Driver Seat Repositioning Based on State During Control Transfer

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Automatic vehicle control systems face challenges in safely transitioning the driving seat position from manual to automatic control and vice versa, potentially causing spills or collisions due to inadequate assessment of the driver's state, leading to increased driver burden and unwanted seat position changes.

Innovation Solution

A seat control device that determines the displaceability of the seat position based on driver state information, such as images and communication states, to safely and efficiently adjust the seat position during control transfers, notifying the driver when adjustments are not feasible to prevent spills or collisions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Ease of operation

If the seat position is automatically displaced from automatic control position to manual control position during control transfer, then the driver burden is reduced, but the risk of spilling drinks or causing objects to fall increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedriver burdenVSAvoidspill risk

Core Design Contradiction:

Ease of operationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of the driver's state (holding objects, drinks, laptops) before executing seat position displacement. This allows the system to assess whether automatic displacement is safe and to notify the driver in advance, preventing spills and object drops by avoiding displacement when harmful conditions are detected.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Productivity

If the seat position is automatically displaced during control transfer, then the transition between manual and automatic control is streamlined, but the risk of laptop computers contacting the steering wheel increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol transfer efficiencyVSAvoidlaptop collision risk

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system detects the presence of objects like laptops on the driver's lap before seat displacement occurs. By performing this detection in advance, the system can prevent automatic displacement when objects are present, thereby avoiding collisions between objects and the steering wheel while maintaining efficient control transfer when safe.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to the driver through notifications when objects are detected that would prevent safe seat displacement. This feedback loop allows the driver to be aware of the situation and take appropriate action, balancing automation efficiency with safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

3Device complexity

If the seat position is automatically displaced without assessing driver state, then the control transfer process is simplified, but the risk of disturbing persons seated in rear seats increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecontrol process complexityVSAvoidrear seat disturbance

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary detection of rear seat occupancy before executing seat position displacement. This advance assessment allows the system to identify conditions that would cause disturbance to rear seat passengers and avoid automatic displacement when such conditions exist, maintaining simple control logic while preventing harmful effects.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

4Reliability

If the system notifies the driver when seat displacement is not feasible, then safety is improved, but the control transfer time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesafetyVSAvoidcontrol transfer time

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs rapid preliminary detection of driver state and environmental conditions before control transfer. By conducting this assessment in advance and providing notification only when necessary, the system maintains high safety standards while minimizing the time added to the control transfer process.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system applies partial notification - only notifying the driver when seat displacement is not feasible due to detected conditions. When displacement is safe, no notification is given and the process proceeds automatically, thus maintaining safety while avoiding unnecessary time delays in normal operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentUS20240246457A1Seat control device, storage medium storing computer program for controlling seat and method for controlling seat

Publication Date: 2024.07.25 TOYOTA JIDOSHA KK

AI summary

A seat control device has a processor configured to determine whether a control transfer demand for transferring driving of a vehicle from a manual control operation to an automatic control operation or from the manual control operation to the automatic control operation has been made, determine whether a seat position of a seat on which a driver is seated is in a displaceable state based on information representing a state of the driver, and displace the seat position from a position for the automatic control operation to a position for the manual control operation or from the position for the manual control operation to the position for the automatic control operation using a seat drive unit when the control transfer demand has been made and the seat position is in the displaceable state.