquisition unit 231 which acquires fatigue degree information indicating an occupant's fatigue degree on the basis of biological information of the occupant of a vehicle; a reproducing unit 206 which reproduces contents of sound in the cabin; and a control unit 232 which controls the reproducing unit 206 so as to reproduce the sound by adding a reverberation effect to the contents of the sound, when the occupant's fatigue degree acquired by the occupant information acquisition unit 231 is equal to or more than a predetermined value.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3A

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle interior environment control device for controlling the environment in a vehicle interior. [Background technology]

[0002] As this type of technology, technology has been developed to reduce physical and mental fatigue not only for the driver of a vehicle but also for passengers in the vehicle. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2013-518632 A) discloses a fatigue recovery method that transmits instructions to a passenger by controlling a massage device built into a seat backrest to physically and mentally stimulate the passenger. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2013-518632 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, conventional techniques have been less effective for occupants who find physical stimuli unpleasant or for occupants who primarily want to reduce mental fatigue. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is a vehicle interior environment control device that includes an occupant information acquisition unit that acquires fatigue level information indicating the fatigue level of a vehicle occupant based on the biometric information of the occupant, a playback unit that plays sound content within the vehicle interior, and a control unit that controls the playback unit to add a reverberation effect to the sound content and play it back when the occupant fatigue level acquired by the occupant information acquisition unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. [Effects of the Invention]

[0006] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the mental fatigue of the occupants. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an IVI system including a vehicle interior environment control device. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation menu screen. [Figure 3A] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of a main part of the vehicle interior environment control device. [Figure 3B] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the main configuration of a terminal. [Figure 3C] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the main configuration of a vehicle sensor group and an in-vehicle camera. [Figure 3D] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the main parts of an input device and an output device. [Figure 4] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the flow of a vehicle interior environment control process performed by a program. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. <Overview of vehicle cabin environment control device> A vehicle interior environment control device according to an embodiment controls the vehicle interior environment so as to reduce mental fatigue of people inside a moving vehicle such as an automobile. In the embodiment, as an example, a reverberation effect is added to sound content played inside the vehicle. The sound content includes voice content and music content.

[0009] Generally, the size of a vehicle interior is smaller than a space that provides sufficient acoustic reverberation, and the ceiling, walls, and floor of the vehicle interior are made of sound-absorbing materials or the like to reduce sound reflection. Therefore, it is usually difficult to perceive sound reverberation within the vehicle interior. Therefore, in this embodiment, a playback device simulates and plays back reverberation sounds that occur when sound repeatedly reflects between the ceiling, walls, and floor of a space larger than the vehicle interior. In other words, a playback device that plays back sound content adds a reverberation effect to the content and plays it back. The vehicle cabin environment control device provides a service that soothes occupants and reduces mental fatigue by adding a reverberation effect inside the vehicle cabin.

[0010] In this embodiment, the vehicle is provided with a vehicle interior environment control device as one of the functions of an IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) system. Such a vehicle interior environment control device will be described in more detail below.

[0011] <System configuration example> 1 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an IVI system including a vehicle interior environment control device. The IVI system includes a control device 20, a group of vehicle sensors 12 of a vehicle 100 as a moving body, a display unit 51, a projection unit 52, and audio playback units 53A to 53D that constitute an output device 50 provided in the vehicle 100, operation detection units 11A and 11B and microphones 111A and 111B that constitute an input device 11 provided in the vehicle 100, a front seat camera 131 and a rear seat camera 132 that constitute an interior camera 13 provided in the vehicle 100, a terminal 2A used by a front seat occupant P1 in the vehicle cabin, and a terminal 2B used by a rear seat occupant P2 in the vehicle cabin.

[0012] The control device 20 and the terminals 2A and 2B are configured to be capable of wireless communication. The control device 20, the output device 50, the input device 11, the vehicle sensor group 12, and the in-vehicle camera 13 are configured to be capable of wired communication using a CAN (Controller Area Network) or the like. The vehicle 100 is equipped with an air conditioning unit 80 that adjusts the temperature and humidity inside the vehicle cabin, a light-admitting device 70 (which may be called a light-admitting sunroof) that can adjust the amount of light entering the vehicle cabin using light-admitting glass that covers almost the entire ceiling of the vehicle cabin, and an ambient light 60A for the front seats and an ambient light 60B for the rear seats that constitute the lighting device 60.

[0013] As an example, the terminals 2A and 2B are configured by smartphones used by the occupants P1 and P2, respectively. The terminals 2A and 2B may be held in holders (not shown) installed on the seats where the occupants P1 and P2 sit. Although two terminals 2A and 2B are shown as terminals used by occupants P1 and P2, the actual number of terminals varies depending on the number of occupants, and is four when there are four occupants. Furthermore, the number of cameras constituting the in-vehicle camera 13, the number of operation detection units and microphones constituting the input device 11, and the number of display units, projection units and audio playback units constituting the output device 50 may also be changed as appropriate depending on the number of occupants.

[0014] 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation menu screen of the IVI system of FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the operation menu screen is projected or displayed on output device 50 (projection unit 52, display unit 51). When a menu button (which may also be called an icon) displayed on output device 50 is touched or when a voice corresponding to the menu button is input from microphones 111A and 111B that constitute input device 11, control device 20 starts operation of a function corresponding to the menu selected by the touch operation or voice input.

[0015] The operation menu screen illustrated in FIG. 2 includes menu buttons corresponding to a "conversation promotion" function that assists conversations between occupants of vehicle 100, an "acoustic healing" function that provides soothing relief to occupants through sounds played by audio playback units 53A-53D, an "air conditioning healing" function that provides soothing relief to occupants using air conditioning unit 80, a "route guidance" function that provides guidance on the driving route to the destination, a "following (audio)" function that connects the terminal of an occupant who has exited vehicle 100 with the communication unit (described later) of control device 20 to transmit external audio to occupants in the vehicle cabin, a "following (video)" function that connects the terminal of an occupant who has exited vehicle 100 with the communication unit (described later) of control device 20 to transmit external video to occupants in the vehicle cabin, a "vehicle information" function that sets functions of vehicle 100 and operates auxiliary equipment, a "media playback" function that plays media containing content from output device 50, and other functions (description omitted).

[0016] The following mainly describes the function of the control device 20 as a vehicle interior environment control device when the "acoustic healing" button on the operation menu screen is operated. Figures 3A to 3D are diagrams for explaining configuration examples of the respective parts of Figure 1. <Vehicle cabin environment control device> 3A is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the main parts of the control device 20. The control device 20 includes an arithmetic processing unit such as an MPU (Micro Processing Unit) (not shown), and performs various information processing, control processing, and the like required by the control device 20 by reading and executing predetermined programs stored in a storage unit (not shown).

[0017] The control device 20 includes, as functional components for the vehicle interior environment control device 230, an occupant information acquisition unit 231, a reverberation effect addition unit 232, an audio acquisition unit 233, a seating environment information acquisition unit 234, a lighting control unit 235, an illumination control unit 236, a content acquisition unit 205, a playback unit 206, and a communication unit 209, and controls the IVI system to function as the vehicle interior environment control device 230.

[0018] (Occupant information acquisition unit) The occupant information acquisition unit 231 estimates the fatigue levels of the occupants P1 and P2 in the vehicle cabin using a predetermined learning process based on the biological information of the occupants P1 and P2 acquired by the terminals 2A and 2B. Here, the learning process may use an algorithm such as SVM (Support Vector Machines). In addition, the occupant information acquisition unit 231 may estimate the degree of fatigue of occupants P1 and P2 based on image information from the interior camera 13 (front seat camera 131, rear seat camera 132), for example, the number of yawns and blinks per specified period of time, and changes in posture since the beginning of the ride.

[0019] (Reverberation effect adding section) The control device 20 functioning as the reverberation effect adding unit 232 controls the playback unit 206 to add a reverberation effect to the sound content and play it back when the fatigue levels of the occupants P1, P2 acquired by the occupant information acquiring unit 231 are equal to or greater than a predetermined value. As a result, when the fatigue levels of the occupants P1, P2 increase, the playback unit 206 outputs a playback signal of the sound content with the reverberation effect added to the output device 50 (audio playback units 53A to 53D). The control device 20 is configured to be able to set the strength (or increase or decrease in the amount) of the reverberation effect to be added to the sound content and the volume for each seating position of the occupants P1 and P2 in the vehicle cabin depending on the fatigue levels of the occupants P1 and P2. For example, the playback unit 206 may be controlled so that the higher the fatigue level, the stronger the reverberation effect to be added to the sound content. Alternatively, for example, the playback unit 206 may be controlled so that the higher the fatigue level, the higher the playback volume of the sound content. The control device 20 is also configured to be able to set the strength of the reverberation effect to be added to the sound content for each seating position, based on the brightness information for each seating position of the occupants P1 and P2 acquired by the seating environment information acquisition unit 234. For example, the playback unit 206 may be controlled so that the darker the seating position, the stronger the reverberation effect to be added to the sound content. Furthermore, the control device 20 may control the reproduction unit 206 so that the reverberation effect is not added to the sound content for the driver's seat.

[0020] (Audio acquisition section) The voice acquisition unit 233 acquires voices uttered by the occupants P1 and P2 as voice content. More specifically, the voice acquisition unit 233 acquires voice signals input from the microphones 111A and 111B constituting the input device 11 as voice content.

[0021] (Seating environment information acquisition unit) The seating environment information acquisition unit 234 acquires brightness information for each seating position where the occupants P1 and P2 are seated in the vehicle interior.

[0022] (Lighting control unit) The lighting control unit 235 controls the amount of light admitted by the lighting device 70 for each seating position in order to adjust the brightness for each seating position of the occupants P1 and P2. The lighting control unit 235 may control the lighting device 70 so that the amount of light admitted for each seating position fluctuates according to the amount of reverberation effect added to the sound content by the playback unit 206 for each seating position.

[0023] (Lighting control unit) The lighting control unit 236 controls the illumination light of the ambient light 60A and the ambient light 60B for each seating position to adjust the brightness for each seating position of the occupants P1 and P2. The lighting control unit 236 may control the lighting device 60 so that the illumination light for each seating position fluctuates depending on the amount of reverberation effect that the playback unit 206 adds to the sound content for each seating position.

[0024] (Content Acquisition Department) When it is determined that content playback is necessary to provide comfort to the occupants P1 and P2 through the reverberation effect, the content acquisition unit 205 acquires the content from the terminals 2A and 2B carried by the multiple occupants P1 and P2 in the vehicle cabin, respectively, via the communication unit 209. The content acquisition unit 205 may acquire content not only from the terminals 2A and 2B, but also from an external content management server via a communication network (not shown). The content management server includes a cloud storage for storing content and a streaming server for playing content. The content acquisition unit 205 searches for and acquires content to be played to provide comfort using a predetermined search formula. The content acquisition unit 205 may acquire sound content stored in the content storage unit 23 of the terminals 2A and 2B (for example, content prepared in advance that the occupants P1 and P2 want to listen to when they are tired). The content to be acquired may be video content including audio (moving images, still images, etc.) or audio-only content. In the embodiment, it is possible to add a reverberation effect to the audio included in the video content in the same way as with audio content.

[0025] (Reproduction Department) When the content to be played back is video content, the playback unit 206 outputs a video signal to the output device 50. Furthermore, the playback unit 206 outputs a playback signal to the output device 50 when the content to be played back is sound content.

[0026] (Communications Department) The communication unit 209 includes a short-range wireless communication module (not shown) that performs wireless communication with the terminals 2A and 2B, and a wired communication module (not shown) that performs wired communication using a CAN or the like. The short-range wireless communication module may employ a wireless communication method that has a direction detection function.

[0027] <terminal> 3B is a block diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of the main parts of terminal 2A. The configuration of terminal 2B is also similar to that of terminal 2A, and is therefore not shown. Terminal 2A includes an arithmetic processing unit such as an MPU (not shown), and performs various information processing, control processing, and the like required for the functional configuration described below by reading and executing a predetermined program (which may also be called an application) stored in a storage unit (not shown). Terminal 2A includes, as functional components, a personal information storage unit 21, a related information storage unit 22, a content storage unit 23, a biometric sensor group 24, and a communication unit 25. Generally, a smartphone is equipped with a display unit, an input unit, an audio playback unit, a camera, a position detection unit, etc., but illustrations and descriptions of these will be omitted. The terminal 2A may share functions with other devices such as a smart watch (not shown).

[0028] (Personal information storage unit) The personal information storage unit 21 stores personal information of the occupant P1 who carries the terminal 2A. When the IVI system functions as the vehicle interior environment control device 230, personal information is not required.

[0029] (Relationship information storage unit) The relationship information storage unit 22 stores relationship level information of the occupant P1 who uses the terminal 2A. When relationship level information indicating the degree of intimacy between the occupants P1 and P2 in the vehicle cabin is transmitted from the control device 20, the relationship information storage unit 22 stores the information. When the IVI system functions as the vehicle cabin environment control device 230, the relationship level information is not required.

[0030] (Content storage unit) The content storage unit 23 stores content collected by the occupant P1 who owns the terminal 2A, or information necessary for playing the content (for example, cloud storage that stores the content, URL of a server that streams the content, etc.). When the IVI system functions as the vehicle interior environment control device 230, sound content that the occupant P1 wants to listen to when he or she is tired may be stored in the content storage unit 23 in advance.

[0031] (Biosensor group) The biosensor group 24 includes, for example, a heart rate sensor that acquires the heart rate of the occupant P1 carrying the terminal 2A, a respiration sensor that acquires the respiration rate, a blood flow velocity sensor that acquires the blood flow velocity, and an electrical skin resistance sensor that acquires the electrical skin resistance value (all of which are not shown). When the IVI system functions as the vehicle interior environment control device 230, the bioinformation of the occupant P1 collected by the biosensor group 24 is used by the occupant information acquisition unit 231 to estimate the fatigue level of the occupant P1.

[0032] (Communications Department) The communication unit 25 includes a short-range wireless communication module (not shown) that performs wireless communication with the control device 20, and a wired communication module (not shown) that performs wired communication using a CAN or the like.

[0033] FIG. 3C is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the main parts of the vehicle sensor group 12 and the interior camera 13 of the vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. <Vehicle sensors> The vehicle sensor group 12 includes a vehicle speed sensor 121, a positioning sensor 122, and a camera 123. Generally, the vehicle 100 is equipped with sensors such as an acceleration sensor and radar, but these will not be shown or described here.

[0034] (vehicle speed sensor) The vehicle speed sensor 121 detects the speed of the vehicle 100 and outputs vehicle speed information to the control device 20. When the IVI system functions as the vehicle interior environment control device 230, the vehicle speed information is not required.

[0035] (positioning sensor) The positioning sensor 122 detects the current position of the vehicle 100 based on positioning signals from GPS (Global Positioning System) satellites, quasi-zenith satellites, etc. The positioning sensor 122 outputs a signal indicating the current position as position information to the control device 20. When the IVI system functions as the vehicle interior environment control device 230, information on the current position is not required.

[0036] (camera) The camera 123 captures images of the surroundings of the vehicle 100. The camera 123 outputs data of the subject image as image information to the control device 20. The camera 123 can capture both still images and videos. When the IVI system functions as the vehicle interior environment control device 230, image information of the surroundings of the vehicle 100 is not required.

[0037] <In-vehicle camera> The vehicle interior camera 13 includes a front seat camera 131 and a rear seat camera 132. The front seat camera 131 captures an image of the upper body of an occupant P1 sitting in the front seat, and outputs the subject image data as image information to the control device 20. The rear seat camera 132 captures an image of the upper body of an occupant P2 sitting in the rear seat, and outputs the subject image data as image information to the control device 20.

[0038] FIG. 3D is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the main parts of the input device 11 and the output device 50 of the control device 20 of the vehicle 100. As shown in FIG. <Input device> The input device 11 includes operation detection units 11A and 11B and microphones 111A and 111B. (Operation detection unit) The operation detection unit 11A is operated by a front seat passenger P1 and outputs an operation signal to the control device 20. The operation detection unit 11A may be configured as a pointing device that works in conjunction with a projected image projected by a projection unit 52, which will be described later. The operation detection unit 11B is provided on the display surface of the display unit 51. The operation detection unit 11B is operated by a rear seat passenger P2 and outputs an operation signal indicating a touch position to the control device 20.

[0039] (microphone) The microphone 111A collects the voice uttered by the front seat passenger P1 and outputs an audio signal to the control device 20. The microphone 111B collects the voice uttered by the rear seat passenger P2 and outputs an audio signal to the control device 20.

[0040] <Output device> The output device 50 includes a display unit 51, a projection unit 52, and an audio playback unit 53. The output device 50 is used, for example, to display the operation menu screen of Fig. 2 or to play back content. (Display) The display unit 51 has a screen such as a liquid crystal display, and displays image information based on a display signal output from the control device 20. The image information includes the operation menu screen of Fig. 2, images of video content, and the like.

[0041] (projection section) The projection unit 52 is configured by a head-up display (HUD) that is projected onto the windshield, for example, and projects image information based on a projection signal output from the control device 20. The image information includes the operation menu screen of FIG. 2, images of video content, etc.

[0042] (Audio playback section) The audio playback units 53A to 53D are configured as speakers that play back and output audio and the like, and play back audio content based on a playback signal output from the control device 20. Note that an audio output unit that outputs a content playback signal to headphones (not shown) or the like may also be provided.

[0043] <Explanation of the flowchart> Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a vehicle interior environment control process performed by a program executed by the MPU of the control device 20. When the "Acoustic Healing" button is operated on the operation menu screen of Fig. 2, the MPU of the control device 20 executes a program that performs the processing shown in Fig. 4 to cause the IVI system to function as the vehicle interior environment control device 230. While executing the program, the control device 20 functions as a control unit of the vehicle interior environment control device 230.

[0044] 4, the control device 20 starts wireless communication with the terminals 2A and 2B carried by the occupants P1 and P2 in the vehicle cabin via the communication unit 209, and then proceeds to step S2. If the communication unit 209 and the terminals 2A and 2B have already started wireless communication, the control device 20 proceeds directly to step S2.

[0045] In step S2, the control device 20 acquires the seating positions of the passengers P1 and P2 in the vehicle cabin based on image information from the vehicle interior camera 13 (front seat camera 131, rear seat camera 132), and proceeds to step S3. The control device 20 may acquire the seating positions of the occupants P1 and P2 based on the voices collected by the microphones 111A and 111B constituting the input device 11. The voice signal from the microphone 111A corresponds to the voice of the occupant P1 in the front seat, and the voice signal from the microphone 111B corresponds to the voice of the occupant P2 in the rear seat.

[0046] In step S3, the control device 20 acquires occupant information using the occupant information acquisition unit 231. More specifically, the occupant information acquisition unit 231 estimates the fatigue levels of each occupant P1, P2 based on the biological information of each occupant P1, P2 whose seating position has been acquired, and proceeds to step S4.

[0047] In step S4, the control device 20 acquires brightness information of the seating positions using the seating environment information acquisition unit 234, and proceeds to step S5. More specifically, the seating environment information acquisition unit 234 acquires brightness information for each seating position of the occupants P1 and P2, and sends the acquired brightness information to the control device 20.

[0048] In step S5, the control device 20 determines whether to play music or audio. If playback of music content or audio content is permitted, the control device 20 makes an affirmative decision in step S5 and proceeds to step S6. If playback of audio content is not permitted, the control device 20 makes a negative decision in step S5 and proceeds to step S9. For example, if the mute switch has been operated, the control device 20 determines that playback of audio content is not permitted.

[0049] In step S6, the control device 20 functioning as the reverberation effect adding unit 232 described above controls the playback unit 206 to add different reverberation effects to the sound content based on the acquired information acquired by the occupant information acquiring unit 231, and then proceeds to step S7. More specifically, when the fatigue level of each occupant P1, P2 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the control device 20 adds different reverberation effects to the playback signals of the sound content to be output to the output devices 50 (audio playback units 53A to 53D) corresponding to each occupant P1, P2, depending on the fatigue level of each occupant P1, P2. In addition, the control device 20 may add different reverberation effects to the playback signals of the sound content output to the output device 50 (audio playback units 53A to 53D) corresponding to each occupant P1, P2 depending on the brightness for each seating position acquired by the seating environment information acquisition unit 234.

[0050] In step S7, the control device 20 outputs the playback signal of the sound content to which the reverberation effect has been added in step S6 to the output device 50 (audio playback units 53A to 53D) by the playback unit 206, and then proceeds to step S8.

[0051] In step S8, the control device 20 causes the lighting control unit 236 to add fluctuation to the illumination light for each seating position, and then proceeds to step S9. More specifically, the lighting control unit 236 controls the lighting device 60 so that the illumination light for each seating position fluctuates in accordance with the amount of reverberation effect added to the playback signal by the playback unit 206 for each seating position. Note that the control device 20 may add fluctuation to the amount of light let in by the lighting device 70 for each seating position using the lighting control unit 235. To explain in more detail, the lighting control unit 235 controls the lighting device 70 so that the amount of light let in by the lighting device 70 for each seating position fluctuates in accordance with the amount of reverberation effect added to the playback signal for each seating position by the playback unit 206.

[0052] In step S9, the control device 20 determines whether or not to terminate the vehicle interior environment control process. If a predetermined termination operation has been performed, the control device 20 makes a positive determination in step S9 and proceeds to step S10, whereas if a termination operation has not been performed, the control device 20 makes a negative determination in step S9 and returns to step S3. If returning to step S3, the control device 20 repeats the above-described process. That is, depending on the fatigue levels of the occupants P1 and P2, a reverberation effect is added to the sound content played for each of the occupants P1 and P2 to provide comfort to each of the occupants P1 and P2.

[0053] In step S10, the control device 20 performs termination processing to terminate the processing shown in Fig. 4. The termination processing includes, for example, termination of output of sound content by the playback unit 206 and termination of wireless communication with the terminals 2A and 2B by the communication unit 209. Note that the wireless communication with the terminals 2A and 2B by the communication unit 209 does not need to be terminated if it is required for processing other than the vehicle interior environment control processing.

[0054] According to the embodiment described above, the following advantageous effects are achieved. (1) The vehicle interior environment control device 230 of the vehicle 100 includes an occupant information acquisition unit 231 that acquires fatigue level information indicating the fatigue level of occupants P1 and P2 of the vehicle 100 based on the biometric information of the occupants P1 and P2, a playback unit 206 that plays sound content within the vehicle interior, and a reverberation effect addition unit 232 that serves as a control unit that controls the playback unit 206 to add a reverberation effect to the sound content and play it back when the fatigue level of occupants P1 and P2 acquired by the occupant information acquisition unit 231 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. With this configuration, it is possible to alleviate mental fatigue by soothing tired occupants P1 and P2 with sound. For example, by simulating the reverberation effect of a large acoustic space, it is possible to remind occupants P1 and P2 of the calm space of a temple or church, thereby reducing fatigue.

[0055] (2) The vehicle interior environment control device 230 described in (1) above further includes an audio acquisition unit 233 that acquires the audio produced by the occupants P1 and P2 as sound content, and the reverberation effect addition unit 232 controls the playback unit 206 to add an echo effect to the audio of the occupants P1 and P2 and play it back. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the mental fatigue of the occupants P1 and P2 by adding a reverberation effect to the voices uttered by the occupants P1 and P2.

[0056] (3) The vehicle interior environment control device 230 of (1) above further includes a content acquisition unit 205 as a music content acquisition unit that acquires music content as sound content, and the reverberation effect addition unit 232 controls the playback unit 206 to add a reverberation effect to the music content and play it back. With this configuration, by adding a reverberation effect to the music content acquired by the content acquisition unit 205, it is possible to reduce the mental fatigue of the passengers P1 and P2.

[0057] (4) In the vehicle interior environment control device 230 described above in (1) to (3), the occupant information acquisition unit 231 acquires fatigue level information for each occupant P1, P2, and the reverberation effect addition unit 232 controls the playback volume of the sound content by the playback unit 206 and the amount of reverberation effect added for each occupant P1, P2. With this configuration, it is possible to reduce the mental fatigue of each of the occupants P1 and P2 in accordance with their respective levels of fatigue.

[0058] (5) The vehicle interior environment control device 230 described in (4) above further includes a seating environment information acquisition unit 234 that acquires brightness information of the seating positions of each occupant P1, P2, and the reverberation effect addition unit 232 controls the playback unit 206 so that the amount of reverberation effect added to the sound content increases as the brightness of the seating positions becomes darker. With this configuration, the darker the brightness of the seating position, the greater the reverberation effect that is added, making it possible to further reduce mental fatigue compared to a case where the brightness of the seating position is not taken into consideration.

[0059] (6) The vehicle interior environment control device 230 described in (5) above further includes a lighting device 60 as a lighting unit that illuminates the seating positions of each occupant P1, P2, and the reverberation effect adding unit 232 (control device 20) controls the lighting device 60 so that the illumination light for each seating position fluctuates according to the amount of reverberation effect added for each seating position by the playback unit 206. With this configuration, the illumination light for each seating position fluctuates according to the amount of reverberation effect added for each seating position, thereby making it possible to further reduce mental fatigue compared to when there is no fluctuation in the illumination light.

[0060] (7) In the vehicle interior environment control device 230 described in (1) above, the reverberation effect adding unit 232 controls the playback of sound content by the playback unit 206 for each occupant P1, P2, and controls the playback unit 206 so that the sound content with the reverberation effect added is played at all seating positions in the vehicle 100 except the driver's seat. This configuration takes into consideration the possibility that some drivers may find the reverberation effect to be a hindrance to driving, and by using sound to soothe occupant P2 seated in a seating position other than the driver's seat, it is possible to reduce mental fatigue.

[0061] The above embodiment can be modified in various ways, and modifications will be described below. (Variation 1) In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which four people including the driver are accommodated in the vehicle cabin, but the number of occupants is not limited to four, and may be six or ten.

[0062] (Variation 2) In the above-described embodiment and variant example 1, a vehicle 100 as a moving body was given as an example of a vehicle compartment in which content is played back, but any cabin of a moving body carrying multiple occupants may be treated in the same way as the vehicle compartment described above.

[0063] The above description is merely an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and modifications as long as the features of the present invention are not impaired. One or more of the above-described embodiment and modifications can be arbitrarily combined, and modifications can also be combined with each other. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 2A, 2B terminal, 11 input device, 11A, 11B operation detection unit, 12 vehicle sensor group, 13 vehicle interior camera, 20 control device, 21 personal information storage unit, 22 related information storage unit, 23 content storage unit, 24 biosensor group, 25, 209 communication unit, 50 output device, 51 display unit, 52 projection unit, 53A to 53D audio playback unit, 100 vehicle, 111A, 111B microphone, 121 vehicle speed sensor, 122 positioning sensor, 123 camera, 131 front seat camera, 132 rear seat camera, 205 content acquisition unit, 206 playback unit, 230 vehicle interior environment control device, 231 occupant information acquisition unit, 232 reverberation effect addition unit, 233 audio acquisition unit, 234 seating environment information acquisition unit, 235 lighting control unit, 236 Lighting control unit

Claims

1. an occupant information acquisition unit that acquires fatigue level information indicating a fatigue level of an occupant of a vehicle based on biological information of the occupant; a playback unit that plays audio content in the vehicle; a control unit that controls the playback unit to add a reverberation effect to the sound content and play it back when the fatigue level of the occupant acquired by the occupant information acquisition unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined value; A vehicle interior environment control device comprising:

2. The vehicle interior environment control device according to claim 1, a voice acquisition unit that acquires a voice uttered by the occupant as the sound content; The control unit controls the playback unit to add the reverberation effect to the voice of the occupant and play it back. A vehicle interior environment control device characterized by:

3. The vehicle interior environment control device according to claim 1, a music content acquisition unit that acquires music content as the sound content; the control unit controls the playback unit to add the reverberation effect to the music content and play it back. A vehicle interior environment control device characterized by:

4. The vehicle interior environment control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the occupant information acquisition unit acquires the fatigue level information for each occupant, the control unit controls the playback volume of the sound content by the playback unit and the amount of the reverberation effect added for each of the occupants. A vehicle interior environment control device characterized by:

5. The vehicle interior environment control device according to claim 4, a seating environment information acquisition unit that acquires brightness information of the seating position of each occupant, the control unit controls the playback unit so that the amount of the reverberation effect added to the sound content increases as the brightness of the seating position becomes darker. A vehicle interior environment control device characterized by:

6. The vehicle interior environment control device according to claim 5, Further, a lighting unit is provided to light up the seating position of each of the occupants, the control unit controls the lighting unit so that the illumination light for each of the seating positions fluctuates in accordance with the amount of the reverberation effect added by the playback unit for each of the seating positions. A vehicle interior environment control device characterized by:

7. The vehicle interior environment control device according to claim 1, the control unit controls the reproduction of the sound content by the reproduction unit for each of the occupants, and controls the reproduction unit to reproduce the sound content to which the reverberation effect has been added at seating positions of the vehicle other than a driver's seat. A vehicle interior environment control device characterized by:

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