JP2000155894A - Driving environment adaptive communication controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the safety while guaranteeing the instantantaneity of communication at a maximum without spoiling the portability of communication by determining timing and media for information distribution to a person on a vehicle according to a time series of dangerousness found by a calculating means and presenting information to the person on the vehicle. SOLUTION: A communication part 1 communicates with an external system. A driving environment recognition part 2 is equipped with a vehicle position detection part 2-1, a travel state detection part 2-2, a mirror position and angle detection part 2-3, a vehicle shape storage part 2-4, a driver monitor part 2-5, an eyeball position detection part 2-6, etc., and monitors driving environment including a driver. A dangerousness arithmetic part 3 finds dangerousness according to the driving environment monitored by the driving environment recognition part 2. A communication control part 4 controls communication according to the dangerousness found by the dangerousness arithmetic part 3. An information notification part 5 converts timing and media according to the control information from the communication control part 4 and informs the person on the vehicle of information.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a driving environment adaptive communication control device capable of receiving and transmitting necessary information while ensuring safety even in a running vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of mobile communication technology, in a social situation in which many users can use mobile communication everywhere, a driver's attention should not be distracted.
Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, by performing a special operation before driving a car to a car phone or a mobile phone 91, etc.,
There is a service for receiving an incoming call at the center 92 and notifying the caller of "driving" to the caller and recording a message on the server 93 in the center 92 at the same time.

In a system having a display 95 such as a car navigation system, detailed settings cannot be made unless the side brake 94 is applied.

Further, at a blind corner or at an intersection with poor visibility, a curved mirror or the like is provided to help the driver's view.

[0005]

[Problem to be Solved] (Problem 1) However, with the rapid development of mobile communication, it is becoming commonplace to be able to be contacted. However, there is a problem that the original portability is significantly impaired. (Problem 2) Further, what the user desires is a more convenient service, and there is also a problem that a car navigation device that assists a driver in a vehicle that is supposed to move cannot be operated unless stopped. (Problem 3) Further, the fixed curved mirror has a uniform mounting position regardless of the driver's seating position (left steering wheel, height, etc.) depending on the vehicle type, and the vehicle motion information (speed) reflected in the mirror. , Direction (running direction with respect to azimuth), etc.) is almost impossible. (Problem 4) Further, it is impossible to cope with a blind spot formed by a large vehicle at an intersection or the like due to its structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and by notifying information according to the degree of danger that the vehicle is placed, without impairing the portability of communication and maximizing the immediacy of communication. It is an object of the present invention to provide a driving environment adaptive communication control device that improves safety.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A driving environment adaptive communication control device according to the present invention is a system for communicating between a passenger in a vehicle and an external system, and an information communication for transmitting and receiving information to and from the external system. Means (1)
Monitoring means (2) for monitoring a driving environment including a driver; calculating means (3) for calculating a time-series danger degree for the own vehicle from the driving environment detected by the monitoring means (2); (3) Control means for determining the timing and media for distributing information to the occupant of the vehicle from the time series of the degree of risk obtained from (3).
Notification means for presenting information to the passengers of the vehicle (5)
And

The monitoring means (2) for monitoring the driving environment includes a driving environment detecting means (2-1) for detecting the position (2-1), direction, speed and acceleration (2-2) of the vehicle. , 2-2), measuring means (2-5, 2-6) for measuring the position of the driver's eyes, the overhang length of the own vehicle, each pillar position, each mirror position and angle, and the vehicle. It has database means (2-3, 2-4) for storing and holding shape information such as width and length, and position and size of windows.

The monitoring means (2) for monitoring the driving environment includes a driver's own vehicle-dependent visual field based on the driver's eye position and the own vehicle's shape information obtained from the measuring means (2-5, 2-6). Field of view calculation means (2-7)
Having.

The information communication means (1) for transmitting and receiving information calculates the apparent area and shape of the own vehicle, such as the position, direction, speed, and shape information of the own vehicle. Transmitting means for transmitting necessary information to the base station (6)
And a vehicle communication means (7) for transmitting and receiving information to and from a vehicle within the driver's own vehicle-dependent field of view, and communicating with the base station to transmit information such as the position, running state, and shape of the other vehicle from the base station. Receiving means (8).

Further, the monitoring means (2) for monitoring the driving environment calculates the position and size of the other vehicle in the visual field obtained by the vehicle communication means (7) and calculates the driver's effective visual field. Effective field of view calculation means (2-8)
Blind spot vehicle detection means (2-9) for detecting a vehicle existing in the driver's blind spot from the driver's effective field of view obtained by the effective field of view calculation means (2-8) and the information obtained by the communication means (8). (The above (numerical values) are compared with FIG. 1 for reference).

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, a driving environment adaptive communication control device according to the present invention will be described in detail.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, for example, a communication unit 1 for communicating with an external system, a driving environment recognition unit 2 for monitoring a driving environment including a driver, and a driving environment recognition unit 2 A risk calculating unit 3 for obtaining a risk according to the driving environment monitored in step 1, a communication control unit 4 for controlling communication in accordance with the risk obtained by the risk calculating unit 3, and control information from the communication control unit 4. And an information notification unit 5 that converts the timing and media according to the above and notifies the passenger of the information.

The invention described in claims 2 and 3 further provides:
For example, an own-vehicle position detecting unit 2-1 for detecting the position of the own vehicle by means such as a GPS, a running situation detecting unit 2-2 for monitoring a running situation such as speed and acceleration, and a mirror such as a rearview mirror or a side mirror. A mirror position / angle detection unit 2-3 for detecting a position / angle; a vehicle shape storage unit 2-4 for storing the overall length / height / pillar position / window position; and a driver monitoring unit 2 for monitoring a driver such as a 3D camera. -5 and an eyeball position detector 2-6 that calculates the eyeball position of the driver from data obtained from the driver monitor 2-5.

Further, according to the present invention, the eyeball position detecting section 2-6 and the mirror position / angle detecting section 2-
3. The main feature is that it has a field-of-view calculation unit 2-7 that calculates a field of view depending on the driver's own vehicle shape and the like from the vehicle shape storage unit 2-4.

Further, according to the invention described in claim 4, an information transmitting unit 6 capable of transmitting information by radio waves or infrared rays, for example,
The main feature is that it has a base station communication unit 8 that communicates with a base station to obtain information on surrounding vehicles, and a vehicle communication unit 7 that communicates with other vehicles, for example.

Further, according to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a driver effective visual field calculation unit 2-8 for calculating a driver effective visual field.
And a blind spot vehicle detection unit 2-9 for detecting a vehicle existing in the blind spot of the driver from information obtained from the base station communication unit 8 and the driver effective visual field calculation unit 2-8.

The problem to be solved by the present invention described in Problem 1 can be solved, for example, by the invention described in Claim 1. That is, the communication control unit 4 performs non-uniform communication control in accordance with the risk calculated by the risk calculation unit 3.

Further, the problem to be solved by the present invention described in the problem 2 can be solved, for example, by the inventions according to the first, third, and fifth aspects. In other words, the system determines a situation in which device operation is permitted and a situation in which device operation is prohibited in accordance with the degree of risk calculated by the degree of risk calculation unit 3, and in a situation in which device operation is permitted, the driver accesses the system. It is possible to

Further, the problem to be solved by the present invention described in Problem 3 can be solved by, for example, the inventions described in Claims 2, 3, and 5. That is, the mirror position / angle detection section 2-3, the vehicle shape storage section 2
-4, it is possible to recognize the visibility state in consideration of the characteristics of the driver and the vehicle from the eyeball position detection unit 2-6, and to obtain the dynamic information of another vehicle from the vehicle communication unit 7.

Further, the problem to be solved by the present invention described in Problem 4 can be solved by, for example, the invention described in Claim 5. That is, the position of the other vehicle obtained from the vehicle communication unit 7 and the base station communication unit 8
The behavior can cover a blind spot of a driver formed by a large vehicle or the like.

[0022]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

According to FIG. 1, the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention is a communication unit 1 for communicating with an external system.
And a driving environment recognition unit 2 for monitoring a driving environment including a driver, and a driving environment recognition unit 2
A risk calculating unit 3 for obtaining a risk according to the driving environment monitored in step 1, a communication control unit 4 for controlling communication in accordance with the risk obtained by the risk calculating unit 3, and control information from the communication control unit 4. The information notification unit 5 converts the timing and the media according to the above and notifies the passenger of the information.

The driving environment recognizing unit 2 includes a host vehicle position detecting unit 2-1 for detecting the position of the host vehicle by means such as a GPS, and a driving condition detecting unit 2-2 for monitoring a driving condition such as speed and acceleration. Position / angle detector 2 for detecting the position / angle of a mirror such as a rearview mirror or a side mirror
-3, a vehicle shape storage unit 2-4 for storing information such as a total length, an overall height, a pillar position, and a window position, a driver monitoring unit 2-5 for monitoring a driver such as a 3D camera, and a driver monitoring unit 2-5. An eyeball position detector 2-6 for calculating the driver's eyeball position from the obtained data;
6, a mirror position / angle detection unit 2-3, and a field-of-view calculation unit 2-7 for calculating a field of view depending on the driver's own vehicle shape from the vehicle shape storage unit 2-4.

The communication section 1 includes an information transmission section 6 capable of transmitting information by radio waves or infrared rays, a base station communication section 8 for communicating with a base station to obtain information on surrounding vehicles, and a communication with other vehicles. And a vehicle communication unit 7 for performing the following.

Further, the driving environment recognizing unit 2 calculates a driver effective visual field calculation unit 2 for calculating a driver effective visual field.
8, base station communication unit 8, driver effective visual field calculation unit 2-8
And a blind spot vehicle detection unit 2-9 for detecting a vehicle existing in the blind spot of the driver from information obtained from the vehicle.

[0027]

Next, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a specific embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle ID server 200 installed in the vehicle holds relatively static information of the vehicle, such as the shape and size of the own vehicle, the position of the pillar 10, the position and orientation of the rearview mirror 20, and the side mirror 30. I do.

An image of the face of the driver 100 is acquired in real time by the 3D camera 40 installed at an appropriate place in the vehicle cockpit. The acquired image is an image processing unit 2
The processing is performed at 10 to detect the three-dimensional position of the driver's eyes. The detected three-dimensional position of the driver's eyes is transmitted to the vehicle-dependent visual field calculation server 220. The own-vehicle-dependent visual field calculation server 220 calculates the own-vehicle-dependent driver's visual field based on the detected driver's eye position and information obtained from the vehicle ID server 100.

The rear side of the rearview mirror 20 and the ID communication device 50 installed in each mirror unit are connected to the vehicle ID server 310 of the other vehicle 300 included in the driver's field of view calculated by the own vehicle dependent field of view calculation server 220. Communication is performed, and information such as the shape and size of the other vehicle 300 is acquired and transmitted to the other vehicle projection field of view calculation server 230.

The distance measuring device 60 installed at the same position as the ID communication device 50 measures the orientation of the other vehicle 300 with which the communication device 50 has communicated, the relative position with respect to the own vehicle, and calculates the other vehicle projection visual field calculation server. Send to 230. The other-vehicle projected visual field calculation server 230 calculates a situation occupying the driver's visual field of the other vehicle 300 from information obtained from the ID communication device 50, the distance measuring device 60, and the own-vehicle-dependent visual field calculation server 220. Send to

The driver visual field server 240 calculates the effective visual field of the driver based on information obtained from the own vehicle dependent visual field server 220 and the other vehicle projected visual field calculation server 230.
FIG. 3 shows a vehicle arrangement of an effective field of view of a driver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

For example, in the case of FIG.
The vehicle “Hei” existing in the blind spot is a vehicle that is predicted to affect the vehicle “A”. Each vehicle has its own vehicle position, speed, etc., in the control station 33 installed on the communication network 320.
0, and receives information such as the position and speed of another vehicle.
In addition, information such as the position and speed of another vehicle can be obtained by using the diffraction phenomenon of radio waves by the ID communication device 50.

The risk calculation server 250 estimates a vehicle which can affect the own vehicle outside the driver's field of view from information obtained from the driver's field of view server 240 and the vehicle ID server 200. The degree of danger to the host vehicle is calculated from the road alignment information obtained from the device 70 and the like.

When an incoming call is received by the communication device 400, the detection device 410 detects the incoming call and sends it to the timing operation device 42.
Notify 0. The timing calculation device 420 determines the communication start timing based on the notification from the detection device 410 and the time-series risk from the risk calculation server 250, and notifies the media conversion device 430.

The media conversion device 430 determines the most suitable media based on the risk at the timing calculated by the timing calculation device 420, converts the communication into the media, and passes through the speaker, the microphone 80, the display of the car navigation device 70, and the like. Notify the vehicle passengers and start communication.

The risk calculating server 250 calculates the risk also using the parameters listed below.・ Driver status such as steering wheel operation, seating status, looking away, etc.・ Communication status such as driver's vocal volume and oxygen consumption ・ History status such as accident history and driver's road

[0038]

As described above, the present invention focuses on the sight from which a person has acquired the most information, calculates the driver's field of view in real time, obtains the degree of danger, and performs communication control. This has the effect of improving the performance.

For example, by solving the problem 1 according to the present invention, it is possible to provide communication according to the situation, the number of situations where communication can be performed “anytime, anywhere” is increased, and the portable nature inherent in mobile communication is improved. The maximum can be secured.

Further, by solving the problem 2 by the present invention, a more convenient service can be provided to the user, and the number of situations where the operation of the mobile phone or the car navigation device is permitted while maintaining the safety while driving is increased.

Also, by solving the problem 3 according to the present invention, the behavior of the opponent vehicle can be recognized, so that much of the influence on the own vehicle can be known in advance, and the area where the infrastructure facilities are insufficient is provided.・ Even on roads, further safety can be secured at intersections and blind corners.

Also, by solving the problem 4 according to the present invention, it becomes possible to issue a warning as a system in the case of a roll-in accident or a frontal collision accident at the time of a right turn, which has conventionally relied only on the driver's attention. Is improved.

According to the present invention, data on the driver's eyeball position and the driving environment at that time can be acquired, and the eyeball position, seating position, vehicle shape (pillar position, seat position, etc.) which are considered optimal can be obtained. Can be calculated analytically.

Further, as the more skilled the driver, the more the vehicle ahead is observed, so that the tail lamp of the vehicle two cars ahead can be seen. If the degree of danger is calculated from such information, and combined with the present invention, further improvement in safety is expected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing one embodiment of a specific embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a vehicle arrangement of an effective visual field of a driver according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Communication Unit 2 Driving Environment Recognition Unit 2-1 Own Vehicle Position Detecting Unit 2-2 Running Condition Detecting Unit 2-3 Mirror Position / Angle Detecting Unit 2-4 Vehicle Shape Storage Unit 2-5 Driver Monitoring Unit 2-6 Eyeball Position Detector 2-7 Field of View Calculator 2-8 Driver Effective Field of View Calculator 2-9 Blind Spot Vehicle Detector 3 Risk Calculator 4 Communication Controller 5 Information Notifier 6 Information Transmitter 7 Vehicle Communication 8 Base Station Communication 10 Pillar 20 Rearview mirror 30 Side mirror 40 3D camera 50 ID communication device 60 Distance measuring device 70 Car navigation device 80 Speaker, microphone 100 Driver 200 Vehicle ID server 210 Image processing unit 220 Own vehicle dependent visual field calculation server 230 Other vehicle projection visual field calculation server 240 Driver visual field server 250 Risk calculation server 300 Other vehicle 310 Vehicle ID server ( Other vehicles) 320 Communication network 330 Control station 400 Communication device 410 Detection device 420 Timing calculation device 430 Media conversion device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Noriaki Yoshikai, Inventor F-term (reference) 23-102-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 2F029 AA02 AB01 AB07 AB09 AC01 AC02 AC04 5H180 AA01 AA28 BB04 BB05 CC04 CC12 CC27 FF04 FF13

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A system for communicating between a passenger in a vehicle and an external system, an information communication unit for transmitting and receiving information to and from the external system, a monitoring unit for monitoring a driving environment including a driver, Calculating means for calculating a time-series risk degree for the own vehicle from the driving environment detected by the monitoring means; and timing for distributing information to a vehicle occupant from the time series of the risk degree obtained by the calculation means. And a control unit for determining a media, and an information notifying unit for presenting the information to a passenger of the vehicle. 2. Driving environment detecting means for detecting the position, direction, speed and acceleration of the own vehicle, measuring means for measuring the position of the driver's eyes, and self-vehicle. A database means for storing and holding shape information such as overhang length, each pillar position, each mirror position and angle, vehicle width and length, and window position and size. The driving environment adaptive communication control device according to claim 1. 3. A monitoring means for monitoring the driving environment, comprising: a visual field calculating means for calculating a driver's own vehicle-dependent visual field from a driver's eye position obtained from the measuring means and shape information of the own vehicle. The driving environment adaptive communication control device according to claim 1. 4. An information communication means for transmitting and receiving the information, wherein the other vehicle calculates an apparent area and shape of the own vehicle, such as a position, an orientation, a speed, and shape information of the own vehicle. Transmitting means for transmitting necessary information; vehicle communication means for transmitting and receiving information to and from a vehicle within a driver's own vehicle-dependent field of view; communicating with a base station to determine the position, running state, shape, etc. of other vehicles. The communication control device according to claim 1, further comprising: communication means for receiving information from a base station. 5. An effective field-of-view calculating means for monitoring the driving environment, calculating a position and size of the other vehicle in the field of view obtained by the vehicle communication means, and calculating a driver effective field of view. And a blind spot vehicle detecting means for detecting a vehicle existing in a driver's blind spot from a driver's effective visual field calculated by the effective visual field calculating means, the information obtained by the communication means. Driving environment adaptive communication control device as described.