JP7484347B2 - Vehicle equipment control device and method thereof - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle accessory control device and a vehicle accessory control method that control vehicle accessories that are directly used by the occupants.

Vehicles include equipment that is directly used by the occupants, such as the steering wheel, door mirrors (side mirrors), display devices, and audio equipment. The occupants usually adjust such equipment to suit themselves. For example, the occupants adjust the fore-aft and up-down positions of the steering wheel to suit themselves, and adjust the angle of the mirror surface of the door mirror to suit themselves.

On the other hand, an appropriate driving posture (driving position) for occupants is generally recommended in order to drive a vehicle safely, securely and comfortably. This driving posture can be set (adjusted) by adjusting the inclination of the seat back, the position of the seat cushion in the front-to-rear direction, the position (height) of the seat cushion in the up-down direction, and the inclination of the seat cushion's seat surface. When driving a vehicle, occupants adjust some or all of these according to their own body type to adjust their driving posture. For example, Patent Document 1 describes this driving posture.

The vehicle seat control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a seat drive means for adjusting the position and posture of the seat, a storage means for storing seat information indicating the position and posture of the seat during manual driving, and a control means for driving the seat drive means based on the seat information read from the storage means. By storing seat information adjusted to the occupant's body type in the storage means, such a vehicle seat control device can reproduce the position and posture of the seat using the seat information when the occupant gets in, thereby reducing the effort required for the occupant to make manual adjustments.

JP 2017-136898 A

The vehicle seat control device disclosed in Patent Document 1 can reproduce the position and posture of the seat using the seat information when the occupant gets in. However, the occupant needs to adjust the vehicle accessories that are directly used by the occupant to suit themselves, preferably to make them easy to use, depending on the position and posture of the seat, which is time-consuming.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a vehicle accessory control device and a vehicle accessory control method that can reduce the effort required to adjust vehicle accessories that are directly used by the occupants.

As a result of various studies, the inventors of the present invention found that the above object can be achieved by the present invention described below. That is, a vehicle accessory control device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a vehicle seat used in a vehicle, a correspondence information storage unit that stores body type-posture range correspondence information that associates body type information representing a body type with posture range information representing a posture range of the vehicle seat corresponding to a driving posture range, a seat drive unit that moves the posture of the vehicle seat, an input unit that inputs the body type information, and a posture control unit that extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the input unit from the body type-posture range correspondence information stored in the correspondence information storage unit , provisionally sets the posture of the vehicle seat to be within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, and controls the seat drive unit to determine the posture of the vehicle seat after measuring eye height , and a vehicle accessory that is directly used by an occupant of the vehicle, and an accessory control unit that controls the accessory based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit. Preferably, the vehicle accessory control device further includes a measurement unit that measures an eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat, and the posture control unit determines a specific vehicle seat posture within a posture range of the vehicle seat based on the eye height measured by the measurement unit, and controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the determined vehicle seat posture. Preferably, the vehicle accessory control device further includes a second input unit that inputs an instruction to move the posture of the vehicle seat, and when the instruction is input to the second input unit, the posture control unit controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the vehicle seat posture according to the instruction, within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information.

Such a vehicle accessory control device prestores body type/posture range correspondence information, extracts posture range information corresponding to body type information input to the input unit from this body type/posture range correspondence information, and controls a seat drive unit that moves the posture of the vehicle seat so that the posture of the vehicle seat is within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, thereby automatically achieving an appropriate driving posture according to the occupant's body type. The vehicle accessory control device controls the accessories based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, and automatically adjusts the vehicle accessories according to the automatically achieved appropriate driving posture, thereby reducing the burden on the occupant.

In another aspect, in the vehicle equipment control device described above, the equipment control unit determines, from the body type information input to the input unit and the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit, at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment for an occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the determined position range and size of the body part. Preferably, the vehicle accessory control device further includes a measuring unit that measures the eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat, and the posture control unit determines a specific vehicle seat posture within the vehicle seat posture range based on the eye height measured by the measuring unit, and controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the determined vehicle seat posture, and the accessory control unit determines a position of a specific body part within the determined body part position range according to the specific vehicle seat posture determined by the posture control unit, and controls the accessory based on at least one of the determined position of the specific body part and the determined size of the body part.

This type of vehicle accessory control device determines at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the accessory for an occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose posture is controlled, and controls the accessory based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part determined, so that the accessory can be automatically controlled more appropriately according to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose posture is controlled.

In another aspect, the vehicle equipment control device further includes a second correspondence information storage unit that stores body part correspondence information that corresponds the body type information, the posture range information, and body part information that represents at least one of the position range and size of the body part involved in the control of the equipment, and the equipment control unit extracts body part information that corresponds to the body type information input to the input unit and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit from the body part correspondence information stored in the second correspondence information storage unit, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information. Preferably, the vehicle accessory control device further includes a measurement unit that measures the eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat, and the body part correspondence information associates each posture in the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information with each position in the position range of the body part represented by the body part information, and the posture control unit determines a posture of a specific vehicle seat within the posture range of the vehicle seat based on the eye height measured by the measurement unit, and controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the posture of the determined vehicle seat, and the accessory control unit determines a position of a specific body part according to the posture of the specific vehicle seat determined by the posture control unit within the position range of the body part represented by the extracted body part information, and controls the accessory based on at least one of the determined position of the specific body part and the size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information.

Since such a vehicle equipment control device stores body part correspondence information, it can determine, without performing any calculations, at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment for an occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose attitude is controlled for the vehicle seat, and it controls the equipment based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part according to this body part correspondence information, so that it can automatically control the equipment more appropriately according to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose attitude is controlled for the vehicle seat.

In another aspect, the vehicle equipment control device described above further includes a measurement unit that measures at least one of the position and size of a body part related to the control of the equipment of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose attitude is controlled by the attitude control unit, and the equipment control unit controls the equipment based on at least one of the position and size of the body part measured by the measurement unit.

Since such a vehicle equipment control device is equipped with a measurement unit, it can actually measure at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose posture is controlled, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part measured, so that it can automatically control the equipment more appropriately according to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose posture is controlled.

In another aspect, the above-mentioned vehicle equipment control device further includes a third correspondence information storage unit that stores equipment control amount correspondence information that corresponds the body type information, the posture range information, and equipment control amount information that represents the control amount range for the equipment, and the equipment control unit extracts equipment control amount information that corresponds to the body type information input to the input unit and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit from the equipment control amount correspondence information stored in the third correspondence information storage unit, and controls the equipment based on the extracted equipment control amount information. Preferably, the above-mentioned vehicle equipment control device further includes a measurement unit that measures the eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat, and the equipment control amount correspondence information corresponds each posture in the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information to each control amount in the control amount range represented by the equipment control amount information, the posture control unit determines a specific posture of the vehicle seat within the posture range of the vehicle seat based on the eye height measured by the measurement unit, and controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the determined posture of the vehicle seat, and the equipment control unit determines a specific control amount corresponding to the posture of the specific vehicle seat determined by the posture control unit within the control amount range represented by the extracted equipment control amount information, and controls the equipment based on the determined control amount.

Since such a vehicle equipment control device stores equipment control amount correspondence information, it can obtain equipment control amount information from body type information and posture range information, and can automatically control equipment more appropriately based on this obtained equipment control amount information for an occupant seated in a vehicle seat whose posture is controlled.

In another aspect, in the above-mentioned vehicle accessory control device, the posture range of the vehicle seat is the position range of the hip point, and the position range of the hip point is set based on the ankle angle and knee angle of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat.

This makes it possible to provide a vehicle accessory control device that defines the posture range of the vehicle seat based on the position range of the hip point.

A vehicle accessory control method according to another aspect of the present invention includes an input process for inputting body type information representing a body type; an extraction process for extracting posture range information corresponding to the body type information input in the input process from body type posture range correspondence information that associates the body type information with posture range information representing a posture range of a vehicle seat corresponding to a driving posture range; a posture control process for temporarily setting the posture of the vehicle seat to be within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted in the extraction process and controlling the posture of the vehicle seat so as to determine the posture of the vehicle seat after measuring eye height; and an accessory control process for controlling vehicle accessories directly used by vehicle occupants based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted in the posture control process.

This vehicle accessory control method extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input in the input process from the body type posture range correspondence information, and controls the posture of the vehicle seat so that the posture of the vehicle seat is within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, so that an appropriate driving posture can be automatically achieved according to the occupant's body type. And since the vehicle accessory control method controls the accessories based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, the vehicle accessories are automatically adjusted according to the automatically achieved appropriate driving posture, reducing the burden on the occupant.

The vehicle accessory control device and vehicle accessory control method of the present invention can reduce the effort required to adjust vehicle accessories.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle accessory control device according to an embodiment; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a second input unit of the vehicle equipment control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a third input unit of the vehicle equipment control device. 13 is a diagram showing a body type/posture range correspondence information table stored in the vehicle accessory control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining each joint angle related to the driving posture of an occupant; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the range of the hip point as viewed from the vehicle width direction. 5 is a diagram for explaining mirror control in the vehicle accessory control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining control of a HUD in the vehicle equipment control device. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an operation of the vehicle accessory control device with respect to posture control of a vehicle seat and control of accessories. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a body part correspondence information table (body type posture range correspondence information table) stored in a vehicle accessory control device in the second embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an equipment control amount information table (body type posture range correspondence information table) stored in a vehicle equipment control device in the fourth embodiment.

One or more embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the scope of the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. In addition, components with the same reference numerals in each drawing are the same components, and their description will be omitted as appropriate. In this specification, when referring to a general term, a reference numeral without a subscript is used, and when referring to an individual component, a reference numeral with a subscript is used.

The vehicle equipment control device in the embodiment is a device that controls the posture of a vehicle seat so as to realize an appropriate driving posture (driving position), and controls vehicle equipment directly used by an occupant seated in the vehicle seat controlled to realize the appropriate driving posture. This vehicle equipment control device includes a vehicle seat used in a vehicle, a correspondence information storage unit that stores body type-posture range correspondence information that corresponds body type information representing a body type to posture range information representing a posture range of the vehicle seat corresponding to a driving posture range, a seat drive unit that moves the posture of the vehicle seat, an input unit that inputs the body type information, a posture control unit that extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the input unit from the body type-posture range correspondence information stored in the correspondence information storage unit, and controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat is within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, and an equipment control unit that controls the vehicle equipment directly used by the occupant of the vehicle, and the equipment based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit. Below, this type of vehicle accessory control device will be explained in more detail using the first to fourth embodiments.

First Embodiment
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle equipment control device in an embodiment. FIG. 1 shows the configurations of the vehicle equipment control devices Da to Dd in the first to fourth embodiments. In FIG. 1, the configuration of the vehicle equipment control device Da in the first embodiment is represented by the suffix "a", the configuration of the vehicle equipment control device Db in the second embodiment is represented by the suffix "b", the configuration of the vehicle equipment control device Dc in the third embodiment is represented by the suffix "c", the configuration of the vehicle equipment control device Dd in the fourth embodiment is represented by the suffix "d", and the configuration common to the vehicle equipment control devices Da to Dd in the first to fourth embodiments is represented without a suffix. Note that suffixes are also used in FIG. 9 described later in terms of operation. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a second input unit of the vehicle equipment control device. FIG. 2A is a perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a side view. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a third input unit of the vehicle equipment control device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a body type posture range correspondence information table stored in the vehicle equipment control device. Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining each joint angle related to the driving posture of an occupant. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the range of the hip point as viewed from the vehicle width direction. Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining the control of the mirror in the vehicle accessory control device. Fig. 7A is a top schematic diagram for explaining the rotation control of the door mirror about the Z axis, and Fig. 7B is a side schematic diagram for explaining the rotation control of the door mirror about the Y axis. Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the control of the HUD in the vehicle accessory control device. Fig. 8 is a side schematic diagram.

In the following description, terms indicating directions such as "front," "rear," "right," "left," "up," and "down" refer to the respective directions of the vehicle when the direction of travel when the vehicle is moving forward is defined as "forward." The XYZ Cartesian coordinate system set up in Figures 7 and 8 defines the front-to-rear direction (vehicle length direction), left-to-right direction (vehicle width direction), and up-to-down direction (height direction) as the X, Y, and Z directions, and the straight lines along each of these directions as the X, Y, and Z axes.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle accessory control device Da in the first embodiment includes an input unit 1, a measurement unit 2a, a control processing unit 3a, a memory unit 4a, a seat drive unit 5, a mirror 6, a steering device 7, a head-up display (HUD) 8, and an audio device 9. Here, the vehicle accessories directly used by the vehicle occupant refer to the vehicle accessories whose settings can be changed by the occupant themselves based on their own preferences, body type, ease of operation, etc. The mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 each correspond to an example of the vehicle accessories directly used by the vehicle occupant. The same applies to the second to fourth embodiments described below.

The seat drive unit 5 is connected to the control processing unit 3a and is a device that moves the posture of the vehicle seat ST according to the control of the control processing unit 3a. The vehicle seat ST is a device used in a vehicle for an occupant to sit on, and includes, for example, a seat cushion SC that forms a seat surface, a seat back SB that is attached at its lower end (one end) to the rear end (other end) of the seat cushion SC and serves as a backrest, and a pillow-shaped headrest HR that is attached to the upper end (other end) of the seat back SB. The seat drive unit 5 is incorporated in the vehicle seat ST. In this embodiment, the seat drive unit 5 includes, for example, an electric reclining mechanism 51 that adjusts the inclination of the seat back SB, an electric slide mechanism 52 that adjusts the position (front-rear position) of the seat cushion SC in the front-rear direction, an electric lift mechanism 53 that adjusts the position (up-down position, height) of the seat cushion SC in the up-down direction, and an electric tilt mechanism 54 that adjusts the height of the front end (one end) of the seat cushion SC in the up-down direction to adjust the inclination of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC. Such motorized reclining mechanism 51, slide mechanism 52, lift mechanism 53, and tilt mechanism 54 are configured by known conventional means, and are disclosed, for example, in JP 2011-79472 A, JP 2019-172016 A, and JP 2006-218882 A. The inclination of the seat back SB is represented by the angle between a horizontal plane (e.g., the floor surface of the vehicle) with the up-down direction as its normal line and the extension direction extending approximately in the height direction of the seat back SB. The inclination of the seat surface is represented by the angle between the horizontal plane and the seat surface.

The input unit 1 is connected to the control processing unit 3a, and is a device that inputs various instructions (various commands) to the vehicle equipment control device Da, such as an instruction to move the posture of the vehicle seat ST (an instruction to adjust the posture of the vehicle seat ST) and an instruction to store the posture of the vehicle seat ST adjusted (controlled) according to the occupant's body type, and various data required to operate the vehicle equipment control device Da, such as body type information indicating the occupant's body type. The occupant's body type is represented by, for example, height, and the body type information is height in this embodiment. In this embodiment, the input unit 1 includes a first input unit 11, a second input unit 12, and a third input unit 13, as shown in Figures 1 to 3.

The first input unit 11 is a device for inputting various data such as the body type information. The first input unit 11 may be configured with a number of switches such as a numeric keypad, but in this embodiment, it is a cylindrical dial switch that can rotate around an axis and be pushed in the axial direction, and is arranged, for example, in a center console that separates the driver's seat from the passenger seat inside the vehicle. With this dial switch, by rotating the dial switch, the number displayed on the HUD 8 (or the center display (not shown)) increases or decreases depending on the direction of rotation (for example, the number increases by rotating clockwise and decreases by rotating counterclockwise), and by pushing the dial switch, the number displayed on the HUD 8 (or the center display) is confirmed and input to the vehicle accessory control device Da.

The second input unit 12 is a device for inputting instructions to change the posture of the vehicle seat ST. In this embodiment, the second input unit 12 includes, for example, a seat back switch (SB switch) 121 for inputting instructions to adjust the inclination of the seat back SB, and a seat cushion switch (SC switch) 122 for inputting instructions to adjust the front-rear position, the up-down position, and the inclination of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC, as shown in FIG. 2. The SB switch 121 and the SC switch 122 are disposed on the lower side of the vehicle seat ST so as to mimic the shape of the vehicle seat ST in a side view. The SB switch 121 is configured to tilt approximately in the front-rear direction with the lower end as the rotation axis. The SC switch 122 is configured to tilt approximately in the front-rear direction with the front and rear ends each inclining approximately in the up-down direction with the approximately central portion as the rotation axis, and is further configured to move in the front-rear direction.

The third input unit 13 is a device for inputting instructions to store the posture of the vehicle seat ST adjusted (controlled) according to the occupant's body type. In this embodiment, the third input unit 13 is provided on the lower side of the vehicle seat ST, and includes, for example, a SET switch 131 that executes a storage process to store the current posture of the vehicle seat ST in the storage unit 4a, as shown in FIG. 3, and a plurality of selection switches 132 that specify a storage area of the storage unit 4a in which the posture of the vehicle seat ST is stored. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the selection switch 132 includes two selection switches, a first and a second selection switch 132-1, 132-2.

The measuring unit 2a is a device that measures the eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST. The eye height is measured from a predetermined reference position, for example, the position of the vehicle floor surface, the position of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC, or the position of the hip point according to the posture of the vehicle seat ST. In this embodiment, the measuring unit 2a includes, for example, an eye height data acquisition unit 21 and an eye height processing unit 34a (22a). The eye height data acquisition unit 21 is connected to the control processing unit 3a and is a device that acquires predetermined data for measuring the eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST according to the control of the control processing unit 3a. In this embodiment, the eye height processing unit 34a (22a) is functionally configured in the control processing unit 3a by executing a control processing program described later, and determines the eye height of the occupant by processing the predetermined data acquired by the eye height data acquisition unit 21.

For example, the eye height data acquisition unit 21 includes a camera that generates an image of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST and a range finder that measures the distance to the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST, and is disposed, for example, next to the center display (not shown). The eye height processing unit 34a (22a) determines the eye height of the occupant based on the image of the occupant generated by the camera and the distance to the occupant measured by the range finder. The range finder, for example, transmits an infrared light pulse, receives the reflected light of the infrared light pulse reflected by the occupant, and measures the distance using the so-called TOF (Time of flight) based on the time from the transmission timing of the infrared light pulse to the reception timing of the reflected light. The eye height processing unit 34a (22a) extracts the white of the eye from a predetermined image area in the image of the occupant generated by the camera where the face of the occupant is assumed to be captured by image processing such as a white filter, and obtains the pixel position of the white of the eye, and obtains the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel from the distance to the occupant measured by the range finder and the optical characteristics (e.g., imaging magnification, etc.) of the imaging optical system of the camera, and obtains the eye height of the occupant from the actual height of the bottom end of the image generated by the camera, the pixel position of the white of the eye, and the actual length of the subject captured in the one pixel. The actual height of the bottom end of the image generated by the camera is previously obtained from the optical characteristics and imaging direction (optical axis direction) of the imaging optical system of the camera, and is stored in the storage unit 4a. The predetermined image area is previously obtained, for example, from the arrangement position of the camera, the arrangement position of the vehicle seat ST, the optical characteristics of the imaging optical system of the camera and its imaging direction, and is stored in the storage unit 4a. Alternatively, for example, the eye height data acquisition unit 21 includes a so-called stereo camera instead of the camera and the range finder. The stereo camera generates an image of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST and measures the distance to the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST. Alternatively, for example, the eye height data acquisition unit 21 includes a mark of known size and a camera that generates an image of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST and the mark. The mark is provided at a location that can be imaged by the camera even when the occupant is seated in the vehicle seat ST, for example, at a side of the headrest HR, and the camera is positioned to image the face of the occupant and the mark from an obliquely forward direction. The eye height processing unit 34a (22a) extracts the white of the eye and the mark from a specified image area in the image of the occupant generated by the camera through image processing, determines the pixel position of the white of the eye and the number of pixels in which the mark appears, determines the actual length of the subject appearing in one pixel from the number of pixels in which the mark appears and the size of the mark, and determines the eye height of the occupant from the actual height of the bottom edge of the image generated by the camera, the pixel position of the white of the eye, and the actual length of the subject appearing in one pixel.

The mirror 6 is connected to the control processing unit 3a and is configured to electrically adjust (control) the mirror surface according to the control of the control processing unit 3a. The mirror 6, which can electrically adjust the angle of the mirror surface, is configured by known conventional means and is disclosed, for example, in JP 2016-130130 A and JP 2011-102066 A.

The steering device 7 is a mechanism for steering the steering wheels, and includes a steering wheel, a steering shaft connected to the steering wheel, a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle generated in the steering shaft by the operation of the steering wheel, and a steering angle drive mechanism that applies a steering angle to the steering wheels according to the steering angle detected by the steering angle sensor. The steering shaft is connected to a control processing unit 3a and includes a tilt mechanism that electrically moves the steering wheel up and down according to the control of the control processing unit 3a, and a telescopic mechanism that is connected to the control processing unit 3a and electrically moves the steering wheel forward and backward according to the control of the control processing unit 3a. Such motorized tilt mechanism and telescopic mechanism are configured by known conventional means and are disclosed, for example, in JP 2020-19327 A and JP 2019-23050 A.

The HUD 8 is a device that is placed on the dashboard in front of the driver's seat, is connected to the control processing unit 3a, and projects and displays predetermined information, such as body type information inputted through the first input unit 11, on a transparent planar optical member such as a windshield, according to the control of the control processing unit 3a. The HUD 8 is configured using known conventional means, and is disclosed, for example, in JP 2015-161965 A and JP 2019-166886 A.

The audio device 9 is an acoustic device connected to the control processing unit 3a and controlled by the control processing unit 3a. In this embodiment, the audio device 9 has multiple speakers, and by adjusting the output timing and volume of each of the multiple speakers, it is possible to make the occupant (listener) hear sounds as if they were generated in different places (positions). Such an audio device 9 can make the occupant hear music played by multiple sound sources such as drums, electric guitars, and vocals, or music played by multiple sound sources of different instruments such as an orchestra, as if the sounds of each sound source were generated from the arrangement position of each sound source. Such an audio device 9 is configured by known conventional means and is disclosed, for example, in JP 2006-67218 A and JP 2019-80188 A. The audio device 9, under the control of the control processing unit 3a, adjusts the output timing and volume according to the position of the occupant's ears, determined from eye height, so that the occupant can hear the music appropriately according to the occupant's body type, providing the occupant with a sense of immersion and realism.

The storage unit 4a is connected to the control processing unit 3a and is a circuit that stores various predetermined programs and various predetermined data according to the control of the control processing unit 3a. The various predetermined programs include, for example, a control processing program, and the control processing program includes, for example, a control program that controls each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 9 of the vehicle equipment control device Da according to the function of each unit, a posture control program that extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 from the body type posture range correspondence information stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 41a described below, and controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST is within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the extracted posture range information, a storage processing program that reads and writes predetermined information to the storage unit 4a according to the operation of the input unit 1, an eye height processing program that processes the predetermined data acquired by the eye height data acquisition unit 21 to determine the eye height of the occupant, and an equipment control program that controls the equipment based on the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control program. The various types of predetermined data include data necessary for executing each of these programs, such as body type/posture range correspondence information and seat posture information that indicates the posture of the vehicle seat ST. Such a storage unit 4a includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) that is a non-volatile storage element and an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) that is a rewritable non-volatile storage element. The storage unit 4a also includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as a working memory for the control processing unit 3a and stores data generated during the execution of the predetermined programs. The storage unit 4a functionally includes a first correspondence information storage unit 41a and an individual posture information storage unit 42.

The first correspondence information storage unit 41a stores body type/posture range correspondence information that associates body type information with posture range information. The posture range information is information that represents the posture range of the vehicle seat ST that corresponds to the driving posture range. In this embodiment, the posture range of the vehicle seat ST is the position range of the hip point, and the position range of the hip point is set based on the ankle angle and knee angle of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST.

The range of hip point positions to achieve such an appropriate driving posture is disclosed, for example, in JP 2019-38320 A.

To achieve an appropriate driving posture, there are appropriate ranges for each of the ankle angle A, knee angle B, and hip angle C of the occupant OC when viewed from the vehicle width direction. The appropriate range for ankle angle A is, for example, 90° to 100° inclusive when the occupant only has his/her foot on the accelerator pedal and is not depressing the accelerator pedal (accelerator opening is zero). The appropriate range for knee angle B is, for example, 119° to 132° inclusive. The appropriate range for hip angle C is, for example, 90° to 110° inclusive. An appropriate driving posture is achieved within the driving posture ranges represented by each of these ranges.

When the inclination of the seat surface is fixed, the ankle angle A and knee angle B of the occupant OC are determined based on the heel point HE, knee point KN, and hip point HI, as shown in FIG. 5. The heel point HE is determined to be a single point according to the body type of the occupant OC and the position of the accelerator pedal. Since the accelerator pedal is fixed to a predetermined position according to the vehicle (model) in which the vehicle accessory control device Da is used, the heel point HE is determined to be a single point according to only the body type of the occupant OC. The hip point HI is determined according to the body type of the occupant OC and the position of the seat cushion SC. The knee point KN is determined according to the heel point HE and the hip point HI. Therefore, when the body type of the occupant OC is determined, the heel point HE, knee point KN, and hip point HI are all determined by positioning the seat cushion SC using the slide mechanism 52 and the lift mechanism 53, and thus the ankle angle A and the knee angle B are determined.

When the inclination of the seat surface is fixed, the hip angle C is determined according to the inclination of the upper body of the occupant OC, as shown in FIG. 5, and is therefore determined by determining the positioning of the seat cushion SC by the slide mechanism 52 and lift mechanism 53, and the inclination of the seat back SB by the reclining mechanism 51.

In this embodiment, the body type of the occupant OC is expressed by height as described above, and the length of the body from the hip point HI to the head side (sitting height) and the length of the body from the hip point HI to the legs side (leg length) are determined by dividing the height by a predetermined ratio. The predetermined ratio is determined in advance, for example, from the standard body type of residents in the destination country of the vehicle in which the vehicle accessory control device Da is used.

The position range R1 of the hip point HI for realizing an appropriate driving posture is the range when the inclination of the seat is fixed, and the ankle angle A and the knee angle B are within the appropriate ranges as described above. Here, the appropriate range of the ankle angle A is the first ankle angle A1 or more and the second ankle angle A2 or less (90° or more and 100° or less in the above example), and the appropriate range of the knee angle B is the first knee angle B1 or more and the second knee angle B2 or less (119° or more and 132° or less in the above example). As shown in FIG. 6, when the ankle angle A is the first ankle angle A1 and the knee angle B is the first knee angle B1, the hip point HI is the first point X1. When the ankle angle A is the first ankle angle A1 and the knee angle B is the second knee angle B2, the hip point HI is the second point X2. When the ankle angle A is the second ankle angle A2 and the knee angle B is the first knee angle B1, the hip point HI is the third point X3. When the ankle angle A is the second ankle angle A2 and the knee angle B is the second knee angle B2, the hip point HI is the fourth point X4. When the heel point HE is fixed at one point, and the ankle angle A is within the appropriate range of the first ankle angle A1 or more and the second ankle angle A2 or less, and the knee angle B is within the appropriate range of the first knee angle B1 or more and the second knee angle B2 or less, as shown in FIG. 6, the hip point HI is within the range R1 surrounded by the first point X1, the second point X2, the third point X3, and the fourth point X4. Therefore, this range R1 is the position range R1 of the hip point HI for realizing an appropriate driving posture.

In the contour of the hip point HI in the position range R1 for realizing an appropriate driving posture, strictly speaking, the line connecting the first point X1 and the second point X2 and the line connecting the third point X3 and the fourth point X4 are arcs centered on the knee point KN, and the line connecting the first point X1 and the third point X3 and the line connecting the second point X2 and the fourth point X4 are arcs centered on the lower rotation axis of the lower leg (near the heel point HE). Since this is within the range that can be approximated by a straight line, the range enclosed by the line segment connecting the first point X1 and the second point X2, the line segment connecting the second point X2 and the fourth point X4, the line segment connecting the fourth point X4 and the third point X3, and the line segment connecting the third point X3 and the first point X1 is set as the hip point HI position range R1 for realizing an appropriate driving posture.

The position range R1 of the hip point HI for achieving such an appropriate driving posture changes when the inclination of the seat changes. For this reason, multiple position ranges R1 of the hip point HI are set for multiple inclinations at predetermined angle intervals within the changeable inclination range of the seat.

The position range R1 of the hip point HI for achieving an appropriate driving posture may vary depending on the vehicle model, body type, etc., and may be a single point or may not exist at all.

The posture range information representing the position range R1 of the hip point HI as the posture range of the vehicle seat ST is associated with the height as the physical build information, and is stored in advance in the first correspondence information storage unit 41a as the body type posture range correspondence information. More specifically, the posture range information may be expressed as a coordinate value representing the position range R1 of the hip point HI in the coordinates set in the vehicle seat ST, but in this embodiment, it is expressed as the range of the drive amount of the reclining mechanism 51 (tilt movable range, reclining range), the range of the drive amount of the sliding mechanism 52 (forward and backward position movable range, sliding range), the range of the drive amount of the lift mechanism 53 (upward and downward position movable range, lift range), and the range of the drive amount of the tilt mechanism 54 (tilt movable range, tilt range) that are within the position range R1 of the hip point HI. The drive amounts of the reclining mechanism 51, the sliding mechanism 52, the lift mechanism 53, and the tilt mechanism 54 are expressed based on one of the boundary values (upper limit value or lower limit value) in each movable range. In this embodiment, the body type/posture range correspondence information is stored in table format in the first correspondence information storage unit 41a.

The body type/posture range correspondence information table 411a for registering the body type/posture range correspondence information includes, for example, a body type information field 4111 for registering body type information, and a posture range information field 4112 for registering posture range information corresponding to the body type information registered in the body type information field 4111, as shown in FIG. 4, and has a record for each body type information. In this embodiment, the body type information field 4111 registers height, and the posture range information field 4112 registers a reclining range, a sliding range, a lift range, and a tilt range. Therefore, the posture range information field 4112 includes a reclining range information subfield 41121 for registering the reclining range of the reclining mechanism 51, a sliding range information subfield 41122 for registering the sliding range of the sliding mechanism 52, a lift range information subfield 41123 for registering the lift range of the lift mechanism 53, and a tilt range information subfield 41124 for registering the tilt range of the tilt mechanism 54.

The individual posture information storage unit 42 stores seat posture information representing the posture of the vehicle seat ST. In this embodiment, in order to store two pieces of seat posture information in response to the third input unit 13 being provided with two first and second selection switches 132-1 and 132-2, the individual posture information storage unit 42 is provided with a first storage area for storing seat posture information when the first selection switch 132-1 is operated, and a second storage area for storing seat posture information when the second selection switch 132-1 is operated. The seat posture information may be expressed by the angle of inclination of the seat back SB, as well as the front-rear position, up-down position (height) and inclination angle of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC, but from the same viewpoint as the posture range information, in this embodiment, it is expressed by the drive amount of the reclining mechanism 51, the drive amount of the sliding mechanism 52, the drive amount of the lift mechanism 53 and the drive amount of the tilt mechanism 54.

The control processing unit 3a is a circuit for controlling each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 9 of the vehicle accessory control device Da according to the function of each unit, controlling the posture of the vehicle seat ST so that an appropriate driving posture can be realized, and controlling the vehicle accessories directly used by the occupant according to the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST controlled to realize the appropriate driving posture. The control processing unit 3a is configured, for example, with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral circuits. In the control processing unit 3a, the control unit 31, posture control unit 32, memory processing unit 33, eye height processing unit 34a (22a), and accessory control unit 35 are functionally configured by executing the control processing program.

The control unit 31 controls each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 9 of the vehicle equipment control device Da according to the function of each unit, and is responsible for controlling the entire vehicle equipment control device Da.

As described above, the eye height processing unit 34a (22a) determines the eye height of the occupant by processing the specified data acquired by the eye height data acquisition unit 21.

The posture control unit 32 controls the seat drive unit 5 to adjust (control) the posture of the vehicle seat ST by moving the posture of the vehicle seat ST.

In the automatic adjustment of the posture of the vehicle seat ST, the posture control unit 32 extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 from the body type posture range correspondence information table 411a stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 41a, and controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST is within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the extracted posture range information. In this embodiment, the posture control unit 32 determines a specific posture of the vehicle seat ST within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST based on the eye height measured by the measurement unit 2a, and controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST becomes the posture of the determined vehicle seat ST. When an instruction to manually adjust the posture of the vehicle seat ST is input to the second input unit 12, the posture control unit 32 controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST becomes the posture of the vehicle seat ST according to the instruction within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the extracted posture range information.

In manual adjustment of the posture of the vehicle seat ST, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the SB switch 121 is tilted forward, the posture control unit 32 controls the reclining mechanism 51 to tilt the seat back SB forward while the SB switch 121 is tilted forward and gradually reduce the inclination of the seat back SB, and when the SB switch 121 returns (returns to the original neutral position), the posture control unit 32 stops the reclining mechanism 51. The seat back SB maintains its posture at that inclination. On the other hand, when the SB switch 121 is tilted backward, the posture control unit 32 controls the reclining mechanism 51 to tilt the seat back SB backward and gradually increase the inclination of the seat back SB while the SB switch 121 is tilted backward, and when the SB switch 121 returns, the posture control unit 32 stops the reclining mechanism 51. The seat back SB maintains its posture at that inclination. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the SC switch 122 is moved forward, the posture control unit 32 controls the slide mechanism 52 to gradually move the seat cushion SC forward while the SC switch 122 is located forward. When the SC switch 122 returns, the posture control unit 32 stops the slide mechanism 52. The seat cushion SC maintains its posture at its front-rear position. On the other hand, when the SC switch 122 is moved rearward, the posture control unit 32 controls the slide mechanism 52 to gradually move the seat cushion SC rearward while the SC switch 122 is located rearward. When the SC switch 122 returns, the posture control unit 32 stops the slide mechanism 52. The seat cushion SC maintains its posture at its front-rear position. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the rear end of the SC switch 122 is tilted upward, the posture control unit 32 controls the lift mechanism 53 to gradually lift the seat cushion SC while the SC switch 122 is tilted upward, and when the SC switch 122 returns (returns to the original neutral position), the posture control unit 32 stops the lift mechanism 53. The seat cushion SC maintains its posture at the up-down position (height). On the other hand, when the rear end of the SC switch 122 is tilted downward, the posture control unit 32 controls the lift mechanism 53 to gradually lower the seat cushion SC while the SC switch 122 is tilted downward, and when the SC switch 122 returns to its original position, the posture control unit 32 stops the lift mechanism 53. The seat cushion SC maintains its posture at the up-down position. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the front end of the SC switch 122 is tilted upward, the posture control unit 32 controls the tilt mechanism 54 to gradually raise the front end of the seat cushion SC while the SC switch 122 is tilted upward, and when the SC switch 122 returns to its original position, the posture control unit 32 stops the tilt mechanism 54. The seat cushion SC maintains its posture at the inclination of its seat surface. On the other hand, when the front end of the SC switch 122 is tilted downward, the posture control unit 32 controls the tilt mechanism 54 to gradually lower the front end of the seat cushion SC while the SC switch 122 is tilted downward, and when the SC switch 122 returns to its original position, the posture control unit 32 stops the tilt mechanism 54. The seat cushion SC maintains its posture with the inclination of its seat surface.

Here, in normal manual adjustment, the posture of the vehicle seat ST can be adjusted over the entire movable range of each of the reclining mechanism 51, the slide mechanism 52, the lift mechanism 53, and the tilt mechanism 54 by operating the SB switch 121 and the SC switch 122. On the other hand, in manual adjustment after the above-mentioned automatic adjustment, the posture of the vehicle seat ST can be adjusted within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the extracted posture range information, as described above, by operating the SB switch 121 and the SC switch 122 (i.e., the posture of the vehicle seat ST cannot be adjusted beyond the lower limit value and the upper limit value of the posture range, and the posture of the vehicle seat ST is limited to the lower limit value or the upper limit value of the posture range).

The memory processing unit 33 reads and writes predetermined information from and to the memory unit 4a in accordance with the operation of the input unit 1. More specifically, the memory processing unit 33 stores the current posture of the vehicle seat ST in the individual posture information storage unit 42 of the storage unit 4 in accordance with the operation of the third input unit 13. When the first selection switch 132-1 is operated, the memory processing unit 33 accepts (prepares) the first storage area of the individual posture information storage unit 42 as a storage area for storing the posture of the vehicle seat ST, and then, when the SET switch 131 is operated, the memory processing unit 33 stores seat posture information representing the current posture of the vehicle seat ST in the first storage area of the individual posture information storage unit 42. When the second selection switch 132-2 is operated, the memory processing unit 33 accepts the second storage area of the individual posture information storage unit 42 as a storage area for storing the posture of the vehicle seat ST, and then, when the SET switch 131 is operated, the memory processing unit 33 stores seat posture information representing the current posture of the vehicle seat ST in the second storage area of the individual posture information storage unit 42.

In this embodiment, the first and second selection switches 132-1 and 132-2 also function as switches that read out the seat attitude information stored in the individual attitude information storage unit 42 and move the attitude of the vehicle seat ST. In this case, the operation of the first and second selection switches 132-1 and 132-2 when reading out is different from the operation of the first and second selection switches 132-1 and 132-2 when storing as described above. For example, the operation of the first and second selection switches 132-1 and 132-2 when storing as described above is an operation of pressing only once, and the operation of the first and second selection switches 132-1 and 132-2 when reading out is an operation of pressing twice consecutively. When the first selection switch 132-1 is pressed twice consecutively, the storage processing unit 33 reads out the seat attitude information stored in the first storage area of the individual attitude information storage unit 42, and the attitude control unit 32 controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the attitude of the vehicle seat ST becomes the attitude of the vehicle seat ST represented by the read-out seat attitude information. Similarly, when the second selection switch 132-2 is pressed twice in succession, the memory processing unit 33 reads out the seat attitude information stored in the second storage area of the individual attitude information storage unit 42, and the attitude control unit 32 controls the seat driving unit 5 so that the attitude of the vehicle seat ST becomes the attitude of the vehicle seat ST represented by the read-out seat attitude information. In the above description, both switches are used, but a separate switch dedicated to reading out the seat attitude information stored in the individual attitude information storage unit 42 and moving the attitude of the vehicle seat ST may be provided.

The equipment control unit 35a controls the equipment, in this embodiment, the mirror 6, the steering device 7, the HUD 8 and the audio device 9, based on the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32. In the first embodiment, the equipment control unit 35a determines at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment for the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit 32 from the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part determined. More specifically, the equipment control unit 35a determines the position of a specific body part according to the posture of the specific vehicle seat determined by the posture control unit 32 within the position range of the body part determined, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position of the specific body part determined and the size of the body part determined.

For example, if the equipment is the mirror 6 and the HUD 8, when the occupant directly uses them, the way the occupant sees them changes depending on the fore-aft position (second fore-aft position) and height of the occupant's eyes, so at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment is the second fore-aft position and height of the occupant's eyes. Therefore, the equipment control unit 35a determines the second fore-aft position range and height range of the eyes of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit 32 from the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32, and controls the mirror 6 and the HUD 8 based on the determined second fore-aft position range and height range of the eyes of the occupant. More specifically, the accessory control unit 35a determines a specific second front-rear position and height of the occupant's eyes according to the posture of the specific vehicle seat determined by the posture control unit 32 within the determined second front-rear position range and height range of the occupant's eyes, and controls the mirror 6 and the HUD 8 based on the determined specific second front-rear position and height. In the calculation of the second front-rear position range and height of the occupant's eyes, in this embodiment, first and second arithmetic expressions (first and second function expressions) for determining the second front-rear position and height are determined in advance from the inclination of the seat back SB, the position of the hip point HI, the body type information input to the first input unit 11, and the standard body type, and are stored in the storage unit 4a, and the accessory control unit 35a determines the second front-rear position range and height range of the occupant's eyes from the inclination of the seat back SB, the position range R1 of the hip point HI, the body type information input to the first input unit 11, the standard body type, and the first and second arithmetic expressions. When the eye height data acquisition unit 21 measures distance, the eye height data acquisition unit 21 may also measure a second front-rear position of the eye.

When the mirror 6, in this embodiment, the door mirror 6, is controlled to enable the rear of the vehicle to be seen, in the rotation about the Z axis, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes moves from the first position PS1 to the second position PS2 at the rear, the door mirror 6 is controlled to open more outward than the mirror surface when the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes is in the first position PS1, as the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes moves further rearward, and in the rotation about the Y axis, as shown in FIG. 7B, the door mirror 6 is controlled to face more downward than the mirror surface when the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes is in the first position PS1, as the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes moves further rearward, and in the case where the height of the occupant's eyes moves from the first position PS1 to the third position PS3 at the top, the door mirror 6 is controlled to face more upward than the mirror surface when the height of the occupant's eyes is in the first position PS1, as the height of the occupant's eyes moves upward (higher).

On the other hand, when the HUD8 is controlled, in order to make the virtual image (display surface) formed by the HUP8 visible, as shown in FIG. 8, when the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes moves from the first position PS1 to the rear second position PS2, the HUD8 is controlled to raise the HUD8 higher than the position at which the virtual image is formed when the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes is at the first position PS1, the further rearward the second front-rear position of the occupant's eyes moves, and when the height of the occupant's eyes moves from the first position PS1 to the upward third position PS3, the HUD8 is controlled to lower the HUD8 lower than the position at which the virtual image is formed when the height of the occupant's eyes is at the first position PS1, the further upward (higher) the height of the occupant's eyes moves.

For example, when the equipment is a steering device 7, the way in which the occupant holds the steering wheel SH (the front-rear and up-down positions of the steering wheel SH) changes depending on the size (dimensions, length) of the occupant's upper limbs and the front-rear position and height of the base of the upper limbs (the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulders), so at least one of the position ranges and sizes of the body parts involved in controlling the equipment is the third front-rear position and second height of the occupant's shoulders and the size of the upper limbs. For this reason, the equipment control unit 35a determines the third front-rear position range and second height range of the shoulders of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit 32 from the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32, and controls the steering device 7 based on the determined third front-rear position range and height range of the shoulders of the occupant and the size of the upper limbs. More specifically, the equipment control unit 35a determines a third fore-aft position and a second height of the occupant's shoulders and a size of the upper arms that correspond to the posture of the specific vehicle seat determined by the posture control unit 32 from within the third fore-aft position range and height range of the occupant's shoulders and the size of the upper arms found above, and controls the telescopic mechanism and the tilt mechanism in the steering device 7 based on the determined specific third fore-aft position and second height and the size of the upper arms. In the present embodiment, in the calculation of the third front-rear position range and the second height of the occupant's shoulder, third and fourth arithmetic expressions (third and fourth function expressions) for calculating the third front-rear position and the second height, respectively, are preliminarily calculated from the inclination of the seat back SB, the position of the hip point HI, the body type information input to the first input unit 11, and the standard body type, and are stored in the storage unit 4a, and the accessory control unit 35a calculates the third front-rear position range and the second height range of the occupant's shoulder from the inclination of the seat back SB, the position range R1 of the hip point HI, the body type information input to the first input unit 11, the standard body type, and the third and fourth arithmetic expressions. A fifth arithmetic expression (fifth function expression) for calculating the size of the upper limbs from the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the standard body type is preliminarily calculated and stored in the storage unit 4a, and the accessory control unit 35a calculates the size of the upper limbs of the occupant from the body type information input to the first input unit 11, the standard body type, and the fifth arithmetic expression. In order to allow the occupant to properly grip the steering wheel SH, when the third front-rear position of the occupant's shoulder moves from the fourth position to the fifth position, the telescopic mechanism of the steering device 7 is controlled so that the further the third front-rear position of the occupant's shoulder moves backward, the further the third front-rear position of the occupant's shoulder moves backward than the position of the steering wheel SH at the fourth position, which is determined by the size of the occupant's upper limbs. When the second height of the occupant's shoulder moves from the fourth position to the sixth position, the tilt mechanism of the steering device 7 is controlled so that the further the second height of the occupant's shoulder moves upward (the higher the second height of the occupant's shoulder moves), the greater the position of the steering wheel SH is raised above the position when the height of the occupant's shoulder is at the fourth position. In the above description, the third front-rear position and the second height of the shoulder are used, but since the third front-rear position and the second height of the shoulder can be obtained from the second front-rear position and the height of the eyes, the second front-rear position and the height of the eyes may be used instead of the third front-rear position and the second height of the shoulder.

For example, when the equipment is an audio device 9, when the occupant directly uses the equipment, it is necessary to adjust the output timing and volume of each of the multiple speakers according to the position and height of the occupant's ear in the fore-and-aft direction (the fourth fore-and-aft position and the third height of the ear), so at least one of the position ranges and sizes of the body parts related to the control of the equipment is the fourth fore-and-aft position and the third height of the occupant's ear. For this reason, the equipment control unit 35a determines the fourth fore-and-aft position range and the third height range of the ear of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit 32 from the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32, and controls the audio device 9 based on the determined fourth fore-and-aft position range and the third height range of the occupant's ear. More specifically, the accessory control unit 35a determines a specific fourth front-rear position and third height of the occupant's ear in accordance with the specific vehicle seat posture determined by the posture control unit 32 within the determined fourth front-rear position range and third height range of the occupant's ear, and controls the audio device 9 based on the determined specific fourth front-rear position and third height. In the calculation of the fourth front-rear position range and third height of the occupant's ear, in this embodiment, sixth and seventh arithmetic expressions (sixth and seventh function expressions) for determining the fourth front-rear position and third height, respectively, are determined in advance from the inclination of the seat back SB, the position of the hip point HI, the body type information input to the first input unit 11, and the standard body type, and are stored in the storage unit 4a. The accessory control unit 35a determines the fourth front-rear position range and third height range of the occupant's ear from the inclination of the seat back SB, the position range R1 of the hip point HI, the body type information input to the first input unit 11, the standard body type, and the sixth and seventh arithmetic expressions. In the above description, the fourth anterior-posterior position and third height of the ear are used, but since the fourth anterior-posterior position and third height of the ear can be determined from the second anterior-posterior position and height of the eye, the second anterior-posterior position and height of the eye may be used instead of the fourth anterior-posterior position and third height of the ear.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. Figure 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle accessory control device with respect to the posture control of the vehicle seat and the control of the accessories.

When the vehicle starts to operate, the vehicle accessory control device Da initializes the necessary parts and starts its operation. By executing the control processing program, the control processing unit 3a is functionally configured with a control unit 31, a posture control unit 32, a memory processing unit 33, an eye height processing unit 34a (22a), and an accessory control unit 35a. Then, for example, in response to the start of operation of the vehicle or the operation of a switch (not shown) that inputs an instruction to start automatic adjustment of the driving posture, the following operations related to the posture control of the vehicle seat and the control of the accessories are started, and the occupant sits in the vehicle seat ST and inputs his/her height as body type information from the first input unit 11 of the input unit 1.

In FIG. 9, the vehicle equipment control device Da acquires height as body type information input to the first input unit 11 by the control processing unit 3a (S1).

Next, the vehicle equipment control device Da extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 from the body type posture range correspondence information stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 41a by the posture control unit 32 of the control processing unit 3a (S2). More specifically, in this embodiment, the posture control unit 32 refers to the body type information field 4111 of the body type posture range correspondence information table 411a stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 41a, selects (searches) a record in the body type information field 4111 that registers the height input to the first input unit 11, and extracts the reclining range, sliding range, lift range, and tilt range registered in the reclining range information subfield 41121, sliding range information subfield 41122, lift range information subfield 41123, and tilt range information subfield 41124 of the posture range information field 4112 in the selected record.

Next, the vehicle equipment control device Da provisionally sets the posture of the vehicle seat ST within each of the reclining range, sliding range, lift range, and tilt range extracted in process S2 by the posture control unit 32 (S3). For example, the posture control unit 32 provisionally sets the posture of the vehicle seat ST at the median of each of the reclining range, sliding range, lift range, and tilt range. Note that in this embodiment, the posture control unit 32 only provisionally sets the posture of the vehicle seat ST and does not move the posture of the vehicle seat ST by the seat drive unit 5, but the posture of the vehicle seat ST may be moved by the seat drive unit 5 so that it becomes the provisionally set posture of the vehicle seat ST.

Next, the vehicle equipment control device Da measures the occupant's eye height using the measurement unit 2a (S4).

Next, the vehicle equipment control device Da sets the posture of the vehicle seat ST provisionally set to the posture of a specific vehicle seat ST by the posture control unit 32 (S5). More specifically, the posture control unit 32 determines the posture of the specific vehicle seat ST within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted in process S2 by correcting the posture of the vehicle seat ST provisionally set in process S3 within each range of the reclining range, sliding range, lift range, and tilt range extracted in process S2 (within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted in process S2) based on the eye height measured by the measurement unit 2a (S5).

For example, first, the seat height and leg length (assumed leg length) assuming that the occupant has a standard body type are calculated from the height and the ratio in the case of a standard body type input to the first input unit 11. Next, the seat height of the occupant is calculated from the eye height measured by the measuring unit 2a, and the actual leg length (actual leg length) of the occupant is calculated from the seat height and the height input to the first input unit 11. If the actual leg length is shorter than the assumed leg length, the provisionally set posture of the vehicle seat ST is corrected to a posture in the direction of the shorter height, for example, a posture shifted by a first predetermined value, within each range of the reclining range, sliding range, lift range, and tilt range extracted in process S2 (within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted in process S2), and if the actual leg length is longer than the assumed leg length, the provisionally set posture of the vehicle seat ST is corrected to a posture in the direction of the taller height, for example, a posture shifted by a second predetermined value, within each range. The posture in the direction of the shorter height is a posture within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted in process S2 that overlaps with the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information corresponding to a height shorter than the height input to the first input unit 11. The posture in the direction of the taller height is a posture within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted in process S2 that overlaps with the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information corresponding to a height higher than the height input to the first input unit 11. The first and second predetermined values may be the same value or different values, and may be set according to the difference between the actual foot length and the assumed foot length.

Next, the vehicle accessory control device Da controls the seat drive unit 5 by the posture control unit 32 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST becomes the posture of the specific vehicle seat ST set in process S5 (S6). As a result, the vehicle seat ST becomes the posture of the vehicle seat ST that realizes an appropriate driving posture according to the seated occupant.

Next, the vehicle equipment control device Da determines, by the equipment control unit 35a, at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment for the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose attitude is controlled by the attitude control unit 32 from the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the attitude range of the vehicle seat represented by the attitude range information extracted by the attitude control unit 32, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the determined position range and size of the body part (S7a). More specifically, the equipment control unit 35a determines the position of a specific body part according to the specific vehicle seat attitude determined by the attitude control unit 32 within the determined position range of the body part, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the determined position of the specific body part and the determined size of the body part. In this embodiment, the mirror 6, the steering device 7, the HUD 8, and the audio device 9 are each controlled. Of course, the audio device 9 is controlled when it is being used.

Next, the vehicle accessory control device Da processes the manual adjustment of the posture of the vehicle seat ST by the control processing unit 3a (S8). In this process S8, the posture of the vehicle seat ST is adjusted within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted in process S2. That is, the inclination of the seat back SB by the operation of the SB switch 121 is limited to within the reclining range extracted in process S2, the front-rear position of the seat cushion SC by the operation of the SC switch 122 is limited to within the slide range extracted in process S2, the up-down position of the seat cushion SC by the operation of the SC switch 122 is limited to within the lift range extracted in process S2, and the inclination of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC by the operation of the SC switch 122 is limited to within the tilt range extracted in process S2. More specifically, for example, after executing process S7a, the control processing unit 3a determines whether or not the second input unit 12 has been operated within a preset predetermined time, and if the result of this determination is that the second input unit 12 has not been operated within the predetermined time, process S8 is terminated. If the result of the determination is that the second input unit 12 has been operated within the predetermined time, the control processing unit 3a controls the seat drive unit 5 according to the operation of the second input unit 12 under the restrictions using the posture control unit 32, and after this control is terminated, determines whether or not the second input unit 12 has been operated within the predetermined time, and subsequently executes the same process.

Next, the vehicle equipment control device Da controls the equipment using the equipment control unit 35a in accordance with the processing result of process S8 (S9), and ends this process. More specifically, for example, if the attitude of the vehicle seat ST is manually adjusted in process S8, the equipment control unit 35a controls the equipment in accordance with the attitude of the vehicle seat ST after the manual adjustment, and ends this process. On the other hand, if the attitude of the vehicle seat ST is not manually adjusted in process S8, the equipment control unit 35a does not control the equipment (in the state after process S7a) and ends this process.

The occupant operates the third input unit 13 as necessary. For example, the occupant operates the first selection switch 132-1 and then the SET switch 131. When the first selection switch 132-1 is operated, the memory processing unit 33 accepts the first storage area of the individual posture information storage unit 42 as a storage area for storing the posture of the vehicle seat ST, and when the SET switch 131 is subsequently operated, the memory processing unit 33 stores seat posture information representing the current posture of the vehicle seat ST in the first storage area of the individual posture information storage unit 42. As a result, the posture of the vehicle seat ST that realizes a driving posture suitable for the occupant is stored in the individual posture information storage unit 42. When the occupant gets in, the posture of the vehicle seat ST that realizes a driving posture suitable for the occupant can be reproduced.

As described above, the vehicle accessory control device Da in the first embodiment and the vehicle accessory control method implemented therein store body type posture range correspondence information in advance, extract posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 from this body type posture range correspondence information, and control the seat drive unit 5 that moves the posture of the vehicle seat ST so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST is within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, thereby automatically achieving an appropriate driving posture according to the occupant's body type. The vehicle accessory control device Da controls the equipment, which in this embodiment is the mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8 and audio device 9, based on the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the extracted posture range information, and automatically adjusts the vehicle equipment according to the automatically achieved appropriate driving posture, thereby reducing the occupant's effort.

Seat height and leg length differ from person to person, and driving posture depends on seat height and leg length. The vehicle accessory control device Da and vehicle accessory control method measure eye height and determine the posture of a specific vehicle seat ST within the posture range of the vehicle seat ST based on this measured eye height, so that a driving posture according to the seat height and leg length of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST can be realized, and vehicle accessories can be automatically adjusted according to this driving posture.

The vehicle accessory control device Da and the vehicle accessory control method determine at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the accessory for an occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled, and control the accessory based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part determined, so that the accessory can be automatically controlled more appropriately according to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled.

According to this embodiment, a vehicle accessory control device Da and a vehicle accessory control method can be provided in which the position range R1 of the hip point HI defines the posture range of the vehicle seat ST.

Next, another embodiment will be described.
Second Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the vehicle equipment control device Da determines the position range and size of a body part using a predetermined calculation formula, while the vehicle equipment control device Db in the second embodiment determines the position range and size of a body part using predetermined corresponding information.

The vehicle equipment control device Db in the second embodiment includes, for example, an input unit 1, a measurement unit 2b, a control processing unit 3b, a memory unit 4b, a seat drive unit 5, a mirror 6, a steering device 7, a HUD 8, and an audio device 9, as shown in FIG. 1. The input unit 1, measurement unit 2b, seat drive unit 5, mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 in the vehicle equipment control device Db in the second embodiment are similar to the input unit 1, measurement unit 2a, seat drive unit 5, mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 in the vehicle equipment control device Da in the first embodiment, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

Figure 10 shows a body part correspondence information table (body type posture range correspondence information table) stored in the vehicle equipment control device in the second embodiment.

The memory unit 4b is connected to the control processing unit 3b and is a circuit that stores various predetermined programs and various predetermined data according to the control of the control processing unit 3b. This memory unit 4b is similar to the memory unit 4a except that it functionally includes a first correspondence information storage unit 41b instead of the first correspondence information storage unit 41a of the memory unit 4a, so a description of it will be omitted.

The first correspondence information storage unit 41b stores body part correspondence information. The body part correspondence information is information that associates the body type information, the posture range information, and body part information that represents at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment. As described above, the body type posture range correspondence information is also information that associates the body type information and the posture range information, so it includes the body part correspondence information and also functions as the body part correspondence information. In other words, the first correspondence information storage unit 41b also functions as the first correspondence information storage unit 41a. Such a first correspondence information storage unit 41b corresponds to an example of a second correspondence information storage unit that stores body part correspondence information that associates the body type information, the posture range information, and body part information that represents at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment.

The body part correspondence information table (body type posture range correspondence information table) 411b, which registers this body part correspondence information, includes, for example, a body type information field 4111, a posture range information field 4112, and a body part information field 4113, which registers body part information corresponding to the body type information and posture range information registered in the body type information field 4111 and posture range information field 4112, respectively, as shown in FIG. 10, and has a record for each body type information.

In the example shown in FIG. 10, for convenience, a numerical range (e.g. Bad to Bau) is registered in the body part information field 4113 assuming the position range of a body part, but in the case of the size of a body part, a single numerical value is registered. In this embodiment, the position range and size of a body part are used to control the mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9, so the position range and size of a body part are registered in the body part information field 4113.

The control processing unit 3b is a circuit that controls each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 9 of the vehicle equipment control device Db according to the function of each unit, controls the posture of the vehicle seat ST so that an appropriate driving posture can be achieved, and controls the vehicle equipment directly used by the occupant in accordance with the occupant seated in the vehicle seat controlled to achieve the appropriate driving posture. This control processing unit 3b is similar to the control processing unit 3a except that it is functionally equipped with an equipment control unit 35b instead of the equipment control unit 35a of the control processing unit 3a, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The equipment control unit 35b controls the equipment, in this embodiment the mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8 and audio device 9, based on the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32. In the second embodiment, the equipment control unit 35b extracts body part information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32 from the body part correspondence information table 411b stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 41b, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the body part correspondence information associates each posture in the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information with each position in the position range of the body part represented by the body part information. The accessory control unit 35b then determines the position of a specific body part corresponding to the specific posture of the vehicle seat determined by the posture control unit 32 within the position range of the body part represented by the extracted body part information, and controls the accessory based on at least one of the determined position of the specific body part and the size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information.

The vehicle equipment control device Db in the second embodiment sequentially executes processes S1 to S6, S7b, S8, and S9 with respect to the posture control of the vehicle seat ST and the control of the equipment, for example, as shown in FIG. 9. Processes S1 to S6, S8, and S9 in the vehicle equipment control device Db of the second embodiment are similar to processes S1 to S6, S8, and S9 in the vehicle equipment control device Da of the first embodiment, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

In this process S7b, the vehicle equipment control device Db extracts body part information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32 from the body part correspondence information table 411b stored in the first correspondence information storage unit 41b by the equipment control unit 35b, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information. More specifically, the equipment control unit 35b determines the position of a specific body part corresponding to the posture of the specific vehicle seat ST determined by the posture control unit 32 within the position range of the body part represented by the extracted body part information, and controls the equipment based on at least one of the position of the specific body part determined and the size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information. More specifically, in this embodiment, the accessory control unit 35b selects and extracts the position of the body part corresponding to the specific vehicle seat ST posture set in process S5 from each position in the body part position range associated with each posture in the vehicle seat posture range in the body part information registered in the body part information field 4113 of the record selected in process S2, and controls the accessory based on at least one of the extracted body part position and the body part size registered in the body part information field 4113 of the record selected in process S2.

The vehicle equipment control device Db in the second embodiment and the vehicle equipment control method implemented therein store body part correspondence information, so that at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled for the vehicle seat ST can be obtained without calculation, and the equipment is controlled based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part according to this body part correspondence information, so that the equipment can be automatically controlled more appropriately according to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled for the vehicle seat ST.

Next, another embodiment will be described.
Third Embodiment
In the first embodiment, the vehicle equipment control device Da determines the position range and size of a body part using a predetermined calculation formula, but the vehicle equipment control device Dc in the third embodiment determines the position and size of a body part by measuring it.

As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle equipment control device Dc in the third embodiment includes an input unit 1, a measurement unit 2c, a control processing unit 3c, a memory unit 4c, a seat drive unit 5, a mirror 6, a steering device 7, a HUD 8, and an audio device 9. The input unit 1, memory unit 4c, seat drive unit 5, mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 in the vehicle equipment control device Dc in the third embodiment are similar to the input unit 1, memory unit 4a, seat drive unit 5, mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 in the vehicle equipment control device Da in the first embodiment, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

The measurement unit 2c is connected to the control processing unit 3c and is a device that measures at least one of the position and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit 32 according to the control of the control processing unit 3c. In this embodiment, the measurement unit 2c measures the second front-rear position and height of the eyes of the occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST, and obtains the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulders and the fourth front-rear position and third height of the ears of the occupant based on the measured second front-rear position and height of the eyes. More specifically, the measurement unit 2c includes an eye height data acquisition unit 21 and an eye height processing unit 34c (22c) functionally configured in the control processing unit 3c. The eye height data acquisition unit 21 of the measurement unit 2c is similar to the eye height data acquisition unit 21 of the measurement unit 2a having the function of measuring distance, so its description will be omitted. The eye height processing unit 34c (22c) of the measurement unit 2c calculates the eye height in the same manner as the eye height processing unit 34a (22a) of the measurement unit 2a, and further calculates the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulder and the fourth front-rear position and third height of the ear of the occupant based on the second front-rear position of the eye measured by the eye height data acquisition unit 21 and the calculated eye height. For example, an eighth arithmetic expression or a correspondence table that corresponds the second front-rear position and height of the eye to the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulder and the fourth front-rear position and third height of the ear is calculated in advance by considering a standard body type and stored in the storage unit 4c, and the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulder and the fourth front-rear position and third height of the ear of the occupant are calculated using this eighth arithmetic expression or correspondence table. The size of the upper limbs may be calculated by considering the standard body type based on the body type information (height in this example) input to the first input unit 11, or the size of the upper limbs may be further correlated to the eighth arithmetic expression or correspondence table, and the size of the upper limbs may be calculated using the eighth arithmetic expression or correspondence table.

In the above description, the measurement unit 2c determines the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulder and the fourth front-rear position and third height of the ear based on the second front-rear position and height of the eye, but the third front-rear position and second height of the shoulder and the fourth front-rear position and third height of the ear may also be measured. For example, the ear position and shoulder position are determined by image processing from an image of the occupant, the second shoulder height and the third ear height are determined by information processing from the determined ear position and shoulder position, and the third front-rear position of the shoulder and the fourth front-rear position of the ear are determined by a range finder.

The control processing unit 3c is a circuit that controls each of the units 1, 2, 4-9 of the vehicle equipment control device Dc according to the function of each unit, controls the posture of the vehicle seat ST so that an appropriate driving posture can be achieved, and controls the vehicle equipment directly used by the occupant in accordance with the occupant seated in the vehicle seat controlled to achieve the appropriate driving posture. This control processing unit 3b is similar to the control processing unit 3a except that it functionally includes an eye height processing unit 34c (22c) and an equipment control unit 35c instead of the eye height processing unit 34a (22a) and equipment control unit 35a in the control processing unit 3a, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

The equipment control unit 35c controls the equipment, which in this embodiment are the mirror 6, the steering device 7, the HUD 8, and the audio device 9, based on the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32. In the third embodiment, the equipment control unit 35c controls the equipment based on at least one of the position and size of the body part measured by the measurement unit 2c.

The vehicle equipment control device Dc in the third embodiment sequentially executes processes S1 to S6, S7c, S8, and S9 with respect to the posture control of the vehicle seat ST and the control of the equipment, for example, as shown in FIG. 9. Processes S1 to S6, S8, and S9 in the vehicle equipment control device Dc of the third embodiment are similar to processes S1 to S6, S8, and S9 in the vehicle equipment control device Da of the first embodiment, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

In this process S7c, the vehicle equipment control device Dc uses the measurement unit 2c to measure at least one of the positions and sizes of the body parts related to the control of the equipment of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat ST whose attitude is controlled by the attitude control unit 32, and controls the equipment using the equipment control unit 35c based on at least one of the positions and sizes of the body parts measured by the measurement unit 2c.

The vehicle equipment control device Dc in the third embodiment and the vehicle equipment control method implemented therein are equipped with a measurement unit 2c, so that it is possible to actually measure at least one of the position range and size of the body part related to the control of the equipment of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled for the vehicle seat ST, and the equipment is controlled based on at least one of the position range and size of the body part obtained by this actual measurement, so that the equipment can be automatically controlled more appropriately according to the occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled for the vehicle seat ST.

Next, another embodiment will be described.
Fourth Embodiment
The vehicle equipment control device Da in the first embodiment determines the position range and size of a body part using a predetermined calculation formula, while the vehicle equipment control device Dd in the fourth embodiment determines the control amount of an equipment corresponding to the position range and size of a body part using predetermined corresponding information.

1, the vehicle equipment control device Dd in the fourth embodiment includes an input unit 1, a measurement unit 2d, a control processing unit 3d, a memory unit 4d, a seat drive unit 5, a mirror 6, a steering device 7, a HUD 8, and an audio device 9. The input unit 1, measurement unit 2d, seat drive unit 5, mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 in the vehicle equipment control device Dd in the fourth embodiment are similar to the input unit 1, measurement unit 2a, seat drive unit 5, mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 in the vehicle equipment control device Da in the first embodiment, respectively, and therefore description thereof will be omitted.

Figure 11 shows an equipment control amount information table (body shape posture range correspondence information table) stored in the vehicle equipment control device in the fourth embodiment.

The memory unit 4d is connected to the control processing unit 3d and is a circuit that stores various predetermined programs and various predetermined data according to the control of the control processing unit 3d. This memory unit 4d is similar to the memory unit 4a except that it functionally includes a third correspondence information storage unit 41d instead of the first correspondence information storage unit 41a of the memory unit 4a, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

The third correspondence information storage unit 41d stores equipment control amount correspondence information. The equipment control correspondence information is information that associates the body type information, the posture range information, and equipment control amount information that indicates the control amount range for the equipment. As described above, the equipment control amount correspondence information is also information that associates the body type information and the posture range information, and therefore includes the body part correspondence information and also functions as the body part correspondence information. In other words, the third correspondence information storage unit 41d also functions as the first correspondence information storage unit 41a.

The equipment control amount information table (body type posture range correspondence information table) 411d, which registers this equipment control amount correspondence information, includes, for example, a body type information field 4111, a posture range information field 4112, and an equipment control amount information field 4114, which registers equipment control amount information corresponding to the body type information and posture range information registered in the body type information field 4111 and posture range information field 4112, respectively, as shown in FIG. 11, and has a record for each body type information. In the equipment control amount information field 4114, a value obtained by converting (converting) the body part information registered in the body part information field 4113 of the second embodiment into the control amount of the equipment is registered as equipment control amount information.

The control processing unit 3d is a circuit that controls each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 9 of the vehicle equipment control device Dd according to the function of each unit, controls the posture of the vehicle seat ST so that an appropriate driving posture can be achieved, and controls the vehicle equipment directly used by the occupant in accordance with the occupant seated in the vehicle seat controlled to achieve the appropriate driving posture. This control processing unit 3d is similar to the control processing unit 3a except that it is functionally equipped with an equipment control unit 35d instead of the equipment control unit 35a of the control processing unit 3a, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The equipment control unit 35d controls the equipment, in this embodiment the mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8 and audio device 9, based on the posture range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32. In the fourth embodiment, the equipment control unit 35d extracts equipment control amount information corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32 from the equipment control amount correspondence information table 411d stored in the third correspondence information storage unit 41d, and controls the equipment based on this extracted equipment control amount information.

More specifically, in this embodiment, the equipment control amount correspondence information associates each attitude in the attitude range of the vehicle seat ST represented by the attitude range information with each control amount in the control amount range represented by the equipment control amount information. The equipment control unit 35d then determines a specific control amount corresponding to the specific attitude of the vehicle seat ST determined by the attitude control unit 32 within the control amount range represented by the extracted equipment control amount information, and controls the equipment based on this determined control amount.

The vehicle equipment control device Dd in the fourth embodiment sequentially executes processes S1 to S6, S7d, S8, and S9 with respect to the posture control of the vehicle seat ST and the control of the equipment, for example, as shown in FIG. 9. Processes S1 to S6, S8, and S9 in the vehicle equipment control device Dd of the fourth embodiment are similar to processes S1 to S6, S8, and S9 in the vehicle equipment control device Da of the first embodiment, respectively, and therefore will not be described.

In this process S7d, the vehicle equipment control device Dd extracts, by the equipment control unit 35d, equipment control amounts corresponding to the body type information input to the first input unit 11 and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit 32 from the equipment control amount correspondence information table 411d stored in the third correspondence information storage unit 41d, and controls the equipment based on this extracted equipment control amount information. More specifically, the equipment control unit 35d determines a specific control amount corresponding to the posture of the specific vehicle seat ST determined by the posture control unit 32 within the control amount range represented by the extracted equipment control amount information, and controls the equipment based on this determined control amount. More specifically, in this embodiment, the equipment control unit 35d selects and extracts a control amount corresponding to the specific vehicle seat ST posture set in process S5 from each control amount in the control amount range associated with each posture in the vehicle seat posture range in the equipment control information registered in the equipment control amount information field 4114 of the record selected in process S2, and controls the equipment based on this extracted control amount.

The vehicle equipment control device Dd in the fourth embodiment and the vehicle equipment control method implemented therein store equipment control amount correspondence information, so that equipment control amount information can be obtained from body type information and posture range information, and the equipment can be automatically controlled more appropriately based on this obtained equipment control amount information for an occupant seated in a vehicle seat ST whose posture is controlled.

In the first to fourth embodiments described above, the equipment is the mirror 6, the steering device 7, the HUD 8, and the audio device 9, but is not limited to these as long as it is directly used by the vehicle occupant. Equipment that can be adjusted to suit the occupant is preferable, and equipment that can be adjusted to be easy for the occupant to use is even more preferable.

In addition, in the first to fourth embodiments described above, the mirror 6, steering device 7, HUD 8, and audio device 9 as equipment are automatically controlled, but it is not necessary for all of these to be automatically controlled, and appropriate equipment may be automatically controlled.

In order to express the present invention, the present invention has been described adequately and sufficiently through the embodiments with reference to the drawings in the above description, but it should be recognized that a person skilled in the art can easily modify and/or improve the above-mentioned embodiments. Therefore, unless the modification or improvement implemented by a person skilled in the art is at a level that deviates from the scope of the claims described in the claims, the modification or improvement is interpreted as being included in the scope of the claims.

D Vehicle equipment control device 1 Input units 2a to 2d Measurement units 3a to 3d Control processing unit 4a to 4d Memory unit 5 Seat drive unit 11 First input unit 21 Eye height data acquisition unit 31 Control unit 32 Posture control unit 34a (22a), 34c (22c) Eye height processing unit 41a First correspondence information memory unit 41b First correspondence information memory unit (second correspondence information memory unit)
41d Third correspondence information storage unit 51 Reclining mechanism 52 Slide mechanism 53 Lift mechanism 54 Tilt mechanism

Claims (7)

A vehicle seat for use in a vehicle;
a correspondence information storage unit that stores body type/posture range correspondence information that associates body type information representing a body type with posture range information representing a posture range of the vehicle seat corresponding to a driving posture range;
a seat drive unit that moves the position of the vehicle seat;
An input unit for inputting the body type information;
a posture control unit that extracts posture range information corresponding to the body type information input to the input unit from the body type posture range correspondence information stored in the correspondence information storage unit, provisionally sets the posture of the vehicle seat to be within the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the extracted posture range information, and controls the seat drive unit to determine the posture of the vehicle seat after measuring eye height ;
Vehicle accessories that are directly available to an occupant of the vehicle;
an accessory control unit that controls the accessory based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit,
Vehicle equipment control device. the accessory control unit determines at least one of a position range and a size of a body part related to the control of the accessory, of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat whose attitude is controlled by the attitude control unit, from the body type information input to the input unit and the attitude range of the vehicle seat represented by the attitude range information extracted by the attitude control unit, and controls the accessory based on at least one of the determined position range and the size of the body part.
The vehicle accessory control device according to claim 1. a second correspondence information storage unit that stores body part correspondence information that associates the body type information, the posture range information, and body part information that indicates at least one of a position range and a size of a body part related to control of the equipment,
the equipment control unit extracts body part information corresponding to the body type information input to the input unit and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit from the body part correspondence information stored in the second correspondence information storage unit, and controls the equipment based on at least one of a position range and a size of the body part represented by the extracted body part information.
The vehicle accessory control device according to claim 1. A measurement unit is further provided that measures at least one of a position and a size of a body part related to the control of the accessory of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat whose posture is controlled by the posture control unit,
The equipment control unit controls the equipment based on at least one of the position and the size of the body part measured by the measurement unit.
The vehicle accessory control device according to claim 1. a third correspondence information storage unit configured to store equipment control amount correspondence information that associates the body type information, the posture range information, and equipment control amount information that indicates a control amount range for the equipment,
the equipment control unit extracts equipment control amount information corresponding to the body type information input to the input unit and the posture range information extracted by the posture control unit from the equipment control amount correspondence information stored in the third correspondence information storage unit, and controls the equipment based on the extracted equipment control amount information.
The vehicle accessory control device according to claim 1. the position range of the vehicle seat is a position range of a hip point,
the position range of the hip point is set based on an ankle angle and a knee angle of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat;
The vehicle accessory control device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. An input step of inputting body type information representing a body type;
an extraction step of extracting posture range information corresponding to the body type information input in the input step from body type posture range correspondence information in which the body type information and posture range information representing a posture range of a vehicle seat corresponding to a driving posture range are associated with each other;
a posture control process for temporarily setting the posture of the vehicle seat to be within a posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted in the extraction process, and controlling the posture of the vehicle seat so as to determine the posture of the vehicle seat after measuring an eye height ;
and an equipment control step of controlling an equipment of the vehicle that is directly used by an occupant of the vehicle, based on the posture range of the vehicle seat represented by the posture range information extracted in the posture control step.
A method for controlling vehicle accessories.

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