Occupant based design method for an automotive vehicle

• US 6,110,216 A
• Filed: 12/04/1997
• Issued: 08/29/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/04/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ford Motor Company
• Original Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC (Ford Motor Company)
• Inventors: Henault, Mark Russell, Weber, William Francis, Walraven, Michael Joseph, Karam, Frederick Abraham, Tang, Scott Ming-Hua, Sevrence, Sean James, Bach, Daniel Cornelius Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Teska, Kevin J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): FREJD, RUSSELL WARREN
• Application Number:
  US08/984,790
• Time in Patent Office: 999 Days
• Field of Search: 395/500.01, 395/500.29, 395/500.37, 345/333, 345/348, 345/353, 345/356, 345/419, 345/473, 345/339, 345/355, 364/148.01, 364/149, 364/150, 364/151, 364/468.01, 364/468.02, 364/468.03, 364/468.04, 364/468.09, 364/468.1, 364/468.12, 180/271, 180/286, 180/287, 280/1, 434/29, 434/257, 434/267, 434/365, 434/370, 434/373, 382/104
• US Class Current: 703/8
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/00 Computer-aided design [CAD]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/15 Vehicle, aircraft or watercraft design
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 17/00 Three dimensional [3D] modelling, e.g. data description of 3D objects

Abstract

A computer based system and method for designing an automotive vehicle orients an occupant representation, in electronic form, with respect to a three-dimensional electronic representation of a portion of the vehicle. At least one vehicle system is represented, also in electronic form, with respect to a common reference point, at least one human factors study is electronically performed to determine occupant interaction with at least one vehicle system, and an outcome of that study is reported to a vehicle designer. The designer then has an option to vary, or alter, the occupant orientation, the location of the vehicle system, or both, so that the design meets a predetermined criteria of the study. However, the designer may opt to retain the design despite non-compliance with the criteria. If a parameter change is made, the system and method automatically rebuild every other effected dimension, and vehicle systems to satisfy the regenerated design are automatically selected from an electronic parts library so that packaging alternatives can be quickly studied. A geometric representation of occupant interaction relative to a vehicle system may be displayed to allow a designer to visually assess compliance with a particular criteria. The occupant representation, vehicle, vehicle system, and geometric representation of the interaction may be rendered and animated in three-dimensions permitting views from various perspectives. The method and system can quickly provide accurate human factors studies for a vehicle design while allowing system packaging flexibility.

Claims

1. A method for vehicle design on a computer having processor and a memory in which an occupant and at least one vehicle system are electronically represented with respect to a common reference point in a three-dimensional representation of a portion of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

orienting an occupant representation with respect to the common reference point in the computer;

representing the at least one vehicle system with reference to the common reference point;

determining at least one occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle system; and

reporting the at least one occupant interaction.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the occupant interaction is determined based on a set of human factors criteria.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the set of human factors criteria includes at least one of a reach criteria, a vision criteria, an occupant reflection reception criteria, and an occupant-to-vehicle interaction criteria.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein the occupant interaction is reported by displaying a geometric representation of the occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle device.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the geometric representation is a surface which divides the passenger compartment into at least two zones.

6. A method according to claim 1 including the step of rendering a three-dimensional surface for the occupant representation, each of the at least one vehicle device, and the portion of the vehicle.

7. A method according to claim 1 including the step of animating movement of the occupant representation, at least one vehicle device, and the portion of the vehicle.

8. A method according to claim 2 including the step of determining a locational change for the at least one vehicle device, the occupant representation, or both, so that the occupant interaction meets the predetermined criteria.

9. A method according to claim 8 including the step of varying a device location of the at least one vehicle device with respect to the common reference point so that the occupant interaction meets the predetermined criteria.

10. A method according to claim 2 including the step of varying a device representation of the at least one vehicle device so that the occupant interaction meets the predetermined criteria.

11. A method according to claim 10 herein the device representation is selected from an electronically stored standard parts library.

18. A method according to claim 8 including the step of varying a device location of the at least one vehicle device with respect to the common reference point, varying a device representation of the at least one vehicle device, or both.

12. A method for vehicle design on a computer having processor and a memory in which an occupant and at least one vehicle system are electronically represented with respect to a common reference point in a three-dimensional representation of a portion of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

orienting an occupant representation with respect to the common reference point in the computer;

representing the at least one vehicle system with reference to the common reference point;

performing at least one human factors study between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle system; and

reporting an outcome of the at least one human factors study.

13. A method according to claim 12 wherein the at least one human factors study includes at least one of a reach study, a rimblock study, a knee bolster study, a mask lens study, a windshield reflection study, and a manual shift study.

14. A method according to claim 12 wherein the outcome of the at least one human factors study is reported by displaying a geometric representation of the occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle device.

15. A method according to claim 14 wherein the geometric representation is a surface which divides the passenger compartment into at least two zones.

16. A method according to claim 12 including the step of rendering a three-dimensional surface for the occupant representation, each of the at least one vehicle device, and the portion of the vehicle.

17. A method according to claim 12 including the step of three-dimensionally animating movement of the occupant representation, the at least one vehicle device, and the portion of the vehicle.

19. A method for designing a portion of an automotive vehicle on a computer system in which an occupant position and at least one vehicle device are electronically represented, the method comprising the steps of:

selecting a value for at least one occupant position parameter defining the occupant position;

determining an occupant interaction between the occupant position and the at least one vehicle device; and

comparing the occupant interaction to a predetermined criteria.

20. A method according to claim 19 wherein the predetermined criteria comprise a set of human factors criteria.

21. A method according to claim 20 wherein the set of human factors criteria includes at least one of a reach criteria, a rimblock criteria, a knee bolster criteria, a mask lens criteria, a windshield reflection criteria, and a manual shift criteria.

22. A method according to claim 19 wherein comparison of the occupant interaction to the predetermined criteria includes displaying a geometric representation of the occupant interaction between the occupant position and the at least one vehicle device.

23. A method according to claim 22 wherein the geometric representation is a criteria surface which divides the passenger compartment into at least two zones.

24. A method according to claim 23 including the step of rendering a three-dimensional surface for the occupant position, each of the at least one vehicle device, the criteria surface, and the portion of the vehicle.

25. A method according to claim 24 including the step of animating movement of the rendered occupant position, at least one vehicle device, the criteria surface, and the portion of the vehicle.

26. A method according to claim 19 including the step of determining a locational change for the at least one vehicle device so that the occupant interaction meets the predetermined criteria.

27. A method for designing vehicle on a computer having a processor and a memory in which an occupant representation and at least one vehicle system are electronically represented with respect to a common reference point in a three-dimensional representation of a portion of a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

orienting the occupant representation with respect to the common reference point in the computer;

representing the at least one vehicle system with reference to the common reference point; and

determining at least one occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle system.

28. A method according to claim 27 wherein the occupant interaction is determined by displaying a geometric representation of the occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle device.

29. A method according to claim 28 wherein the geometric representation is an interaction surface.

30. A method according to claim 29 including the step of rendering a three-dimensional surface for the occupant representation, each of the at least one vehicle device, the interaction surface, and the portion of the vehicle.

31. A method for designing a portion of an automotive vehicle in a computer system in which a vehicle design, an occupant representation, and a group of systems are electronically represented, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting a set of generic parameters for describing occupant position in the vehicle passenger compartment and occupant interaction with respect to at least one vehicle surface within the vehicle environment;

(b) selecting a value for each of the set of generic parameters;

(c) generating at least one occupant-vehicle geometric representation based upon a predetermined occupant reach criteria and the set of generic parameters having the values selected in step (b); and

(d) displaying the at least one occupant-vehicle interaction representation so as to create a plurality of occupant zones.

32. A method for packaging an integrated system on an automotive vehicle using a computer system in which a vehicle, an occupant representation, and a group of systems are electronically represented, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) orienting the occupant representation within a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

(b) selecting an initial package location for each of at least one of the group of systems having a system location on the vehicle;

(c) determining an occupant interaction between the occupant representation and each of at least one of the group of systems; and

(d) comparing the occupant interaction of each of the at least one of the group of systems to a predetermined criteria.

33. A method according to claim 32 including the step of varying the package location of each of the at least one of the group of systems with respect to the occupant representation based upon a set of predefined rules until the occupant interaction meets the predetermined criteria.

34. A method for designing an automotive vehicle in a computer system in which a vehicle design, an occupant representation, and a group of systems are electronically represented, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) selecting a vehicle design from a vehicle platform including locating each of a group of systems on the vehicle at a system location;

(b) orienting an occupant representation within a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

(c) determining an occupant interaction between the occupant representation and each of the at least one of the group of systems;

(d) comparing the occupant interaction of each of the at least one of the group of systems to a predetermined criteria; and

(e) varying the system location of the at least one of the group of systems with respect to the occupant representation based upon a set of predefined rules until the occupant interaction meets the predetermined criteria.

35. A method for designing an automotive vehicle in a computer system in which a vehicle, an occupant representation, and a group of systems are electronically represented, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) orienting the occupant representation within a passenger compartment of the vehicle;

(b) determining an occupant interaction between the occupant representation and each of at least one of a group of systems having a system location on the vehicle;

(c) comparing the occupant interaction of each of the at least one of the group of systems to a predetermined criteria; and

(d) varying a location of at least one of the group of systems, the occupant representation, or both so as to meet the predetermined criteria.

36. A method according to claim 35 wherein the predetermined criteria comprise a set of human factors criteria.

37. A method according to claim 35 wherein orienting the occupant representation is accomplished by selecting a value for at least one occupant position parameter.

38. A method according to claim 35 including the step of displaying a surface which divides the passenger compartment into at least two zones to represent the occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one of a group of systems.

39. A computer aided method for designing a portion of an automotive vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) storing in the memory of a computer system a first set of data representing an occupant position within a passenger compartment in the vehicle;

(b) storing in the memory a second set of data representing a position for at least one occupant interactive vehicle system within the passenger compartment;

(c) generating a third set of data representing an occupant interaction between the first set of data and the second set of data;

(d) comparing the third set of data to a fourth set of data representing a predetermined occupant-vehicle interaction criteria to determine if the criteria is met.

40. A method according to claim 39 wherein the first set of data includes data representing at least one of the following:

occupant hip point data;

data representing a distance between an accelerator heel point and the occupant hip point; and

occupant back angle data.

41. A method according to claim 39 wherein the third set of data is a geometric representation of the occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle device.

42. A method according to claim 41 wherein the geometric representation is a surface which divides the passenger compartment into at least two zones.

43. A method according to claim 42 including the step of rendering a three-dimensional surface for the first, second, and third sets of data.

44. A method according to claim 42 including the step of three-dimensionally animating movement of the first, second, and third sets of data.

45. A method according to claim 39 including the step of varying the first set of data, the second set of data, or both, until the predetermined occupant-vehicle interaction criteria is met.

46. A method according to claim 39 wherein the fourth set of data stored in the memory representing a predetermined occupant-vehicle interaction criteria is a set of human factors data.

47. A method according to claim 46 wherein the set of human factors data includes at least one of a set of reach criteria data, a set of rimblock criteria data, a set of knee bolster criteria data, a set of mask lens criteria data, a set of windshield reflection criteria data, and a set of manual shift criteria data.

48. A portion of a vehicle satisfying a predetermined set of occupant based ergonomic criteria made from a design achieved by electronically representing on a computer an occupant representation and at least one vehicle system with respect to a common reference point, orienting the occupant representation within the vehicle, determining an occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle system having a system location on the vehicle, and comparing the occupant interaction to the ergonomic criteria.

49. A portion of vehicle made according to claim 48 wherein the system location of the at least one vehicle system is varied with respect to the occupant representation until the occupant interaction meets the ergonomic criteria.

50. A portion of vehicle made according to claim 48 wherein the occupant interaction is compared to the ergonomic criteria by displaying a geometric representation of the occupant interaction between the occupant representation and the at least one vehicle system.