JPH07108848A - Prevention device for falling asleep at wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lighten or remove driver's sleepiness without imposing any burden on a driver by calculating the number of alpha waves, rapid waves and slow waves in driver's brain waves so as to detect a level of the sleepiness and giving various stimuli to the driver according to the level of the sleepiness. CONSTITUTION:Brain waves of a driver are detected by a brain wave detecting means 1 and the detected brain waves are classified by a brain waves classifying unit 2 and also the number of an alpha wave, a rapid wave and a slow wave per unit time is calculated by a calculator 3 according to the classified brain waves. A stimulus unit 5 is controlled by a stimulus control unit 4 according to the calculated result. At this time, the stimulus unit 5 is composed of three kinds of units, a stimulus unit A (tank) 5a, a stimulus unit B (buzzer) 5b and a stimulus unit C (balloon) 5c. That is, driver's sense of smell is stimulated by spraying essence from the tank 5a and driver's sense of hearing is stimulated by ringing the buzzer 5b and driver's sense of touch is stimulated by expanding and shrinking the balloon and making comfortableness to sit worse. Thereby, the driver's sleepiness can be lightened or removed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drowsy driving prevention apparatus for a driver who drives a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, no measures have been taken in automobiles to prevent the driver from falling asleep while driving. When a driver feels drowsiness, he / she may prevent the drowsiness by opening the window of the car to take in fresh air into the car, or taking individual measures such as chewing gum. In order to drive safely while driving a car, the driver keeps a constant level of consciousness,
It is necessary to accurately recognize and respond to various external environmental conditions such as road conditions, traffic lights, and the presence or absence of pedestrians. In other words, the work of driving mainly belongs to mental work, and the degree of physical fatigue is very small. Therefore, mental fatigue occurs when driving is continued for a long time. Mental fatigue gradually increases before the driver notices it, and sleepiness appears as the final symptom of mental fatigue. In other words, the driver falls into a state of becoming drowsy while driving for a long time. Also, recently, due to the increase in long-distance driving at night, dozing driving frequently occurs.

[0003]

Such a drowsiness driving of the driver is likely to cause a serious accident even if the driver falls asleep for only a few seconds. In fact, especially at night, the number of accidents caused by dozing driving has become a social problem. Therefore, preventing drowsiness, which is a driver's fatigue symptom, is an effective means for preventing accidents due to drowsy driving, and its realization is desired.

On the other hand, as a drowsy driving prevention device, a proposal has been made to reduce the drowsiness of the driver by detecting the drowsiness state from the change in the number of blinks of the driver (Japanese Patent Application No. 05-4023). However, with blink detection, the number of blinks decreases even when paying attention to a visual object such as an obstacle, so it stimulates the driver even when the driver is not sleepy. Was possible.

The present invention solves the above problems, and in consideration of the driver's desire to prevent drowsiness, the drowsiness of the driver is detected while the vehicle is driving, and the driver is stimulated by stimulating the driver's drowsiness. An object of the present invention is to provide a drowsy driving prevention device that reduces or eliminates drowsiness.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a doze-driving prevention device of the present invention comprises an electroencephalogram detecting means for detecting an electroencephalogram of a driver and a classification according to the frequency of the electroencephalogram output from the electroencephalogram detecting means. And a calculation unit for calculating the number of α waves, fast waves, and slow waves per unit time output from the electroencephalogram classification unit, and a single or a plurality of the same or different types that stimulate the driver. And a stimulation control unit that controls the stimulation unit based on the output from the calculation unit.

Further, a tank provided with a fragrance is installed as a stimulating section, and the lid of the tank is opened / closed by the output from the stimulating control section. Further, a balloon that is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed in the driver's seat as a stimulating unit, and the air pump is activated by the output from the stimulus control unit to inflate or deflate the balloon.

Further, a buzzer is installed as a stimulating unit, and the buzzer sounds by the output from the stimulating control unit. In addition, the calculation unit stores in advance the brain waves of the driver during normal driving, and the number of α waves, fast waves, and slow waves classified by the brain wave classification unit per unit time is increased according to the rate of increase from the normal time EEG. Then, the stimulation control section controls the stimulation section.

Further, a stimulus having a different load applied to the driver is installed as the stimulating unit, and the stimulus is applied differently according to the drowsiness level of the driver.

[0010]

With the above structure, the brain wave classification unit classifies the brain waves output from the brain wave detecting means for detecting the brain waves of the driver in the brain wave classifying unit, and the α wave and the fast wave per unit time outputted from the brain wave classifying unit. , The number of slow waves is calculated in the calculation unit, the drowsiness of the driver is detected by the number of each wave output per unit time from the calculation unit, and the stimulus for controlling the stimulus unit that gives the driver a stimulus The control unit can stimulate the driver to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver. In addition, it is possible to give a plurality of stimuli to the driver by controlling each of the plurality of stimuli according to the output of the calculator.

Further, by opening and closing the lid of the tank provided with the fragrance as the stimulating section by the output from the stimulating control section, it becomes possible to raise the awakening level of the driver and reduce drowsiness by the scent of the fragrance.

Further, a balloon installed in the driver's seat as a stimulating unit is operated by an air pump in response to an output from the stimulating control unit to inflate or deflate, thereby making the driver's seat uncomfortable. It is possible to make the driver uncomfortable and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

Further, by sounding the buzzer installed as the stimulating section by the output from the stimulating control section, it becomes possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver. Also,
In the calculation unit, the brain waves during normal driving of the driver are stored in advance, and depending on the rate at which the number of α waves, fast waves, and slow waves classified by the EEG classification unit per unit time increases from the normal EEG, By controlling the stimulus unit by the stimulus control unit, it is possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver by selecting and giving a stimulus to the driver according to the level of drowsiness.

Further, by providing a stimulus having a different load to the driver as a stimulating unit and giving different stimuli according to the drowsiness level of the driver, a stimulus with a small load is provided when the drowsiness level of the driver is low. It is possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness without imposing an extra load on the driver by giving a stimulus with a heavy load when the level of drowsiness is high.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Generally, fast waves are seen in brain waves during attention and mental activity, and α waves are seen in a blurred state. In addition, the EEG during car driving is predominant in fast waves, and becomes dominant in α waves with fatigue (Masamitsu Oshima, Kazuyoshi Tanijima et al .; psychosomatic reaction during car driving (2) Polygraph study of fatigue (1970) ).

[0016] Further, from the time of falling asleep to the time of getting up, the sleep depth of a person is not uniform, and many studies have been conducted to date on changes in brain waves associated with sleep (for example, Rechtschaffen,
A. & Kales, A .; A manual of standardized terminolog
y, techniqus and scoring system for sleep stages of
human subjects. Public Health Service. (1968)).
According to these studies, changes in EEG during sleep are divided into several stages to determine the sleep stage (depth).
In a state of light drowsiness, the degree of appearance of α-waves decreases and the amplitude also decreases. Next, during the sleep onset period, the α wave almost disappears and becomes an irregular slow wave with low amplitude.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a doze driving prevention apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the output from the electroencephalogram detecting means 1 for detecting the electroencephalogram of the driver is sent to the electroencephalogram classification unit 2, and the output from the electroencephalogram classification unit 2 is sent to the calculation unit 3. As a means for detecting an electroencephalogram, a driver wears a hair band in which electrodes are embedded during driving, and an electric signal thereof is amplified to detect an electroencephalogram. Based on the output from the electroencephalogram classification unit 2, the calculation unit 3 calculates α waves per unit time, fast waves,
The number of slow waves is calculated, and the stimulation control unit 4 controls the stimulation unit 5 given to the driver by the output from the calculation unit 3. Stimulator 5
Is a stimulation unit A (tank) 5a and a stimulation unit B (buzzer) 5
b, a stimulating unit C (balloon) 5c.

The operation of the doze-driving prevention device constructed as described above will be described. Table 1 shows the relationship between the increase rate of the brain waves during normal driving and the brain waves of a certain frequency, the state of the driver at that time, and the stimulus given to the driver by the doze driving prevention apparatus of the present embodiment.

[0019]

[Table 1]

The electroencephalogram during normal driving is the same as the electroencephalogram during normal driving by calculating the average number per 5 minutes for each of α wave, fast wave, and slow wave from the electroencephalogram for 20 minutes after the driver started driving. To do. In (Table 1), α waves during operation are more than normal
In the case of 70% increase, the driver is in a vague state, the stimulator A5a is driven to open / close the lid of the tank storing the fragrance, and the scent of herb is given to the driver. Since the scent of herbs has the effect of activating the brain, it is possible to reduce the driver's dull state.

When the α wave is increased by 30% and the slow wave is increased by 30%, the driver is in a state of drowsiness, and the stimulating portion C5c is driven to drive the air pump to the driver's seat where the driver is sitting. Increase or decrease the air pressure of the balloon under the seat. The balloon under the seat does not let the driver notice that it is not normally filled with air, but when the balloon is inflated or deflated by the output from the stimulation control unit, the seat in the driver's seat becomes It is possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver by going up and down the rules and making the driver uncomfortable and causing discomfort. Slow wave is 70%
In the case of the above increase, it is possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness by putting the driver in a state of falling asleep, driving the stimulating unit B5b and sounding a buzzer to give an unpleasant sound to the driver.

As described above, the stimulus to be given to the driver in three stages is that the driver's drowsiness is detected from a low level,
This is to prevent falling into a deep level. Further, at a shallow level, the stimulus given to the driver is softer, so that the driver's drowsiness can be reduced or eliminated, and the driver is not overloaded.

The α wave in the brain wave during normal operation is a calculation means for calculating the number of fast waves and slow waves, and the rate of increase with respect to normal time is one example. Yes,
It does not limit the invention.

Although the scent of herbs is shown as a stimulus of scent, this is an example, and scents other than herbs are also possible. Further, the stimuli given to the driver can be given to the driver separately or can be given in duplicate.

Further, the detection of the electroencephalogram by wearing the hair band shows an example of the electroencephalogram detection means, and other methods can be used as the electroencephalogram detection means. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the number of α waves, slow waves, and fast waves during driving of the driver is calculated, and the drowsiness level of the driver is determined by the rate of increase in the number from the normal driving time. By detecting and applying a stimulus to the driver according to the level of drowsiness, it becomes possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness without imposing an extra load on the driver.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the drowsiness level of a driver is detected by calculating the number of α waves, fast waves, and slow waves in the brain wave, and driving is performed according to the drowsiness level. By stimulating the driver, it is possible to reduce an extra load on the driver and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a doze driving prevention device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 electroencephalogram detection means 2 electroencephalogram classification section 3 calculation section 4 stimulation control section 5 stimulation section

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An electroencephalogram detecting means for detecting an electroencephalogram of a driver, an electroencephalogram classification section for performing classification according to the frequency of the electroencephalogram output from the electroencephalogram detection means, and an α wave and a slow wave output from the electroencephalogram classification section. A calculation unit that calculates the number of each waveform of the fast wave per unit time; a single stimulus unit that gives a stimulus to the driver or a plurality of stimulus units of the same type or different types; and the stimulus unit based on the output from the calculation unit. And a stimulus control unit for controlling the drowsiness driving prevention device. 2. The dozing driving prevention device according to claim 1, wherein a tank provided with a fragrance is installed as a stimulating unit, and the lid of the tank is opened and closed by an output from the stimulating control unit. 3. A balloon which is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed in the driver's seat as a stimulator, and the air pump is actuated by the output from the stimulus controller to inflate or deflate the balloon. The dozing driving prevention device according to claim 1. 4. The doze driving prevention device according to claim 1, wherein a buzzer is installed as a stimulating unit, and the buzzer is sounded by an output from the stimulating control unit. 5. An α-wave which is stored in advance in the calculation unit in advance during normal driving of the driver and is classified by the EEG classification unit,
2. The drowsiness driving prevention apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation control unit controls the stimulation unit in accordance with the rate at which the number of fast waves and slow waves per unit time increases compared to the normal electroencephalogram. 6. The dozing according to claim 1, wherein the stimulating unit is provided with stimuli having different loads to be applied to the driver, and different stimuli are applied according to the drowsiness level of the driver. Driving prevention device.