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DE-102024125685-B4 - Procedure for adjusting a vehicle seat

DE102024125685B4DE 102024125685 B4DE102024125685 B4DE 102024125685B4DE-102024125685-B4

Abstract

A method (1000) for adjusting a vehicle seat (10) of a vehicle, wherein at least a contact pressure is measured on a pedal of the vehicle, on a footwell of the vehicle and/or on a headrest (14) of the vehicle seat (10) and wherein the vehicle seat (10) is adjusted based on the contact pressure, enables comfortable, convenient driving with the vehicle and thereby improves road safety when using the vehicle.

Inventors

  • Matteo Skull

Assignees

  • DR. ING. H.C. F. PORSCHE AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240906

Claims (4)

  1. Method (1000) for adjusting a vehicle seat (10) of a vehicle, wherein at least a contact pressure on a pedal of the vehicle, on a footwell of the vehicle and/or on a headrest (14) of the vehicle seat (10) is measured, whereby the vehicle seat (10) is adjusted based on the contact pressure, wherein an actual seating position (44) on the vehicle seat (10) of a driver (15) is determined based on the contact pressure, whereby a similarity value between the determined actual seating position (44) and a target seating position (50) is determined, whereby an actuating parameter, for example a torque, is determined based on the similarity value, and whereby an energy-based model (48, 112) is used to determine the actuating parameter, which provides pressure values as latent variables.
  2. Method (1000) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the contact pressure is detected by a pressure-sensitive textile (20).
  3. Method (1000) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a trainable 3D pose estimator is used to determine the actual seat position (44), wherein the 3D pose estimator is trained using pressure values from several positions of the vehicle seat (10) and/or the steering wheel (16) of the vehicle.
  4. Method (1000) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the 3D pose estimator is trained using camera recordings of the driver (15) sitting on the vehicle seat (10).

Description

The present invention relates to a method for adjusting a vehicle seat. State of the art WO 2021 / 175 516 A1 This concerns a system and a method for adjusting an actuator for seat settings in a vehicle based on a 2D or 3D image of the driver and their seating position. The captured body is compared with reference body models using AI to correctly adjust the actuator. KR 10 2023 073 602 A This concerns a method to generate a seat position setting for a driver using a neural network, based on the driver's body type and driving habits. Out of KR 10 2022 149 053 A A method for automatically adjusting a seat position in a vehicle using a neural network is known. For this purpose, upper body pressure data and lower body pressure data from corresponding sensors in the vehicle seat are used to calculate an optimal seat position setting. The document DE 10 2018 211 831 A1 This describes a method for determining a seat setting in a motor vehicle. For this purpose, the input body characteristics of a driver are compared with reference body dimensions for which reference seat settings exist, and a seating position is suggested by a neural network. CN 1 08 657 029 A This reveals an intelligent adjustment system for a car driver's seat, based on predicting limb length. A camera system captures the driver's image, and AI creates a joint model. The system then determines the driver's limb length, compares it to reference lengths stored in a database, and adjusts the seat accordingly. CN 1 17 601 725 A This concerns a method for adjusting a car seat based on the driver's fatigue level. WO 2020 / 018 645 A1 This document discloses a system for creating a body model of a person sitting in a seat. For this purpose, several pressure sensors are provided on the seat surface, enabling the detection of the body and its posture. In particular, a neural network is used for this purpose. Disclosure of the invention Vehicle seats offer a wide range of adjustment options to optimize driver comfort. A well-balanced seating position can significantly contribute to fatigue-free driving. Therefore, a driver in an optimal position can also enhance road safety. Therefore, solutions that support the driver in driving a vehicle in the most favorable seating position are desirable. The object of the present invention is therefore to offer methods that support a driver in assuming an optimal seating position. The methods should be implementable with minimal effort. The problem is solved by a method for adjusting a vehicle seat, wherein at least one contact pressure is measured on a pedal of the vehicle, on a footwell of the vehicle and/or on a headrest of the vehicle seat, and wherein the vehicle seat is adjusted based on the contact pressure. One underlying principle of this solution is that determining at least one such contact pressure may suffice to derive a vehicle seat setting. In particular, the idea is that it is not always necessary to use sensors along the seat shell to record the driver's current seating position, nor is it always necessary to distribute sensors across the entire vehicle seat to collect pressure data, for example. Furthermore, it is based on the understanding that it may be sufficient to evaluate sensor data from one of the aforementioned areas of the vehicle, in particular the pedal, the footwell and/or the headrest, in order to adjust the vehicle seat appropriately. Since the data collection focuses on a few specific areas of the vehicle seat or interior, the method is particularly simple and cost-effective. No, or at most only a few, additional sensors are required for data acquisition. This allows the method to be implemented with very little effort. It is conceivable that the contact pressure is detected by a pressure-sensitive textile. The pressure-sensitive textile could be a nanomaterial. It could be a material like that found in Nanomaterials 2022, 12(9), 1495; https://doi.org/10.3390/nano12091495 is described. Based on the contact pressure, the current seating position of the driver is determined. It is conceivable to determine an individual target position for the driver based on this current seating position. The target position could, for example, be optimized to minimize driver fatigue. The current seating position and/or the target seating position can be represented as 3D seating positions. A difference can be determined between the actual seating position and the desired seating position. From this difference, it can be determined how the vehicle seat needs to be adjusted so that the driver, at least with a high degree of probability, assumes the desired seating position. A similarity score is calculated between the determined actual seating position and the target seating position. This similarity score may have a lower dimensionality than would be necessary to characterize the actual seating position and/or the target seating position. A control parameter, such as a torque, is determined based on t