SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ADJUSTING ONE OR MORE VEHICLE SETTINGS

• US 20180148007A1
• Filed: 02/02/2017
• Published: 05/31/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Gage, Sergei, Sitarski, Nicholas S., Mai-Krist, Ida T.
• Application Number:
  US15/422,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20180148007A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• 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 2001/00192 to left and right part of passenger compartment
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 2001/002 to front and rear part of passenger compartment
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/002 Seats provided with an occupancy detection means mounted therein or thereon detection means responsive to presence or absence of children B60N2/266
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/01 Arrangement of seats relative to one another
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0244 with logic circuits
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2002/0055 characterised by special measures to ensure that no seat or seat part collides, during its movement, with other seats, seat parts or the vehicle itself
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/037 for occupant comfort , e.g. for automatic adjustment of appliances according to personal settings, e.g. seats, mirrors, steering wheel

Abstract

A system for adjusting one or more vehicle settings includes one or more processors, one or more occupant recognition sensors communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to output an occupant recognition signal indicative of an identity of one or more vehicle occupants, and one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors. The one or more memory modules store logic that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to: recognize a first vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants, determine a first vehicle zone in which the first vehicle occupant is present, automatically adjust the one or more vehicle settings based on one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle occupant and the first vehicle zone.

Claims

1. A system for adjusting one or more vehicle settings, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more occupant recognition sensors communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to output an occupant recognition signal indicative of an identity of one or more vehicle occupants; and

one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more memory modules storing logic that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

recognize a first vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants based on the occupant recognition signal output by the one or more occupant recognition sensors;

determine a first vehicle zone of a vehicle in which the first vehicle occupant is present, wherein the first vehicle zone is one of a driver zone, a front passenger zone, and a rear passenger zone;

determine a priority of the first vehicle occupant; and

automatically adjust the one or more vehicle settings based on one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle occupant, the first vehicle zone, and the priority of the first vehicle occupant.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more occupant recognition sensors comprise at least one of a fingerprint recognition sensor and a facial recognition sensor.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more user input devices communicatively coupled to the one or more processors that allow the one or more vehicle occupants to input and save the one or more occupant preference settings on the one or more memory modules.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more processors execute logic to cause the system to memorize the one or more occupant preference settings for each of the one or more vehicle occupants upon adjustment by the one or more vehicle occupants of the one or more vehicle settings.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the first vehicle zone of the first vehicle occupant is determined based on at least one of where the first vehicle occupant is located within the vehicle, a door through which the first vehicle occupant entered the vehicle, and a side of the vehicle at which the first vehicle occupant is recognized.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more vehicle settings include at least one of seat settings, steering wheel position settings, pedal position settings, climate settings, entertainment settings, and mirror position settings.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein logic executed by the one or more processors further cause the system to:

recognize a second vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants based on the occupant recognition signal output by the one or more occupant recognition sensors;

determine a second vehicle zone of the vehicle in which the second vehicle occupant is positioned, wherein the second vehicle zone is at least one of the driver zone, the front passenger zone, and the rear passenger zone;

determine a priority of the second vehicle occupant;

prioritize the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant based on the priority of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant such that one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant is a primary vehicle occupant and one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant is a secondary vehicle occupant; and

automatically adjust the one of more vehicle settings based on the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the second vehicle occupant and the second vehicle zone, wherein a conflict between the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the primary vehicle occupant and the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the secondary vehicle occupant are resolved in favor of the primary vehicle occupant.

8. A system for adjusting one or more vehicle settings, the system comprising:

one or more processors;

one or more occupant recognition sensors communicatively coupled to the one or more processors and configured to output an occupant recognition signal indicative of an identity of one or more vehicle occupants; and

one or more memory modules communicatively coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more memory modules storing logic that when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to;

recognize a first vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants based on the occupant recognition signal output by the one or more occupant recognition sensors;

determine a first vehicle zone of a vehicle in which the first vehicle occupant is present, wherein the first vehicle zone is one of a driver zone and a passenger zone;

determine a priority of the first vehicle occupant; and

automatically adjust the one or more vehicle settings based on one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle zone, the first vehicle occupant, and the priority of the first vehicle occupant wherein;

when the first vehicle zone is the driver zone, the one or more vehicle settings are adjusted to a first one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle occupant and the driver zone; and

when the first vehicle zone is the passenger zone, the one or more vehicle settings are adjusted to a second one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle occupant and the passenger zone, wherein the first one or more occupant preference settings are different from the second one or more occupant preference settings.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the one or more occupant recognition sensors comprise at least one of a fingerprint recognition sensor and a facial recognition sensor.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising one or more user input devices communicatively coupled to the one or more processors that allow the one or more vehicle occupants to input and save the one or more occupant preference settings on the one or more memory modules.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein:

the one or more processors execute logic to cause the system to memorize the first one or more occupant preference settings for the first vehicle occupant upon adjustment by the first vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle settings within the driver zone; and

the one or more processors execute logic to cause the system to memorize the second one or more occupant preference settings for the first vehicle occupant upon adjustment by the first vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle settings within the passenger zone.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the first vehicle zone of the first vehicle occupant is determined based on at least one of where the first vehicle occupant is located within the vehicle, a door through which the first vehicle occupant entered the vehicle, and a side of the vehicle at which the first vehicle occupant is recognized.

13. The vehicle of claim 8, wherein the one or more vehicle settings include at least one of:

seat settings, steering wheel position settings, pedal position settings, climate settings, entertainment settings, and mirror position settings.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein logic executed by the one or more processors further cause the system to:

recognize a second vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants based on the occupant recognition signal output by the one or more occupant recognition sensors;

determine a second vehicle zone of the vehicle in which the second vehicle occupant is present, wherein the second vehicle zone is one of the driver zone and the passenger zone;

determine a priority of the second vehicle occupant;

prioritize the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant based on the priority of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant such that one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant is a primary vehicle occupant and one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant is a secondary vehicle occupant; and

automatically adjust the one of more vehicle settings based on the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the second vehicle occupant and the second vehicle zone, wherein a conflict between the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the primary vehicle occupant and the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the secondary vehicle occupant are resolved in favor of the primary vehicle occupant.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein which of the first and second vehicle occupants is the primary vehicle occupant is determined based on at least one of:

a user defined primary vehicle occupant, where the primary vehicle occupant is located within the vehicle, a door the primary vehicle occupant entered the vehicle through, and a side of the vehicle at which the primary vehicle occupant is recognized.

16. A method for adjusting one or more vehicle settings, the method comprising:

recognizing a first vehicle occupant of one or more vehicle occupants with one or more occupant recognition sensors;

determining a first vehicle zone of a vehicle in which the first vehicle occupant is present, wherein the first vehicle zone is one of a driver zone;

a front passenger zone, and a rear passenger zone;

determining a priority of the first vehicle occupant; and

automatically adjusting the one or more vehicle settings based on one or more occupant preference settings associated with the first vehicle occupant, the first vehicle zone, and the priority of the first vehicle occupant.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising memorizing the one or more occupant preference settings for each of the one or more vehicle occupants upon adjustment by the one or more vehicle occupants of the one or more vehicle settings.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the first vehicle occupant is assigned to a vehicle zone based on at least one of where the first vehicle occupant is located within the vehicle, a door the first vehicle occupant entered the vehicle through, and a side of the vehicle at which the first vehicle occupant is recognized.

19. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

recognizing a second vehicle occupant of the one or more vehicle occupants;

assigning a second vehicle zone to the second vehicle occupant, wherein the second vehicle zone is one of the driver zone;

the front passenger zone, and the rear passenger zone;

determining a priority of the second vehicle occupant; and

automatically adjusting the one or more vehicle settings based on the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the second vehicle occupant and the second vehicle zone.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising prioritizing the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant based on the priority of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant such that one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant is a primary vehicle occupant and one of the first vehicle occupant and the second vehicle occupant is a secondary vehicle occupant, wherein a conflict between the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the primary vehicle occupant and the one or more occupant preference settings associated with the secondary vehicle occupant are resolved in favor of the primary vehicle occupant.