JPH07329598A - Dozing-driving operation alarm device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To positively eliminate driving and operation in the dozing or inattentive state. CONSTITUTION:An elastic body with the outer skin in the state of being constantly swollen onward by elastic force is fitted to the outer periphery of the grip part of a steering wheel for performing the driving operation of an automobile, and contacts 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d contracted and made conductive when the elastic body is gripped with the specified pressure or more are provided at part of the elastic body or between the elastic body and the steering wheel. Normally closed relay contacts 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d opened by the actuation of relays 9a. 9b, 9c, 9d when the contacts 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d are put in the non-conductive state during driving are series-connected, and load is dispatched to the blinking circuit 11d of a light emission diode 11e and the buzzer circuit 11a of a buzzer 11b through the relay contacts.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a steering wheel or a steering wheel for an automobile, a truck, a railway vehicle, an airplane, a ship, a civil engineering construction work vehicle, an agricultural work vehicle, a factory machine operation unit, a vehicle simulation game machine, or the like. Alternatively, the present invention relates to a drowsiness driving operation alarm device that gives a warning to a person when using a lever or a handle for operating a machine or a lever for driving or operating in a state of drowsiness or lack of attention.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the state of drowsiness and lack of attention in these driving operations is insufficient sleep, hangover, drunkenness,
It occurs due to hallucinations, fatigue, etc., and often cannot be avoided in daily life. However, in driving / steering / operating these operating steering wheel or lever / steering steering wheel / lever / machine operating steering wheel / lever, it is possible to detect drowsiness or inadvertent driving / operation of the person using it. There was no alarm device. Therefore, prevention of drowsy driving / manipulation and driving / manipulation lacking attention has been limited to human self-management or management / inspection by others, which is insufficient for prevention / avoidance. In particular, driving a car, truck, bus, etc. jeopardizes the safety of oneself and passengers' lives.
It was absolutely necessary to avoid drowsy driving and inattentive driving.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The problem to be solved by the present invention is to solve these problems of the prior art and to make it possible to surely cancel the drowsiness or the driving / operation in the state of lack of attention. It is to provide a driving operation alarm device.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The structure of the present invention which has solved the above problems is as follows: 1) The outer skin is always elastic with the elastic force on the outer periphery of a grip portion of a handle or a lever for operating a vehicle / transport device or other machine. An elastic body in a swollen state is attached to a part of the elastic body, or between the elastic body and the handle lever, a contact is provided which contracts and conducts when the elastic body is gripped with a force of a predetermined pressure or more. , A drowsiness driving operation alarm device characterized by being provided with an alarm device that generates an alarm by sound, light or vibration when the contact is in a non-conducting state during operation 2) It is possible to judge whether the alarm device is operating. 1) The drowsiness driving operation alarm device described in 1), which is made by a speed signal from a speedometer. 3) The drowsiness driving operation alarm device according to 1), which determines whether the alarm device is in operation by a device operation manual switch of the alarm device. ) Elastic body is cross section C It is a shape elastic handle cover,
The drowsiness driving operation alarm device according to any one of 1) to 3), wherein the contact points are respectively provided at opposite open ends of the elastic handle cover. 5) The elastic body is an arc-shaped elastic plate, and one end thereof is a handle or a lever. The drowsiness driving operation alarm according to any one of 1) to 3) above, wherein one contact is provided inside the free end, and the other contact is provided on a handle or lever surface facing the contact. On the device.

The strength of the elastic force of the elastic body and the degree of swelling at all times in the present invention are such that the contacts do not come into contact with each other when the elastic body is not gripped with a hand, and the distance between the contacts is sufficiently large. The elastic force is bulging in the direction, and the strength of the elastic force is outside the extent that the elastic body is deformed and displaced by the gripping force of gripping the handle or lever in the state of drowsiness and lack of attention. Refers to the urging force in the direction. In addition, the strength of its elasticity depends on whether or not to strongly avoid drowsy driving operations and driving / operations that lack attention, the size of the danger caused by drowsy driving operations, and driving operations that lack attention, gripping the handle or lever. It is appropriately determined depending on the individual difference of the driving operator. Further, the sound / light or vibration alarm of the present invention means a method of increasing the sound of a buzzer, radio, CD, tape, etc., a warning warning by voice, and lighting / blinking of light by a lamp / diode, etc. This includes a method of displaying characters / figures to the effect of lack of attention on the display and a method of vibrating the body with a vibrator or the like.

[0006]

In general, in the state of drowsy driving / operation or driving / operation lacking attention, the consciousness / concentration is weakened, the grip of the hand holding the handle tends to be loose, and the grip strength is reduced. The present invention detects a drowsy drive / driving / manipulation lacking attention based on such knowledge, and gives an alarm. According to the present invention, in a normal state of consciousness or in a normal driving operation in which the handle lever is gripped with a concentration, the elastic body is strongly pressed and contracted, and the contacts come into contact with each other to be in a conductive state. . While this state is maintained, the relay operates, the relay contact is opened (non-conducting), and the alarm device is not powered and does not operate. Next, when the gripping force holding the handle becomes weak due to lack of drowsiness driving / operation or attention, the elastic body swells outward due to the elastic force,
The contacts come apart. When this contact separates and becomes non-conducting, the relay does not operate and the relay contact is closed (conducting), the alarm device operates and the alarm device alerts with sound, light or vibration, and the driver The operator should take a rest from the doze and make the attention and consciousness clear. by this,
Prevent traffic accidents and driving accidents. Here, when the vehicle is not driving, the alarm device does not operate even if the hand is released from the handle or the lever, so that the alarm device does not operate and does not generate sound, light, or vibration. Whether or not this operation is in progress is performed by automatically judging whether or not the speedometer is in speed, or by operating the device operation manual switch by the driver's recognition that the alarm device is used. You can also The judgment / detection during driving of the present invention is not limited to this.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is an example in which a device is installed on a steering wheel of an automobile and an alarm is given by sound and light. FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the handle of the embodiment, and FIG. 3 is A of FIG.
-A sectional view, FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a state where the elastic body contracts and the contacts are conducted, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state of the elastic body during normal operation, and FIG. 6 is an elastic body during dozing driving FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a state, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another elastic body example during a dozing operation, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of the other elastic body during normal operation, and FIG. 9 is another circuit example of the present invention. It is a circuit diagram showing.

In the figure, 1 is a steering wheel of an automobile, 2 is an elastic body made of a plastic having a C-shaped cross section attached to the entire circumference of the steering wheel, 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are openings having a C-shaped cross section of the elastic body 2. With a pair of contacts attached to the opposite edges, 4 every 90 °
I have installed one. 4 is a battery mounted on the vehicle, 5 is an engine key switch, 6 is a normally open relay contact that is closed during traveling, 7 is a relay contact 6 that is closed by operating with a speed signal of 5 km / h or more of a speedometer Relay circuit, 8 is an automobile speedometer, and 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d are contacts 3 respectively.
Relays operated by conduction of a, 3b, 3c and 3d, 10
a, 10b, 10c, 10d are relays 9a, 9b, 9
A normally closed relay contact that is opened by the operation of c and 9d, 11 is an alarm device, 11a is a buzzer circuit that adjusts the sounding lag time of the buzzer sound, the buzzer sound frequency, and the buzzer volume, 11b is a buzzer, and 11c is a buzzer circuit 11a. Manual switch 11d is a flashing circuit for adjusting the flashing cycle, and 11e is a light emitting diode which flashes by the flashing circuit and is arranged below the center of the front glass of the automobile. Reference numeral 12 is a power switch.

Further, in FIGS. 7 and 8, 22 is a semi-arcuate plastic elastic body of another example, 22a is a fixing portion to which one end of the elastic body 22 is attached at four positions of the handle 1 at 90 ° intervals.
23a is a contact point attached to the free end of the elastic body 22, 23b
Is a contact attached at the position of the handle 1 facing the same contact. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 36 denotes a device operation manual switch for operating whether or not to operate during driving according to the judgment of the driver instead of the normally open relay contact 6 which is closed during traveling.
It is a switch that also serves as.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, first, when it is desired to use the device of the embodiment, the power switch 12 is turned on. or,
The driver decides whether or not the alarm according to the present embodiment is also issued by the buzzer, and turns on the manual switch 11c when issuing the buzzer alarm.
(Close). When the driver turns on the engine key, the engine key switch 5 is closed. When the vehicle starts running, the speedometer 8 operates, and when the speedometer is input and the vehicle speed becomes 5 km / h or more, the relay circuit 7 operates,
The relay contact 6 is closed. Power switch 12 ON
By closing the engine key switch 5, power is supplied to the relay circuit 7 and the relays 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d of this embodiment. When the car is stopped or less than 5 km / h,
Since the relay contact 6 is open, the buzzer circuit 11a and the blinking circuit 11d are not supplied with power and do not operate, and no alarm is given.

When the vehicle travels at a speed of 5 km / h or more, the relay circuit 7 operates and the relay contact 6 is closed. Handle 1
If the elastic body 2 is gripped with a normal gripping force, the elastic body 2 is entirely contracted by the gripping force, the open ends of the elastic body 2 are close to each other, and the elastic bodies are shown in FIGS. In this state, the contacts 3a, 3 provided at the four positions of the handle 1
b, 3c and 3d contact each other and become conductive. Contacts 3a, 3b,
When 3c and 3d conduct, relays 9a, 9b, 9c and 9
normally activated relay contacts 10a, 10b, 10
c and 10d open. Moreover, the relay contacts 10a, 10
Since b, 10c, 10d are connected in series, when any of the contacts 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d is conducting, any one of the relay contacts 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d is opened and the buzzer circuit 11a, the blinking circuit. 11d is not supplied with power and no alarm is issued. As described above, if the elastic body 2 is normally gripped at any place, any of the contacts 3a to 3d becomes conductive and the alarm device 11 does not operate.

Next, when the person falls asleep and lacks attention, the gripping force for gripping the elastic body 2 weakens, the elastic body 2 elastically expands outward, and the contacts 3a to 3d separate. When the grip force becomes equal to or less than the set force, all the contacts 3a to 3d are separated, and the relays 9a to 9d are activated, and the relay contacts 10a to 10d.
All d are closed. As a result, the power of the battery 4 is supplied to the alarm device 11, the buzzer circuit 11a and the blinking circuit 11d are activated, the buzzer 11b emits a buzzer sound, and the light emitting diode 11e emits a blinking light to alert the driver. To do. If the driver who receives the alarm returns to the normal sense / consciousness, the gripping force for gripping the steering wheel 1 becomes stronger, and the contact point 3a
Any or all of 3d to 3d are conductive and the relay contact 10a
A part or all of 10d are opened and the alarm device 11 does not operate.

Note that another inspection device for discriminating a state of drowsy driving / lack of attention may be connected in parallel to the alarm device 11. As this inspection device, the driver is provided with a display, the inspection image is projected on the display, and the driver is allowed to observe it. A device for visually inspecting whether or not it is conceivable. Elastic body 22 shown in FIGS.
Is an elastic body made of plastic with a semicircular cross section that is attached to the entire circumference of the handle 1, and has a contact 23a at its free end and a contact 23b at a position opposite to the handle 1, and one end of the elastic body 22 is attached to the handle 1. This is a fixed example, and this elastic body 22 is an example in which the structure of the elastic body 2 of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 6 is simplified, and is another example that can be used instead of the elastic body 2 of FIGS. is there.

The circuit diagram of FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 1 to 6 for automatically detecting that the vehicle is running.
This is an example in which a device operation manual switch 36 is provided instead of the speedometer 8, the relay circuit 7, and the relay contact 6 to determine whether the driver is traveling or not.
In this embodiment, the fact that the vehicle is traveling is determined by the driver's judgment to turn on the device operation manual switch 36 to bring it into the closed state. Further, this device operation manual switch 36 is a power switch 12 for deciding whether or not the alarm device of this embodiment is used.
It is supposed to be combined. In this embodiment, the circuit is simpler.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention, a sound is generated by electrically detecting the driver's dozing driving operation state and the driver's attentionless driving operation state from the deformed state of the elastic body attached to the steering wheel.・ Sleep by warning by light / vibration
It was possible to change from a state of lack of attention to a normal identification state, and to eliminate drowsiness driving operation / inattention driving / operation. In addition, this will prevent serious accidents. Furthermore, the device is simple and can be manufactured inexpensively.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a handle of the embodiment.

3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the elastic body of the embodiment contracts and the contacts conduct.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of the elastic body during normal operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of an elastic body during a dozing driving of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of another elastic body example during drowsy driving.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state of another elastic body during normal operation.

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram showing another circuit example of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Handle 2 Elastic 3a Contact 3b Contact 3c Contact 3d Contact 4 Battery 5 Engine Key Switch 6 Relay Contact 7 Relay Circuit 8 Speedometer 9a Relay 9b Relay 9c Relay 9d Relay 10a Relay Contact 10b Relay Contact 10c Relay Contact 11d Relay Contact Device 11a Buzzer circuit 11b Buzzer 11c Manual switch 11d Flashing circuit 11e Light emitting diode 12 Power switch 22 Elastic body 22a Fixed part 23a Contact 23b Contact 36 Device operation manual switch

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An elastic body whose outer skin is constantly swollen outward by elastic force is attached to the outer circumference of a handle or lever for operating a vehicle, transportation device or other machine, and a part of the elastic body is attached. Alternatively, a contact is provided between the elastic body and the handle / lever, which contracts and conducts when the elastic body is gripped with a force equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure. A drowsy driving operation alarm device comprising an alarm device for generating an alarm by light or vibration. 2. The drowsiness driving operation alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the determination during driving of the alarm device is made by a speed signal of a speedometer. 3. The drowsiness driving operation alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the determination is made while the alarm device is in operation by a device operation manual switch of the alarm device. 4. The drowsiness driving operation alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the elastic body is an elastic handle cover having a C-shaped cross section, and the contacts are provided at opposite ends of the elastic handle cover which are open. 5. The handle or lever in which the elastic body is an arcuate elastic plate, one end of which is fixed to the handle or lever, and one of the contacts is provided inside the free end of the elastic plate so as to face the contact. 4. The other contact is provided on the surface.
The dozing driving operation alarm device according to any one of the above.