Apparatus for deactivating electric devices in a motor vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus for a motor vehicle (10) for controlling devices for seats (16, 18) by means of image data processing by a camera system (12) which detects the occupancy of the seats (16, 18) and gestures of occupants on the seats (16, 18), characterised in that the camera system (12) is designed and configured to additionally determine the viewing direction of occupants for each vehicle seat (14, 16, 18), wherein the apparatus is designed: - if an unoccupied vehicle seat (16, 18) is ascertained, to deactivate the devices associated with said vehicle seat (16, 18), in particular an electric seat heater (24), a lighting unit (26) and an infotainment unit (22), and - if it is ascertained that an occupant is sleeping on a vehicle seat (16, 18), to switch the devices associated with said vehicle seat (16, 18), in particular an electric seat heater (24), a lighting unit (26) and an infotainment unit (22), to low energy consumption, and - if it is ascertained that the viewing direction of an occupant is not directed to an infotainment unit (22) associated with the vehicle seat (16, 18), to switch said infotainment unit to low energy consumption. The system according to the invention offers improved energy efficiency by reducing unnecessary energy consumption. This is achieved by adjusting electrical systems based on real-time data from cameras directed towards the occupants.

Description

[0001] Mercedes-Benz Group AG

[0002] Device for deactivating electrical equipment in a motor vehicle

[0003] The invention relates to a device for a motor vehicle with electric seat heating, lighting equipment and infotainment equipment, for controlling devices for seats by means of image data processing by a camera system that detects the occupancy of the seats by occupants.

[0004] For electric vehicles, the battery's energy capacity is a critical factor, especially in winter. Firstly, the energy capacity decreases due to physical factors at low outside temperatures, and secondly, there is an increased energy demand for heating the vehicle interior, both of which reduce the range of such vehicles. Furthermore, modern vehicles contain a number of electrical devices, some with considerable energy consumption, which further strains the battery's energy capacity.

[0005] From DE 102019 005449 A1 it is known to control the ventilation and seat heating for each vehicle seat of a motor vehicle individually depending on the seat occupancy, whereby the seat occupancy as well as the pose or gestures of an occupant are determined by means of image data processing by a camera system.

[0006] Based on this, the invention aims to provide a device that enables a reduction in energy consumption in the interior of a vehicle.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention by designing and setting up the camera system to additionally determine the direction of view of occupants for each vehicle seat, wherein the device is designed as follows:

[0008] - upon detection of an unoccupied vehicle seat, to deactivate the devices assigned to that vehicle seat, in particular electric seat heating, lighting equipment and infotainment equipment, and - upon detection of an occupant sleeping in a vehicle seat, to switch the devices assigned to that vehicle seat, in particular electric seat heating, lighting equipment and infotainment equipment, to low energy consumption, and

[0009] - if it is determined that an occupant's gaze is not directed towards an infotainment system assigned to the vehicle seat, to switch it to low energy consumption mode.

[0010] According to the invention, the seat occupancy detected by the camera system is used for comprehensive energy management for each seat. For unused seats, not only is the ventilation switched off, but all devices and equipment assigned to those seats are deactivated. In particular, the infotainment system with display and audio output device, as well as the lighting, are switched off. If, for any reason, the electric seat heating is switched on, it is also switched off.

[0011] Since the camera system is designed and configured to determine whether a person sitting in each vehicle seat is asleep (for example, by detecting that their eyes are not visible), the corresponding devices for those seats are switched to low power consumption. Electric seat heating is set to a low temperature, which also increases comfort for a sleeping person. The infotainment system display is either deactivated (in particular, switched to standby mode) or set to a low brightness level. The same applies to the lighting system. If interior lighting was switched on, it is switched off, and ambient lighting is set to a low brightness level. If a reading light was active, it is also switched off.

[0012] Finally, if it is detected that an occupant's gaze is not continuously directed towards an infotainment system assigned to the vehicle seat, this system is switched to low-power mode. Therefore, if an occupant is not using an infotainment system, it is put into a low-power standby mode. In this mode, only the display may be activated, while audio output may remain active if the occupant is only listening to music or spoken information.

[0013] Combining these measures can effectively reduce energy consumption in a vehicle. Ideally, the proposed measures can be reset by an occupant, for example, if an occupant is not asleep and is listening to music with their eyes closed.

[0014] The system according to the invention offers improved energy efficiency by reducing unnecessary energy consumption. This is achieved by adapting electrical systems based on real-time data from cameras directed at the occupants. This not only improves user comfort by ensuring that electrical systems are only active when needed based on the behavior of the respective occupant, but is also easy to implement with minimal structural effort. By utilizing existing cameras directed at the occupants, particularly when using AI-controlled software, reliable detection of seat occupancy and the occupant's condition can be achieved without additional hardware or complex sensors, thus reducing energy consumption.Furthermore, the invention simplifies the vehicle architecture by integrating intelligent energy management, thereby reducing the complexity of the electrical systems and their control systems.

[0015] An infotainment system is understood to be a system that typically includes a display and an audio output device (speakers). It may also include additional elements such as a user-facing camera or a keyboard. It can also include smart glasses (especially VR or AR glasses).

[0016] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lighting device comprises interior lighting illuminating the area of ​​the vehicle seat, as well as ambient lighting in the vicinity of the vehicle seat. The interior lighting typically includes lights that are directed as reading lights onto the seating area of ​​a vehicle and are used by an occupant primarily for reading books or magazines.

[0017] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is designed and configured to deactivate a control panel or its illumination associated with the vehicle seat. Such a control panel is particularly common for air conditioning systems or door buttons in vehicles.

[0018] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the controlled devices comprise a part of a ventilation system associated with the vehicle seat. This embodiment is known per se from DE 102019 005449 A1 cited above, but only as an isolated system, whereas according to the invention it is integrated into the overall energy control system.

[0019] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is designed and configured to switch on lighting devices in the rear of the vehicle that are switched off or set to low energy consumption when it is detected that a person in a front seat is looking backward. This switching on preferably lasts only as long as the person, who may be a driver or front passenger, is looking backward. This allows the area around the rear seats to be illuminated, particularly at night, for example, to monitor children in the rear seats. While a rear-facing camera cannot determine a person's direction of gaze, it can detect the orientation of their head. The fact that it detects when a head is turned backward is sufficient for this purpose.

[0020] According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the device is designed and configured to display the detected seat occupancy and the recorded occupant status to the vehicle's driver, to offer suggestions for energy saving, and to execute commands from the driver to control the devices. The driver can view the current energy consumption status of the controlled devices, preferably visually, for example, on a main display or on smart glasses (especially VR or AR glasses). The driver can then decide individually whether to change the current configuration. It is also possible for the device to signal the intended changes to the status of individual monitored devices to the driver (or passenger) beforehand and request confirmation before such changes are implemented by the system.

[0021] According to a second aspect of the invention, a motor vehicle with a device as described above is proposed.

[0022] Further advantages, features, and details will become apparent from the following description, in which – with reference to the drawings – at least one embodiment is described in detail. Identical, similar, and / or functionally equivalent parts are identified by the same reference numerals.

[0023] Figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the interior of a motor vehicle. Figure 2 shows a flowchart of the process carried out by the device.

[0024] Figure 1 shows the interior of a motor vehicle 10, which includes at least one camera 12 for recording the occupants of the vehicle 10, in particular a driver sitting in the driver's seat 14 or a passenger sitting in a front passenger seat 16. The camera 12 should also be configured for monitoring rear seats 18a, 18b, 18c, or further cameras installed in the vehicle but not shown, for example those of infotainment systems, can be used for this purpose. The at least one camera 12 is connected to the device 19 according to the invention, which can be a central vehicle control unit. A number of infotainment systems 20, 22a, 22b are installed in the motor vehicle 19 for the front passenger seat 16 (possibly also for the driver's seat 14) and the rear seats 18a, 18b, 18c.The device 19 is coupled to the electronic control units (ECUs) of the infotainment systems 20, 22a, 22b in such a way that these can at least be switched on and off and put into an energy-saving or standby mode. Since the vehicle 10 shown in Fig. 1 comprises three rear seats 18a, 18b, 18c but only two infotainment systems 22a, 22b for the rear seats, each infotainment system 22a, 22b is correlated with two rear seats 18a, 18b, 18c. This means that the switching of the infotainment system 22a, 22b according to the invention only occurs if a state applies to both assigned rear seats; for example, the infotainment system 22a is only deactivated or switched off if both rear seat 18a and rear seat 18b are unoccupied.

[0025] The front passenger seat 16 and the rear seats 18a, 18b, 18c preferably include electric seat heaters 24, which can also be controlled by the device 19 directly or via an associated control unit (ECU) with regard to the heating level.

[0026] The motor vehicle 10 further comprises lighting devices 26a, 26b, which are shown only schematically and may include, in particular, reading lamps and ambient lighting devices. The lighting devices 26a, 26b or their control units are also coupled to the device 19 for the purpose of controlling them.

[0027] Preferably, a control of the aforementioned devices performed by the device 19 can be overridden by an occupant. For example, if the device reduces the heating level of a seat heater 24 because it has detected that the occupant appears to be asleep in the relevant vehicle seat 18a, 18b, 18c, the occupant can override or reverse the control if they are not actually asleep.

[0028] The device 19 according to the invention carries out the method shown in Fig. 2 cyclically. First, in step 100, it is checked for each of the vehicle seats 16, 18a, 18b, 18c whether this vehicle seat 16, 18a, 18b, 18c is occupied by an occupant. If it is determined in step 102 that this is not the case, in step 103 the devices assigned to this vehicle seat 16, 18a, 18b, 18c, in particular a seat heater 24, a lighting device 26a, 26b and an infotainment device 20, 22a, 22b, are deactivated. In the case of an infotainment device 22a, 22b that is assigned to two vehicle seats 18a, 18b, 18c, this only occurs if this applies to both assigned vehicle seats 18a, 18b, 18c.

[0029] If, however, step 102 determines that the vehicle seat under investigation 16, 18a, 18b, 18c is occupied by an occupant, step 104 uses typical criteria supported by AI algorithms to check whether this occupant appears to be asleep. If so, step 105 switches the devices assigned to this vehicle seat 16, 18a, 18b, 18c, in particular a seat heater 24, a lighting device 26a, 26b, and an infotainment device 20, 22a, 22b, to a low-power state. The infotainment device 20, 22a, 22b is preferably switched to a standby mode from which it can be quickly and easily reactivated, for example, by touching the display. A seat heater 24 is switched to a lower setting, for example, one or two levels lower than previously set by the occupant.If a reading lamp was switched on in the associated lighting device 26a, 26b, it will be switched off. Ambient lighting will be reduced to a lower brightness level.

[0030] If step 104 determines that the occupant is not asleep, step 106 checks whether the occupant's gaze is continuously directed towards the display of the assigned infotainment unit 20, 22a, 22b. If this is not the case, step 107 switches the infotainment unit 20, 22a, 22b to the low power consumption state described above, in particular a standby mode.

[0031] The deactivation of devices is described above with regard to the passenger seats 16, 18a, 18b, 18c, but not the driver's seat 14. If the motor vehicle 10 is an autonomous vehicle of level 4 or 5, the above also applies to a driver's seat 14. In other words, the devices assigned to the driver's seat 14, in particular a seat heater, can also be switched off according to the invention when it is determined that the driver is (permissibly) asleep.

[0032] Although the invention has been further illustrated and explained in detail by means of preferred embodiments, the invention is not limited by the disclosed examples, and other variations can be derived from them by a person skilled in the art without departing from the scope of protection of the invention. It is therefore clear that a multitude of possible variations exist. It is also clear that the embodiments mentioned as examples are truly only examples and are not to be understood in any way as limiting, for example, the scope of protection, the possible applications, or the configuration of the invention.Rather, the preceding description and the description of the figures enable the person skilled in the art to implement the exemplary embodiments in concrete terms, whereby the person skilled in the art, with knowledge of the disclosed inventive concept, can make various changes, for example with regard to the function or the arrangement of individual elements mentioned in an exemplary embodiment, without leaving the scope of protection defined by the claims and their legal equivalents, such as further explanations in the description.

Claims

Mercedes-Benz Group AG Patent claims 1. Device for a motor vehicle (10) with lighting device (26) and infotainment device (22), for controlling devices for seats (16, 18) by means of image data processing by a camera system (12) which detects the occupancy of the seats (16, 18) by occupants on the seats (16, 18), characterized in that the camera system (12) is designed and configured to additionally determine the direction of view of occupants for each vehicle seat (14, 16, 18), wherein the device is designed as follows: - upon detection of an unoccupied vehicle seat (16, 18), to deactivate the devices assigned to that vehicle seat (16, 18), in particular an electric seat heater (24), lighting device (26) and infotainment device (22), and - upon detection that an occupant is asleep in a vehicle seat (16, 18), to switch devices assigned to that vehicle seat (16, 18), in particular an electric seat heater (24), lighting device (26) and infotainment device (22), to low energy consumption, and - if it is determined that the gaze direction of an occupant is not directed towards an infotainment device (22) assigned to the vehicle seat (16, 18), to switch it to low energy consumption.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the infotainment device (22) comprises a display and a sound output device.

3. Device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the lighting device (26) comprises interior lighting illuminating the area of ​​the vehicle seat (18) as well as ambient lighting.

4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed and configured to deactivate an operating panel associated with the vehicle seat (16, 18).

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the controlled devices comprise a part of a ventilation device associated with the vehicle seat (16, 18).

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed and configured to switch on lighting devices (26) in a rear area of ​​the motor vehicle (10) that are switched off or switched to low energy consumption when it is determined that the direction of view of a person on a front seat (14, 16) is directed to the rear.

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it is designed and configured to display the detected seat occupancy and the detected condition of occupants to a driver of the vehicle and to make suggestions for saving energy, and to execute commands from the driver to control the devices.

8. Motor vehicle comprising a device according to one or more of the preceding claims.

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