BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically making adjustments to a driver’s seat in a vehicle based on the physical proportions of the driver.

[0002] In conventional seat adjustment systems, a driver of a vehicle adjusts the settings of the driver’s seat after entering the vehicle and sitting on the seat. The adjustments are made by pressing various levers, buttons and the like located on the seat. In order to save the seat settings, some vehicles provide a seat setting save button that the driver can press. These systems are slow and inefficient, requiring the driver to make adjustments after entering the vehicle.

[0003] In other systems a driver can upload a full-length photograph of himself/herself into a vehicle application that can determine the size of the driver and adjust the seat based on the size of the driver as determined from the photograph. However, in order to adjust the seat according to these systems, the driver has to download the application to the vehicle and take a full-length photograph at a specified distance. Additionally, the driver must then upload the photograph to a server for use in the vehicle application. Such systems require a large amount of premeditation and additional time and manual effort by the driver to make seat adjustments. Thus, conventional seat adjustment systems are inefficient and require too much premeditation and manual effort by the driver.

[0004] The present invention provides an improvement over convention vehicle seat adjustment systems by automatically adjusting the settings of a driver’s seat before the driver enters the vehicle, based on the physical proportions of the driver, without requiring any time or effort by the driver. In particular, the present invention automatically detects a driver outside of the vehicle, determines a driver’s physical dimensions, and adjusts the driver’s seat in accordance with the physical dimensions based on photographs taken by a camera in the vehicle while the driver is approaching the vehicle. Thus, the present invention reduces and even eliminates the time and effort of a driver to set seat position settings of the driver’s seat.

[0005] Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of one or more preferred embodiments when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an embodiment of an apparatus according to the present invention; and

[0007] Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart of an embodiment of a method according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus according to the present invention. The apparatus 100 is disposed in a vehicle and includes a sensor 101, a controller 102, a camera 103, seat adjustments motors 104, and a driver’s seat 105. The operation of the apparatus is described below in relation to Figure 2.

[0009] Figure 2 illustrates a flow chart of a method according to the present invention. In step S201 a driver of the vehicle, while approaching the vehicle, is detected by a sensor 101, such as a token device sensor or the like that detects the presence of a key fob or other physical security token device that is being carried by the driver, such as a smart card or mobile application in a mobile device. The sensor 101 continuously monitors the area around the vehicle to detect the presence of the driver via wireless communication, such as radio frequency (RF), Bluetooth, or WiFi communications. [0010] After the sensor 101 has detected a driver approaching the vehicle, the sensor

101 outputs a notification signal to the controller 102 that the driver is approaching the vehicle. The controller 102 can be a central processing unit (CPU) or the like having programs stored therein for executing the operations of the controller. Upon receiving the notification signal, the controller 102 turns on a camera 103 in the vehicle, such as a parking camera, and in step S202 controls the camera 103 to take at least two photographs of the driver as the driver approaches the vehicle. The photographs are taken a predetermined time apart from each other. After receiving the photographs from the camera 103, in step S203 the controller 102 determines the body proportions of the driver based on the photographs and the predetermined time between the photographs via an image processing program that converts image data into physical proportions. By taking at least two photographs, the determination of the physical proportions of the driver is more accurate than if only a single photograph were used.

[0011] In step S204 the controller 102 converts the body proportions into seat position settings that correspond to the body proportions of the driver. To perform this conversion, the controller 102 may have a memory, in which a database of body proportion values are stored in correspondence with seat position settings, which is accessed by the controller to determine seat position settings that match the body proportions of the driver. In step S205 the controller 102 outputs the seat position settings as control signals to the seat adjustment motors 104, such as electronic seat adjustment motors, to automatically adjust the driver’s seat based on the driver’s body proportions. The seat position settings include, but are not limited to, a seat distance from pedals, a seat height from a floor of the vehicle, a seat back support angle, and a lumbar support stiffness. In step S206 the adjusted seat position settings for the driver are saved - either automatically or via a driver input if the driver manually changes the seat position settings. The seat position settings can be saved directly in a memory of the vehicle via a user interface in the vehicle. Alternatively, the seat position settings can be saved through a phone application, such as in an automobile sharing type of application. In a case in which the driver has changed the seat position settings after entering the vehicle, the driver receives a verification signal from the controller 102, either through the vehicle or through a phone application, to save the changed seat position settings.

[0012] The present invention is particularly useful for vehicles that are driven by a plurality of drivers. For example, drivers of vehicles in a vehicle sharing service, rental vehicles, and vehicles used by a family member or friend of a driver would benefit from the ease of use and greatly improved efficiency of reaching optimal seat position settings. Additionally, the saved seat position settings of a particular driver using an automobile sharing service can be stored in the user profile of the driver, so that every time the driver uses the vehicle the driver’s seat position settings can be preset by the automobile sharing service. Thus, the present invention significantly reduces and even eliminates the time and effort of a driver to set the seat position settings of a vehicle seat.

[0013] In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is encoded with a computer program that performs the above- described method. Common forms of non-transitory computer-readable media include, for example, a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or any other magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, any other physical medium with patterns of holes, a RAM, a PROM, an EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or any other medium from which a computer can read.

[0014] The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of the disclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of the invention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention should be construed to include everything within the scope of the appended claims and equivalents thereof.