Vehicle Accessories For Enhancing Smells

• US 20080188172A1
• Filed: 02/07/2006
• Published: 08/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Van Loenen, Evert Jan, Hollemans, Gerrit, Sempel, Adrianus
• Application Number:
  US11/815,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20080188172A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 454/75
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00742 by detection of the vehicle occupants' presence; by detection of conditions relating to the body of occupants, e.g. using radiant heat detectors
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 3/0007 Adding substances other than water to the air, e.g. perfume, oxygen
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 3/0035 characterised by the control methods for adding the substance

Abstract

There is provided a vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) for enhancing smells within a vehicle (10). The accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) comprises: (a) sensors (30, 40) for sensing at least one of visual objects and smells present in an environment (20) surrounding the vehicle (10) and generating corresponding sensor signals; (b) a processor (50) for receiving the sensor signals and analysing them for detecting the presence of one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells in the environment (20), the processor (50) being operable to filter a subset of the one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells; and (c) an odour source (60) coupled to the processor (50) for receiving instructions there from to generate and release into the vehicle (10) one or more smells corresponding to the subset of the one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells.

Claims

1. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) for enhancing smells within a vehicle (10), the accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) comprising:

(a) sensors (30, 40) for sensing at least one of visual objects and smells present in an environment (20) surrounding the vehicle (10) and generating corresponding sensor signals;

(b) a processor (50) for receiving the sensor signals and analysing them for detecting the presence of one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells in the environment (20), the processor (50) being operable to filter a subset of the one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells; and

(c) an odour source (60) coupled to the processor (50) for receiving instructions there from to generate and release into the vehicle (10) one or more smells corresponding to the subset of the one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells.

2. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor (50) is operable to employ a neural network algorithm, a template matching algorithm and/or a correlation algorithm for analysing the sensor signals for detecting the presence of the one or more sensed objects and /or the one or more sensed smells.

3. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the odour source (60) is operable to function in conjunction with an air-recirculating system or air-conditioning system included in the vehicle (10) for purging smells from an interior region of the vehicle (10) which are no longer required by the processor (50), and for re-circulating required smells within the interior region of the vehicle (10) for reducing a consumption of odour generating materials (200, 210) in the odour source (60).

4. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensors (40) for sensing smells present in the environment (20) are implemented as an array of conductive polymer sensors.

5. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sensors (40) for sensing smells present in the environment (20) are capable of being heated to an elevated temperature to at least partially expel accumulated contamination thereon.

6. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 4, wherein the sensors (40) for sensing smells present in the environment (20) are provided with one or more sources of a calibration gas for use in periodically calibrating the sensors (40).

7. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the odour source (60) is provided with a plurality of materials which are susceptible to being vaporised by thermal and/or ultrasonic excitation to generate smells for release into the vehicle (10).

8. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 7, wherein the plurality of materials susceptible to generating odours for releasing into the vehicle (10) is provided as a replaceable cartridge (200).

9. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sensors (30) for sensing visual objects present in the environment (20) are implemented as one or more cameras (30) directed in at least one of:

in a forward direction of travel of the vehicle (10), in a lateral direction relative to the direction of travel of the vehicle (10).

10. A vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claim in claim 9, wherein the sensors (30) for sensing visual objects present in the environment (20) are mounted in one or more positions within the vehicle (10) whereat their field of vision is periodically subject to a cleaning operation to remove vision-occluding debris.

13. A replaceable cartridge (200) including smell generating materials for use in an odour source (60) of an accessory (30, 40, 50, 60) as claimed in claim 1 for generating odours for release within a vehicle (10).

11. A method of enhancing smells within a vehicle (10) using a vehicle accessory (30, 40, 50, 60), the method comprising steps of:

(a) sensing using sensors (30, 40) at least one of visual objects and smells present in an environment (20) surrounding the vehicle (10) and generating corresponding sensor signals;

(b) receiving the sensor signals at a processor (50) and analysing them therein for detecting the presence of one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells in the environment (20), and filtering in the processor (50) a subset of the one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells; and

(c) receiving instructions at an odour source (60) coupled to the processor (50) to generate and release into the vehicle (10) one or more smells corresponding to the subset of the one or more sensed objects and/or one or more sensed smells.

12. Software executable in a computer processor (50) for implementing analysis in step (b) of the method as claimed in claim 11.