JP7647342B2 - Eye height measuring device and method in seated position, and driving position setting device and method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seated eye height measuring device and seated eye height measuring method that measure the eye height of a subject seated in a seat, as well as a driving posture setting device and driving posture setting method that are equipped with the seated eye height measuring device and seated eye height measuring method and control the posture of a vehicle seat to achieve an appropriate driving posture.

An appropriate driving posture for occupants is generally recommended for driving a vehicle safely, securely, and comfortably. This driving posture can be set (adjusted) by adjusting some or all of the following: the inclination of the seat back, the position of the seat cushion in the fore-and-aft direction, the position (height) of the seat cushion in the up-and-down direction, the inclination of the seat cushion's seat surface, as well as the up-and-down position of the steering wheel and the fore-and-aft position of the steering wheel. When driving a vehicle, occupants adjust some or all of these according to their own body type to adjust their driving posture, but in recent years, technology for automatically adjusting driving posture has been researched and developed, and is disclosed, for example, in Patent Document 1.

The vehicle control system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a camera fixed at a predetermined position in the vehicle cabin so that the optical axis is inclined at a predetermined fixed angle with respect to a predetermined reference direction, a physical information calculation means for calculating physical information related to the driver's seat height using at least the position of the driver's eyes in an image captured by the camera and the reclining angle and sliding amount of the driver's seat with respect to the reference direction at the time the image was captured as parameters, a seat recommendation value acquisition means for acquiring recommended values for the reclining angle and sliding amount according to the physical information calculated by the physical information calculation means, and a seat control means for controlling the actual reclining angle and sliding amount so that they match the recommended values acquired by the seat recommendation value acquisition means.

JP 2014-201174 A

When measuring eye height, which is the position of the eyes in the vertical direction in a seated position, the eye height of the subject will vary depending on the posture of the upper body, for example, when the subject's back is in contact with the seat back and the upper body is stretched out, and when the subject's back is away from the seat back and the upper body is slightly leaning forward. For this reason, when physical information related to the driver's seated height is calculated using parameters such as the position of the driver's eyes in an image captured by a camera and the reclining angle and sliding amount of the driver's seat relative to the reference direction at the time the image was captured, as in the vehicle control system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the physical information will contain an error equivalent to the deviation, and as a result, there is a risk that the posture of the vehicle seat cannot be controlled to achieve an appropriate driving posture.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an eye height measuring device and method for seated position that can measure eye height in a generally stable manner at any time in the seated position, as well as a driving posture setting device and method that are equipped with the eye height measuring device and method for seated position and can more appropriately control the posture of the vehicle seat to realize a driving posture suited to the occupant.

After extensive investigation, the inventors have found that the above object can be achieved by the present invention described below. That is, an eye height measuring device in a seated position according to one aspect of the present invention comprises an output unit, an eye height measuring unit that measures the eye height of a subject seated in a seat, a message output unit that outputs to the output unit a message encouraging the subject to move their head left and right, and a measurement control unit that controls the message output unit and the eye height measuring unit so as to measure the eye height after outputting the message. Preferably, in the above-mentioned eye height measuring device in a seated position, the output unit is a speaker, and the message output unit outputs the message by voice through the speaker. Preferably, in the above-mentioned eye height measuring device in a seated position, the output unit is a display device, and the message output unit displays the message on the display device as at least one of text and illustrations.

This type of seated eye height measuring device measures eye height after outputting a message encouraging the subject to move their head left or right, so there is a high probability that eye height is always measured during the same movement, making it possible to measure eye height in a generally stable manner in the same way at all times while in a seated position.

In another aspect, in the above-mentioned seated eye height measuring device, the message is a message encouraging the user to move the head to look in at least one of the forward direction, the right direction, and the left direction. Preferably, in the above-mentioned seated eye height measuring device, the seat is a vehicle seat used in the vehicle, and the message is a message encouraging the user to move the head to look in at least one of a first accessory of the vehicle (e.g., a center display, etc.) arranged in the forward direction, a second accessory of the vehicle (e.g., a right door mirror, etc.) arranged in the right direction, and a third accessory of the vehicle (e.g., a left door mirror, etc.) arranged in the left direction.

This type of seated eye height measuring device gives specific instructions on how to move the head left and right, reducing individual differences in how messages are interpreted and allowing for more accurate eye height measurements.

A method for measuring eye height in a seated position according to another aspect of the present invention includes an eye height measurement step for measuring the eye height of a subject seated in a seat, a message output step for outputting to an output unit a message prompting the subject to move his/her head in a left/right direction, and a measurement control step for controlling the message output step and the eye height measurement step so as to measure the eye height after outputting the message.

This method of measuring eye height while in a seated position measures eye height after outputting a message encouraging the subject to move their head left and right, so there is a high probability that eye height will always be measured during the same movement, making it possible to measure eye height in a generally stable manner in the same way at all times while in a seated position.

A driving posture setting device according to another aspect of the present invention includes any one of the above-mentioned seated posture eye height measuring devices, a vehicle seat used in a vehicle as the seat, an input unit that receives input of the height of the occupant with the subject as the occupant, a height dimension ratio information storage unit that stores height dimension ratio information that represents the dimension ratios of each of the specified body parts related to the driving posture, and associates the height and eye height, a seat drive unit that moves the posture of the vehicle seat, a dimension ratio determination unit that determines the dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the eye height measured by the seated posture eye height measuring device based on the height dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit, and a posture control unit that controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes a posture corresponding to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the dimension ratio information determined by the dimension ratio determination unit. Preferably, the driving posture setting device further comprises a class feature information storage unit that stores class feature information in which a plurality of different classes obtained by classifying body types according to a dimensional ratio of each of predetermined second body parts are associated with a plurality of predetermined feature amounts that characterize the classes; a torso length ratio processing unit that calculates a torso length of the subject based on the subject's height received by the input unit and the subject's eye height measured by the seated eye height measuring device, calculates the subject's leg length based on the calculated torso length and the subject's height received by the input unit and calculates a torso length ratio that is a ratio of the torso length to the leg length, and uses the subject's height received by the input unit and the calculated torso length ratio as the feature amount; and a class identification unit that identifies a class corresponding to the feature amount of the occupant processed by the torso length ratio processing unit based on the class feature information stored in the class feature information storage unit, The height dimension ratio information that associates the dimension ratio information with the height and the eye height is dimension ratio information that is associated with the feature quantity, which is the height of the occupant received by the input unit, and the torso length ratio calculated based on the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the eye height measured by the seated eye height measuring device, and is a plurality of dimension ratio information that are further associated with each of the plurality of classes that are associated with each of the plurality of feature quantities, the height dimension ratio information storage unit stores class dimension ratio information that associates each of the plurality of classes with each of the plurality of dimension ratio information, and the dimension ratio identification unit identifies the dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the eye height measured by the seated eye height measuring device based on the class dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit and corresponding to the class identified by the class identification unit.

This provides a driving posture setting device that includes an eye height measuring device in a seated position and can more appropriately control the posture of the vehicle seat to achieve a driving posture suited to the occupant. The driving posture setting device includes any one of the above-mentioned eye height measuring devices in a seated position, so that eye height can be measured in a generally stable manner at any time in the seated position, and therefore the same vehicle seat posture can be controlled at any time for the same occupant.

In another aspect, in the driving posture setting control device described above, the message is a message that prompts the driver to move the head to look at at least one of a first accessory of the vehicle arranged in the front direction, a second accessory of the vehicle arranged to the right, and a third accessory of the vehicle arranged to the left.

This type of driving posture setting device specifically instructs the driver to move the head left and right, reducing individual differences in message interpretation and allowing for more accurate measurement of eye height, which in turn allows for more precise control of the vehicle seat posture for each individual occupant.

In another aspect, the driving posture setting device described above further includes a face authentication unit that authenticates the occupant by face authentication, and the measurement control unit controls the message output unit, the eye height measurement unit, and the face authentication unit to perform the eye height measurement and the face authentication in parallel or in series after outputting the message.

This type of driving posture setting device performs face authentication by the face authentication unit and measurement by the eye height measurement unit in parallel or in series, so both can be performed efficiently. In particular, when the face authentication unit performs face authentication based on multiple images of the occupant's face captured at different angles, the message from the measurement by the eye height measurement unit can be used for face authentication by the face authentication unit, so both can be performed efficiently.

In another aspect, the driving posture setting device further includes a posture face authentication information storage unit that stores posture face authentication information that associates the posture of the vehicle seat based on the control of the seat drive unit by the posture control unit with the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit, and a re-posture control unit that selects a posture of the vehicle seat corresponding to the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit when the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit after face authentication by the face authentication unit is stored in the posture face authentication information storage unit, and controls the seat drive unit by the posture control unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the selected posture of the vehicle seat. Preferably, in the driving posture setting device described above, the posture of the vehicle seat based on the control of the seat drive unit by the posture control unit is the posture of the vehicle seat as it is after the posture control unit controls the seat drive unit, or the posture of the vehicle seat after the posture control unit controls the seat drive unit and is manually adjusted.

This type of driving posture setting device stores the vehicle seat posture for the driving posture appropriate for the occupant in a posture face authentication information storage unit in association with the occupant authentication result, and when the occupant gets in the vehicle again, controls the stored vehicle seat posture, eliminating the need to re-enter height or perform calculation processing of dimensional ratio information, and quickly re-creating the vehicle seat posture appropriate for the occupant.

In another aspect, the driving posture setting device described above further includes a steering device capable of changing the posture of the steering wheel, and the posture control unit further controls the steering device so that the posture of the steering wheel becomes a posture corresponding to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the dimensional ratio information identified by the dimensional ratio identification unit.

This type of driving posture setting device controls not only the posture of the vehicle seat but also the posture of the steering wheel, allowing for a more appropriate driving posture.

A driving posture setting method according to another aspect of the present invention includes the above-mentioned seated eye height measurement method in which a vehicle seat used in a vehicle is used as the seat, and stores height dimension ratio information in a height dimension ratio information storage unit, which associates dimension ratio information representing the dimension ratios of each predetermined part of the body related to the driving posture with height and eye height, and controls the posture of the vehicle seat. The method includes an input process for receiving an input of the height of the occupant as the subject person, a dimension ratio specification process for specifying the dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant received in the input process and the eye height measured by the seated eye height measurement method based on the height dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit, and a posture control process for controlling the posture of the vehicle seat so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes a posture corresponding to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant received in the input process and the dimension ratio information specified in the dimension ratio specification process.

This provides a driving posture setting method that includes a method for measuring eye height in a seated position and can more appropriately control the posture of the vehicle seat to achieve a driving posture suited to the occupant. Since the driving posture setting method includes the above-mentioned method for measuring eye height in a seated position, it is possible to measure eye height in a generally stable manner at any time in the same seated position, and therefore it is possible to control the posture of the vehicle seat to the same posture at any time for the same occupant.

In another aspect, in the driving posture setting method described above, the posture control step further controls the posture of the steering wheel so that the posture of the steering wheel corresponds to the driving posture based on the occupant's height received in the input step and the dimensional ratio information identified in the dimensional ratio identification step.

This method of setting the driving posture controls not only the posture of the vehicle seat but also the posture of the steering wheel, allowing for a more appropriate driving posture.

The seated eye height measuring device and seated eye height measuring method of the present invention can measure eye height in a generally stable manner at any time in a seated position. The present invention provides a driving posture setting device and driving posture setting method that are equipped with the seated eye height measuring device and seated eye height measuring method and can more appropriately control the posture of the vehicle seat to achieve a driving posture suited to the occupant.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a driving posture setting device including a seating posture eye height measuring device according to an embodiment. 4 is a diagram for explaining a second input unit of the driving position setting device. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a first input unit and an eye height measuring unit of the driving posture setting device. FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating class feature information as an example. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an appropriate driving posture. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating torso length, and the definitions of height, torso length, and leg length. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the driving posture setting device. FIG. 1 shows, as an example, each screen displayed on a display device (part 1). FIG. 2 shows, as an example, each screen displayed on the display device (part 2).

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. Note that 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 driving posture setting device in the embodiment is a device that controls the posture of a vehicle seat so that an occupant seated in the vehicle seat can achieve an appropriate driving posture (driving position). This driving posture setting device includes a vehicle seat used in a vehicle, a seated eye height measuring device that measures the eye height of an occupant seated in the vehicle seat, an input unit that accepts input of the occupant's height, a height dimension ratio information storage unit that stores height dimension ratio information that represents the dimension ratio of each predetermined part of the body related to the driving posture, and associates the height and eye height, a seat drive unit that moves the posture of the vehicle seat, a dimension ratio specification unit that specifies the occupant's height received by the input unit and the dimension ratio information related to the eye height measured by the seated eye height measuring device based on the height dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit, and a posture control unit that controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes a posture corresponding to the driving posture based on the occupant's height received by the input unit and the dimension ratio information specified by the dimension ratio specification unit. The seated eye height measuring device includes an output unit, an eye height measuring unit that measures the eye height of a subject (a passenger in the above) seated in a seat (a vehicle seat in the above), a message output unit that outputs to the output unit a message encouraging the subject to move their head left and right, and a measurement control unit that controls the message output unit and the eye height measuring unit to measure the eye height after outputting the message. A driving posture setting device equipped with such a seated eye height measuring device will be described in more detail below.

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a driving posture setting device equipped with an eye height measurement device in a seated posture in an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a second input unit of the driving posture setting device. FIG. 2A is a perspective view, and FIG. 2B is a side view. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a first input unit and an eye height measurement unit of the driving posture setting device. FIG. 3A is a perspective view of the driver's seat (an example of a vehicle seat), and FIG. 3B is a side view thereof. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining class feature information as an example. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an appropriate driving posture. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating torso length, and the definitions of height, torso length, and leg length. FIG. 6A is a diagram for explaining a method for calculating torso length, and FIG. 6B is a diagram for explaining the definitions of height, torso length, and leg length.

In the following explanation, terms indicating directions such as "front," "rear," "right," "left," "up," and "down" refer to the respective directions of the vehicle when the vehicle is traveling forward, with "front" being the direction of travel.

As shown in FIG. 1, the driving posture setting device D in this embodiment includes an input unit 1, an eye height measurement unit 2, a control processing unit 3, a memory unit 4, a seat drive unit 5, a steering device 6, and a display device 7.

The seat drive unit 5 is connected to the control processing unit 3 and is a device that moves the posture of the vehicle seat ST according to the control of the control processing unit 3. The vehicle seat ST is a device used in a vehicle for a passenger DV 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 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-79472, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-172016, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-218882. The inclination of the seat back SB is represented by an angle (reclining angle) between a normal line of a horizontal plane (for example, a floor surface FL of a vehicle) and a straight line extending in the direction of the extension of the seat back SB in the approximately height direction. The reclining angle when the seat back SB is aligned in the vertical direction (normal direction) is set as the reference angle of the reclining angle 0 [degrees]. Therefore, the smaller the reclining angle, the closer the seat back SB is to an upright position, and the larger the reclining angle, the closer the seat back SB is to a horizontal position. The inclination of the seating surface is represented by the angle between the horizontal plane and the seating surface.

The input unit 1 is connected to the control processing unit 3, and is a device that inputs various instructions (various commands), 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 various data required to operate the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device), such as the height of the occupant DV, to the driving posture setting device D. 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 that accepts input of various data such as the height. 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 can be pushed in the axial direction, and is arranged in the center console that separates the driver's seat and the passenger seat in the vehicle cabin, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A. With this dial switch, by rotating the dial switch, the numerical value displayed on the display device 7 (for example, a head-up display (HUD) or a center display, etc.) increases or decreases depending on the direction of rotation (for example, the numerical value increases by clockwise rotation and decreases by counterclockwise rotation), and by pushing the dial switch, the numerical value displayed on the display device 7 is confirmed and input to the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device).

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.

In the manual adjustment of the posture of the vehicle seat ST, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the SB switch 121 is tilted forward (or backward), the control processing unit 3 controls the reclining mechanism 51 to tilt the seat back SB forward (or backward) while the SB switch 121 is tilted, so that the reclining angle gradually decreases (or increases), and when the SB switch 121 returns (returns to the original neutral position), the control processing unit 3 stops the reclining mechanism 51, and the seat back SB maintains its posture at the reclining angle. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the SC switch 122 is moved forward (or backward), the control processing unit 3 controls the slide mechanism 52 so that the seat cushion SC gradually moves forward (or backward) while the SC switch 122 is located forward (or backward). When the SC switch 122 returns, the control processing unit 3 stops the slide mechanism 52, and the seat cushion SC maintains its posture in its front-rear position. As shown in FIG. 2A, when the rear end of the SC switch 122 is tilted upward (or downward), the control processing unit 3 controls the lift mechanism 53 so that the seat cushion SC gradually rises (or falls) while the SC switch 122 is tilted upward (or downward), and when the SC switch 122 returns to its original position, the control processing unit 3 stops the lift mechanism 53, and the seat cushion SC maintains its posture at its up-down position (height). As shown in FIG. 2A, when the front end of the SC switch 122 is tilted upward (or downward), the control processing unit 3 controls the tilt mechanism 54 so that the front end of the seat cushion SC gradually rises (or falls) while the SC switch 122 is tilted upward (or downward), and when the SC switch 122 returns to its original position, the control processing unit 3 stops the tilt mechanism 54, and the seat cushion SC maintains its posture with the inclination of the seat surface.

The third input unit 13 is a device for inputting instructions to change the attitude of the steering wheel. The third input unit 13 includes a tilt switch (TR switch) for inputting instructions to adjust the vertical position of the steering wheel, and a telescopic switch (TS switch) for inputting instructions to adjust the fore-aft position of the steering wheel, and is disposed near the steering device 6.

The eye height measuring unit 2 is a device that measures the eye height (eye height, eye position in the height direction) of an occupant DV seated in a vehicle seat ST. In this embodiment, the eye height measuring unit 2 includes, for example, an eye height data acquisition unit 21 and an eye height processing unit 36 (22). The eye height data acquisition unit 21 is connected to the control processing unit 3, and is a device that acquires predetermined data for measuring the eye height of an occupant DV seated in a vehicle seat ST according to the control of the control processing unit 3. In this embodiment, the eye height processing unit 36 (22) is functionally configured in the control processing unit 3 by executing a control processing program described later, and determines the eye height of the occupant DV 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 DV seated in a vehicle seat ST, and is disposed at a predetermined location, for example, as shown in FIG. 3A, at one end (or upper end, etc.) of a display device 7 disposed next to a dashboard that displays the vehicle's angle and RPM. Since the face width of people is statistically small in individual variation, it is set to a fixed value (fixed face width value) that is statistically determined in advance, and the eye height processing unit 36 (22) calculates the eye height based on the image of the occupant generated by the camera and the fixed face width value. More specifically, the eye height processing unit 36 (22) first extracts the outer contour of the face from a predetermined image area in which the face of the occupant DV is assumed to be captured in the image of the occupant DV generated by the camera, for example, by using an edge filter or a circular Hough transform, or by pattern matching of the face, and calculates the number of pixels present within one line along the width direction having the maximum width of the outer contour of the face. The predetermined image area is determined in advance, for example, by the position of the camera, the position of the vehicle seat ST, the focal length and optical axis direction of the camera, and is stored in the storage unit 4. Next, the eye height processing unit 36 (22) divides the face width fixed value by the determined number of pixels to determine the actual length of the subject reflected in one pixel, taking into consideration camera parameters such as the focal length of the camera. Next, the eye height processing unit 36 (22) extracts the white of the eye from the predetermined image area (or the image area within the outer contour of the face) by image processing such as a white filter to determine the pixel position of the white of the eye, determines the number of pixels from the bottom end of the image of the occupant DV (or the pixel position through which the optical axis of the camera passes (usually the central pixel position of the image)) to the pixel position of the determined white of the eye, and multiplies the determined number of pixels by the actual length of the subject reflected in the determined one pixel to determine the eye height. Note that if the optical axis of the camera is not aligned horizontally but has an angle, this angle is taken into consideration in calculating the eye height. Also, if the pixel is rectangular rather than square, the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel in the width direction (horizontal direction) is converted to the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel in the vertical direction based on the aspect ratio, and this is used to calculate the eye height.

The eye height is measured from a predetermined reference position. The reference position for the eye height may be, for example, the position of the floor surface of the vehicle, the position of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC, or the position of the hip point HP according to the posture of the vehicle seat ST, but in this embodiment, it is the position in the height direction where the eye height data acquisition unit 21 is disposed, as shown in Figures 3B and 6A.

In the above, the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel is calculated using the camera parameters, but since the camera parameters are known in advance, a function (or table) that converts the number of pixels in one line into the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel may be created in advance, and the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel may be calculated from the number of pixels in one line using this function.

Alternatively, for example, the eye height data acquisition unit 21 may include a camera that generates an image of the occupant DV seated in the vehicle seat ST, and a range finder (e.g., an infrared light pulse range finder, etc.) that measures the distance to the occupant DV seated in the vehicle seat ST, and may be arranged in the same manner as described above. The eye height processing unit 36 (22) calculates the eye height of the occupant DV based on the image of the occupant DV generated by the camera and the distance to the occupant DV measured by the range finder. In this case, the eye height processing unit 36 (22) calculates the actual length of the subject captured in one pixel from the measured distance to the occupant DV and the camera parameters of the camera, etc., and then calculates the eye height of the occupant DV in the same manner as described above. Note that a so-called stereo camera may be used instead of the range finder. In this case, one of the stereo cameras can be used as the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 (can be used in combination).

The steering device 6 is a mechanism for steering the steering wheels by changing the attitude of the steering wheel. The steering device 6 includes, for example, 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 includes a tilt mechanism that is connected to a control processing unit 3 and electrically moves the steering wheel up and down according to the control of the control processing unit 3, and a telescopic mechanism that is connected to the control processing unit 3 and electrically moves the steering wheel forward and backward according to the control of the control processing unit 3. 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.

In manual adjustment of the steering wheel position, when the TR switch is instructed to raise (or lower) the vertical position of the steering wheel, the control processing unit 3 gradually raises (or lowers) the vertical position of the steering wheel using the tilt mechanism of the steering device 6, and when the TR switch is returned, the control processing unit 3 stops the tilt mechanism of the steering device 6, and the steering wheel maintains its position in the vertical position. When the TS switch is instructed to move the fore-and-aft position of the steering wheel forward (or backward), the control processing unit 3 gradually moves the fore-and-aft position of the steering wheel forward (or backward) using the telescopic mechanism of the steering device 6, and when the TS switch is returned, the control processing unit 3 stops the telescopic mechanism of the steering device 6, and the steering wheel maintains its position in the vertical position.

The display device 7 is connected to the control processing unit 3 and displays predetermined information, such as height, input via the first input unit 11, according to the control of the control processing unit 3. For example, the display device 7 is a center display or head-up display of a liquid crystal display (LCD).

The memory unit 4 is connected to the control processing unit 3 and is a circuit that stores various specified programs and various specified data according to the control of the control processing unit 3. The various predetermined programs include, for example, a control processing program, and the control processing program includes, for example, a control program for controlling each of the parts 1, 2, 4 to 7 of the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device) according to the function of each part, a message output program for outputting a message to an output unit, which in this embodiment is an example of the display device 7, urging the occupant DV to move his/her head left and right, a face recognition processing program for executing face recognition processing, a dimension ratio identification program for identifying dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the eye height of the occupant DV measured by the eye height measuring unit 2 based on height dimension ratio information stored in a height dimension ratio information storage unit 42 described later, and a posture control program for controlling the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST becomes a posture corresponding to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the dimension ratio information identified by the dimension ratio identification program. In this embodiment, the control program further controls the message output program and the eye height measurement unit 2 so as to measure the eye height after outputting the message. More specifically, since face authentication is performed in this embodiment, the control program controls the message output program, the eye height measurement unit 2, and a face authentication unit described later so as to execute the eye height measurement and the face authentication in parallel or in series after outputting the message. The various types of predetermined data include data necessary for executing each of these programs, such as class feature information, height dimension ratio information (class dimension ratio information), and posture face authentication information. Such a storage unit 4 includes, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory) which is a nonvolatile storage element, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory) which is a rewritable nonvolatile storage element, or the like. The storage unit 4 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory) that serves as a so-called working memory for the control processing unit 3, which stores data generated during execution of the specified program. The storage unit 4 functionally includes a class feature information storage unit 41, a height dimension ratio information storage unit (class dimension ratio information storage unit) 42, and a posture face authentication information storage unit 43.

The class feature information storage unit 41 stores class feature information. The class feature information is information that associates a plurality of different classes (body type classes, groups, body type groups) that classify body types according to the dimensional ratios of each of the predetermined body parts (body type classification parts) with a plurality of predetermined features that characterize the classes. The body type classification parts are parts that are appropriately set from the perspective of classifying body types, such as the arms, torso, and legs.

Vehicles may be exported to destinations in various regions and countries for use, and in such cases, the body types of people in the destinations vary depending on the destination, such as Caucasians who tend to have relatively long legs, or Asians who tend to have relatively long torsos. In such cases, the driving posture needs to be adapted to the body types of people in the destinations. For this reason, it is possible to create vehicles for different destinations, but this would require labor to create the vehicles separately, reducing the benefits of mass production. For this reason, this embodiment automatically identifies the body types of the occupants, thereby reducing the labor required to create the vehicles separately, and achieving cost reduction.

In identifying this body type, the body has various parts such as the head, arms, hands, neck, trunk, legs and feet, and the arms can be divided into parts such as the upper arms and forearms, and the legs can be divided into parts such as the thighs and shins. On the other hand, people's body types can be classified from the viewpoint of race (e.g., Asian, European and North American), ethnicity (country), etc., depending on various factors such as genetic information, climate, and lifestyle. Furthermore, body types generally differ depending on gender, and can also be classified by gender. For each of these variously classified body types, in one example, the dimensional ratio of each specified body part can be statistically determined for each body type. When body types are classified into a plurality of classes different from each other according to the dimensional ratio of each specified body part, the feature quantities that characterize the classes were considered and investigated. As described above, since each part of the body is various, the inventor repeatedly conducted trial and error, such as investigating whether a class can be characterized by assuming, for example, the size of the head as a feature, or investigating whether a class can be characterized by assuming, for example, the leg length as a feature. From the results of a large number of investigations, the inventor found that the torso length ratio (= torso length/leg length), which is the ratio of torso length to height and leg length, can be a feature that characterizes the class. For this reason, in this embodiment, the feature is height and torso length ratio. The more the torso length ratio is greater than 1 (torso length/leg length>1), the longer the torso length is than the leg length (torso length>leg length), and the more the torso length ratio is less than 1 (torso length/leg length<1), the longer the leg length is than the torso length (torso length<leg length). As shown in FIG. 6B, the height is the length from the sole of the foot to the top of the head in a standing position, the leg length (foot length) is the length from the sole of the foot to the hip point HP in a standing position, and the torso length (sitting height) is the length from the hip point HP to the top of the head in a standing position.

As described above, in one example, for each of the various body types, the dimensional ratios of each predetermined part of the body can be statistically determined, so that the multiple classes may be, for example, classes classified by race or classes classified by race and sex, or, for example, the multiple classes may be classes classified by region or classes classified by region and sex, or, for example, the multiple classes may be classes classified by ethnicity (country) or classes classified by ethnicity (country) and sex.

In this embodiment, the body types are classified into six classes, 1st to 6th, as shown in FIG. 4, and the features are height and torso length ratio as described above, and the torso length ratio is a function of height based on the survey results. The horizontal axis of FIG. 4 is height, and the vertical axis is torso length ratio. The first class ASM is a man in an Asian region (e.g., a Japanese man, etc.), and is a straight line (first function line) with a right-sloping profile in which the torso length ratio decreases as the height increases. The second class ASF is a woman in an Asian region (e.g., a Japanese woman, etc.), and is a straight line (second function line) with a right-sloping profile in which the torso length ratio decreases slightly as the height increases. The third class EPM is a man in a European region (e.g., a German man, etc.), and is a straight line (third function line) with a right-sloping profile in which the torso length ratio increases slightly as the height increases. The fourth class EPF is a woman in a European region (e.g., a German woman, etc.), and is a straight line (fourth function line) with a right-sloping profile in which the torso length ratio decreases as the height increases. The fifth class NAM is a straight line (fifth function line) with a right-sloping profile in which the torso length ratio increases slightly as height increases, for men in North America (e.g., American men, etc.). The sixth class NAF is a straight line (sixth function line) with a right-sloping profile in which the torso length ratio increases as height increases, for women in North America (e.g., American women, etc.). In the downward sloping curve, the first class ASM has the steepest slope, the second class ASF has the smallest slope, and the fourth class EPF has a slope between the slopes of the first and second classes ASM and ASF. In the upward sloping curve, the sixth class NAF has the steepest slope, the fifth class NAM has the smallest slope, and the third class EPM has a slope between the slopes of the fifth and sixth classes NAM and NAF. The height ranges in each class vary depending on the height distribution of each class.

Each of the features of the first to sixth classes (first to sixth feature values) is expressed by a function line of the body length ratio to height (first to sixth function formulas). The first class ASM is associated with the first function formula of the first feature value, the second class ASF is associated with the second function formula of the second feature value, the third class EPM is associated with the third function formula of the third feature value, the fourth class EPF is associated with the fourth function formula of the fourth feature value, the fifth class NAM is associated with the fifth function formula of the fifth feature value, and the sixth class NAF is associated with the sixth function formula of the sixth feature value, and these are stored in the class feature value information storage unit 41 as class feature value information. Note that, although function formulas are used in the above description, tables of body length ratio to height may be used (first to sixth tables corresponding to the first to sixth function lines).

The height dimension ratio information storage unit 42 stores height dimension ratio information. The height dimension ratio information is information in which dimension ratio information representing the dimension ratio of each predetermined part of the body related to the driving posture (driving posture related part) is associated with height and eye height. As described above, the driving posture is related to the body type, the body type is classified into classes, and the classes are associated with their feature amounts (here, height and torso length ratio). Therefore, in this embodiment, the height dimension ratio information in which the dimension ratio information is associated with the height and the eye height is dimension ratio information associated with the feature amounts, and is a plurality of dimensions that are further associated with each of the plurality of classes associated with each of the plurality of feature amounts. That is, the height dimension ratio information storage unit 42 stores class dimension ratio information in which each of the plurality of classes is associated with each of the plurality of dimension ratio information. The appropriate driving posture is known, and for example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is a posture in which the heel is placed on the floor, the brake pedal and the accelerator pedal can be switched, the wrist is placed on the steering wheel, the vehicle speed and the number of revolutions can be visually confirmed on the dashboard without being interfered with by the steering wheel, and the forward visibility can be secured. This appropriate driving posture is defined by ankle angle φ1, knee angle φ2, hip angle φ3, armpit angle φ4, and elbow angle φ5, and these ankle angle φ1, knee angle φ2, hip angle φ3, armpit angle φ4, and elbow angle φ5 are set in advance within a predetermined range from a plurality of samples so as to obtain the above-mentioned posture. Such a method of calculating the appropriate driving posture is also known, and the driving posture related parts are, for example, the arms (upper arms and forearms), hands, trunk, legs (thighs and shins), feet, buttocks, etc. The dimensional ratio of each of these driving posture related parts is statistically obtained in advance, for example, with respect to the torso length. For example, publicly available human body dimension data may be used. In addition, items that are not correlated with torso length, such as buttock thickness and arm length, are included in the dimension ratio information as fixed values. In this embodiment, first to sixth dimension ratio information is prepared in advance according to the first to sixth classes, and the first to sixth dimension ratio information is associated with the first to sixth classes, respectively, and stored as class dimension ratio information in the height dimension ratio information storage unit (class dimension ratio information storage unit) 42.

The posture face authentication information storage unit 43 stores posture face authentication information. The posture face authentication information is information that associates the posture of the vehicle seat ST based on the control of the seat drive unit 5 by the posture control unit 35 described later with the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit described later. The posture of the vehicle seat ST based on the control of the seat drive unit 5 by the posture control unit 35 is the posture of the vehicle seat ST as it is after the posture control unit 35 controls the seat drive unit 5, or the posture of the vehicle seat ST after the posture control unit 35 controls the seat drive unit 5 and then manually adjusts it. In this embodiment, in order to realize a driving posture according to the occupant DV, not only the posture of the vehicle seat ST but also the posture of the steering wheel is controlled, so that the posture face authentication information further associates the posture of the steering wheel with the authentication result. That is, the posture face authentication information is information that associates the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel after the posture control unit 35 controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 with the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit described below.

The control processing unit 3 is a circuit for controlling each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 7 of the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device) according to the function of each unit, measuring the eye height of the occupant DV seated in the vehicle seat ST, performing face recognition of the occupant DV, and controlling the posture of the vehicle seat ST so as to realize an appropriate driving posture according to the occupant DV at the measured eye height. The control processing unit 3 is configured, for example, with a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and its peripheral circuits. In the control processing unit 3, a control unit (measurement control unit) 31, a message output unit 32, a face recognition processing unit 33, a dimensional ratio identification unit 34, a posture control unit 35, and an eye height processing unit 36 (22) are functionally configured by executing the control processing program.

The control unit (measurement control unit) 31 controls each of the units 1, 2, 4 to 7 of the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device) according to the function of each unit, and is responsible for the overall control of the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device). In this embodiment, the control unit 31 further controls the message output unit 32 and the eye height measuring unit 2 so as to measure the eye height after outputting the message. More specifically, the control unit 31 controls the message output unit 32, the eye height measuring unit 2, and the face authentication unit described below so as to perform the eye height measurement and the face authentication in parallel or in series after outputting the message.

The message output unit 32 outputs a message to the output unit, which in this embodiment is an example of the display device 7, to prompt the occupant DV to move his/her head in the left/right direction. That is, in this embodiment, the output unit is the display device 7 as an example, and the message output unit 32 displays the message on the display device 7 as at least one of text and illustration. Preferably, the message is a message that prompts the occupant DV to move the head to look at at least one of the front direction, the right direction, and the left direction. More specifically, in this embodiment, since the seated eye height measurement device is mounted on a vehicle, the message is a message that prompts the occupant DV to move the head to look at at least one of a first accessory of the vehicle (e.g., a center display, etc.) arranged in the front direction, a second accessory of the vehicle (e.g., a right door mirror, etc.) arranged in the right direction, and a third accessory of the vehicle (e.g., a left door mirror, etc.) arranged in the left direction. An example of a screen (message screen) on which such a message is displayed will be described later.

As another example, the output unit may be a speaker, and the message output unit 32 may output the message by voice through the speaker.

The face authentication processing unit 33 executes face authentication processing. A known conventional method may be used for face authentication processing. For example, the face authentication processing unit 33 authenticates the occupant DV by face authentication using an image of the face of the occupant DV. In this embodiment, the eye height data acquisition unit 21 is an example of a camera, and this camera is used (shared) as a device for acquiring an image of the face of the occupant DV. Therefore, in this embodiment, the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 and the face authentication processing unit 33 constitute an example of a face authentication unit that authenticates the occupant by face authentication. Therefore, the control unit 31 controls the message output unit 32, the eye height measurement unit 2, and the face authentication unit composed of the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 and the face authentication processing unit 33 so as to perform the measurement of the eye height and the face authentication in parallel or in series after outputting the message.

The face recognition processing unit 33 extracts facial feature points for face recognition from each of a plurality of images of the occupant DV in which the face faces in different directions, and the extracted facial feature points and the distance between the feature points are regarded as the recognition result. In this embodiment, a message is output to prompt the occupant DV to move the head in the left and right direction when measuring the eye height, so that a plurality of images of the occupant DV in which the face faces in different directions can be acquired by capturing an image of the occupant DV in conjunction with the measurement of the eye height. The facial feature points are, for example, the positions of both eyes, the position of the nose, and the positions of both ends of the mouth. Alternatively, for example, the face recognition processing unit 33 performs face recognition from the images of the occupant DV acquired by the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 using so-called AI (artificial intelligence). For example, a deep neural network that has been machine-learned for face recognition is used.

As described above, the eye height processing unit 36 (22) determines the eye height of the occupant DV by processing the specified data acquired by the eye height data acquisition unit 21.

The dimension ratio determination unit 34 determines dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the eye height measured by the eye height measurement unit 2, based on the height dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit 42. In this embodiment, as described above, body types are classified into classes, and the classes are associated with their features (here, height and torso length ratio), so the dimension ratio determination unit 34 determines the dimension ratio information corresponding to the occupant DV based on the class dimension ratio information corresponding to the class of the occupant DV. More specifically, the dimension ratio determination unit 34 functionally comprises a torso length ratio processing unit 341, a class determination unit 342, and a ratio determination unit 343.

The torso length ratio processing unit 341 calculates the torso length of the occupant DV based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the eye height of the occupant DV measured by the eye height measurement unit 2, calculates the leg length of the occupant DV based on the calculated torso length and the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 to calculate the torso length ratio, and sets the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the calculated torso length ratio as the feature quantity. In this embodiment, since the height of the seat surface of the seat cushion SC and the inclination of the seat surface are changeable, the torso length ratio processing unit 341 calculates the torso length of the occupant DV based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11, the eye height of the occupant DV measured by the eye height measurement unit 2, the height of the seat surface of the vehicle seat ST on which the occupant DV is seated, and the inclination of the seat surface.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, the torso length H6 is calculated by subtracting the sum of a fourth distance (seat height) H4 from the floor surface FL to the seat surface of the vehicle seat ST and a fifth distance (fifth height) H5 from the seat surface of the vehicle seat ST to the hip point HP from the sum of a first distance (first height) H1 from the floor surface FL on which the vehicle seat ST is attached to the position of the eye height data acquisition unit (camera in the above example) 21, a second distance (eye height of the occupant DV) H2 from the position of the eye height data acquisition unit (camera in the above example) 21 to the position of the eyes of the occupant DV, and a third distance (third height) H3 from the position of the eyes of the occupant DV to the position of the top of the occupant DV (H6 = (H1 + H2 + H3) - (H4 + H5)). The first distance H1 is given as a design value. The eye height H2 of the occupant DV is given by measuring the eye height measurement unit 2. The third distance H3 is given by, for example, the human body dimension data statistically obtained in advance. The fourth distance H4 is given by calculating and obtaining from design values (seat height at lift amount 0 and seat inclination at tilt amount 0), the state value of the lift mechanism 53 (current lift amount) and the state value of the tilt mechanism 54 (current tilt amount). The current lift amount and the current tilt amount are obtained, for example, from the lift mechanism 53 and the tilt mechanism 54 by the torso length ratio processing unit 341. Alternatively, for example, the current lift amount and the current tilt amount are obtained from each control value (control command) of the posture control unit 35 controlled to the current lift amount and the current tilt amount obtained by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 from the posture control unit 35. The fifth distance H5 is given from the thickness of the buttocks given, for example, by the human body dimension data statistically obtained in advance. The design values and the fifth distance H5 for calculating the first distance H1, the third distance H3, and the fourth distance H4 are stored in advance in the memory unit 4 as one of the various predetermined data. In calculating the torso length, the third distance H3 and the fifth distance H5 are fixed values independent of the class (for example, the average value of each class). The leg length is calculated by subtracting the calculated torso length from the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 (leg length = height - torso length).

The class identification unit 342 identifies a class corresponding to the feature of the occupant DV processed by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 (height and torso length ratio in this embodiment) based on the class feature information stored in the class feature information storage unit 41. More specifically, in a two-dimensional coordinate space with the height and torso length ratio as two axes, the class identification unit 342 selects a height and torso length ratio that is most similar to the torso length ratio calculated by the height and torso length ratio processing unit 341 of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 from among a plurality of heights and torso length ratios corresponding to each of a plurality of classes, and identifies the class corresponding to the selected height and torso length ratio as the class corresponding to the torso length ratio (feature of the occupant DV) calculated by the height and torso length ratio processing unit 341 received by the first input unit 11. The most similar height and torso length ratio is, for example, the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11, and is the torso length ratio closest to the torso length ratio calculated by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 among the torso length ratios of the multiple classes corresponding to the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11. For example, as shown in Fig. 4, when the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 is TL and the torso length ratio calculated by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 is RT, the class identification unit 342 selects the height TL of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 as the most similar height and torso length ratio, and is the torso length ratio RC closest to the torso length ratio RT calculated by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 among the multiple classes corresponding to the height TL of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11, and identifies the third class EPM having these height TL and torso length ratio RC. In the above description, the class identification unit 342 selects the closest torso length ratio from among the torso length ratios of each class with the height fixed, but the class of the function line closest in distance may be identified by calculating the distance between the height and torso length ratio of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the torso length ratio calculated by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 and each function line of each class. In other words, the most approximate height and torso length ratio may be the height and torso length ratio that is closest in distance to the torso length ratio calculated by the height and torso length ratio processing unit 341 of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 among the multiple height and torso length ratios associated with each of the multiple classes.

The ratio identification unit 343 identifies dimension ratio information corresponding to the class identified by the class identification unit 342 based on the class dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit 42. In the above example shown in FIG. 4, the third dimension ratio information corresponding to the third class EPM identified by the class identification unit 342 is identified.

The posture control unit 35 controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST corresponds to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the dimension ratio information specified by the dimension ratio specification unit 34. As in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, an appropriate driving posture may be realized by controlling the posture of the vehicle seat ST, but in this embodiment, in order to realize a more appropriate driving posture, the posture control unit 35 also controls the steering device 6 so that the posture of the steering wheel corresponds to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the dimension ratio information specified by the dimension ratio specification unit 34. That is, the posture control unit 35 controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel correspond to the driving posture based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the dimension ratio information specified by the dimension ratio specification unit 34. More specifically, the posture control unit 35 first obtains the dimensions of each predetermined driving posture related part of the body related to the driving posture from the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the dimension ratio information specified by the dimension ratio specification unit 34. For example, when obtaining the dimensions of the thigh, the dimensions of the thigh are obtained by multiplying the dimension ratio of the thigh in the dimension ratio information specified by the dimension ratio specification unit 34 by the torso length obtained by the torso length ratio processing unit 341. In this case, as in the above example shown in FIG. 4, when the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 as a feature amount and the torso length ratio obtained by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 do not match the feature amount of each class and the class is specified by selecting the most approximate feature amount, the dimensions of each predetermined driving posture related part related to the driving posture may be corrected based on the difference. More specifically, the posture control unit 35 determines each length of each driving posture related part based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the dimensional ratio information identified by the dimension ratio identification unit 34, and corrects each length of each driving posture related part determined based on the difference between a first point (point MP in the example shown in Figure 4) represented by the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the torso length ratio determined by the height and torso length ratio processing unit 341 in the two-dimensional coordinate space of the height and torso length ratio and a second point (point CP in the example shown in Figure 4) represented by the most similar height and torso length ratio. For example, when the difference is x [%] with respect to the characteristic amount of the class, if the torso length ratio calculated by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 is larger than the torso length ratio as one of the characteristic amounts of the class, each length of the calculated driving posture related parts is corrected to be longer by x [%], and if the torso length ratio calculated by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 is smaller than the torso dimension ratio as one of the characteristic amounts of the class, each length of the calculated driving posture related parts is corrected to be shorter by x [%]. Here, since the driving posture related parts that are not correlated with the torso length as described above are fixed values, the posture control unit 35 corrects only the driving posture related parts (e.g., the vertical length of the face, etc.) that are correlated with the torso length except for the leg length among the driving posture related parts (driving posture related parts that are not correlated with the torso length, such as the thickness of the buttocks and the length of the arms, are not corrected and the fixed values are used as they are). Then, the posture control unit 35 determines the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel according to the driving posture based on the corrected lengths of each driving posture-related part by a known conventional means, and controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel become the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel. For the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel according to the driving posture, for example, JP 2017-33320 A, JP 2016-165961 A, JP 2019-38320 A, etc. can be referred to.

Here, in this embodiment, the control unit 31 associates the posture of the vehicle seat ST based on after controlling the seat drive unit 5 with the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit, and stores them in the posture face authentication information storage unit 43 of the storage unit 4 as posture face authentication information. In this embodiment, since the posture of the steering wheel is also controlled, the control unit 31 associates the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel based on after controlling the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 with the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit, and stores them in the posture face authentication information storage unit 43 of the storage unit 4 as posture face authentication information.

The posture control unit 35 also corresponds to an example of a re-posture control unit, and when the occupant DV gets into the vehicle while it is parked, the posture control unit 35 selects the posture of the vehicle seat ST corresponding to the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit after the face authentication unit is performed, if the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit is stored in the posture face authentication information storage unit 43, and controls the seat drive unit 5 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST becomes the selected posture of the vehicle seat ST. In this embodiment, since the posture of the steering wheel is also controlled, when the occupant DV gets into the vehicle while it is parked, the posture control unit 35 selects the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel corresponding to the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit after the face authentication unit is performed, if the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit is stored in the posture face authentication information storage unit 43, and controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel become the selected posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel. Whether or not an occupant DV has entered the vehicle while it is parked is determined, for example, by whether or not the vehicle door has been opened or closed while the power source (e.g., engine, motor, etc.) that drives the wheels has been stopped for a predetermined period of time or more and the parking brake has been applied. Alternatively, for example, whether or not an occupant DV has entered the vehicle while it is parked is determined by whether or not the ignition has been turned on.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the driving posture setting device. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are diagrams (part 1) showing, as an example, each screen displayed on the display device. FIG. 8A shows the top screen when registering an occupant, FIG. 8B shows a height input screen for inputting height with the first input unit 11, and FIG. 8C shows an eye height measurement precautions screen for displaying precautions when measuring eye height. FIG. 9A shows a message screen, and FIG. 9B shows an occupant information editing screen for editing occupant information.

When the vehicle starts to operate, this driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device) initializes the necessary parts and starts its operation. By executing the control processing program, the control processing unit 3 is functionally configured with a control unit 31, a message output unit 32, a face recognition processing unit 33, a dimension ratio identification unit 34, a posture control unit 35, and an eye height processing unit 36 (22), and the dimension ratio identification unit 34 is functionally configured with a torso length ratio processing unit 341, a class identification unit 342, and a ratio identification unit 343. 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 setting the driving posture, the following operations related to setting the driving posture are started.

In FIG. 7, the driving posture setting device D first displays the top screen for occupant registration on the display device 7 by the control unit 31 of the control processing unit 3 (S1).

For example, the driving posture setting device D further has a registration function and an authentication function (detection function) for the occupant DV, and this top screen 91, as shown in FIG. 8A, has an "OK" button 911 for inputting whether the occupant DV authenticated by the driving posture setting device D is acceptable or not, occupant name display areas 912, 913 for displaying the occupant names registered in the driving posture setting device D and displaying the occupants authenticated by the driving posture setting device D (authentication result), and a "New Registration" button 914 for inputting an instruction to perform a new registration of an occupant DV. For example, the authentication result of the posture face authentication information is further associated with the occupant name, and when the process S1 is executed, the occupant name registered (stored) in the posture face authentication information is displayed in the occupant name display area 912, 913, and the face authentication processing unit 33 performs face authentication based on the image of the occupant DV captured by the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21. When the authentication result obtained by this execution is in the posture face authentication information, the frame of the occupant name display area 912 (or the occupant name display area 913) displaying the occupant name associated with the authentication result is highlighted. For example, the frame is highlighted by changing a thin frame line to a thick frame line. When the dial switch of the first input unit 11 is rotated, the highlighting of the frame cyclically moves in the order of the "OK" button 911, the occupant name display area 912, the occupant name display area 913, the "new registration" button 914, the "OK" button 911, ..., and when the dial switch is pushed, the content of the highlighted frame is input to the driving posture setting device D. In the example shown in FIG. 8A, the frame of the "New Registration" button 914 is highlighted, and in this display state, the dial switch is pushed. This type of top screen 91 data, together with the data of the screens described below, is stored in advance in the storage unit 4 as one of the various types of predetermined data.

When the dial switch is pushed, a driving posture adjustment precautions screen (not shown) is displayed, which displays precautions to take when adjusting the driving posture, such as "Keep the vehicle stopped until completion." After a predetermined time has elapsed or a transition instruction is input (for example, by pressing the "OK" button displayed on the driving posture adjustment precautions screen (not shown), the driving posture setting device D causes the control unit 31 to display on the display device 7 a height input screen for inputting height via the first input unit 11, and accepts the input of the height of the occupant DV (S2).

This height input screen 92 has an input candidate numeric value display area 921 for displaying and inputting input candidate numeric values, as shown in Fig. 8B, for example. This input candidate numeric value display area 921 may be configured to display one numeric value, but in the example shown in Fig. 8B, it is configured with five sub-input candidate numeric value display areas 921-1 to 921-5 to display multiple numeric values, in this example, five numeric values. When the dial switch of the first input unit 11 is rotated, the highlighted display of the frame moves sequentially from the fifth sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-5 to the first sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-1 in accordance with the direction of rotation; for example, when rotated counterclockwise, the highlighted display of the frame moves sequentially from the first sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-1 to the first sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-1, and when the first sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-1 is reached, the numerical value displayed in the input candidate numeric display area 921 itself increases sequentially; on the other hand, when rotated clockwise, the highlighted display of the frame moves sequentially from the first sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-1 to the fifth sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-5, and when the fifth sub-input candidate numeric display area 921-5 is reached, the numerical value displayed in the input candidate numeric display area 921 itself decreases sequentially. In the example shown in FIG. 8B, the first to fifth sub-input candidate numeric value display areas 921-1 to 921-5 display "170 cm" to "174 cm," respectively, and the frame of the first sub-input candidate numeric value display area 921-1 displaying "170 cm" is highlighted. Here, it is assumed that the dial switch is pushed in this display state. As a result, "170 cm" is input to the driving posture setting device D as the height of the occupant DV.

When the driver's posture setting device D receives the input of the height of the occupant DV, the control unit 31 causes the display device 7 to display a measurement and registration precautions display screen 93 for displaying precautions to take when performing eye height measurement and face registration (S3).

This measurement and registration precautions display screen 93, as shown in FIG. 8A, for example, includes an "OK" button 931 for inputting an instruction to start eye height measurement and face registration, and a precautions display area 932 for displaying precautions such as "Please remove sunglasses, masks, etc. in order to perform eye measurement and face registration."

When the dial switch is pushed and the "OK" button 931 is input, the driving posture setting device D (seated posture eye height measuring device) controls the message output unit 32, the eye height measurement unit 2, and the face authentication unit (the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 and the face authentication processing unit 33 in this embodiment) so that the control unit 31 outputs a message to the occupant DV to move his head left and right, and then performs eye height measurement and face authentication in parallel or in series (S4). As a result, the message output unit 32 displays a message screen on the display device 7 that prompts the occupant DV to move his head left and right, the eye height measurement unit 2 measures the eye height of the occupant DV, and in parallel with this, the face authentication processing unit 33 performs face authentication processing based on the image of the occupant DV acquired by the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 (parallel execution). Alternatively, the message output unit 32 displays a message screen on the display device 7 prompting the occupant DV to move his/her head left and right, the eye height measurement unit 2 measures the eye height of the occupant DV, and then the face recognition processing unit 33 performs face recognition processing based on the image of the occupant DV acquired by the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 (serial execution).

More specifically, under the control of the control unit 31, the message output unit 32 displays on the display device 7 a message screen displaying a message prompting the occupant DV to move his/her head left and right. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, this message screen 94 includes a "Cancel" button 941 for inputting an instruction to erase the display of the message screen 94, and a message display area 942 for displaying the message. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the message is composed of an illustration and text, and includes an illustration message display area 9421 for displaying an illustration representing the message, and a text message display area 9422 for displaying the text representing the message. In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the text message display area 9422 displays "Turn your head slowly toward the left and right door mirrors several times.", and the illustration message display area 9421 displays an illustration of someone turning their head toward the left and right door mirrors.

When the message screen 94 is displayed by the message output unit 32, the eye height measurement unit 2 measures the eye height of the occupant DV seated in the vehicle seat ST in accordance with the control of the control unit 31. In parallel or in series with this, in accordance with the control of the control unit 31, the face authentication unit authenticates the occupant DV by face authentication. For example, the face authentication processing unit 33 acquires an image of the occupant DV generated by the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21, extracts facial feature points for face authentication based on the acquired image of the occupant DV, and sets the extracted facial feature points and the distance between the feature points as the authentication result.

When the eye height is measured and an authentication result is obtained, in order to identify the dimensional ratio information corresponding to the occupant DV, the driving posture setting device D determines the torso length of the occupant DV based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 by processing S2 and the eye height of the occupant DV measured by the eye height measurement unit 2 by the torso length ratio processing unit 341 of the dimension ratio identification unit 34 in the control processing unit 3 (S5), determines the leg length of the occupant DV based on the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 and the determined torso length, and determines the torso length ratio. The height of the attached occupant DV and the calculated torso length ratio are used as the feature quantities (S6), and the class identification unit 342 of the dimension ratio identification unit 34 identifies a class corresponding to the feature quantities (height and torso length ratio in this embodiment) based on the class feature quantity information stored in the class feature quantity information storage unit 41 (S7), and the ratio identification unit 343 of the dimension ratio identification unit 34 identifies dimension ratio information corresponding to the class identified by the class identification unit 342 based on the class dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit 42 (S8).

When the dimensional ratio information corresponding to the occupant DV is identified, the driving posture setting device D controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 by the posture control unit 35 of the control processing unit 3 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel become postures corresponding to the height of the occupant DV received by the first input unit 11 in process S2 and the driving posture based on the dimensional ratio information identified by the dimensional ratio identification unit 34 as described above (S9).

In this way, the torso length of the occupant DV is calculated based on the eye height measured by the eye height measurement unit 2, the class of the occupant DV is automatically identified from among a plurality of body type classes, and the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel are controlled so as to realize a driving posture that suits the body type of the occupant DV. Therefore, the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel may be stored in the posture face recognition information storage unit 43 of the storage unit 4 as posture face recognition information in correspondence with the authentication result authenticated in process S4. In this embodiment, however, the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel are stored in the posture face recognition information storage unit 43 of the storage unit 4 in correspondence with the authentication result authenticated in process S4 in accordance with the preference of the occupant DV. The posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel can be manually adjusted by the driver DV, and the driver DV adjusts the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel according to his/her preference (as necessary) using the second input unit 12 and the third input unit 13. When the driver DV receives the input operation of the second input unit 12 and the third input unit 13, the driving posture setting device D controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 by the posture control unit 35 of the control processing unit 3 according to the input operation of the second input unit 12 and the third input unit 13 (S10). This allows the manual adjustment to be performed.

For example, when the manual adjustment is completed after a preset time (time for manual adjustment) has elapsed since the end of execution of process S9, or by inputting an input unit (not shown) for inputting the end of manual adjustment (not shown), the driving posture setting device D causes the control unit 31 of the control processing unit 3 to associate the current posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel with the authentication result authenticated in process S4, and stores (registers) them as posture face authentication information in the posture face authentication information storage unit 43, displays an occupant information editing screen for editing occupant information on the display device 7, and upon receiving an input operation using the dial switch of the first input unit 11 to the "Complete" button 941 described later, further registers and stores the current posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel as well as the authentication result authenticated in process S4 in association with the occupant's name in the posture face authentication information (S11), and ends this process.

9B, the occupant information editing screen 95 includes a "Done" button 951 for inputting an instruction to update the posture face authentication information, store it in the storage unit 4, and terminate this process, an "Edit driver name" button 952 for inputting an instruction to input and edit the occupant name, a "Change icon" button 953 for inputting an instruction to change the icon, and an occupant name input editing field 954 for inputting and editing the occupant name. When the "Done" button 991 is selected by rotating the dial switch of the first input unit 11 and the dial switch is pushed, the confirmed current posture of the vehicle seat ST (the reclining angle of the vehicle seat ST, the front-rear position of the seat cushion SC, the vertical position of the seat cushion SC, and the inclination of the seat surface) and the posture of the steering wheel (the vertical position and the front-rear position of the steering wheel) as well as the authentication result authenticated in process S4 are associated with the occupant name displayed in the occupant name input editing field 954 and further registered and stored in the posture face authentication information.

On the other hand, when a passenger DV gets into the vehicle while the vehicle is parked and this is detected, the driving posture setting device D performs face recognition using the face recognition unit (in this embodiment, the camera of the eye height data acquisition unit 21 and the face recognition processing unit 33) and determines whether the recognition result is registered in the posture face recognition information stored in the posture face recognition information storage unit 43. If the result of this determination is that the authentication result is not registered in the posture face recognition information, the driving posture setting device D displays the top screen 91 on the display device 7 using the control unit 31 of the control processing unit 3, and executes each of the above-mentioned processes S2 to S11. On the other hand, if the authentication result is registered in the posture face recognition information, the driving posture setting device D selects the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel corresponding to the authentication result from the posture face recognition information using the posture control unit 35 of the control processing unit 3, and controls the seat drive unit 5 and the steering device 6 so that the posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel become the selected posture of the vehicle seat ST and the posture of the steering wheel. This recreates the driving posture that corresponds to the occupant DV who has entered the vehicle.

As described above, the seated eye height measurement provided in the driving posture setting device D in the embodiment and the seated eye height measurement method implemented therein measure eye height after outputting a message encouraging the subject to move their head left and right, so there is a high probability that eye height is always measured during the same movement, and therefore eye height can always be measured in a generally stable manner in the same way in the seated position. In particular, by moving the head left and right, the trunk is firmly fixed, and as a result, the head is also generally stable, and therefore eye height can be measured in a generally stable manner.

The above-mentioned seated eye height measurement and seated eye height measurement method specifically instructs the user on the action of moving the head left and right, reducing individual differences in the interpretation of the message and enabling eye height to be measured with greater accuracy.

According to this embodiment, a driving posture setting device D and a driving posture setting method can be provided that are equipped with the above-mentioned seated posture eye height measuring device and seated posture eye height measuring method, and can more appropriately control the posture of the vehicle seat ST to realize a driving posture according to the occupant DV. The above-mentioned driving posture setting device D and driving posture setting method are equipped with the above-mentioned seated posture eye height measuring device and seated posture eye height measuring method, and therefore can measure the eye height in a generally stable manner in the same way at any time in the seated posture, and therefore can always control the same posture of the vehicle seat ST for the same occupant DV.

The driving posture setting device D and the driving posture setting method specifically instruct the user to move the head left and right, which reduces individual differences in message interpretation and allows for more accurate measurement of eye height, allowing for more accurate control of the posture of the vehicle seat ST for each individual occupant DV.

The driving posture setting device D and driving posture setting method described above perform face authentication by the face authentication unit and measurement by the eye height measurement unit 2 in parallel or serially, so that both can be performed efficiently. In particular, when the face authentication unit performs face authentication based on multiple images of the occupant's face captured at different angles, the message from the measurement by the eye height measurement unit 2 can be used for face authentication by the face authentication unit, so that both can be performed efficiently.

The driving posture setting device D and the driving posture setting method store the posture of the vehicle seat ST for the driving posture corresponding to the occupant DV in the posture face authentication information storage unit 43 in association with the authentication result of the occupant DV, and when the occupant DV gets in again, the stored posture of the vehicle seat ST is controlled, so that there is no need to input the height or calculate the dimensional ratio information again, and the posture of the vehicle seat ST suitable for the occupant DV can be quickly reproduced.

The driving posture setting device D and the driving posture setting method described above control not only the posture of the vehicle seat ST but also the posture of the steering wheel, thereby enabling a more appropriate driving posture to be achieved.

The driving posture setting device and driving posture setting method described above automatically identify the class of the occupant DV, so there is no need for the occupant DV to input the class, and there is no need to manufacture vehicles differently depending on the destination. This reduces the labor required for the manufacturing process, and the benefits of mass production can be enjoyed, making it possible to reduce costs. The driving posture setting device and driving posture setting method described above can identify the class of the occupant DV, so they can automatically achieve an appropriate driving posture according to the class of the occupant DV.

The driving posture setting device and driving posture setting method correct the length of each driving posture-related part, so that an appropriate driving posture can be achieved according to the occupant DV seated in the vehicle seat ST.

In the above embodiment, the reclining mechanism 51, the sliding mechanism 52, the lift mechanism 53, and the tilt mechanism 54 in the seat drive unit 5 are controlled to control the posture of the vehicle seat ST, but at least one of the reclining mechanism 51, the sliding mechanism 52, the lift mechanism 53, and the tilt mechanism 54 in the seat drive unit 5 may be controlled. Similarly, the telescopic mechanism and the tilt mechanism in the steering device 6 are controlled to control the posture of the steering wheel, but at least one of the telescopic mechanism and the tilt mechanism in the steering device 6 may be controlled. Here, if the tilt mechanism 54 is not provided and the inclination of the seat surface in the seat cushion SC is fixed, the design value is used for the inclination of the seat surface in the calculation of the torso length. If the lift mechanism 53 is not provided and the height of the seat surface in the seat cushion SC is fixed, the design value is used for the height of the seat surface in the calculation of the torso length.

In order to express the present invention, the present invention has been described above adequately and sufficiently through the embodiments with reference to the drawings. However, 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 Driving posture setting device equipped with seated posture eye height measuring device 1 Input unit 2 Eye height measuring unit 3 Control processing unit 4 Memory unit 5 Seat drive unit 6 Steering device 7 Display device 11 First input unit 12 Second input unit 13 Third input unit 21 Eye height data acquisition unit 22 (36) Eye height processing unit 31 Control unit (measurement control unit)
32 Message output unit 33 Face recognition processing unit 34 Dimension ratio specification unit 35 Posture control unit (re-posture control unit)
41 Class feature information storage unit 42 Height dimension ratio information storage unit 43 Pose face recognition information storage unit

Claims (10)

An output unit;
An eye height measuring unit for measuring the eye height of a subject seated in a seat;
a message output unit that outputs a message to the output unit to prompt the subject to move his/her head in a left/right direction;
a measurement control unit that controls the message output unit and the eye height measurement unit so as to measure the eye height after outputting the message,
Eye height measuring device when seated. The message is a message encouraging the user to move the head to look in at least one of a forward direction, a right direction, and a left direction.
2. The eye height measuring device according to claim 1 . An eye height measuring step of measuring the eye height of a subject seated in a seat;
a message output step of outputting a message to the output unit prompting the subject to move his/her head in a left/right direction;
and a measurement control step of controlling the message output step and the eye height measurement step so as to measure the eye height after outputting the message.
How to measure eye height when seated. The seated eye height measuring device according to claim 1 or 2,
A vehicle seat for use in a vehicle as the seat;
an input unit that receives an input of a height of the occupant of the target person;
a height dimension ratio information storage unit that stores height dimension ratio information in which dimension ratio information representing the dimension ratio of each predetermined body part related to the driving posture is associated with height and eye height;
A seat drive unit that moves the posture of the vehicle seat;
a dimension ratio determination unit that determines dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the eye height measured by the seated eye height measurement device based on the height dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit;
a posture control unit that controls the seat drive unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes a posture corresponding to a driving posture based on the height of an occupant received by the input unit and the dimensional ratio information specified by the dimensional ratio specifying unit,
Driving posture setting device. The message is a message that prompts the driver to move his/her head to look at at least one of a first accessory of the vehicle arranged in a front direction, a second accessory of the vehicle arranged in a right direction, and a third accessory of the vehicle arranged in a left direction.
The driving position setting device according to claim 4. A face authentication unit that authenticates the occupant by face authentication is further provided,
The measurement control unit controls the message output unit, the eye height measurement unit, and the face authentication unit so as to execute the eye height measurement and the face authentication in parallel or in series after outputting the message.
6. The driving position setting device according to claim 4 or 5. a posture face authentication information storage unit configured to store posture face authentication information in which a posture of the vehicle seat based on a result of controlling the seat drive unit by the posture control unit is associated with an authentication result obtained by the face authentication unit;
and a posture readjustment control unit that, when the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit is stored in a posture face authentication information storage unit after the face authentication unit performs face authentication, selects a posture of the vehicle seat corresponding to the authentication result authenticated by the face authentication unit, and controls the seat drive unit by the posture control unit so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes the selected posture of the vehicle seat.
7. The driving position setting device according to claim 4, wherein the driving position setting device is a vehicle body. Further comprising a steering device capable of changing the attitude of the steering wheel,
The posture control unit further controls the steering device so that the posture of the steering wheel becomes a posture corresponding to a driving posture based on the height of the occupant received by the input unit and the dimensional ratio information specified by the dimensional ratio specifying unit.
8. The driving position setting device according to claim 4, wherein the driving position setting device is a vehicle body. A driving posture setting method comprising the method for measuring eye height in a seated posture according to claim 3, in which a vehicle seat used in a vehicle is used as the seat, storing height dimension ratio information in a height dimension ratio information storage unit, the height dimension ratio information representing the dimension ratios of each predetermined part of the body related to the driving posture being associated with height and eye height, and controlling the posture of the vehicle seat,
an input step of receiving an input of a height of the occupant of the target person;
a dimension ratio specifying step of specifying dimension ratio information related to the height of the occupant received in the input step and the eye height measured by the eye height measurement method in a seated posture based on the height dimension ratio information stored in the height dimension ratio information storage unit;
and a posture control step of controlling the posture of the vehicle seat so that the posture of the vehicle seat becomes a posture corresponding to a driving posture based on the height of the occupant received in the input step and the dimension ratio information specified in the dimension ratio specification step.
How to set driving position. The posture control step further includes controlling a posture of the steering wheel so that the posture of the steering wheel corresponds to a driving posture based on the height of the occupant received in the input step and the dimension ratio information specified in the dimension ratio specification step.
The driving posture setting method according to claim 9.

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