JP2007171154A - Device for assisting driving - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To conduct proper support, while taking a personal characteristic of a driver into consideration, in a specified situation, such as curved road, high level top, light and dark conditions, and descending, branching/joining points in an express way. <P>SOLUTION: Sense of strain and weak point, when traveling on a certain specified curved road, for example, are different from driver to driver, and are different for each curved road a certain specified driver. The curved road of a high strain degree, unstable in a driving operation, is determined as the curved road weak in the driver, in each travel of the driver in the curved road, so as to store the degree of strain (biological information), road structure, environmental information (curve road information, view field information), and travel conditions/driving operation situations, as the weak curved road data. When a curved road is approached, whether the curved road is a curved road similar to the stored weak curved road is decided, and an alarm is issued, to assist the driving operation and to control a vehicle. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device, for example, driving support in specific situations such as a curved road (curve), an elevated top, a light / dark condition, a high-speed descent, a branching / merging point, and the like.

Various techniques for giving a warning when traveling on a curved road (curve) depending on road conditions or traveling conditions have been proposed.
For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a technique for issuing a warning to a vehicle driver when it is determined that the vehicle cannot safely pass the curve when entering a curve ahead of the vehicle at the current vehicle speed (vehicle speed). ing.
Further, in Patent Document 2, when it is determined that the vehicle cannot pass safely with respect to a curve ahead of the vehicle traveling, the vehicle curve traveling warning device that issues a warning to the vehicle driver does not cause the driver to feel uncomfortable. In order to make a safe warning, the warning is eased when the vehicle is in a deceleration state, and when the vehicle shifts to a safe driving state while the warning sound is A technique has been proposed in which warnings having the same content are not generated when the warning level is the same as the previous warning level.
JP-A-7-121800 JP-A-11-316899

However, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a warning is issued when a predetermined road condition or traveling condition is satisfied. In other words, conditions regarding driver's personal characteristics are not determined for warnings and driving assistance.
For this reason, there is a possibility that an unnecessary warning for the curve is given to the driver. In addition, it is ambiguous for the driver whether the vehicle control is necessary at that time.
Nevertheless, unnecessary driving assistance may be provided.
Such inconveniences of driving assistance to drivers include various specific situations (specifications such as the top of an elevated bridge, bad conditions related to brightness, downhills on highways, branching / merging points on highways, etc.) This also applies to (point).

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a driving support device capable of providing more appropriate support in consideration of a driver's personal characteristics with respect to a weak point.

(1) In the invention described in claim 1, biometric information acquisition means for acquiring biometric information of the driver, specific point detection means for detecting a specific point that exists in front and matches a predetermined situation, and the biometric information Based on the above, the driving support device that performs driving support for the detected specific point is provided in the driving support device to achieve the object.
(2) In the invention described in claim 2, in the driving support device according to claim 1, the driving support means is based on the biological information, and the detected specific point is difficult for the driver to drive. The driving support device according to claim 1, further comprising: a weak point determination unit that determines whether or not the point is a point, and driving support for the weak point when it is determined that the point is not good.
(3) In the invention described in claim 3, in the shore driving support apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising vehicle information detecting means for detecting at least the vehicle speed, wherein the driving support means Driving assistance is performed based on the vehicle information, and the vehicle speed threshold value of the driving assistance is changed based on the biological information.
(4) In the invention described in claim 4, the matching point traveling detection means for detecting that the vehicle is traveling at a specific point that matches a predetermined situation, and the driver's biological information while traveling at the specific point is acquired. Biometric information acquisition means, first weak point determination means for determining whether or not the specific point is not good for the driver using the acquired biometric information, and the first weak point determination means Weak point storage means for storing information on the determined poor point as weak point information, specific point detection means for detecting a specific point existing in front of the vehicle, information on the detected specific point, and the stored weak point And the second weak point determination means for determining whether or not the detected specific point corresponds to a weak point, and the second weak point determination means, Has been the driving support means for performing a driving support for a particular point, it is provided in the driving support device to achieve the purpose.
(5) In the invention described in claim 5, in the driving support apparatus according to claim 4, the weak point storage unit stores at least a road shape of the poor point determined by the first weak point determination unit. The second weak point determination means determines whether or not the weak point corresponds to the stored point by comparing the stored road shape of the weak point with the road shape of the specific point.
(6) In the invention described in claim 6, in the driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the specific point is a curve, an overhead peak, or a bad brightness. It is characterized by being a conditional point, a downhill on an expressway, and a junction / junction point on an expressway.
(7) In the invention described in claim 7, in the driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the driving support means is located in front of the weak point and forward It warns that there is a weak point.
(8) In the invention described in claim 8, in the driving support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the driving support means includes a warning, driving operation assistance, vehicle It is characterized by performing at least one of the controls.
(9) In the invention described in claim 9, in the driving support device according to claim 8, the driving operation assistance or vehicle control is performed during traveling at the determined poor point. .
(10) In the invention described in claim 10, in the driving support device according to any one of claims 4 to 9, the vehicle operation for acquiring the vehicle operation information while traveling at the weak point Information acquisition means, wherein the first and second weak point determination means include vehicle operation information acquired by the vehicle operation information acquisition means, and the weak point storage means The vehicle operation information used for the determination is included in the information regarding the weak point and stored.
(11) In the invention described in claim 11, in the driving support device according to any one of claims 4 to 10, a visibility degree determination means for determining a visibility degree in front of the vehicle is provided. The weak point storage means stores the visibility determined at the time of determination of the poor point in the information about the weak point, and the second weak point determination means is acquired by the vehicle operation information acquisition means. It is characterized by determining including vehicle operation information.
(12) In the invention described in claim 12, in the driving support apparatus according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 4, the specific point detecting means detects a curve as the specific point, and at least the vehicle speed. Vehicle information detection means for detecting whether or not the driving support means warns at least a curve based on the vehicle speed and the curvature of the curve detected by the curve detection means, and whether or not to provide driving support. The vehicle speed and the curvature threshold for judging the above are changed based on the biological information.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since driving assistance for a weak point is performed based on the biological information acquired as the personal characteristics of the driver, more appropriate assistance can be performed.
According to the invention described in claim 3, it is determined whether or not the specific point is not good for the driver using the biological information, and is stored as information regarding the poor point, and the specific point existing in front of the vehicle is the weak point. Judgment is made from information on weak points that memorize whether it is applicable, and driving assistance is provided for specific points that are determined to be weak points. , Can provide more appropriate support.

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the navigation device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
(1) Outline of Embodiment The feeling of tension and weakness that are felt when traveling on a specific curve are different for each driver, and also for a specific driver, for each curve.
Therefore, every time the driver travels the curve, the curve having high tension and unstable driving operation is determined as the weak curve of the driver, and the tension (biological information) when traveling the curve The road structure of the curve that has traveled, the environment information (curve information, visibility information), the running state / driving operation status are stored as weak curve data.
When approaching the curve, it is determined whether or not the curve is similar to the memorized weak curve. For example, if the current situation is more than or equal to (memorized) conditions such as past tension and speed, a notification or warning will be given in advance before entering the curve according to the conditions. Urge the user to make a decision such as reducing the entry speed. If the conditions are lower than the past conditions, driver assistance that is not bothered by not giving notice or warning is performed.
In addition, if the current situation is equal to or greater than the past conditions such as tension and speed, and if you enter the curve ignoring notifications and warnings, the past unstable driving operations (steep steering, The driving operation support and control are performed so as to assist (such as applying a steering wheel load, automatic deceleration) to stabilize the brake.

  In this way, the driver's weak curve is specified in advance and the poor curve data is stored in advance, and warning and vehicle control are performed when traveling on a curve that is determined to be a poor curve compared to this poor curve data Thus, more accurate driver assistance tailored to that person will be possible.

(2) Details of Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a configuration of a driving support apparatus according to this embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the driving support device includes an ECU (electronic control device) 10 that controls the entire driving support device according to various programs and data. The ECU 10 includes a current position detection device 11 and a biological information acquisition device. 12, environment information acquisition device 13, vehicle information acquisition device 14, image input device 15, data storage unit 16, program storage unit 17, input device 18, voice output device 19, display device 20, vehicle control device 21, communication device 22 Is connected.

The current position detection device 11 is for detecting the current position (absolute coordinate value composed of latitude and longitude) of the vehicle on which the driving support device is mounted, and is a GPS that measures the position of the vehicle using an artificial satellite. (Global Positioning Systems) receiving device.
Note that the current position detection device 11 may include a geomagnetic sensor, a gyro sensor, a vehicle speed sensor, and the like that detect the geomagnetism and determine the direction of the vehicle as a device that supplements the current position detection by the GPS receiver. The gyro sensor and the vehicle speed sensor may be shared with the vehicle speed sensor 144 and the gyro sensor 145 of the vehicle information acquisition device 14 to be described later, or may be provided separately.

The biological information acquisition device 12 includes a heart rate sensor 121 and a sweat sensor 122 as sensors for acquiring the driver's biological information.
When the vehicle starts running, the heart rate and the amount of sweat are detected at predetermined time intervals and supplied to the ECU 10.

  The heart rate sensor 121 is a sensor that detects the heart rate of the driver, and detects the heart rate from the pulse rate of the driver. The heart rate sensor 121 according to the present embodiment detects a heart rate by collecting a heart rate signal from the hand of a driver who is driving by an electrode disposed on a steering wheel. The heart rate sensor 121 may be provided with a dedicated sensor on the driver's body such as a wrist.

  The perspiration sensor 122 is disposed on the steering and detects the perspiration state from the change in the current value that flows depending on the perspiration state.

The environmental information acquisition device 13 includes an inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measurement device 131 and an image processing device 132.
The inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measuring device 131 includes millimeter wave radars, laser radars, and the like arranged in front and rear of the vehicle, and detects inter-vehicle distances and relative speeds with the preceding vehicle and inter-vehicle distances and relative speeds with the rear vehicle. At the same time, the presence or absence of an oncoming vehicle is determined.
The image processing device 132 performs image processing of the outside image captured by the image input device 15 described later, and the visibility of the front (the weather such as rain, snow, fog, etc., and the visibility of the curve existing in front of the vehicle ( Obstacles that block the field of vision)) are detected.

The environment information acquisition device 13 includes a time sensor as a sensor for determining the current time.
In addition to (or instead of) the image processing of the image processing device 132, the environment information acquisition device 13 is a sensor for determining the weather, a wiper sensor for detecting the operating state of the wiper, A vehicle width light sensor for detecting the on state and a head lamp sensor for detecting the on state of the headlamp are provided.

The vehicle information acquisition device 14 includes a handle sensor 141, a brake sensor 142, an accelerator sensor 143, a vehicle speed sensor 144, a gyro sensor 145, and other sensors, and detects a traveling state and a driving operation state during curve traveling.
The handle sensor 141 detects the steering angle of the handle, the handle operation amount, the handle operation torque, and the handle operation status.
The brake sensor 142 detects the speed at which the brake is depressed, the brake depression force, and the brake operation status.
The accelerator sensor 143 detects a speed at which the accelerator is depressed, an accelerator depression force, and the like.

The vehicle speed sensor 144 detects the vehicle speed.
The gyro sensor 145 detects the acceleration of the vehicle.

The image input device 15 includes a stereo camera disposed in front of the vehicle.
The vehicle exterior image captured by the image input device 15 is supplied to the image processing device 132 and used for visibility determination.

The data storage unit 16 and the program storage unit 17 include a ROM, a RAM, a magnetic recording medium such as a flexible disk, a hard disk, and a magnetic tape, a semiconductor recording medium such as a memory chip and an IC card, a CD-ROM, an MO, a PD ( Recording medium on which information is optically read, such as a phase change rewritable optical disk), and other recording media on which data and computer programs are recorded by various methods.
Different recording media may be used depending on the recording contents.

  The data storage unit 16 includes a map DB (data base) 161, a curve information storage memory 162, a biological information storage memory 163, a vehicle information storage memory 164, a visibility information storage memory 165, a warning / vehicle control determination data 166, and a curve visibility determination data. Various data used in the present embodiment such as 167 and other data are stored.

The map DB 161 is a database in which information related to various maps such as map information, road information, and curve information is stored.
The road information is used to detect a road currently running and a position on the road by map matching between the current position of the vehicle detected by the current position detection device 11 and the road information.
The curve information is information on a curve existing in the road corresponding to each road information, and stores the curvature, gradient, cant, and road periphery of each curve.

  The map DB 161 is also used in the navigation function, and map information is used to display various maps and roads around the current location of the vehicle and around the destination on the display device, and road information is used for route search to the destination. used. In addition, facility information (POI information) in which information for each facility is stored is also stored.

  The curve information storage memory 162, the biological information storage memory 163, and the vehicle information storage memory 164, the view information storage memory 165 constitutes weak curve storage data, and the weak curve data for the driver by the poor curve storage processing described later. Each data is saved as

  In the weak curve storage process and the driving support process, the curve information, the biological information, the vehicle embodiment, and the environment information that are read out, detected, and determined with respect to the curve existing while traveling or in front of the vehicle are stored in the RAM each time. Is stored in a predetermined area.

  FIG. 2 shows weak curve storage data, and represents each data stored in the curve information storage memory 162, the biological information storage memory 163, the vehicle information storage memory 164, and the view information storage memory 165.

The curve information storage memory 162 stores curve curvature (Rad), curve cant (Cant), and gradient (%) as curve information.
The biological information storage memory 163 stores a degree of tension (Level) determined from detection values of the heart rate sensor 121 and the sweat sensor 122 as biological information.

The vehicle information storage memory 164 includes vehicle speed (km / h), vehicle acceleration (G), steering wheel operation torque (N · m), steering wheel operation status (N · m / ms), accelerator pedal force (N · m), The brake depression force (N · m) and the brake operation status (N · m / ms) are stored.
The visibility information storage memory 165 stores the degree of visibility (Level) determined from the detection data and the acquired data in the inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measurement device 131 and the image processing device 132.

  The warning / vehicle control determination data 166 includes a determination item (biological information, vehicle information, visibility information) and a condition (FIG. 8) for determining whether to give a warning in driving support processing (FIG. 7) described later, and driving support. The determination items (biological information, vehicle information, field of view information) for determining the contents and the conditions (FIG. 9) are stored.

  The curve line-of-sight determination data 167 stores information for determining the visibility (line-of-sight) for the curve in the poor curve storage process (FIG. 3) described later.

  The program storage unit 17 includes a weak curve storage program 171, a driving support program 172, and a biological information processing program 173, a vehicle information processing program 174, and a view information processing program that are executed as subroutines in these programs. 175, a warning / vehicle control determination program 176, and other various programs are stored.

  The poor curve storage program 171 measures curve information, vehicle information, biometric information, and visibility information for a running curve, and determines whether the curve is a weak curve for the driver or not. In this case, it is a program for storing information on the curve in the data storage unit 16 as weak curve information.

  The driving support program 172 assists the driving operation by determining whether the curve existing in front of the vehicle is the same curve as the memorized weak curve, and if it is a poor curve, the driving support is performed by warning and vehicle control. It is a program for realizing comfortable and safe driving.

The biological information processing program 173 is a program that acquires the detection values obtained by the heart rate sensor 121 and the sweat sensor 122 as biological information and stores them in the RAM.
The vehicle information processing program 174 is a program that acquires detection values of the handle sensor 141, the brake sensor 142, the accelerator sensor 143, the vehicle speed sensor 144, and the gyro sensor 145 as vehicle information and stores them in a predetermined area of the RAM.

The visibility information processing program 175 is a program that determines the visibility degree from detection data and acquired data in the inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measurement device 131 and the image processing device 132 and stores the visibility in a predetermined area of the RAM.
The warning / vehicle control determination program 176 is a program that performs warning and vehicle control for weak curves.

  As the input device 18, various devices such as a touch panel (functioning as a switch), a keyboard, a mouse, a light pen, a joystick, an infrared remote control, a touch panel attached to the display screen of the display device, a remote control, and a voice recognition device can be used. It constitutes an input means for inputting various information.

The audio output device 19 includes a plurality of speakers and an audio control device arranged in the vehicle. The voice output device 19 outputs a voice controlled by the voice control unit, for example, a warning voice that alerts the presence of a weak curve and a warning.
The audio output device 19 may also be used as an audio speaker.

As the display device 20, various display devices such as a liquid crystal display device, a CRT, and a head-up display are used, and the presence of a weak curve and / or a warning character (text) for alerting the user in this embodiment is a driving support. As part of the display.
Note that the display device 20 displays a map for a weak curve on the display screen when a map around the vehicle or a route searched for a route searched based on the navigation function, a searched route, a surrounding facility guidance screen, or the like is displayed. A warning may be displayed.

The vehicle control device 21 provides driving operation assistance such as making it difficult to operate the steering wheel in the opposite direction to the direction of turning at the curve (heavy steering wheel) as a driving operation support according to the driver's condition with respect to the weak curve. To do.
The vehicle control device 21 is a device that performs vehicle control such as moving (turning) the vehicle along the direction of the corresponding curve by applying a force in the direction in which the handle rotates (the direction of the curve).

  The communication device 22 functions as a communication unit, and transmits and receives various data by connecting to an external information center and the Internet.

Next, the processing operation of the driving support process in the driving support apparatus configured as described above will be described.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the weak curve storage process.
This weak curve storage process is executed when the vehicle starts to run and continues to be executed while the vehicle is running, but may be executed when the ignition is turned on and may be terminated when the ignition is turned off.

The ECU 10 acquires the vehicle position on the traveling road and the traveling direction by map matching between the current position detected by the current position detection device 11 and the road data in the map DB 161 (step 1).
Next, the ECU 10 determines from the road data in the map DB 161 whether or not a curve exists ahead of the vehicle from the acquired own vehicle position and traveling direction (step 2).

If there is no curve ahead of the vehicle (step 2; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 1 and continues to detect the curve.
On the other hand, when a curve is detected in front of the vehicle (step 2; Y), the ECU 10 acquires corresponding curve information (curve curvature, curve cant, gradient) from the map DB 161 and stores it in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 3). .

  Further, the ECU 10 detects the vehicle speed, the vehicle acceleration, the handle operation torque, the handle operation status, the accelerator pedal force, the brake pedal force, and the brake operation status as vehicle information, and stores them in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 4).

Next, the ECU 10 detects the visibility information (degree of visibility) of the curve seen from the vehicle at the current vehicle position (step 5).
4 and 5 conceptually show how to determine the visibility.
The ECU 10 predicts the appearance of the road from the curve information (curve curvature, gradient, curve cant), buildings around the road, the current time, weather, and the like, and sets the initial visibility level.
That is, the ECU 10 predicts the curve shape as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C from the curve information and the buildings around the road, and determines the level (shape level) as 1 to 3,.
In determining the shape levels 1, 2, 3,... By the curve shape, the range of curve curvature, gradient, curve cant corresponding to each shape level is stored in the data storage unit 16 in advance, or in the view information processing program 175. It is stipulated in.

Next, the ECU 10 predicts the road appearance from the current time and weather, and determines the initial visibility level.
For example, if the determined curve shape has a shape level 1 shown in FIG. 4A, and the environment outside the vehicle is evening (when dark) and it is raining, the level is as shown in FIG. 4D. Is increased by 1, and the initial visibility level is 2.
The relationship between the time and the level-up value (0, +1, +2,...) With respect to the weather is stored in the data storage unit 16 or defined in the view information processing program 175.

  After determining the initial visibility level, the ECU 10 detects the current situation in front of the vehicle as a distance image by a stereo camera or the like, and shows the inside of the curve existing in front of the vehicle as indicated by a dotted line in FIG. To detect.

Then, compare the appearance of the road (curve) according to the determined initial visibility level with the appearance of the road recognized from the distance image by the stereo camera (actual curve situation), and finalize the current visibility level. To decide.
Specifically, the determination of the visibility level will be described by taking as an example the case of the shape level 1 and the initial visibility level 2 due to the weather or the like (in the case of FIG. 4D).
That is, the ECU 10 determines how much the inside of the curve by the stereo camera image is not visible, based on the road shape (FIG. 4A) of the shape level 1 predicted from the curve information.

As shown in FIG. 5B, when the viewing range is substantially the same as the shape level 1, the level-up amount is zero, that is, the initial visibility level 2 becomes the final visibility level, and the level 2 It becomes.
As shown in FIG. 5 (c), when about 30% of the inside of the curve is shielded and cannot be seen as compared with the visual field range of the shape level 1, the level-up amount is 1 (+1), that is, the initial visual field. The final level is level 3, which is obtained by adding 1 to level 2.

  As shown in FIG. 5 (d), when about 50% of the inside of the curve is shielded and cannot be seen as compared with the view range of the shape level 1, the level-up amount is 2 (+2), that is, the initial view. The final level is level 4 obtained by adding 2 to level 2.

Further, when the field of view inside the curve is narrowed by a vehicle or an oncoming vehicle that is in front of the vehicle, the level is increased by one level or two levels depending on the size of the area to be narrowed.
For example, in the case of the example shown in FIG. 5A, the level 4 (FIG. 5D) is obtained by blocking 50% of the inside of the curve by a building, a cliff, and a road shape. ), When the field of view inside the curve (area indicated by Z in the figure) is further narrowed by a truck traveling ahead, the level is increased by one and finally level 5 It becomes.

  In this way, the x level inside the curve is shielded by the building, the cliff, and the road shape with respect to the shape level p, so that the level is increased by y and the view range is narrowed by the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle. In that case, the level is increased by z.

  However, the level change due to the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle is not performed in the weak curve storage process, but is determined in the visibility determination (step 17) in the driving support process described later.

  As described above, when the initial visibility level q is determined from the shape level p, the level-up amount (+ r) is compared with the view shielding ratio inside the curve based on the stereo camera image as compared with the view range of the shape level p. Is determined, and a value q + r obtained by adding the level-up amount r to the initial visibility level q is the final visibility level.

When the visibility information (degree of visibility) is detected by the above processing, the ECU 10 detects biological information (heart rate, sweating amount) and detects the driver's tension (step 6).
For example, the driver's tension is defined as normal when the heart rate is 99 or less, and is high when the heart rate is 100 or more. Specifically, levels up to 99 are defined as level 0, 100 to 109 are level 1, 110 to 119 are level 2, and so on.
Similarly, the level of sweating is determined according to the amount of sweating, and the higher the level due to heartbeat and the level due to sweating, the higher the level of tension.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the running curve corresponds to a weak curve based on the acquired and detected curve information, vehicle information, and biological information (step 7).
Since the weak curve is a weakness of the driving operation with respect to the curve, the visual field information is considered to be another factor, and therefore the visual field information is not considered when determining whether or not the curved curve is weak.

FIG. 6 exemplifies the determination items as to whether or not the curve is weak and the conditions thereof.
As shown in FIG. 6, as the criteria for determining a weak curve, the degree of tension is high (level 1 or higher), the steering wheel operation amount is larger than a predetermined reference value, or the steering wheel operation status is sharper than the predetermined reference value. Left and right, the accelerator pedaling force is stronger than the predetermined reference value, the brake pedaling force is stronger than the predetermined reference value, the brake operating condition is steeper than the predetermined reference value, and the curve curvature is steeper than the predetermined reference value. It is a condition that the curve cant is larger than the predetermined reference value and the gradient is larger than the predetermined reference value.
Here, the reference value for each determination item is determined in advance for each item, and a value defined in the data storage unit or the weak curve storage program is used.

The weak curve is determined by a combination of the determination items in FIG.
For example, when the degree of tension is 3 or more (120 or more in the case of a heartbeat), it is determined as a weak curve.
Further, when the degree of tension is level 2 (110 to 119 for heartbeat), it is determined that the curve is not good when one or more other determination items satisfy the condition.
Further, when the degree of tension is level 1 (100 to 109 in heart rate), it is determined that the curve is weak when the other determination items satisfy two or more conditions.

In addition, although the case where a driver | operator's tension was detected based on a heartbeat was demonstrated, it increased and decreased by electrocardiogram RR interval (ms), the dispersion | variation in RR interval, and the autoregressive model of RR interval. You may make it prescribe | regulate the level of a tension | tensile_strength by comprehensive evaluation based on at least 1 value of ratio HF (high frequency component) / LF (low frequency component) of the calculated power spectrum.
Specifically, when the degree of tension is low, the RR interval increases, the variation of the RR interval increases, and HF / LF increases.
On the other hand, when the degree of tension is high, the RR interval decreases, the variation of the RR interval decreases, and HF / LF decreases.
The ranges of HF and LF are, for example, HF = 0.15 to 0.45 HZ and LF = 0.04 to 0.15 HZ.

In FIG. 3, when it is not possible to determine that the curve is not good due to the measurement up to the present time (step 7; N), the ECU 10 further determines whether or not the curve travel is completed from the current vehicle position and the road map in the map DB 161. (Step 8).
If the curve running has not ended (step 8; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 4 and continues to detect vehicle information, field of view information, and biological information. The reason why the process does not return to step 3 is that the curve information does not change due to traveling.
When the curve travel is finished (step 8; Y), the curve does not correspond to a curve that the driver is not good at driving, so the process returns.

  On the other hand, when the ECU 10 determines that the curve is not good (step 7; Y), the storage items (see FIG. 2) of the curve information, the biological information, the vehicle information, and the visibility information at the time when the curve is determined to be weak are not good. It is stored in the data storage unit 16 as curve data (step 9).

Next, the driving support process will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
This driving support process is executed when the vehicle starts to run and continues to be executed while the vehicle is running. However, the driving support process may be executed when the ignition is turned on and may be terminated when the ignition is turned off.
The driving support process is executed in parallel with the weak curve determination process (FIG. 3).

ECU10 acquires the own vehicle position and traveling direction on a travel road by map matching with the present position detected with the present position detection apparatus 11, and the road data of map DB161 (step 11).
Next, the ECU 10 determines from the road data in the map DB 161 whether or not a curve exists ahead of the vehicle from the acquired own vehicle position and traveling direction (step 12).

If there is no curve ahead of the vehicle (step 12; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 11 and continues to detect the curve.
On the other hand, when a curve is detected in front of the vehicle (step 12; Y), the ECU 10 acquires corresponding curve information (curve curvature, curve cant, gradient) from the map DB 161 and stores it in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 13). .

  In addition, the process of the above steps 11-13 is the same as the steps 1-3 of a weak curve memory | storage process, and may be made common by both processes performed in parallel.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the acquired curve information is the same as or more than the curve information stored in the curve information storage memory 162 of the weak curve in the data storage unit 16 (step 14).
That is, the ECU 10 determines whether each of the curve curvature, curve cant, and gradient of the curve existing ahead is larger than the memorized value of the weak curve. Judge that they are the same.

  If it is not the same as the memorized weak curve (step 14; N), the curve detected in front of the vehicle does not correspond to a curve that is not good for the driver, so the ECU 10 returns the process.

  On the other hand, when it is the same (or more) as the memorized weak curve (step 14; Y), the ECU 10 uses the vehicle speed, the vehicle acceleration, the handle operation torque, the handle operation status, the accelerator pedal force, the brake pedal force, as vehicle information. The brake operation status is detected and stored in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 15).

  Next, the ECU 10 detects the environment outside the vehicle (step 16). That is, the ECU 10 acquires the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed with the preceding vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed with the rear vehicle, the presence / absence of the oncoming vehicle, and the like by the inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measuring device 131.

Then, the ECU 10 determines the visibility according to the visibility determination described above according to FIGS. 4 and 5 in consideration of the environment outside the vehicle detected in step 15 (level determination processing in FIG. 5E) (step 17).
That is, the ECU 10 compares the visibility level in consideration of the environment outside the vehicle with respect to the curve existing in front of the vehicle with the visibility level stored in the visibility information storage memory 165 as a weak curve, which is normal (the same level) and bad (the level is low). Judge whether it is high or good (low level).

If the visibility is worse than the stored value, the threshold value for warning is lowered (step 18), and if it is good, the threshold value for warning is raised (step 19).
As described above, when the visibility of the curve existing ahead is poor, the level of visibility with respect to the forward curve is increased, and when the visibility level is higher than the weak curve, the threshold for warning is lowered, and as a result, warning is likely to occur. .

  Further, the ECU 10 detects biometric information (heart rate, sweating amount) and detects the driver's tension (step 20).

Next, the ECU 10 determines, based on each detected information, whether or not to warn that the curve existing in front of the vehicle is a curve difficult for the driver to drive (step 21).
FIG. 8 shows the determination items regarding whether or not to issue a warning and the conditions thereof.
As illustrated in FIG. 8, the ECU 10 stores the level of tension stored in the biological information storage memory 163 and the vehicle speed in the vehicle speed and view information storage memory 165 in which the vehicle speed is stored in the vehicle information storage memory 144. It is determined whether or not the values of the current three items are larger than the three items of the visibility level (the value changed in steps 17 to 19) (step 21).

The warning is determined based on the combination of the three current items, but it is determined that the warning is to be given when the current level of tension is greater and when the current value is greater than two items.
However, it may be determined that a warning is given if the current value is large for only one item, or a warning may be determined if the current value is larger than any one of two items.
When it is determined that a warning is to be performed (step 21; Y), the ECU 10 confirms from the voice and image from the voice output device 19 and the display device 20 that the curve existing ahead is a curve that the driver is not good at driving. A warning is given (step 22).
The warning is performed by a warning voice and text display such as “There is a curve that is not good in the direction of travel. Please pass carefully.” You may make it tell in a warning the distance to a weak curve.
Note that a warning for this weak curve is given before the vehicle enters the curve.

When it is determined that a warning is not necessary (step 21; N), that is, from the curve information, it is determined that the curve existing ahead may be a weak curve, but from the driver's operation and the degree of tension Since it is determined that a warning is unnecessary, the process proceeds to the next process without warning.
This prevents unnecessary warnings for the driver.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered the curve (step 23). If the vehicle has not entered (step 23; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 13 and continues the determination regarding the warning.
In addition, since the curve information of the curve existing ahead does not change with traveling, the process may return to step 14.

On the other hand, when the vehicle has entered the curve, the ECU 10 detects the environment outside the vehicle at the present time after entering the curve, similarly to step 16 (step 24).
Further, the ECU 10 determines the visibility at the current time as in step 17 (step 25). If the visibility is poor, the ECU 10 decreases the threshold (in this case, the driving support threshold) as in step 18 (step 26). ) If the field of view is good, the driving assistance threshold is increased as in step 19 (step 27).

Next, the ECU 10 detects the current biological information in the same manner as in step 20 (step 28).
Further, the ECU 10 detects vehicle information at the present time in the same manner as in step 15 (step 29).

Based on the environment outside the vehicle, the visibility level, the biological information, and the vehicle information detected after entering the curve as described above, the ECU 10 determines the necessity of driving support and the content of the support (step 30).
FIG. 9 shows the determination items and the conditions for the necessity of driving assistance and the contents of assistance.
As shown in this figure, as a determination item for driving support, the degree of tension is defined for biometric information, the side information is detected for vehicle information, vehicle speed, steering wheel operation torque, steering wheel operation status, accelerator pedal force, braking operation status, The visibility is defined for the visibility information.
In addition, for each judgment item, the judgment conditions for when driving assistance is not provided, the judgment conditions that the degree of risk is low, the judgment conditions that the degree of danger is medium, and the judgment conditions that the degree of risk is high are specified. Has been.

Among the determination conditions in FIG. 9, level 0 (99 or less in the case of heart rate) is defined for “normal driving” regarding the degree of tension.
It is also possible to measure the heart rate while driving on a straight road with good visibility several times (S times), and set the range up to the average value + s (for example, 10) as the value of “normal driving”. For example, if the average value of the heart rate is 60, the heart rate up to 70 is during normal driving. The straight road to be measured is a different road, and the straight road is determined by map matching with road data.

The skid detection under the judgment conditions in FIG. 9 is measured from vehicle speed, acceleration, yaw rate, tire rotation torque, brake hydraulic pressure, and the like.
As to whether or not the steering wheel operation torque, steering wheel operation status, accelerator pedal force, and brake operation status are appropriate, appropriate values for each item are defined in advance.
In addition, the storage data means data stored in the curve information storage memory 162, the biological information storage memory 163, the vehicle information storage memory 164, and the view information storage memory 165 as weak curve storage data.
The range of “similar” corresponds to T−t% ≦ “similar” <T when the stored value is T. t% = t × T / 100, for example, 5% is adopted.
The range of “same or higher” is T ≦ “same or higher”.

The ECU 10 determines which condition is satisfied for each of the determination items shown in FIG. 9, and determines the presence or absence of driving support and the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
In the present embodiment, driving support is not performed when up to 7 out of 8 items satisfy the no support condition.
On the other hand, for the low, medium, and high risk levels, the greater risk level is determined when two or more of the eight items are satisfied.
However, regarding the low risk judgment, it is excluded (not satisfied) when there is no skid detection, and is satisfied when the skid detection is small. For example, when the vehicle speed is the same as the stored data and there is no side slip detection, it is not determined that the risk level is low, and when the vehicle speed is the same as the stored data and the side slip detection is low, it is determined that the risk level is low. .

Note that it is possible to use other methods for determining the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
For example, the degree of risk that all the biological information, vehicle information, and view information are satisfied may be determined. In this case, regarding vehicle information, vehicle information is assumed to be satisfied when two of the six items are satisfied.
Moreover, you may make it determine the risk degree which satisfy | fills any one of biometric information and other 7 items (it is also possible to set it as 2 or more).

As described above, when it is determined in the driving support determination (step 30) based on FIG. 9 that there is no need for driving operation support, the routine proceeds to step 34.
On the other hand, when determining that the degree of risk is low, the ECU 10 issues a warning (step 31).
In this case, the warning is issued by voice and image (text) from the voice output device 19 and the display device 20 in the same manner as the warning before entering the curve in step 22. However, since the warning in this case is a warning in a weak curve, the content of the warning is different from the warning (step 22) that calls attention before entering the curve.
For example, a warning that “It is running on a weak curve. Please drive carefully with respect to the front and driving operation” is given by voice and image (text display).

In addition, you may make it ECU10 perform the warning corresponding to the item which satisfy | fills conditions among the determination items shown in FIG.
For example, when the visibility and the tension satisfy the criteria of the judgment item, the warning “Please pay attention to the front and calm down” is warned, and the tension and the vehicle speed are Warns, “Please calm down and drive at a reduced speed.”
By giving a warning corresponding to the determination item that satisfies the condition in this manner, a weak awareness point that the driver's confidence is not aware of can be pointed out, and the weak curve can be passed while concentrating on that point.

If it is determined that the degree of risk is medium, the ECU 10 assists the driving operation by the vehicle control device 21 (step 32).
For example, as a driving assistance, a driving operation assistance such as making it difficult to operate the steering wheel in the opposite direction to the direction of turning at a curve (making the steering wheel heavy) is performed.
Also in this driving assistance, the ECU 10 may assist the driving operation according to the determination item that satisfies the condition, similarly to the warning. For example, when the vehicle speed condition is satisfied, the speed may be reduced, acceleration may be difficult, or the accelerator resistance may be increased.

When it is determined that the degree of risk is high in the driving support determination (step 30), the ECU 10 performs vehicle control by the vehicle control device 21 (step 33).
That is, the ECU 10 performs vehicle control such as moving (turning) the vehicle along the direction of the corresponding curve by applying a force in the direction of rotating the handle (the direction of the curve).
In this case, the moving direction and the degree thereof are determined in consideration of the vehicle speed and curve information (curvature, cant, gradient).

When driving assistance is not performed and when warning, driving operation assistance, or vehicle control is performed, the ECU 10 detects whether the curve has ended, that is, whether the vehicle has passed the curve. A determination is made by map matching between the current position detected by the device 11 and the road data of the map DB 161 (step 34).
If the curve has not ended, the ECU 10 returns to step 24 to continue the driving support determination and the driving support processing.
On the other hand, if the curve has ended, the ECU 10 returns the process.

According to the present embodiment, a weak curve specific to each driver is specified in advance, and when the weak curve matches or exceeds the specified condition, warning or control is performed to match each driver. Accurate driver assistance can be provided.
Further, in response to the weak curve appearing as a weak driving operation for the driver, vehicle information corresponding to the driving operation (speed, steering wheel operation, accelerator operation, brake operation) is used to determine whether the driving curve is poor. Thus, it is possible to more accurately detect the weak curve for the driver.
In addition to being able to recognize the weak curve more accurately, warnings and driving assistance are not performed when the situation is lower than the situation (detected value) when it is recognized as a poor curve, so that troublesome warnings for the driver are reduced.

Also, before entering the curve, a warning is given when the condition of the front curve matches or exceeds the condition of the weak curve, so the driver can know the presence of the weak curve before entering the curve. Because you can, you can calm down in advance.
As a result, after entering a weak curve, warnings and driving assistance may be unnecessary.

Next, a second embodiment will be described.
In the second embodiment, like the driving support for the curve described in the first embodiment, the driving support for the elevated top, which is difficult for the driver, is performed.
That is, driving assistance for the elevated top is performed based on the biological information acquired as the personal characteristics of the driver.

The driving support device according to the second embodiment is configured in the same manner as the driving support device described with reference to FIG.
In the second embodiment, the driving support device includes poor overhead storage data instead of poor curve storage data 162.

FIG. 10 shows poor elevated overhead storage data, and represents each data stored in the elevated overhead information storage memory 162a, the biological information storage memory 163a, the vehicle information storage memory 164a, and the view information storage memory 165a.
In the description of the second embodiment, the number with the subscript a, for example, 162a, corresponds to the same numbered configuration in the first embodiment (hereinafter the same including other embodiments).

In the elevated peak information storage memory 162a, ascending peak information, an ascending slope rate (%), a descending slope rate (%), and a summit height (m) are stored.
Similar to the first embodiment, the biological information storage memory 163a stores the degree of tension (Level) determined from the detection values of the heart rate sensor 121 and the sweat sensor 122 as biological information.

The vehicle information storage memory 164a stores vehicle speed (km / h), vehicle acceleration (G), brake pedaling force (N · m), and brake operation status (N · m / ms).
The visibility information storage memory 165a stores the degree of visibility (Level) determined from the detection data and the acquired data in the inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measurement device 131 and the image processing device 132.

  The warning / vehicle control determination data 166a includes determination items (biological information, vehicle information, visibility information) and conditions (FIG. 16) for determining whether or not to warn in driving support processing (FIG. 15) described later, and driving support. The determination items (biological information, vehicle information, visibility information) for determining the contents of the information and the conditions (FIG. 17) are stored.

  The elevated overhead view determination data 167 stores information for determining the visibility (visibility) with respect to the elevated overhead in the poor elevated overhead storage process (FIG. 11) described later.

  The program storage unit 17 includes the poor overhead climbing storage program 171a, the driving support program 172a, and the biological information processing program 173, the vehicle information processing program 174, and the visual field information processing that are executed as subroutines in these programs. A program 175, a warning / vehicle control determination program 176, and other various programs are stored.

Next, the processing operation of the poor overhead storage processing in the driving support apparatus of the second embodiment will be described.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the poor overhead storage process.
This weak elevated top storage process is executed when the vehicle starts to run and continues to be executed while the vehicle is running, but may be executed when the ignition is turned on and terminated when the ignition is turned off. The same applies to the weak light / dark condition storage process of the third embodiment described later and the weak highway section process of the fourth embodiment.
In the description of each processing operation of the second embodiment and the fourth embodiment, the same step numbers and subscripts a to c representing the respective embodiments are attached to the operations similar to those of the first embodiment. In the following description, the same parts of each operation are partially omitted.

  The ECU 10 acquires the own vehicle position and the traveling direction (step 1a), and determines from the road data in the map DB 161 whether or not an elevated top exists ahead of the vehicle from the acquired own vehicle position and traveling direction. If it does not exist (step 2a; N), the process returns to step 1a and continues to detect the elevated top.

On the other hand, when detecting the elevated top in front of the vehicle (step 2a; Y), the ECU 10 obtains the corresponding elevated top information (uphill gradient rate, downhill high magnification, top height) from the map DB 161 and stores it in a predetermined area of the RAM. Save (step 3a).
Further, the ECU 10 detects the vehicle speed, the vehicle acceleration, the brake depression force, and the brake operation status as vehicle information, and stores them in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 4a).

Next, the ECU 10 detects the visibility information (degree of visibility) on the elevated top visible from the vehicle at the current vehicle position (step 5a).
12 and 13 conceptually show the visibility determination method according to the second embodiment.
The ECU 10 predicts the appearance of the road from the elevated top information (uphill gradient rate, downhill magnification, top height), road peripherals, current time, weather, and the like, and sets the initial visibility level.
That is, the ECU 10 predicts the elevated top shape from the elevated top information and the building around the road as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, and determines the level (shape level) as 1 to 3. .
In determining the shape level 1, 2, 3,... By the elevated top shape, the range of the ascending slope rate, the descending high magnification, and the summit height corresponding to each shape level is stored in the data storage unit 16 in advance, or the field of view It is defined in the information processing program 175.

Next, the ECU 10 predicts the road appearance from the current time and weather, and determines the initial visibility level.
For example, when the determined elevated top shape is the shape level shown in FIG. 12 (a) and the environment outside the vehicle is evening (when dark) and it is raining, as shown in FIG. 12 (d), Increase the level by 1 and set the initial visibility level to 2.
The relationship between the time and the level-up value (0, +1, +2,...) With respect to the weather is stored in the data storage unit 16 or defined in the view information processing program 175.

  After determining the initial visibility level, the ECU 10 detects the current situation in front of the vehicle as a distance image by a stereo camera or the like, and detects the road and the vehicle (the forerunner) ahead of the vehicle as shown in FIG.

Then, the way of seeing the road (the top of the elevated top) according to the level of initial visibility determined in the description of FIG. 12 is compared with the way of seeing the road (the actual situation of the top of the elevated top) recognized from the distance image by the stereo camera, The current visibility level is finally determined.
Specifically, the determination of the visibility level will be described by taking, as an example, the case where the shape level is 1 and the initial visibility level is 2 due to weather or the like (in the case of FIG. 12D).
That is, the ECU 10 determines the final visibility level from the extent that the front vehicle can be confirmed from the image of the stereo camera on the basis of the road shape at the shape level 1 predicted from the elevated top information (FIG. 12A).

As shown in FIG. 13B, when the viewing range is substantially the same as the shape level 1, the level-up amount is zero, that is, the initial visibility level 2 becomes the final visibility level, and the level 2 It becomes.
Then, as shown in FIG. 13C, when a part of the front of the vehicle can be confirmed as compared with the view range of the shape level 1, the level down amount 1 (−1), that is, the initial visibility level. Level 1 obtained by adding -1 to 2 is the final visibility level.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13D, when the entire vehicle ahead can be confirmed as compared with the view range of the shape level 1, the level down amount 2 (−2), that is, the initial visibility level 2 Level 0 obtained by adding -2 to the final visibility level.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the vehicle ahead is an object that obstructs the field of view with respect to the overhead. However, since it serves as a guide for driving operation, it acts in the direction of lowering the visibility level unlike the first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, the preceding vehicle is the target vehicle for level down, but the oncoming vehicle may be the target for level down. In this case, since the traveling direction is different in the case of an oncoming vehicle, the amount of level down may be smaller (for example, 1/2, 1/3, etc.) than in the case of a preceding vehicle.
Also in the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, when there is a shielding object such as a tree, a signboard, etc. up to the top of the elevated bridge, the visibility level is set according to the shielding ratio. You may make it improve.

  However, the level change due to the preceding vehicle or the oncoming vehicle is not performed in the poor overhead storage process, but is determined in the visibility determination (step 17a) in the driving support process described later.

  In this way, when the initial visibility level q is determined from the shape level p, the level down amount (−s is determined according to the confirmation ratio of the preceding vehicle based on the stereo camera image as compared with the visibility range of the shape level p. ) Is determined, and a value q-s obtained by adding the level-down amount s to the initial visibility level q is the final visibility level.

  When the visibility information (degree of visibility) is detected by the above processing, the ECU 10 detects biometric information (heart rate, sweating amount) in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and detects the driver's tension (step 6a).

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the elevated top during traveling corresponds to the weak elevated top based on the acquired and detected elevated top information, vehicle information, and biological information (step 7a).
In addition, since it is a weakness of the driving operation with respect to the overhead top, the visibility information is considered to be another factor, so the visibility information is not considered in determining whether or not the overhead elevation is poor.

FIG. 14 exemplifies the determination items and the conditions for determining whether or not the top is not good.
As shown in FIG. 14, the criteria for determining the height of the weak overhead is that the degree of tension is high (level 1 or higher), the brake pedaling force is stronger than a predetermined reference value, and the brake operation status is more abrupt than the predetermined reference value. It is a condition that the ascending slope rate is steeper than a predetermined reference value, the descending slope rate is steeper than a predetermined reference value, and the height of the summit is not less than a predetermined reference value (for example, 5 m). It becomes.
Here, the reference value for each determination item is determined in advance for each item, and a value defined in the data storage unit or the poor overhead storage program is used.
The height of the summit is the height from the elevated start point to the elevated summit.

  The determination of the poor overhead top is determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment by the combination of the determination items in FIG.

In FIG. 11, when it is not possible to determine that the vehicle is not at the top of the elevated overhead according to the measurement up to the present time (step 7a; N), the ECU 10 further determines whether or not the elevated overhead traveling has been completed from the vehicle current position and the road map of the map DB 161. Judgment is made (step 8a).
If the elevated top travel has not ended (step 8a; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 4a and continues to detect the vehicle information, the visibility information, and the biological information. In addition, it does not return to step 3a because it is not changed by driving | running | working about elevated top information.
When the elevated overhead traveling is finished (step 8a; Y), the elevated overhead does not correspond to the elevated overhead that is difficult for the driver to perform the driving operation, so the process returns.

  On the other hand, when the ECU 10 determines that it is not good at the top of the overhead (step 7a; Y), the storage items (see FIG. 10) of the elevated top information, biological information, vehicle information, and visibility information at the time when it is determined that the overhead is not good. Each is stored in the data storage unit 16 as weak overhead data (step 9a).

Next, driving support processing in the second embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The driving support processing in the second embodiment and the third and fourth embodiments to be described later is executed when the vehicle starts to run and continues to be executed while the vehicle is running, but is executed when the ignition is turned on and ends when the ignition is turned off. May be. In addition, the driving support process is executed in parallel with the poor overhead peak determination process (FIG. 11) in each embodiment.

The ECU 10 obtains its own vehicle position and traveling direction (step 11a), and determines whether or not there is an elevated top in front of the vehicle, in the same manner as in steps 1 to 3a (see FIG. 11) of the weak overhead storage process. Step 12a), obtaining the elevated top information and storing it in the RAM (step 13a).
In addition, you may make it make the process of the above steps 11a-13a common with step 1-3a of a weak overhead storage process.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the acquired elevated peak information is the same as or higher than the elevated peak information stored in the elevated peak information storage memory 162 that is not good for the data storage unit 16 (step). 14a).
That is, the ECU 10 determines whether or not each of the slope rate and the top height of the elevated top existing at the front is larger than the memorized value on the poor elevated top. Is the same as

  When it is not the same as the memorized poor overhead peak (step 14a; N), the elevated peak detected in front of the vehicle does not correspond to the overhead peak that is difficult for the driver, and the ECU 10 returns the process.

  On the other hand, when it is the same (or higher) as the memorized weak overhead top (step 14a; Y), the ECU 10 detects the vehicle speed, the vehicle acceleration, the brake pedaling force, and the brake operation status as the vehicle information, and stores it in the RAM. Saving in a predetermined area (step 15a).

  Next, the ECU 10 detects the environment outside the vehicle (step 16a). That is, the ECU 10 acquires the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed with the preceding vehicle, the inter-vehicle distance and relative speed with the rear vehicle, the presence / absence of the oncoming vehicle, and the like by the inter-vehicle distance / relative speed measuring device 131.

Then, the ECU 10 determines the visibility according to the visibility determination described above according to FIGS. 12 and 13 in consideration of the environment outside the vehicle detected in step 15a (level determination processing in FIG. 13E) (step 17a).
That is, the ECU 10 has a normal (same level) or bad (the same level) visibility level in consideration of the environment outside the vehicle with respect to the elevated top existing in front of the vehicle compared to the visibility level stored in the visibility information storage memory 165 as a poor elevated overhead. Determine whether the level is high or good (low level).

If the visibility is worse than the stored value, the threshold value for warning is lowered (step 18a), and if it is good, the threshold value for warning is raised (step 19a).
In this way, if the visibility on the elevated overhead that is ahead is poor, the level of visibility with respect to the elevated overhead increases, and if it becomes higher than the poor visibility on the elevated overhead, the threshold for warning decreases, resulting in warning. It becomes easy to be done.

  Further, the ECU 10 detects biological information (heart rate, sweating amount) and detects the driver's degree of tension (step 20a).

Next, the ECU 10 determines, based on each detected information, whether or not to warn that the elevated top existing in front of the vehicle is an elevated top that is difficult for the driver to drive (step 21a).
FIG. 16 shows the determination items regarding whether or not to issue a warning and the conditions thereof.
As illustrated in FIG. 16, the ECU 10 stores the level of tension and the vehicle speed stored in the biological information storage memory 163a in the vehicle speed and view information storage memory 165a stored in the vehicle information storage memory 144a. It is determined whether the values of the current three items are larger than the three items of the visibility level (the value changed in steps 17a to 19a) (step 21a).

The warning is determined based on the combination of the current three items, but it is determined that the warning is to be issued when the current level of tension is greater and when the current value is greater than two items.
However, it may be determined that a warning is given if the current value is large for only one item, and a warning may be determined if the current value is larger than any one of two items.
If it is determined that the warning is to be performed (step 21a; Y), the ECU 10 confirms that the elevated top existing ahead is an elevated top that is difficult for the driver to operate, from the audio output device 19 and the display device 20 A warning is given by the image (step 22a).
The warning is given by a warning voice and a text display such as “There is an elevated top that is not good in the direction of travel. You may make it tell in a warning the distance to a weak overhead top.
In addition, the warning for the poor top of the overhead is given before the vehicle enters the top of the overhead.

When it is determined that a warning is not necessary (step 21a; N), that is, from the elevated peak information, it is determined that there is a possibility that the elevated peak existing ahead is not suitable for the elevated peak. Since it is determined that a warning is unnecessary, the process proceeds to the next process without warning.
This prevents unnecessary warnings for the driver.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered the elevated top (refers to a predetermined area including the top) (step 23a). If not (step 23a; N), the process returns to step 13a. Continue making warning decisions.
In addition, since the elevated peak information on the elevated peak existing ahead does not change by traveling, the process may return to step 14a.

On the other hand, when the vehicle enters the elevated top, the ECU 10 detects the environment outside the vehicle at the present time after entering the elevated top (step 24a), similarly to step 16a.
Further, the ECU 10 determines the current visibility (step 25a) as in step 17a. If the visibility is poor, the ECU 10 decreases the threshold (in this case, the driving support threshold) as in step 18a (step 26a). ) If the field of view is good, the driving assistance threshold is increased in the same manner as in step 19a (step 27a).

  Next, the ECU 10 detects the current biological information and vehicle information in the same manner as in Steps 20a and 15 (Steps 28a and 29a).

Based on the environment outside the vehicle, the visibility level, the biological information, and the vehicle information detected after entering the elevated top as described above, the ECU 10 determines the necessity of driving assistance and the content of the assistance (step 30a).
FIG. 17 shows the determination items and the conditions for the necessity of driving assistance and the contents of assistance.
As shown in this figure, as driving support determination items, the degree of tension is defined for biological information, the vehicle speed, accelerator pedal force, and brake operation status are defined for vehicle information, and the visibility is defined for visibility information.
In addition, for each determination item, the determination condition when driving assistance is not performed, the determination condition that the risk is low, the determination condition that the risk is medium, and the determination condition that the risk is high, It is defined similarly to the first embodiment.

The ECU 10 determines which condition is satisfied for each of the determination items shown in FIG. 17, and determines the presence / absence of driving support and the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
In the present embodiment, driving support is not performed when up to 4 out of 5 items satisfy the no support condition.
On the other hand, for the low, medium, and high risk levels, the greater risk level is determined when 2 or more items are satisfied among all 5 items.

Note that it is possible to use other methods for determining the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
For example, the degree of risk that all the biological information, vehicle information, and view information are satisfied may be determined. In this case, regarding vehicle information, vehicle information is assumed to be satisfied when two of the five items are satisfied.
Moreover, you may make it determine the risk degree which satisfy | fills any one (it can also be set as two or more) of one biometric information and other four items.

As described above, in the driving support determination (step 30a) based on FIG. 17, when it is determined that there is no need for driving operation support, the process proceeds to step 34a.
On the other hand, when determining that the degree of risk is low, the ECU 10 issues a warning (step 31a).
The warning in this case is given by voice and image (text) from the voice output device 19 and the display device 20 in the same manner as the warning before entering the elevated top in step 22a. However, since the warning in this case is a warning at the top of the elevated overhead, the content of the warning is different from the warning (step 22a) that calls attention before entering the elevated top.
For example, a warning that “It is running on the top of the overhead that is not good. Please drive carefully and drive ahead” is given by voice and image (text display).

In addition, you may make it ECU10 perform the warning corresponding to the item which satisfy | fills conditions among the determination items shown in FIG.
For example, when the visibility and the tension satisfy the criteria of the judgment item, the warning “Please pay attention to the front and calm down” is warned, and the tension and the vehicle speed are Warns, “Please calm down and drive at a reduced speed.”
By giving a warning corresponding to the determination item that satisfies the conditions in this way, it is possible to point out a weak point of consciousness that the driver's confidence is not aware of, and pass through the top of the poor point while concentrating on that point.

If it is determined that the degree of risk is medium, the ECU 10 assists the driving operation by the vehicle control device 21 (step 32a).
For example, as a driving assistance, a driving operation assistance such as making it difficult to operate the steering wheel in the direction opposite to the direction of bending at the top of the elevated top (making the steering wheel heavy) is performed.
Also in this driving assistance, the ECU 10 may assist the driving operation according to the determination item that satisfies the condition, similarly to the warning. For example, when the vehicle speed condition is satisfied, the speed may be reduced, acceleration may be difficult, or the accelerator resistance may be increased.

When it is determined that the degree of risk is high in the driving support determination (step 30a), the ECU 10 performs vehicle control by the vehicle control device 21 (step 33a).
That is, the ECU 10 performs vehicle control with respect to accelerator operation and brake operation.
In this case, the object to be controlled and the degree of control are determined in consideration of the vehicle speed and the elevated top information.

When driving assistance is not performed, and when warning, driving operation assistance, or vehicle control is performed, the ECU 10 determines whether traveling on the elevated top is finished (step 34a), and if not finished, Returning to step 24a, the driving assistance determination and the driving assistance processing are continued.
On the other hand, if the elevated top is finished, the ECU 10 returns the process.

According to the second embodiment, each driver is identified by preliminarily identifying a weak top that is unique to each driver, and performing a warning or control when the top of the poor overhead is met or exceeds the specified condition. It is possible to provide more accurate driver assistance tailored to the vehicle.
In addition, in response to the poor overhead view appearing as a weak driving operation for the driver, vehicle information (speed, accelerator operation, brake operation) corresponding to the driving operation should be used to determine whether or not it is a poor overhead position. Thus, it is possible to more accurately detect the height of the overhead that the driver is not good at.
In addition to being able to recognize the weak overhead top more accurately, warnings and driving assistance are not performed if the situation is lower than the situation (detected value) when it was recognized as poor overhead, so there are fewer warnings that are annoying to the driver. .

In addition, before entering the elevated top, the driver is warned when the conditions of the elevated overhead in front of the elevator are not good or the conditions are the same as or higher than the elevated overhead. You can know the existence, so you can calm down and respond in advance.
As a result, warnings and driving assistance may be unnecessary after entering the top of the weak overhead.

Next, a third embodiment will be described.
In the third embodiment, driving assistance is provided for driving light / dark conditions such as backlight and light / dark, which are not good for the driver.
In other words, driving assistance for driving light / dark conditions is performed based on the biological information acquired as the personal characteristics of the driver.

The driving support device according to the third embodiment is configured in the same manner as the driving support device described with reference to FIG.
In the third embodiment, the driving support device includes weak running light / dark condition storage data instead of poor curve storage data.

  FIG. 18 shows each data stored in the road information storage memory 162b, the biological information storage memory 163b, the vehicle information storage memory 164b, and the travel light / dark condition storage memory 165b, which constitutes the weak travel light / dark condition storage data. .

The road information storage memory 162b stores road information, road shape (curve curvature, curve cant, intersection shape), road form, facility, road width (number of lanes, width), and undulation (gradient) as road information. The
Similar to the first embodiment, the biological information storage memory 163b stores the degree of tension (Level).
The vehicle information storage memory 164b stores vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, handle operation torque, handle operation status, accelerator pedal force, accelerator operation status, brake pedal force, and brake operation status.

  The vehicle control determination data 166b includes determination items (biological information, vehicle information, visibility information) for determining the content of driving support, conditions (FIG. 26), and driving support in driving support processing (FIG. 24) described later. The contents (FIG. 27) are stored.

  The weak travel light / dark condition determination data 167b stores information for determining a light / dark condition (light / dark environment) during travel in a weak travel light / dark condition storage process (FIG. 19) described later.

  The program storage unit 17 includes a weak driving light / dark condition (not good light / dark environment) storage program 171b, a driving support program 172b, and a biological information processing program 173 and vehicle information processing that are executed as subroutines in these programs. A program 174, a visibility information processing program 175, a warning / vehicle control determination program 176, and other various programs are stored.

Next, the processing operation of the weak running light / dark condition storage process in the driving support apparatus of the third embodiment will be described.
FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing the operation of the poor overhead storage process.
The ECU 10 acquires the vehicle position and the traveling direction (step 41) and also acquires an image ahead of the vehicle (step 42), as in step 1 of the first embodiment.

  Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the front of the vehicle satisfies the traveling light / dark condition from the acquired own vehicle position, traveling direction, and vehicle forward image (step 43). ), The process returns to step 41.

Here, the traveling light / dark condition determination items will be described.
FIG. 20 shows the traveling light / dark condition determination items.
As the running light / dark conditions, as shown in FIG. 20 (a), as the light / dark environment in front of the vehicle, in the case of “high light / dark difference”, the tunnel entrance, tunnel exit, under the viaduct, backlight at the tunnel exit, or under the overhead In the case of backlight, the case of “too bright”, backlight and fog, the case of “too dark” in tunnels, under a viaduct, at night, fog, etc. is defined.

  Each case of strong contrast, too bright, or too dark is determined from the relationship between brightness and the number of pixels (image histogram), as shown in FIGS.

On the other hand, whether it is backlight or not depends on the backlight determination process.
FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the backlight determination process.
The ECU 10 acquires the host vehicle position and the traveling direction (step 51). In addition, you may make it use the information acquired at step 41 about the own vehicle position and the advancing direction in this case.

Next, the ECU 10 acquires date / time, time, and weather information (step 52).
In the present embodiment, weather information is acquired from the outside using communication, but the weather may be detected using various types of sensors such as a captured image outside the vehicle, a water drop sensor, and a humidity sensor.

The ECU 10 determines whether or not there is sunshine from the acquired weather information (step 53). If there is (step 53; Y), the position of the sun (direction and altitude with respect to the own vehicle position) is determined based on the own vehicle position information (latitude, (Longitude), date and time are calculated (step 54).
Then, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the backlight is backlit from the calculated position of the sun (step 55), and if backlit (step 55; Y), stores the “backlight” flag and returns to the main routine.
On the other hand, if it is not backlit (step 55; N) and there is no sunshine (step 53; N), the “other” flag is stored and the process returns to the main routine.

When the above running light / dark conditions are satisfied (step 43; Y), the ECU 10 acquires road information (step 44).
FIG. 22 shows the road information acquired in the third embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 22, the ECU 10 uses road information (highway, national road, prefectural road, etc.), road shape (straight line, curve, intersection, etc.), road form (general paved road, elevated road, etc.) as road information. , Facilities (none, tunnel, overpass, etc.), number of lanes (one lane on one side, two lanes on one side, etc.), undulations (flat road, uphill, downhill, etc.), etc.

Next, the ECU 10 detects, as vehicle information, a steering wheel operation amount, a steering wheel operation situation, an accelerator pedal effort, an accelerator manipulation situation, a brake pedal effort, and a brake manipulation situation (step 45).
Further, the ECU 10 detects biometric information (heart rate, sweating amount) in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and detects the driver's tension (step 46).

  Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the weak running light / dark condition is met based on the acquired and detected running light / dark conditions, vehicle information, and biological information (step 47).

FIG. 23 exemplifies the determination items as to whether or not the weak running light / dark conditions are met and the conditions.
As shown in FIG. 14, the degree of tension is high (level 1 or higher), the amount of steering operation is larger than a predetermined reference value, the steering operation status is steep or left and right than the predetermined reference value, accelerator pedal force Is stronger than the predetermined reference value, the brake pedaling force is stronger than the predetermined reference value, the brake operating condition is steeper than the predetermined reference value, and the running light / dark condition is strong light / dark difference, too bright or too dark This is a condition for determining the poor running light / dark condition.

Here, the reference value for each determination item is determined in advance for each item, and a value defined in the data storage unit or the weak curve storage program is used.
The determination of the poor overhead top is determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment by the combination of the determination items in FIG.

When the poor contrast condition is satisfied (step 47; Y), the ECU 10 stores the acquired and detected road information, biometric information, vehicle information, and travel contrast condition in the data storage unit 16 (step 48), and returns to the main routine.
On the other hand, when the poor light / dark condition is not satisfied (step 47; N) and when the running light / dark condition is not satisfied (step 43; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 41 and continues the process.

Next, driving support processing in the third embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The ECU 10 determines whether the vehicle position and traveling direction are acquired (step 61), the front image is acquired (step 62), and whether the driving light / dark condition is satisfied, as in steps 41 to 46 of the weak driving light / dark condition storage process ( Step 63), road information acquisition (step 64), vehicle information detection (step 65), and tension level detection (step 66) based on biometric information detection.
In addition, you may make it share the process of the above steps 61-66 with step 41-46 of a weak running light / dark condition memory | storage process.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether each acquired and detected data is the same as or more than the weak running light / dark condition stored in the data storage unit 16 according to the comparison item with the poor running light / dark condition shown in FIG. Is determined (step 67).
That is, the ECU 10 determines whether each item of road information, each item of biometric information, vehicle information, and running light / dark conditions are larger than a stored value of poor running light / dark conditions.

If it is smaller than the weak running light / dark condition stored (step 67; N), the ECU 10 returns to the main routine because the running light / dark condition is not good.
On the other hand, when it is not less than the poor driving light / dark condition stored (step 67; Y), the ECU 10 determines the driving support determination and the content of the support based on the biological information, the vehicle information, and the driving light / dark condition (step 68).

FIG. 26 shows the determination items and the conditions for the necessity of driving assistance and the contents of assistance.
As shown in this figure, as a determination item for driving support, a degree of tension is defined for biological information, a vehicle speed, a handle operation torque, a handle operation status, an accelerator operation status, a brake operation status are specified for vehicle information, and traveling Light and dark conditions are specified.
In addition, for each judgment item, the judgment conditions for when driving assistance is not provided, the judgment conditions that the degree of risk is low, the judgment conditions that the degree of danger is medium, and the judgment conditions that the degree of risk is high are specified. Has been.

The ECU 10 determines which condition is satisfied for each of the determination items shown in FIG. 26, and determines the presence / absence of driving support and the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
In the present embodiment, driving support is not performed when up to 6 of all 7 items satisfy the no-support condition.
On the other hand, for the low, medium, and high risk levels, the greater risk level is determined when two or more of the seven items are satisfied.

As described above, when it is determined in the driving support determination (step 68) based on FIG. 26 that the driving operation support is not necessary, the ECU 10 returns to the main routine.
On the other hand, the ECU 10 gives a warning when it is determined that the risk level is low (step 69), assists the driving operation when it is determined that the risk level is medium (step 70), and performs vehicle control when it is determined that the risk level is high. Perform (step 71).

The warning, driving operation assistance, and vehicle control are in accordance with the situation (item determined to be dangerous) such as speed reduction and steering operation.
FIG. 27 exemplifies the contents of the driving support according to the item determined to be dangerous.
As shown in FIG. 27, as a warning when it is determined that the degree of risk is low, the ECU 10 gives, for example, a warning of a speed reduction in the case of a speed reduction and a sound of a warning for a steering operation in the case of a steering operation. Output and image output.

Further, as a driving operation support when it is determined that the degree of danger is medium, the ECU 10 enhances the reaction force of the accelerator and the brake, for example, in the case of a speed reduction, and a handle name dollar in the case of a steering operation. Reinforce the reaction force of the torque, turn on the night vision as others, and change the brightness of the information display device to an appropriate value.
Here, the night vision is a system that detects a pedestrian on a vehicle course or a pedestrian crossing with a far-infrared camera and prompts the driver's attention by a display on the screen and a buzzer sound.

  Further, as the vehicle control when the degree of danger is determined to be large, the ECU 10 performs control such that, for example, the speed is kept constant if the speed is reduced, and steering control is performed so as not to deviate from the lane if the steering is operated. Do.

In the embodiment described, unlike other embodiments, a weak point (such as a weak curve, a weak overhead peak) is detected in advance, and it is not determined whether or not the vehicle has entered the corresponding point or a warning when entering. Although the case has been described, similar to the other embodiments, a weak running light / dark condition may be detected in advance and a warning may be issued when the vehicle enters.
In this case, the warning determination data is stored as in the other embodiments.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described.
In the fourth embodiment, driving assistance is provided for a downhill or a branch / merge point (hereinafter referred to as a weak highway) on an expressway that is a weak point for a driver.
That is, based on the biometric information acquired as the personal characteristics of the driver, driving assistance is provided for the downhill or branch / merge point of the highway.

FIG. 28 shows poor highway storage data stored in the data storage unit 16.
As shown in FIG. 28, the weak highway storage data stored is type as road information, road shape (curve curvature), pavement form, facility, road width (number of lanes, width), and tension as biometric information. Degree, vehicle information as vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, steering wheel operation torque, steering wheel operation status, accelerator pedal force, accelerator operating status, brake pedal force, brake operating status, environmental information as surrounding vehicles (front vehicle distance, rear vehicle distance, left The number of direction vehicles, the left vehicle distance, the number of right vehicles, and the right vehicle distance are stored.

  The warning / vehicle control determination data 166c includes a determination item (biological information, vehicle information, visibility information) and a condition (FIG. 35) for determining whether or not to give a warning in a driving support process (FIG. 32) described later. The determination items for determining the contents, the conditions (FIG. 36), and the contents of driving support (FIG. 37) are stored.

  The highway determination data 167 stores information for determining a weak highway in a poor highway storage process (FIG. 29) described later (FIG. 31).

  The program storage unit 17 includes a weak highway storage program 171c, a driving support program 172c, and a biological information processing program 173, a vehicle information processing program 174, and a visual field information processing that are executed as subroutines in these programs. A program 175, a warning / vehicle control determination program 176, and other various programs are stored.

Next, the processing operation of the weak highway storage process in the driving support apparatus of the fourth embodiment will be described.
FIG. 29 is a flowchart showing the operation of the weak highway storage process.
The ECU 10 acquires the own vehicle position and the traveling direction (step 1c), and whether or not there is a downhill or branch / junction point on the highway ahead of the vehicle from the acquired own vehicle position and traveling direction. If it is determined from the road data in the map DB 161 (step 2c) and does not exist (step 2c; N), the process returns to step 1c and continues to detect downhill or branch / merge points on the highway.

On the other hand, when a downhill or branch / junction point of the expressway is detected in front of the vehicle (step 2c; Y), the ECU 10 acquires the corresponding road information from the map DB 161 and stores it in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 3c). .
FIG. 30 shows road information acquired for a downhill or branch / merge point on an expressway.
As shown in FIG. 30, the road information to be acquired is items relating to road type, road shape, pavement form, facility, road width, and the like.

  Next, the ECU 10 detects vehicle speed, vehicle acceleration, etc. (see FIG. 28) as vehicle information and stores them in a predetermined area of the RAM (step 4c).

Next, the ECU 10 detects environmental information (step 5c).
FIG. 32 shows the environmental information to be detected.
As the environmental information, as shown in FIG. 32, the type and distance between vehicles existing before and after, the number and distance of vehicles existing on the left and right are detected, and IDs (identification numbers) are sequentially assigned to the left and right vehicles from the front. Shake and measure the distance.
The type and distance of other vehicles around the host vehicle are detected by a millimeter wave radar, an ultrasonic sensor, image processing of a captured image by an imaging device, a stereo camera, or the like.

  Further, the ECU 10 detects biological information (heart rate, sweating amount) in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and detects the driver's tension (step 6c).

The ECU 10 moves forward according to the weak highway determination items shown in FIG. 31 based on the acquired and detected highway information (information on the downhill or branch / junction point of the highway), vehicle information, environmental information, and biological information. It is determined whether or not a downhill or branch / junction point of an existing highway corresponds to a weak highway (step 7c).
The poor highway is determined in the same manner as in the first embodiment by the combination of the determination items in FIG.

In FIG. 29, when it is not possible to determine that the road is not good due to the measurement up to the present time (step 7c; N), the ECU 10 further determines whether or not traveling on the downhill or branch / merging point of the highway has ended. Judgment is made from the current position and the road map of the map DB 161 (step 8c).
If traveling on the downhill or branch / merge point of the highway has not been completed (step 8c; N), the ECU 10 returns to step 4c and continues to detect vehicle information, view information, and biological information. The reason why the process does not return to step 3c is that the highway information does not change with traveling.
When traveling on the downhill or branch / merge point of the expressway is completed (step 8c; Y), the point corresponds to the downslope or branch / merge point of the expressway that is difficult for the driver to drive. Return to processing.

  On the other hand, if the ECU 10 determines that the road is not good (step 7c; Y), the road information, biometric information, vehicle information, and environmental information storage items (see FIG. 28) at the time when the road is determined to be not good are shown. Then, it is stored in the data storage unit 16 as weak highway data (step 9c).

Next, driving support processing in the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.
The ECU 10 obtains its own vehicle position and traveling direction (step 11c), as well as steps 1 to 3c (see FIG. 29) of the weak highway storage process, and the highway downhill or branch / merging point is ahead of the vehicle. It is determined whether or not it exists (step 12c), road information is acquired and stored in the RAM (step 13c).
In addition, you may make it share the process of the above steps 11c-13c with the steps 1-3 of a weak highway memory | storage process.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the road information acquired in step 13c is the same as the road information of the weak highway stored in the data storage unit 16 (step 14c).
That is, the ECU 10 determines whether the type, road shape, pavement form, facility, and road width of the highway existing ahead are the same as the road information of any of the weak highways stored.
In the present embodiment, when all items match, it is determined that they are the same, but when a predetermined number or more items match, it may be determined that they are the same.

  If it is not the same as the stored weak highway (step 14c; N), the highway detected in front of the vehicle does not correspond to the highway that is not good for the driver, so the ECU 10 returns to the main routine.

On the other hand, when it is the same as the memorized highway (step 14c; Y), the ECU 10 detects the vehicle speed, the vehicle acceleration, the brake depression force, and the brake operation status as vehicle information, and stores them in a predetermined area of the RAM. (Step 15c).
Next, the ECU 10 detects environmental information (see FIG. 32) and stores it in the RAM (step 16c).

Next, the ECU 10 performs a travel environment determination based on other vehicles existing around the host vehicle (step 17c).
FIG. 34 shows the contents of the driving environment determination.
That is, the ECU 10 evaluates the environment information in three stages, that is, normal, bad, and good, in consideration of the distribution status of surrounding vehicles, from the environmental information detected in step 16c.
Regarding the evaluation method, for example, in the evaluation column, + is calculated as 1, 1 is set as 0, and − is set as −1, and evaluation is performed according to the total value. The higher the total value, the better, and the lower the value, the worse.

If the driving environment is bad, the warning threshold is lowered (step 18c), and if it is good, the warning threshold is raised (step 19c).
As described above, when the traveling environment is bad, the warning threshold value is lowered, and as a result, a warning is easily given.

  Further, the ECU 10 detects biological information (heart rate, sweating amount) and detects the driver's degree of tension (step 20c).

Next, the ECU 10 determines, based on each detected information, whether or not to warn that the highway existing in front of the vehicle is a highway that is difficult for the driver to drive (step 21c).
FIG. 35 shows the determination items regarding whether or not to issue a warning and the conditions thereof.
As illustrated in FIG. 35, the ECU 10 determines whether the road information is the same as the weak highway in which the road information is stored, whether it is equal to or higher than the level of the tension stored in the biological information storage memory 163c, and the vehicle speed is the vehicle information. It is determined whether or not the vehicle speed is greater than or equal to the vehicle speed stored in the storage memory 144c (according to the value changed in steps 17c to 19c) (step 21c).

The warning is determined based on the combination of the three items of the warning determination items, but it is determined that the warning is to be performed when the current degree of tension is large and when the current value is two or more items larger.
However, it may be determined that a warning is given if the current value is large for only one item, and a warning may be determined if the current value is larger than any one of two items.
If it is determined that a warning is to be issued (step 21c; Y), the ECU 10 indicates that the highway that is ahead (downhill or branch / junction point of the highway) is a highway that is difficult for the driver to operate. Is warned by sound and image from the sound output device 19 and the display device 20 (step 22c).
The warning is performed by a warning voice and text display such as “There is a downhill or branch / junction point on the expressway that is not good in the direction of travel. Please pass carefully.” You may make it tell in a warning the distance to a weak highway.
This weak highway warning is issued before the vehicle enters the downhill or branch / merge point of the highway.

When it is determined that a warning is unnecessary (step 21c; N), that is, from the highway information, it is determined that there is a possibility that the highway ahead is a weak highway. Since it is determined that a warning is unnecessary, the process proceeds to the next process without warning.
This prevents unnecessary warnings for the driver.

Next, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the vehicle has entered a downhill or branch / junction point on a weak highway (step 23c), and if not (step 23c; N), returns to step 13c and gives a warning. Continue judgment on
In addition, since the road information of the highway which exists ahead does not change with driving | running | working, you may make it return to step 14c.

On the other hand, when the vehicle has entered a downhill or branch / junction point of a weak highway, the ECU 10 detects the current environmental information after entering the highway, as in step 16c (step 24c).
Further, the ECU 10 determines the current driving environment as in step 17c (step 25c). If the driving environment is bad, the ECU 10 decreases the threshold value (in this case, the driving support threshold value) as in step 18c (in step 25c). 26c) If the field of view is good, the driving assistance threshold is increased in the same manner as in step 19c (step 27c).

Next, the ECU 10 detects the current biological information and vehicle information in the same manner as in Steps 20c and 15 (Steps 28c and 29c), and determines the necessity of driving support and the content of the support (Step 30c).
FIG. 36 shows the determination items and the conditions for the necessity of driving assistance and the contents of assistance.
As shown in FIG. 36, as a determination item for driving support, a degree of tension is defined for biometric information, and vehicle speed, steering wheel operation torque, steering wheel operation status, accelerator pedal force, accelerator operation status, brake pedal force, and brake operation are specified for vehicle information. The situation is defined, and the visibility is defined for the visibility information.
In addition, for each determination item, the determination condition when driving assistance is not performed, the determination condition that the risk is low, the determination condition that the risk is medium, and the determination condition that the risk is high, It is defined similarly to the first embodiment.

The ECU 10 determines which condition is satisfied for each of the determination items shown in FIG. 36, and determines the presence / absence of driving support and the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
In the present embodiment, driving support is not performed when up to 7 out of 8 items satisfy the no support condition.
On the other hand, for the low, medium, and high risk levels, the greater risk level is determined when two or more of the eight items are satisfied.

Note that it is possible to use other methods for determining the degree of risk corresponding to the driving support content.
For example, the degree of risk that all the biological information, vehicle information, and view information are satisfied may be determined. In this case, regarding vehicle information, vehicle information is assumed to be satisfied when two of the seven items are satisfied.
Moreover, you may make it determine the risk degree which satisfy | fills any one of biometric information and other 7 items (it is also possible to set it as 2 or more).

As described above, in the driving support determination (step 30c) based on FIG. 17, when it is determined that there is no need for driving operation support, the process proceeds to step 34c.
On the other hand, the ECU 10 issues a warning when it is determined that the risk is low (step 31c), assists the driving operation when it is determined that the risk is medium (step 32c), and performs vehicle control when it is determined that the risk is high. Perform (step 33c).

The contents of the warning, the driving assistance, and the vehicle control are defined corresponding to the items determined to be dangerous in the case of high-speed descent and in the case of high-speed branching / merging.
FIG. 37 exemplifies the contents of driving support according to the item determined to be dangerous.
When the weak highway is a high-speed downhill, as shown in FIG. 37 (a), the warning content warns that the speed has increased with respect to the speed increase, and the steering operation with respect to the steering operation. Give warnings to call attention.
As the contents of the driving operation support, the reaction force of the accelerator is increased with respect to the speed increase and / or the AT (automatic transmission) is shifted down, and the reaction force of the handle torque is increased with respect to the steering operation.
Further, as the contents of the vehicle control, control is performed so as to keep the speed constant with respect to the speed increase, and control is performed so as not to deviate from the lane with respect to the steering operation.

On the other hand, when the weak highway is high-speed branching / merging, as shown in FIG. 37 (b), a warning about the inter-vehicle distance is given to the approaching inter-vehicle distance as shown in FIG. A warning is issued, and a warning is issued to call attention to the steering wheel operation.
The details of the driving operation support include strengthening the reaction force of the accelerator for approaching the distance between the vehicles and / or shifting down the AT (automatic transmission) and strengthening the reaction force of the handle torque for the operation of the surrounding vehicle and the steering wheel. .
Further, as the contents of the vehicle control, the vehicle speed is controlled to a safe speed corresponding to the distance with respect to the approaching distance between the vehicles, and the steering operation is controlled so as not to deviate from the lane.

When driving assistance is not performed, and when warning, driving operation assistance, or vehicle control is performed, the ECU 10 determines whether or not the driving on the highway section (downhill or branch / junction point of the highway) is not completed. (Step 34c), if not completed, the process returns to step 24c to continue the determination of driving support and the processing for driving support.
On the other hand, if the highway has ended, the ECU 10 returns the process.

According to the fourth embodiment, a downhill or a branch / junction point of a weak highway unique to each driver is specified in advance, and a warning or control is performed when the lowway matches or exceeds the specified condition. By performing the above, it becomes possible to provide more accurate driver assistance tailored to each driver.
Also, the downhill or branch / junction point of the weak highway corresponds to appearing as a poor driving operation for the driver, and vehicle information corresponding to the driving operation (handle operation status, accelerator operation status, brake operation status) Is used for determining whether or not it is a downhill or branch / merge point on a weak highway, so that the downhill or branch / merge point on the highway that is not good for the driver can be detected more accurately.
Furthermore, warnings and driving assistance are not performed when the situation is lower than the situation (detected value) when the road is recognized as a downhill or branch / junction point on a weak highway, so that troublesome warnings for the driver are reduced.

Also, before entering the downhill or branch / junction point of the expressway, the driver is warned if the condition of the preceding expressway matches or exceeds that of the expressway that is not good, so the driver can enter the expressway. Before you start, you can know the existence of the highway that you are not good at.
As a result, after entering the weak highway, warnings and driving assistance may be unnecessary.

Although the first to fourth embodiments have been described above, in the present invention, driving assistance may be performed by combining any two or more embodiments.
FIG. 38 is a flowchart illustrating poor operation information storage processing and driving support processing operations when driving support is performed by combining a plurality of embodiments.
As shown in FIG. 38 (a), the ECU 10 first detects a weak point (step 81).
That is, the ECU 10 detects an item corresponding to a weak point to be detected. The ECU 10 detects, for example, the driver's tension as biometric information, detects the driving behavior (speed, etc.) of the vehicle and the driving operation status of the driver from the vehicle information, and determines the road shape and incidental facilities from the surrounding environment information. Detects surrounding vehicle conditions and driver's visibility.
Then, it is determined in the same manner as in the embodiment described as to whether or not the point is weak with the driver's tension, driving operation status, and road characteristics as keys. That is, it is determined whether or not it is a weak point for various specific situations (specific points) such as a curve, an elevated peak, an unfavorable point regarding brightness, a downhill on an expressway, a branch / junction point on an expressway.

  When the weak point is detected, the ECU 10 detects items corresponding to the weak point, for example, biological information (driver's tension level, etc.), vehicle information (vehicle driving behavior, driver's driving operation status, etc.), surrounding environment information ( The road shape, incidental facilities, surrounding vehicles, the degree of visibility of the driver, etc.) are stored (step 82), and the weak information storage process is terminated.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 38 (b), the ECU 10 provides driving assistance corresponding to the weak points to be detected.
That is, the ECU 10 detects the weakness memorized by the weak point memory processing (step 91).
Here, ECU10 compares the data (biological information, vehicle information, etc.) memorize | stored with respect to the weak point, and the present sensing result, and detects the weak point which exists ahead. That is, a current environment and situation similar to a point that is difficult to obtain from biological information or the like in the past travel is detected in the same manner as in step 81.

  Next, when the memorized poor situation is detected, a warning is issued in front of it (step 92). Further, driving assistance is performed while the memorized poor situation is running (step 93), and the process returns to the main routine.

As mentioned above, although each embodiment in the driving assistance device of the present invention was described, the present invention is not limited to the described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope described in each claim. .
For example, in the embodiment described above, the pulse rate and sweating information are detected as the biological information to be detected, but other information of the autonomic nervous system such as the pupil and brain waves is detected as the other biological information, and the change Therefore, it may be determined that the path is off due to an error when the sympathetic nervous system is dominant.
Alternatively, the face may be imaged and judgment may be made based on changes in the pupil. That is, when the pupil changes in the opening direction, it is determined that the sympathetic nervous system is dominant.

Further, the driver's blood pressure may be detected by a blood pressure sensor as biometric information.
In the present embodiment, the blood pressure sensor, for example, shows a correlation between a pulse wave transmission time (PWTT: Pulse Wave Transmit Time) until the blood pulse wave accompanying the heart contraction reaches the fingertip from the heart and blood pressure in the human body. It is used to measure blood pressure.
The blood pressure sensor detects an electrical potential change that occurs when the heart beats and detects the heart contraction timing, and the timing when the pulse wave reaches the fingertip by detecting a change in blood flow at the fingertip using infrared rays. An infrared sensor for capturing (pulse) is provided, and blood pressure is measured by calculation based on the pulse wave propagation time detected by these sensors.
As described in JP 2000-107141 A, pulse sensors that measure a pulse by using a difference in distance from the heart may be arranged in both sensor units.

In the embodiment described above, biometric information, vehicle information related to vehicle operation, and curve information are used to determine whether or not the curve is weak. However, the weak curve may be determined based only on the biometric information.
Moreover, you may make it determine a weak curve from two of biometric information, vehicle information, and curve information.

Further, in each of the embodiments described above, a point that is difficult for a driver to take as a specific situation (specific point) is a point of a curve, an elevated top, a bad condition regarding brightness, a downhill of a highway, a branch / junction point of a highway However, instead of determining whether or not the driver is not good at a predetermined specific point, the weak point is detected and stored for any point. You may do it.
In this case, when a tension state is detected from the ecological information during traveling, status information at the time of detection, for example, biological information (driver's tension level, etc.), vehicle information (vehicle driving behavior, driver) ) And surrounding environment information (road shape, incidental facilities, surrounding vehicles, degree of driver's visibility, etc.) are stored.
As in the embodiment described above, when a situation that matches or is similar to the stored situation information is detected, driving assistance such as warning, driving operation assistance, and vehicle control is performed according to the current situation.

  As a result, if it is a place that is not good for the driver, it is appropriate to drive at any point not specified in advance, such as an uneven road, an intersection in a specific situation, a shopping street, a parking entrance, etc. It becomes possible to provide support.

In the first embodiment described, a warning may be given to the curve based on the vehicle speed and the curvature of the curve.
Furthermore, the threshold values of the vehicle speed and the curvature for determining the driving support determination may be changed based on the biological information.
Further, driving assistance may be performed based on the vehicle speed, and the threshold value of the vehicle speed for the rolling assistance may be changed based on the biological information.

Moreover, you may make it comprise a driving assistance apparatus with respect to this embodiment as follows.
(1) biometric information acquisition means for acquiring the driver's biometric information;
A curve detection means for detecting a curve existing ahead;
Driving support means for performing driving support for the detected curve based on the biological information;
A driving support apparatus comprising:
(2) It further comprises vehicle information detection means for detecting at least the vehicle speed,
The driving support means warns at least a curve based on the vehicle speed and the curvature of the curve detected by the curve detection means, and changes the vehicle speed and the threshold value of the curvature based on the biological information. The driving support device according to claim 1.
(3) a curve travel detection means for detecting that the vehicle is traveling on a curve;
Biometric information acquisition means for acquiring the driver's biometric information during traveling of the curve;
First weak curve determination means for determining whether or not the curve is weak for the driver using the acquired biological information;
Weak curve storage means for storing curve information of weak curves determined by the first weak curve determination means as weak curve information;
A curve detecting means for detecting a curve existing in front of the vehicle;
A second weak curve determining means that compares the curve information of the detected curve with the stored weak curve information and determines whether or not the detected curve corresponds to a weak curve;
Driving assistance means for providing driving assistance to the curve determined as the weak curve by the second weak curve determination means;
A driving support apparatus comprising:
(4) The driving support device according to (3), wherein the driving support means performs at least one of warning, driving operation assistance, and vehicle control.
(5) The driving assistance apparatus according to (4), wherein the driving operation assistance or vehicle control is performed during traveling of a curve determined to be a weak curve.
(6) vehicle operation information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle operation information during traveling of the curve,
The first and second weak curve determining means determine including the vehicle operation information acquired by the vehicle operation information acquiring means,
The weak curve storage means stores vehicle operation information used for the determination of the poor curve included in poor curve information,
The driving support apparatus according to (3), (4) or (5), characterized in that.
(7) provided with visibility determining means for determining visibility in front of the vehicle;
The weak curve storage means stores the visibility determined in the determination of the poor curve in the weak curve information,
The second weak curve determination means includes the vehicle operation information acquired by the vehicle operation information acquisition means;
The driving support apparatus according to any one of (3) to (6), wherein:

It is a block diagram of the driving assistance device in one Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing showing the content of each data which comprises weak curve memory | storage data and is preserve | saved at a curve information storage memory, a biometric information storage memory, a vehicle information storage memory, and a visual field information storage memory. It is a flowchart showing the operation | movement of a weak curve memory process. It is explanatory drawing which represented notionally the determination method of the visibility. It is the other explanatory view which expressed notionally about the determination method of visibility. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the determination item of whether it is a weak curve, and its conditions. It is a flowchart showing operation | movement of a driving assistance process. It is explanatory drawing showing the determination item about whether to warn, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing of the determination item about the necessity of driving assistance, and the content of assistance, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing showing weak overhead storage data in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the poor overhead storage process in the second embodiment. It is explanatory drawing about the determination method of the visibility in 2nd Embodiment. It is the other explanatory view which expressed notionally about the determination method of visibility. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the determination item of whether it is a weak overhead top, and its conditions. It is a flowchart showing the driving assistance process in 2nd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing about the determination item about whether to warn, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing of the determination item about the necessity of driving assistance, and the content of assistance, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing of the weak running light / dark condition storage data in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart of the poor overhead storage process in the third embodiment. It is explanatory drawing showing the running light / dark condition determination item. It is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the backlight determination process. It is explanatory drawing showing the road information acquired in 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the determination item of whether it corresponds to weak driving | running | working light / dark conditions, and its conditions. It is a flowchart of the driving assistance process in 3rd Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing showing the comparison item with weak running light / dark conditions. It is explanatory drawing of the determination item about the necessity of driving assistance, and the content of assistance, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the content of the driving assistance according to the item determined to be dangerous. It is explanatory drawing about the weak highway memory | storage data in 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart of poor expressway storage processing in the fourth embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the road information acquired with respect to the downhill of a highway, or a branch / confluence | merging point. It is explanatory drawing about the information for determining a weak highway. It is explanatory drawing showing the environmental information to detect. It is a flowchart of the driving assistance process in 4th Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing showing the content of traveling environment determination. It is explanatory drawing about the determination item about whether to warn, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing of the determination item about the necessity of driving assistance, and the content of assistance, and its conditions. It is explanatory drawing which illustrated the content of the driving assistance according to the item determined to be dangerous. It is the flowchart showing the processing operation of weak information storage processing and driving support processing when driving support is performed by combining a plurality of embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

10 ECU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Current position detection apparatus 12 Biological information sensor 121 Heart rate sensor 122 Sweating sensor 13 Environmental information acquisition apparatus 131 Inter-vehicle distance and relative speed measurement apparatus 132 Image processing apparatus 14 Vehicle information acquisition apparatus 141 Handle sensor 142 Brake sensor 143 Acceleration sensor 144 Car speed sensor 145 Gyro sensor 15 Image input device 16 Data storage unit 17 Program storage unit 18 Input device 19 Audio output device 20 This embodiment device 21 Vehicle control device 22 Communication device

Claims (12)

Biometric information acquisition means for acquiring the biometric information of the driver;
A specific point detection means for detecting a specific point that exists in front and matches a predetermined situation;
Driving support means for performing driving support for the detected specific point based on the biological information;
A driving support apparatus comprising:
The driving support means includes
Based on the biological information, comprising a weak point determination means for determining whether the detected specific point is a point where the driver is not good at driving operation,
When it is determined that the point is not good, driving assistance to the point that is not good,
The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein
Vehicle information detection means for detecting at least the vehicle speed,
The driving assistance means according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the driving assistance means performs driving assistance based on the vehicle speed and changes a vehicle speed threshold value of the driving assistance based on the biological information. apparatus.
A matching point traveling detection means for detecting that the vehicle is traveling at a specific point that matches a predetermined situation;
Biometric information acquisition means for acquiring the driver's biometric information while traveling at the specific point;
First weak point determination means for determining whether or not the specific point is not good for the driver using the acquired biological information;
Weak point storage means for storing information on weak points determined by the first weak point determination means as weak point information;
Specific point detecting means for detecting a specific point existing in front of the vehicle;
A second weak point determination means for comparing the information regarding the detected specific point with the information regarding the stored weak point and determining whether the detected specific point is a weak point;
Driving assistance means for providing driving assistance to the specific point determined to be a weak point by the second poor point determination means;
A driving support apparatus comprising:
The weak point storage means stores at least a road shape of the poor point determined by the first weak point determination means,
The second weak point determination means determines whether or not it corresponds to a weak point by comparing the road shape of the stored weak point and the road shape of the specific point.
The driving support device according to claim 4, wherein
The specific point is a curve, an elevated top, a bad condition point regarding brightness, a downhill of an expressway, a branch / junction point of an expressway,
The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein
The driving support means warns that there is a weak point ahead in front of the weak point,
The driving support apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein
The driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the driving support means performs at least one of warning, driving operation assistance, and vehicle control. .
The driving support apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the driving operation assistance or vehicle control is performed during traveling at the determined weak point.
Vehicle operation information acquisition means for acquiring vehicle operation information while traveling at a weak point,
The first and second weak point determination means includes the vehicle operation information acquired by the vehicle operation information acquisition means, and determines,
The weak point storage means stores the vehicle operation information used for the determination of the poor point in information regarding the weak point,
The driving support device according to any one of claims 4 to 9, wherein
Visibility determination means for determining the visibility in front of the vehicle,
The weak point storage means includes the degree of visibility determined at the time of determination of the poor point in information related to the weak point, and stores it.
The second weak point determination means includes the vehicle operation information acquired by the vehicle operation information acquisition means,
The driving support apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the driving support apparatus is any one of claims 4 to 10.
The specific point detecting means detects a curve as the specific point,
Vehicle information detection means for detecting at least the vehicle speed,
The driving support means warns at least a curve based on the vehicle speed and the curvature of the curve detected by the curve detecting means, and determines a vehicle speed and a curvature threshold for determining whether or not to perform driving support. The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device is changed based on biological information.

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