Color-changing automotive cabin interiors utilizing photoplethysmography technology
AssigneeFca US LLC
InventorsSathishkumar Murugesan, Shweta Kulkarni
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Abstract
A vehicle including a plurality of interior panels that include an outer decorative layer formed of a material that includes a thermochromic coloring agent. A physiologic condition monitoring device monitors various physiologic conditions of a driver of the vehicle, and based on the physiologic conditions of the driver, a temperature of the thermochromic coloring agent can be changed to change a first color of the thermochromic coloring agent to a second and different color to influence the physiologic condition of the driver.
Claims18
A vehicle including a body defining a vehicle cabin, the vehicle comprising:
- a plurality of interior panels located in the vehicle cabin that include an outer decorative layer formed of a material that includes a thermochromic coloring agent, a backing layer, and a flow path sandwiched between the outer decorative layer and the backing layer;
- a physiologic condition monitoring device configured to generate signals indicative of various physiologic conditions of a driver of the vehicle;
- a master controller in communication with the monitoring device that is configured to receive and analyze the signals generated by the monitoring device;
- and
- a fluid source in fluid communication with the flow path, the fluid source having a fluid that is configured to flow between the fluid source and the flow path,
- wherein based on analysis by the master controller of the signals indicative of the physiologic condition of the driver of the vehicle generated by the monitoring device, the fluid in the flow path is configured to selectively heat and cool the thermochromic coloring agent to change a first color of the thermochromic coloring agent to a second and different color, and
- wherein the fluid includes a ferrofluid.
A method for influencing a physiologic condition of a driver of a vehicle that includes at least one interior panel that is formed of a material including a thermochromic coloring agent, comprising:
- generating signals indicative of at least one of volumetric variations of blood circulation and breathing rate of the driver of the vehicle with a physiologic monitoring device;
- communicating the signals from the monitoring device to a master electronic control unit of the vehicle;
- analyzing, by the master electronic control unit, the signals indicative of at least one of volumetric variations of blood circulation and breathing rate of the driver of the vehicle;
- and
- based on the analysis of the signals by the master electronic control unit, conducting at least one of heating and cooling of a fluid that is located proximate the thermochromic coloring agent of the interior panel to change a temperature of the thermochromic coloring agent via the fluid in order to change a first color of the thermochromic coloring agent to a second and different color to influence the physiologic condition of the driver of the vehicle,
- wherein the fluid is a ferrofluid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.