JP2020199920A - Seat control device and seat control method - Google Patents

Abstract

To change the direction of a seat at appropriate timing.SOLUTION: A seat control device (10) comprises: an object person detection unit (12) which detects a determination object person from a plurality of persons seating a plurality of seats (50) provided in a prescribed space; an information acquisition unit (11) which acquires at least one of environment information and biological information; a comfort degree estimation unit (131) which estimates a comfort degree of the determination object person on the basis of at least the one of the environment information and the biological information; and a seat control unit (14) which changes the direction of the seat (50) which each determination object person whose comfort degree satisfies a prescribed condition seats when the comfort degrees of two or more determination object persons each satisfy a prescribed condition.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a seat control device, a seat control method, and the like.

Seats that can be turned around are known as prior art. For example, in Patent Document 1, two seats arranged adjacent to each other in the seat width direction are rotatably connected in a direction of approaching and separating, and each seat can be locked at an arbitrary position after rotation. The device is described.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-097780

By using the conventional technique as described above, for example, the two seats can be rotated in a direction close to the opposite. Thereby, for example, communication can be facilitated. However, in the conventional technique, the user needs to determine the timing of changing the orientation of the seat by himself / herself.

Therefore, in the prior art, it is not always possible to change the orientation of the seat at an appropriate timing. For example, when a user feels uncomfortable, even if the user's seat faces the seat of another user, the user's seat becomes conscious of the unpleasant mood, so that communication cannot be facilitated.

One aspect of the present invention is in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize a seat control device or the like capable of changing the orientation of a seat at an appropriate timing.

In order to solve the above problems, the seat control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a plurality of humans who have started communication among a plurality of humans seated in a plurality of seats provided in a predetermined space. A target person detection unit that detects each as a judgment target person, an information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of environmental information about the environment in the predetermined space, and biological information of each judgment target person, the environmental information, and the above. When the comfort level estimation unit that estimates the comfort level of each determination target person based on at least one of the biometric information and the comfort level of two or more determination target persons satisfy predetermined conditions, respectively. A seat direction control unit for changing the orientation of the seat on which each of the determination target persons whose comfort level satisfies the predetermined condition is provided.

According to the above configuration, when the comfort level of the person who started the conversation meets a predetermined condition, the orientation of the seat in which the person is sitting is changed. As a result, the orientation of the seat can be changed at an appropriate timing.

In the seat control device, the comfort estimation unit determines a thermal sensation index value indicating the thermal sensation felt by the determination target person, a sitting comfort index value indicating the sitting comfort of the seat seat felt by the determination target person, and the determination. The comfort level may be estimated by calculating at least one of the quietness index values indicating the quietness of the surroundings of the subject as the index value indicating the comfort level, and when the predetermined condition is satisfied, It may indicate the case where all the index values indicating the comfort level are included in the predetermined range determined for each index value.

According to the above configuration, the orientation of the seat of the determination target person is changed according to the warmth and sitting comfort of the determination target person and the quietness around the determination target person. Therefore, the orientation of the seat can be changed at a more appropriate timing according to the state of the determination target person and the environment around the determination target person.

The seat control device controls an environment adjustment device control unit that executes control of the environment adjustment device that adjusts the environment in the predetermined space, and a biological action device that acts on the determination target person to change the biological information. At least one of the biological action device control unit to be executed may be provided, and at least one of the environment adjustment device control unit and the biological action device control unit is subject to the condition that the comfort level of the determination target person is a predetermined condition. If not satisfied, the control may be executed so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies the predetermined condition.

According to the above configuration, when the comfort level of the determination target person does not satisfy the condition, the environment adjusting device or the biological action device is controlled so as to satisfy the condition. Thereby, the comfort level of the determination target person can be adjusted.

The seat control device may include a comfort level prediction unit that predicts the comfort level of the determination target person who is seated on the seat after the orientation is changed by the seat direction control unit. At least one of the environment adjusting device control unit and the biological action device control unit may execute control according to the comfort level of the determination target person predicted by the comfort level prediction unit.

According to the above configuration, the comfort level of the determination target person after the orientation of the seat is changed is predicted, and at least one of the environment adjusting device and the biological action device is controlled in consideration of the prediction result. Therefore, the comfort level of the determination target person can be adjusted more appropriately.

The seat control device estimates the operating state of each of the determination target persons by using at least one of the captured image, the environmental information, and the biological information acquired from the imaging unit that images the predetermined space. The estimation unit may be provided, and the seat direction control unit may change the orientation of the seat when the operating state of each of the determination target persons is a predetermined first state.

According to the above configuration, the orientation of the seat of the determination target person is changed when the determination target person is in an appropriate state for starting communication. Therefore, the orientation of the seat can be changed at a more appropriate timing for the determination target person.

In the sheet control device, the target person detection unit identifies the utterance contents of two or more human beings among the plurality of human beings based on the voice data acquired from the microphones arranged in the predetermined space. The utterance content specifying unit and the association determination unit for determining whether or not the utterance contents of the two or more humans are related to each other may be included, and the association determination unit determines that the utterance contents are related to each other. Two or more human beings may be determined as the determination target person.

According to the above configuration, when the utterance contents of two or more humans are related to each other, the two or more humans are determined as the determination target person. This makes it possible to detect that a plurality of people have started communicating with each other rather than simply speaking to each other. Therefore, the determination target person can be detected more accurately.

The sheet control device estimates the operating state of each of the plurality of human beings by using at least one of the captured image, the environmental information, and the biological information acquired from the imaging unit that images the predetermined space. The target person detection unit may include an estimation unit, and the target person detection unit determines a plurality of humans whose operating state is a second state suitable for initiating communication among the plurality of humans. May be detected as.

According to the above configuration, among the plurality of humans seated in the seat, the human being in an appropriate state for initiating communication is determined as the determination target person. Therefore, a more appropriate determination target person can be detected.

In the seat control device, the seat direction control unit changes the direction of the seat seat from the first direction to the second direction, and the second direction is a plurality of directions as compared with the first direction. The direction of the determination target person may be a direction close to the opposite.

According to the above configuration, the orientation of the seats can be changed so that the orientations of the people who have started communication are close to each other. As a result, communication between people can be activated.

In the seat control device, the seat direction control unit may change the orientation of the seat seat from the second direction to the first direction when the communication between the plurality of determination target persons is completed. ..

According to the above configuration, the orientation of the seats between the persons who have completed communication can be changed so that the persons are far from each other. As a result, the orientation of the seats can be made close to the opposite only during the period from the start to the end of communication. As a result, communication can be activated only for an appropriate period of time.

In the seat control device, the comfort level estimation unit may continuously estimate the comfort level of each determination target person at predetermined time intervals, and the seat direction control unit continuously estimates the comfort level. Using the comfort level, it may be determined whether or not the comfort level of two or more persons to be determined satisfies the predetermined conditions.

According to the above configuration, the comfort level of the determination target person is continuously estimated, and when the comfort level satisfies a predetermined condition, the orientation of the seat on which the person is sitting is changed. As a result, the orientation of the seat can be changed at an appropriate timing.

In the seat control device, the comfort level estimation unit re-estimates the comfort level of the determination target person seated on the seat after the orientation of the seat seat is changed by the seat direction control unit. The seat direction control unit may determine whether or not to change the orientation of the seat seat again by using the comfort level re-estimated by the comfort level estimation unit.

According to the above configuration, it is determined whether or not to change the orientation of the seat again according to the comfort level after changing the orientation of the seat. As a result, the orientation of the seat can be changed to an appropriate orientation at any time.

In order to solve the above problems, the seat control method according to one aspect of the present invention is a plurality of humans who have started communication among a plurality of humans seated in a plurality of seats provided in a predetermined space. A target person detection step that detects each as a judgment target person, an information acquisition step that acquires at least one of environmental information about the environment in the predetermined space, and biological information of each judgment target person, the environmental information, and the above. When the comfort level estimation step for estimating the comfort level of each determination target person based on at least one of the biometric information and the comfort level of two or more determination target persons satisfy predetermined conditions, the present invention The seat orientation control step for changing the orientation of the seats in which each of the determination target persons whose comfort level satisfies the predetermined condition is seated is included.

According to the above configuration, the same effect as that of the seat control device is obtained.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the orientation of the seat can be changed at an appropriate timing.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the main part structure of the seat control system which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the arrangement example of the environment sensor and the biosensor in the internal space of an automobile which is a kind of a moving body. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process executed by the sheet control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the determination target person detection processing. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the main part structure of the seat control system which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the process executed by the sheet control apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the process flow at the time of controlling an environment adjustment device or a biological action device for each index value of comfort degree. It is a block diagram which shows an example of the main part structure of the seat control system which concerns on Embodiment 3 of this invention.

The seat control system according to each embodiment of the present invention is a system for changing the orientation of the seat at an appropriate timing. More specifically, the seat control system determines the orientation of the seats on which the plurality of users are sitting when the comfort level of each user satisfies a predetermined condition for the plurality of users who have started communication. change.

For example, the seat control system adjusts the orientation of the seats so that the seats on which the plurality of users are sitting face each other. Thereby, the communication of the plurality of users can be activated. Hereinafter, the seat control system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the first to third embodiments and modified examples.

[Embodiment 1]
≪Main part composition≫
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a main configuration of the seat control system 100 according to the present embodiment. The seat control system 100 includes at least one of the seat control device 10, the environment sensor 20 and the biosensor 30, a microphone 40, and a plurality of seats 50.

(Mobile 1)
At least a part of the devices constituting the seat control system 100 may be devices mounted on the moving body 1. The moving body 1 is a moving body having a predetermined space inside, such as an automobile, a train, or an aircraft. Hereinafter, when the term is simply referred to as "predetermined space", it means a predetermined space inside the moving body 1.

(Seat 50)
The seat seat 50 is a seat seat provided in a predetermined space. The seat control system 100 includes a plurality of seats 50. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the moving body 1 is provided with three seats 50, but the number of seats 50 is not particularly limited as long as it is two or more.

Further, the seat seat 50 has a drive mechanism capable of rotating or moving. The mechanism of the seat 50 changes the orientation of the seat surface of the seat 50 according to the control of the seat control unit 14. The rotatable or movable angle of the seat 50 is not particularly limited. However, it is desirable that the seat 50 be rotated or moved so that, for example, one seat 50 and another seat 50 are substantially opposed to each other. By facing the seats 50, the users sitting on the seats 50 can face each other. As a result, communication between the users can be activated.

(Environmental sensor 20 and biosensor 30)
The environment sensor 20 is a sensor that measures various data related to the environment in a predetermined space. Environmental information indicates various data related to the environment. The environmental information is, for example, temperature, humidity, amount of solar radiation, and the like. Further, the environment sensor 20 may be a device that acquires various control parameters as environmental information in the environment adjustment device. The environment adjusting device is a device that adjusts the environment in a predetermined space. Specifically, for example, the environment sensor 20 may be a device that acquires information indicating a set temperature and a set air volume of the air conditioner.

The biosensor 30 is a sensor that measures biometric information of a user sitting on the seat 50. The biometric information is, for example, the user's facial expression, movement, posture, speech voice, and vital data such as pulse, respiration, body temperature, blood pressure, consciousness, and reflex. Further, the biological sensor 30 may be a device that acquires various control parameters as biological information in the biological action device. A biological action device is a device that acts on a user to change biological information. Specifically, for example, the biosensor 30 may be a control value of the reclining mechanism of the seat 50, a control value of the massage mechanism of the seat 50, or the like.

Further, the specific configuration, number, and arrangement position of the environment sensor 20 and the biosensor 30 are not particularly limited. The seat control system 100 may acquire a plurality of types of environmental information by including a plurality of types of environment sensors 20. Further, the seat control system 100 may acquire a plurality of types of biometric information by including a plurality of types of biosensors 30. By acquiring a plurality of types of environmental information and biological information in this way, it is possible to more accurately estimate the comfort level in the condition determination unit 13 described later.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of arrangement of the environment sensor 20 and the biosensor 30 in the internal space of the automobile 1A, which is a kind of the moving body 1. The seat control system 100 includes, for example, as an environment sensor 20, a solar radiation sensor 20A for measuring the amount of solar radiation, a room temperature sensor 20B for measuring the room temperature in the moving body 1, and a humidity sensor 20C for measuring the humidity in the moving body 1. , May be included.

As shown in the figure, it is desirable that the solar radiation sensor 20A is arranged at a position exposed to direct sunlight, such as the lower part of the windshield of the automobile 1A. Further, it is desirable that the room temperature sensor 20B is arranged at a position such as the lower part of the dashboard where the wind of an air conditioner such as sunlight and an air conditioner does not directly hit. Further, it is desirable that the humidity sensor 20C is arranged at a position where the wind of the air conditioner does not directly hit, such as the ceiling portion of the automobile 1A.

Further, the seat control system 100 includes, for example, as a biological sensor 30, a camera 30A that captures an image for identifying a user's facial expression, motion, posture, and the like, and a seat pressure sensor 30B that measures the seat pressure of the seat 50. , May be included.

As shown, one camera 30A may be arranged in front of each of the seats 50 of the automobile. As a result, it is possible to clearly acquire the image of the user sitting on the seat 50, that is, the occupant of the automobile. Further, the seat pressure sensor 30B may be appropriately arranged inside or outside the seat 50 so that the seat pressure distribution when the user sits on the seat 50 can be measured.

(Mike 40)
The microphone 40 is a device for acquiring voice in a predetermined space. The microphone 40 transmits the acquired voice data (voice data) to the target person detection unit 12, which will be described later. As long as the sound in the predetermined space can be acquired without any shortage, the specific configuration of the microphone 40 and the arrangement position in the predetermined space are not particularly limited.

For example, when the moving body 1 is an automobile, one microphone 40 may be arranged in front of each of the seats 50 of the automobile. Alternatively, the microphone 40 may be arranged in the headrest portion of the seat 50. By arranging the microphones 40 in these places, it is possible to clearly acquire the utterance voice of the user sitting on the seat 50, that is, the occupant of the automobile. Further, by comparing the voice data from each microphone 40, it is possible to identify which seat 50 the user is sitting in.

(Seat control device 10)
The seat control device 10 is a device that controls the drive mechanism of the seat 50. The seat control device 10 includes an information acquisition unit 11, a target person detection unit 12, a condition determination unit 13, and a seat control unit (seat direction control unit) 14.

The information acquisition unit 11 acquires at least one of the environmental information and the biological information. The information acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired environmental information and biological information to the condition determination unit 13.

The target person detection unit 12 detects each of a plurality of people who have started communication as a determination target person. Here, the "determination target person" indicates a user who is subject to determination as to whether or not to change the orientation of his / her own seat in the condition determination unit 13 described later among each user sitting in the seat 50. .. The dialogue determination unit 122 outputs information indicating the detected determination target person to the condition determination unit 13. The target person detection unit 12 includes a voice recognition unit (speech content specifying unit) 121 and a dialogue determination unit (related determination unit) 122.

The voice recognition unit 121 identifies the utterance contents of a plurality of human beings sitting on the seat 50 by voice-recognizing the voice data acquired from the microphone 40. The voice recognition unit 121 may specify the utterance contents of all the human beings sitting on the seat 50, or may specify only the utterance contents of some human beings. The voice recognition unit 121 identifies the utterance content of at least two or more human beings. The voice recognition unit 121 outputs the result of voice recognition to the dialogue determination unit 122.

When a plurality of microphones 40 are present, the voice recognition unit 121 performs voice recognition for each of the voice data acquired from each microphone 40. Further, when the voice data acquired from the microphone 40 includes the voices of a plurality of users, the voice recognition unit 121 analyzes these voices, for example, based on the pitch of the voice, the utterance speed, and the like. Identify each person's speech location. Then, the voice recognition unit 121 specifies the utterance content of each person.

The dialogue determination unit 122 determines whether or not the utterance contents of the two or more humans specified by the voice recognition unit 121 are related to each other. When they are related to each other, the dialogue determination unit 122 determines these human beings as determination targets. Details of the processing of the dialogue determination unit 122 will be described later.

The condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the comfort level of each determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition. The condition determination unit 13 includes a comfort level estimation unit 131.

The comfort level estimation unit 131 estimates the comfort level of the determination target person based on at least one of the environmental information and the biological information. Here, the degree of comfort is the degree of comfort of the determination target person in a predetermined space. The "comfort" referred to here may be evaluated by estimating the subjective feelings such as emotional aspects of the judgment target person, or is estimated from the environmental conditions around the judgment target person. , May be an objective comfort estimate.

The method for estimating the comfort level in the comfort level estimation unit 131 may be appropriately determined according to the types of environmental information and biological information. For example, the comfort level estimation unit 131 may calculate the index values (1) to (3) below as index values indicating the comfort level.

(1) Warmth index value indicating the warmth feeling of the judgment target person (2) Sitting comfort index value indicating the sitting comfort of the seat 50 felt by the judgment target person (3) Quietness indicating the quietness around the judgment target person When calculating the index value (1), it is desirable that the seat control system 100 includes at least one of a solar radiation sensor, a room temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, and a device for acquiring air conditioner air volume as the environment sensor 20. Then, the comfort level estimation unit 131 calculates the thermal sensation index value using at least one of the values of the amount of solar radiation, room temperature, humidity, and air conditioner air volume acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 from these sensors or devices. The method of calculating the thermal sensation index value is not particularly limited. For example, PMV (Predicted Mean Vote) may be adopted as the thermal sensation index value.

When calculating (2), it is desirable that the seat control system 100 includes at least one of a seat pressure sensor and a device for acquiring the value of the seat position of the seat 50 as the biosensor 30. Then, the comfort level estimation unit 131 calculates the seat comfort index value from the value indicating the seat pressure or the seat position acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 from these sensors or devices. The method of calculating the sitting comfort index value is not particularly limited.

When calculating (3), it is desirable that the seat control system 100 includes at least one of a microphone and a camera as the biosensor 30. Then, the comfort level estimation unit 131 calculates the quietness index value by using at least one of the voice data and the captured image acquired by the information acquisition unit 11 from these devices. The method of calculating the quietness index value is not particularly limited. For example, the quietness index value may be a voice volume value (eg, db) indicated by voice data.

The condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the comfort level estimated by the comfort level estimation unit 131 satisfies a predetermined condition. For example, the condition determination unit 13 satisfies the predetermined condition when all the index values (1) to (3) described above are included in the predetermined range determined for each index value. You may judge.

As a result, the orientation of the seat 50 of the determination target person is changed according to the warmth and sitting comfort of the determination target person and the quietness around the determination target person. Therefore, the orientation of the seat 50 can be changed at a more appropriate timing according to the state of the determination target person and the environment around the determination target person.

The seat control unit 14 controls the drive mechanism of each of the seats 50. For example, the seat control unit 14 changes the orientation of each of the seats 50. In addition to this, the seat control unit 14 may adjust at least one of the shape and angle of the backrest by controlling the reclining mechanism of the backrest of the seat 50.

For example, the seat control unit 14 may change the orientation of the seat 50 from a certain first direction to a second direction according to an instruction from the condition determination unit 13. The second direction is a direction in which the determination target person sitting on the seat 50 and the other determination target person are closer to each other than the first direction. As a result, the orientation of the seat 50 can be changed so that the orientations of the people who have started communication are close to each other. As a result, communication between people can be activated.

≪Processing flow≫
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing executed by the seat control device 10. The target person detection unit 12 of the sheet control device 10 executes the determination target person detection process based on the input voice from the microphone 40 (S10). The “judgment target person detection process” indicates a process for detecting a judgment target person. The details of the process will be described later.

(Judgment target person detection process)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the determination target person detection process. The voice recognition unit 121 of the target person detection unit 12 acquires voice data from the microphone 40 (S101). The voice recognition unit 121 identifies the utterance content of each person by voice recognition (S102). For example, when one user is seated in each of the three seats 50 shown in FIG. 1, the voice recognition unit 121 identifies the utterance contents of each of the three users. The voice recognition unit 121 outputs the result of voice recognition to the dialogue determination unit 122.

The dialogue determination unit 122 determines the determination target person based on the result of voice recognition input from the voice recognition unit 121, that is, the utterance content of each user. Specifically, the dialogue determination unit 122 first determines whether or not the utterance contents of a plurality of people can be detected from the input voice recognition result (S103). When only one person's utterance content is specified, that is, when only one person is speaking in a predetermined space, or when the utterance cannot be detected (NO in S103), the dialogue determination unit 122 executes the subsequent processing. do not do.

On the other hand, when the utterance contents of a plurality of people are specified (YES in S103), the dialogue determination unit 122 determines whether or not the utterance contents of two or more of the utterance contents of each person are related (S104). .. If they are related (YES in S104), the dialogue determination unit 122 determines each person whose utterance content is determined to be related as the determination target person (S105). On the other hand, when the utterance contents of two or more people are not related (NO in S104), the dialogue determination unit 122 determines that there is no determination target person.

When the target person detection unit 12 can detect the determination target person, the target person detection unit 12 outputs information indicating the determination target person to the condition determination unit 13. For example, the target person detection unit 12 outputs information for identifying which seat 50 the determination target person is sitting on to the condition determination unit 13 as information indicating the determination target person. If the target person detection unit 12 cannot detect the determination target person, the target person detection unit 12 outputs information indicating that fact to the condition determination unit 13.

When the information indicating the determination target person is input from the target person detection unit 12, that is, when the determination target person exists (YES in S11), the condition determination unit 13 informs the information acquisition unit 11 of the environmental information and the biological information. Instruct to acquire at least one of them. Here, the condition determination unit 13 instructs the information acquisition unit 11 to acquire the environmental information and the biological information used for estimating the comfort level in the comfort degree estimation unit 131. On the other hand, when information indicating that the determination target person could not be detected is input from the target person detection unit 12, that is, when the determination target person does not exist (NO in S11), the condition determination unit 13 will be described below. Do not execute the process.

Upon receiving an instruction from the condition determination unit 13, the information acquisition unit 11 acquires at least one of the environmental information and the biological information from the environmental sensor 20 and the biological sensor 30 (S12). The information acquisition unit 11 outputs the acquired information to the condition determination unit 13.

When at least one of the environmental information and the biological information about the determination target person indicated by the target person detection unit 12 is input, the condition determination unit 13 causes the comfort level estimation unit 131 to perform the comfort level of each determination target person. Is estimated (S13). The condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the comfort level of two or more determination target persons among the determination target persons satisfies a predetermined condition (S14). The condition determination unit 13 outputs the determination result to the sheet control unit 14. When the comfort level of two or more judgment target persons satisfies a predetermined condition (YES in S14), the condition determination unit 13 tells the seat control unit 14 the seat corresponding to the judgment target person. Information indicating the seat 50 and an instruction to change the orientation of the seat 50 are instructed. Then, the seat control unit 14 changes the orientation of the seat 50 on which the determination target person who satisfies the condition is sitting (S15). For example, the seat control unit 14 changes the orientation of the seat 50 from the above-mentioned first direction to the second direction.

On the other hand, when the number of determination target persons whose comfort level satisfies the predetermined condition is less than two (NO in S14), the condition determination unit 13 does not give an instruction to the seat control unit 14 and processes. To finish.

According to the above processing, when the comfort level of the person who started the conversation satisfies the predetermined condition, the orientation of the seat on which the person is sitting is changed. As a result, the orientation of the seat can be changed at an appropriate timing.

Further, according to the determination target person detection process, when the utterance contents of two or more humans are related to each other, the two or more humans are determined to be the determination target persons. This makes it possible to detect that a plurality of people have started communicating with each other rather than simply speaking to each other. Therefore, the determination target person can be detected more accurately.

(Modification example)
The target person detection unit 12 may acquire voice data from the microphone 40 at any time and perform the target person detection process at any time. Then, the target person detection unit 12 may transmit the information indicating the determination target person or the fact that the determination target person could not be detected to the condition determination unit 13 at any time. Then, when the condition determination unit 13 is notified that the determination target person could not be detected, that is, when the communication between the plurality of determination target persons is completed, the seat control unit 14 is instructed to turn the seat 50. You may instruct to change from the second direction to the first direction.

As a result, the orientation of the seats between the persons who have completed communication can be changed so that the persons are far from each other. In other words, the seats can be oriented closer to each other only during the period from the start to the end of communication. Therefore, communication can be activated only for an appropriate period of time.

The information acquisition unit 11 may acquire at least one of the environmental information and the biological information at any time and output it to the condition determination unit 13. Further, the target person detection unit 12 may acquire voice data from the microphone 40 at any time and perform the determination target person detection process at a predetermined time interval at any time. In addition, the comfort level estimation unit 131 may continuously estimate the comfort level of each determination target person at predetermined time intervals. Then, the seat control unit 14 may determine at any time whether or not the comfort levels of the two or more determination target persons satisfy the predetermined conditions, respectively, using the continuously estimated comfort level.

As a result, the determination target person is detected, the comfort level is estimated, and the orientation control of the seat 50 is performed at any time. Therefore, the orientation of the seat can be changed at an appropriate timing.

Further, the comfort level estimation unit 131 may re-estimate the comfort level of the determination target person who is seated on the seat seat 50 after the orientation of the seat seat 50 is changed by the seat control unit 14. Then, the seat control unit 14 may determine whether or not to change the orientation of the seat 50 again by using the comfort level re-estimated by the comfort level estimation unit 131. Thereby, it is determined whether or not to change the orientation of the seat 50 again according to the comfort level after changing the orientation of the seat 50. Therefore, the orientation of the seat 50 can be changed to an appropriate orientation at any time.

[Embodiment 2]
In the seat control system according to the present invention, the seat control device 10 adjusts the environment so that when the comfort level of the user who is the determination target person does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the comfort level satisfies the predetermined condition. At least one of the device and the biological action device may be controlled. Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals will be added to the members having the same functions as the members described in the above embodiment, and the description will not be repeated.

≪Main part composition≫
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of the seat control system 200. The seat control system 200 differs from the seat control system 100 in that it includes an environment adjusting device 60 and a biological action device 70. Further, the seat control device 10 of the seat control system 200 is different from the seat control device 10 described in the first embodiment in that the seat control device 10 includes an environment adjustment device control unit 15, a biological action device control unit 16, and a comfort degree prediction unit 132. ..

The environment adjusting device 60 is a device for adjusting the environment in a predetermined space. The environment adjusting device 60 may be, for example, an air conditioner, an electric fan, a light, a speaker, or the like. The environment adjusting device 60 operates according to the control of the environment adjusting device control unit 15.

The biological action device 70 is a device for acting on the user of the seat 50 including the determination target person to change the biological information. The biological action device 70 may be, for example, a vibrator, a mechanism for realizing a massage function of the seat 50, or the like.

The environment adjustment device control unit 15 of the seat control device 10 controls the environment adjustment device 60. The environment adjustment device control unit 15 controls the environment adjustment device 60 in the condition determination unit 13 based on the instruction of the condition determination unit 13 when the comfort level of the determination target person does not satisfy a predetermined condition. Here, the environment adjustment device control unit 15 executes control so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition by the operation of the environment adjustment device 60.

The biological action device control unit 16 of the seat control device 10 controls the biological action device 70. The biological action device control unit 16 controls the biological action device 70 in the condition determination unit 13 based on the instruction of the condition determination unit 13 when the comfort level of the determination target person does not satisfy a predetermined condition. Here, the biological action device control unit 16 executes control so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition by the operation of the biological action device 70.

Hereinafter, it will be described that the seat control system 200 includes both the environment adjusting device 60 and the biological action device 70. However, the seat control system 200 only needs to include at least one of the environment adjustment device 60 and the biological action device 70, and the environment adjustment device control unit 15 or the biological action device control unit 16 that controls the one device.

The condition determination unit 13 of the seat control device 10 may include a comfort level prediction unit 132. When the comfort level estimated by the comfort level estimation unit 131 does not satisfy a predetermined condition, the comfort level prediction unit 132 predicts the comfort level after the seat 50 is turned from the current state. In other words, the comfort level prediction unit 132 predicts the comfort level of the determination target person who is seated in the seat 50 after the orientation is changed by the seat control unit 14. The comfort level prediction unit 132 outputs the predicted comfort level to at least one of the environment adjustment device control unit 15 and the biological action device control unit 16.

The method of predicting the comfort level is not particularly limited. For example, the comfort level prediction unit 132 may predict the comfort level by correcting each of the comfort level index values estimated by the comfort level estimation unit 131 according to the orientation of the seat 50.

When the seat control system 200 includes the comfort level prediction unit 132, the environment adjustment device control unit 15 and the biological action device control unit 16 respond to the comfort level of the determination target person predicted by the comfort level prediction unit 132. It is desirable to execute control. As a result, the comfort level of the determination target person after the orientation of the seat 50 is changed is predicted, and at least one of the environment adjusting device 60 and the biological action device 70 is controlled in consideration of the prediction result. Therefore, the comfort level of the determination target person can be adjusted more appropriately.

≪Processing flow≫
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a flow of processing executed by the seat control device 10 according to the present embodiment. The process with the same step number as in FIG. 3 in FIG. 6 is the same as in FIG.

The processing flow shown in FIG. 6 is different from the processing flow shown in FIG. 3 in that S16 is included. That is, when the comfort level of two or more determination target persons does not satisfy the predetermined condition (NO in S14), the condition determination unit 13 is applied to at least one of the environment adjustment device control unit 15 and the biological action device control unit 16. Send instructions. Specifically, the condition determination unit 13 controls at least one of the environment adjustment device 60 and the biological action device 70 so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition, the environment adjustment device control unit 15 and Instruct the biological action device control unit 16.

According to the above processing, when the comfort level of the determination target person does not satisfy the condition, the environment adjusting device 60 or the biological action device 70 can be controlled so as to satisfy the condition. Thereby, the comfort level of the determination target person can be adjusted.

(Flow of control processing according to index value)
When the condition determination unit 13 estimates the comfort level based on a plurality of index values as in the index values (1) to (3) described in the first embodiment, each index value is within a predetermined range. If not, the environment adjusting device 60 and the biological action device 70 may be controlled according to the index value.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing flow when the environment adjusting device 60 or the biological action device 70 is controlled for each index value of the comfort level. In the figure, the warmth index value, the sitting comfort index value, and the quietness index value are used as the comfort level index values, and when all three types of index values are within a predetermined range, the comfort level is used. Is determined to satisfy the predetermined conditions. Further, the figure shows a series of processes for one determination target person. The condition determination unit 13 executes the process shown in FIG. 7 for each of the determination target persons notified by the target person detection unit 12.

The comfort level estimation unit 131 of the condition determination unit 13 specifies the heat sensation index value, the sitting comfort index value, and the quietness index value from at least one of the environmental information and the biological information. The condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the thermal sensation index value is within a predetermined range (S201). When it is out of the predetermined range (NO in S201), the condition determination unit 13 sends an instruction to, for example, the environment adjustment device control unit 15. The environment adjusting device control unit 15 controls the air volume or the set temperature of the air conditioner, which is a kind of the environment adjusting device 60, so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition (S202).

When the value of the thermal sensation index value is within the predetermined range (YES in S201), the condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the sitting comfort index value is within the predetermined range (S203). When it is out of the predetermined range (NO in S203), the condition determination unit 13 sends an instruction to, for example, the biological action device control unit 16. The biological action device control unit 16 controls the position adjustment mechanism of the seat 50, which is a kind of the biological action device 70, so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition (S204).

When the value of the sitting comfort index value is within the predetermined range (YES in S203), the condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not the quietness index value is within the predetermined range (S205). When it is out of the predetermined range (NO in S205), the condition determination unit 13 sends an instruction to, for example, the environment adjustment device control unit 15. The environment adjustment device control unit 15 controls the noise canceling function of the speaker, which is a kind of the environment adjustment device 60, so that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies a predetermined condition (S206). When the quietness index value is within the predetermined range (YES in S205), the condition determination unit 13 determines that the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies the predetermined condition.

According to the above processing, when each index value does not satisfy the condition corresponding to the index value, the environment adjusting device 60 or the biological action device 70 is controlled according to the nature of the index value. As a result, the seat control system 100 can further enhance the effect of improving the comfort level of the user sitting on the seat 50.

The processing of S201 to S202, the processing of S203 to S204, and the processing of S205 to S206 may be performed in random order. Further, after the control of the environment adjusting device 60 or the biological action device 70 is executed as shown in S202, S204, and S206, it may be determined whether or not the following index values satisfy the conditions. , S202, S204, and S206, the condition determination unit 13 may end the processing flow once. Then, when at least one of the environmental information and the biological information is input to the condition determination unit 13 again, the comfort level estimation unit 131 may perform the process of FIG. 7 from the beginning.

Further, the environmental adjustment device control unit 15 and the biological action device control unit 16 perform the environmental adjustment device 60 or the biological action after the determination of whether or not the various index values are within the predetermined range is completed for all the determination target persons. The device 70 may be controlled. In this case, for example, when the index value is out of the predetermined range for only one determination target person, the environment adjusting device 60 or the biological action device 70 is controlled so as to have an effect of improving the comfort level toward the determination target person. You may. For example, when the value of the thermal sensation index value of only one determination target person is lower than the predetermined range, the environment adjustment device control unit 15 uses the air conditioner to generate the warm air for heating of the determination target person. It may be controlled to blow air toward the seat 50 on which the person is sitting.

[Embodiment 3]
The sheet control system is an operation state estimation unit that estimates the operation state of each judgment target person by using at least one of an image captured image, environment information, and biological information acquired from a camera (imaging unit) that images a predetermined space. May be provided. Then, the seat control unit 14 may change the orientation of the seat when the operating state of each of the determination target persons is a predetermined first state. Here, the "first state" is, for example, a state suitable for communication. More specifically, the first state is a state other than the state in which the user is sleeping or doing some work.

≪Main part composition≫
FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an example of the main configuration of the seat control system 300. The seat control system 300 differs from the seat control system 200 in that the biological sensor 30 includes a camera and the operating state estimation unit 17.

In the present embodiment, the information acquisition unit 11 outputs at least one of a captured image acquired from a camera, which is a kind of biosensor 30, or other biometric information, and environmental information to the operating state estimation unit 17.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the target person detection unit 12 detects the determination target person, the target person detection unit 12 may also output the information indicating the determination target person to the operation state estimation unit 17. When the information indicating the determination target person is input from the target person detection unit 12, the operation state estimation unit 17 identifies the operation state of each determination target person from the information input from the information acquisition unit 11. The "operating state" indicates an activity purpose or state of a user sitting on the seat 50, such as a driving state, a state of performing some work, or a sleeping state. The operation state estimation unit 17 outputs information indicating the specified operation state to the condition determination unit 13.

The condition determination unit 13 determines whether or not each determination target person is in the first state from the information indicating the operation state input from the operation state estimation unit 17. In the first state, the condition determination unit 13 instructs the seat control unit 14 to change the orientation of the seat 50. Then, the seat control unit 14 controls the drive mechanism of the seat 50 according to the instruction.

As a result, when the determination target person is in an appropriate state for starting communication, the orientation of the seat of the determination target person is changed. Therefore, the orientation of the seat can be changed at a more appropriate timing for the determination target person.

(Modification example)
Further, the target person detection unit 12 of the seat control system may detect a person whose operating state is the second state as a determination target person among a plurality of humans sitting on the seat 50. The "second state" is a state appropriate for initiating communication, as in the first state. The specific definitions of the first state and the second state may be the same or different.

In this case, the operation state estimation unit 17 may specify the operation state of all the users sitting on the seat 50 based on the information acquired from the information acquisition unit 11. In this case, the operation state estimation unit 17 outputs information indicating the specified operation state to the target person detection unit 12. Then, the dialogue determination unit 122 of the target person detection unit 12 is a human being who is determined to be related to the utterance content when determining the determination target person, that is, when YES in S104 of FIG. 4 described in the first embodiment. It is determined whether or not each operating state is the second state. When there are a plurality of humans in the second state, the dialogue determination unit 122 determines the human in the second state as the determination target person. On the other hand, when there is no human being in the second state or there is only one person, the dialogue determination unit 122 determines that there is no determination target person.

As a result, among the plurality of humans seated in the seat 50, the human being in an appropriate state for starting communication is determined as the determination target person. Therefore, a more appropriate determination target person can be detected.

[Example of realization by software]
The control block of the seat control device 10 may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

In the latter case, the seat control device 10 includes a computer that executes instructions of a program that is software that realizes each function. The computer includes, for example, one or more processors and a computer-readable recording medium that stores the program. Then, in the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes it, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) can be used. As the recording medium, in addition to a "non-temporary tangible medium" such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), a tape, a disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, or the like can be used. Further, a RAM (Random Access Memory) for expanding the above program may be further provided. Further, the program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (communication network, broadcast wave, etc.) capable of transmitting the program. It should be noted that one aspect of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the above program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in the different embodiments. Is also included in the technical scope of the present invention.

100, 200, 300 Seat control system 1 Mobile 10 Seat control device 11 Information acquisition unit 12 Target person detection unit 121 Voice recognition unit (speech content identification unit)
122 Dialogue judgment unit (related judgment unit)
13 Condition judgment unit 131 Comfort estimation unit 132 Comfort prediction unit 14 Seat control unit (seat direction control unit)
15 Environmental adjustment device control unit 16 Biological action device control unit 17 Operating state estimation unit 20 Environmental sensor 30 Biological sensor 40 Microphone 50 Seat seat 60 Environmental adjustment device 70 Biological action device

Claims (12)

A target person detection unit that detects each of a plurality of people who have started communication as a judgment target person among a plurality of people seated in a plurality of seats provided in a predetermined space.
An information acquisition unit that acquires at least one of environmental information regarding the environment in the predetermined space and biometric information of each determination target person.
A comfort level estimation unit that estimates the comfort level of each determination target person based on at least one of the environmental information and the biological information.
When the comfort level of two or more of the determination target persons satisfies the predetermined conditions, the orientation of the seats on which the determination target persons each of the determination target persons satisfying the predetermined conditions is changed. A seat control device including a seat direction control unit. The comfort estimation unit includes a thermal sensation index value indicating the thermal sensation felt by the determination target person, a sitting comfort index value indicating the seat comfort felt by the determination target person, and quietness around the determination target person. The comfort level is estimated by calculating at least one of the quietness index values indicating the above as the index value indicating the comfort level.
The case according to claim 1, wherein the case where the predetermined condition is satisfied indicates a case where all the index values indicating the comfort level are included in the predetermined range determined for each index value. Seat control device. An environment adjustment device control unit that executes control of the environment adjustment device that adjusts the environment in the predetermined space, and
It is provided with at least one of a biological action device control unit that acts on the determination target person and executes control of the biological action device that changes the biological information.
When at least one of the environment adjusting device control unit and the biological action device control unit does not satisfy the predetermined condition, the comfort level of the determination target person satisfies the predetermined condition. The seat control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control is executed so as to satisfy the conditions. A comfort degree predicting unit for predicting the comfort level of the determination target person seated on the seat after the orientation is changed by the seat direction control unit is provided.
A claim, wherein at least one of the environment adjusting device control unit and the biological action device control unit executes control according to the comfort level of the determination target person predicted by the comfort level prediction unit. 3. The seat control device according to 3. The operation state estimation unit is provided to estimate the operation state of each of the determination target persons by using at least one of the captured image, the environment information, and the biological information acquired from the image pickup unit that images the predetermined space.
Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the seat direction control unit changes the orientation of the seat when the operating state of each of the determination target persons is a predetermined first state. The seat control device according to the section. The target person detection unit
Based on the voice data acquired from the microphones arranged in the predetermined space, the utterance content specifying unit that specifies the utterance content of two or more human beings among the plurality of human beings, and the utterance content specifying unit.
Including a related determination unit for determining whether or not the utterance contents of the two or more human beings are related to each other.
The sheet control according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein two or more human beings whose utterance contents are determined to be related to each other by the association determination unit are determined as the determination target person. apparatus. An operation state estimation unit that estimates the operation state of each of the plurality of humans by using at least one of an image captured from an image pickup unit that images the predetermined space, the environment information, and the biological information is provided.
The object detection unit is characterized in that, among the plurality of humans, a plurality of humans whose operating state is a second state suitable for initiating communication are detected as the determination target person. Item 6. The seat control device according to any one of Items 1 to 4. The seat direction control unit changes the direction of the seat from the first direction to the second direction.
The second direction according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the direction of the plurality of determination target persons is closer to the opposite direction than the first direction. Seat control device. 8. The seat direction control unit is characterized in that when the communication between the plurality of determination target persons is completed, the direction of the seat seat is changed from the second direction to the first direction. The seat control device according to. The comfort level estimation unit continuously estimates the comfort level of each determination target person at predetermined time intervals.
The seat direction control unit is characterized in that, using the continuously estimated comfort level, it is determined whether or not the comfort level of two or more of the determination target persons satisfies a predetermined condition. The seat control device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. After the orientation of the seat is changed by the seat direction control unit, the comfort estimation unit re-estimates the comfort of the determination target person seated on the seat.
Any of claims 1 to 10, wherein the seat direction control unit determines whether or not to change the orientation of the seat seat again by using the comfort level re-estimated by the comfort level estimation unit. The seat control device according to item 1. A target person detection step of detecting each of a plurality of people who have started communication as a judgment target person among a plurality of people seated in a plurality of seats provided in a predetermined space,
An information acquisition step for acquiring at least one of environmental information regarding the environment in the predetermined space and biometric information of each determination target person, and
A comfort level estimation step for estimating the comfort level of each determination target person based on at least one of the environmental information and the biological information,
When the comfort level of two or more of the determination target persons satisfies the predetermined conditions, the orientation of the seats on which the determination target persons each of the determination target persons satisfying the predetermined conditions is changed. A seat control method comprising:

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