Device and Method for Adjusting a Seat Position

• US 20140319895A1
• Filed: 11/06/2012
• Published: 10/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/2011
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company (Johnson Controls International plc)
• Original Assignee: Johnson Controls GmbH (Adient plc)
• Inventors: Lange-Mao, Wei, Eppinger, Andreas
• Application Number:
  US14/359,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20140319895A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 297/463.1
• 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 2/0224 Non-manual adjustments, e.g. with electrical operation
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0248 with memory of positions
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0268 using sensors or detectors for adapting the seat or seat part, e.g. to the position of an occupant
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/0272 using sensors or detectors for detecting the position of seat parts
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/015 including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats , and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/88 Radar or analogous systems specially adapted for specific applications electromagnetic prospecting or detecting of objects, e.g. near-field detection, G01V3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/894 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4802 using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section

Abstract

A device for adjusting a seat position of a vehicle seat allows for an automatic or automated adjustment of the seat position of the relevant vehicle seat. The device includes at least one vehicle seat, at least one first sensor unit for determining physical parameters of a potential vehicle passenger located outside of the vehicle and/or at least one input device and/or at least one second sensor unit for determining the scat position of the vehicle seat, and at least one control unit. A method is provided for the automatic or automated adjustment of a seat position of a vehicle seat by a device.

Claims

1. A device for adjusting a seat position for a vehicle seat, comprising:

at least one drive unit for adjusting the seat position of the vehicle seat;

at least a first sensor unit for determining physical parameters of a potential vehicle occupant located outside the vehicle and/or at least one input device and/or at least one second sensor unit for determining the seat position of the vehicle seat; and

at least one control unit.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the sensor units is embodied as a bionic sensor, pressure sensor, force sensor, infrared sensor, laser sensor and/or ultrasonic sensor, and/or in that one of the sensor units is embodied as an optical detection unit.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the sensor units is embodied as a textile or polymeric capacitive or resistive sensor in or on a seat covering of the vehicle seat, and/or in that one of the sensor units is embodied as a force sensor or pressure sensor and is arranged or integrated in or on a seat covering and/or in an upholstered seat element of the vehicle seat.

4. The device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the optical detection unit is embodied as a two-dimensional camera system or as a three-dimensional camera system.

5. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the sensor units is embodied as a mobile communication device.

6. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit is integrated into the vehicle seat, with the result that one structural unit composed of the vehicle seat and the control unit is formed.

7. The device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises at least one operator control element or an operator control interface, both of which permit the automatic adjustment of the seat position to be activated and deactivated.

8. A method for adapting a seat position for a vehicle seat by a device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a potential vehicle driver or vehicle occupant outside the vehicle is detected by a first sensor unit, and at least one physical parameter of the vehicle driver or vehicle occupant is determined from the acquired data and fed to a control unit for controlling the at least one drive unit of the vehicle seat, or in that a manual input of at least one physical parameter of the vehicle driver or vehicle occupant is made, in response to which the seat position of the vehicle seat is automatically adapted to the physical parameters of the vehicle occupant and preset, wherein the ultimate seat position of the vehicle is set automatically after the arrangement of the vehicle occupant in the vehicle and said setting is assisted by the data which is acquired by a second sensor unit.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein, on the basis of the physiognomy of the vehicle occupant and the resulting sensor data of the sensor units, setting recommendations, adapted to the vehicle occupant, for the manual adjustment of the seat position and/or warnings in the event of an unadjusted scat position are displayed on a display unit.

10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein in the case of a hazardous situation which is detected by the first sensor unit, the seat position of the vehicle seat is moved automatically into a predefined seat position which is adjusted to the hazardous situation.