JP2001354047A - Monitor for driving practice - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To monitor a driving practice of a driver by separating a personal habit of the driver from the practice. SOLUTION: A load quantity of the driver is detected by a driver load detector 12, and the detected load quantity is classified in every volume of the same kind of a driving task by a classifier 14. The personal habit of the driver is separated from the driving practice of the driver to detect the driving practice by a driving practice detector 16, based on the load quantity to the volume of the classified driving task.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a driving skill monitoring device for detecting a driving skill of a driver.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for detecting a driving skill of a driver or monitoring a driving operation state, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-150 discloses
914, JP-A-10-329739 or JP-A-11-227491.

[0003] operation described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-150914 skill detecting device and a vehicle motion control device, the reverse steering angle corresponding to the wheel speed difference Delta] Vw _RF and counter steering longitudinal by the driving force excessive in FR vehicle theta _CTN Correlation coefficient ρ (Sl
ip), the vehicle posture recovery skill at the time of slip is determined,
From the correlation coefficient ρ (ψ ′) between the yaw rate ψ ′, which is the yaw momentum, and the maximum steering angle θ _MAX during turning, the amount of running on a curved road is determined, and the correlation coefficient ρ between the vehicle speed V and the maximum steering angle θ _MAX is determined. (V), the driving skill corresponding to the high-speed driving is determined, and it is determined that the driver having a higher driving skill has a higher driving skill. For example, the reference slip ratio S _i0 of the anti-skid control device is set to be large, and the anti-skid The pressure reduction timing by the control is delayed so that the operational feeling of the brake pedal is enhanced.

A driving characteristic determining apparatus and a vehicle dynamic characteristic control apparatus using the same disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-329939 are disclosed. Measure and supply to the steering characteristic determination device. The steering characteristic determination device calculates a steering angle and a steering amount for each vehicle speed, and further calculates a meandering amount. If the steering cycle is longer than the reference value, it is classified as a course prediction type and the steering response gain is set high. If the steering cycle is shorter than the reference value, it is classified as a course maintenance type and the steering response gain is set low. Further, when the meandering amount is large, the gain is set lower, and when the meandering amount is small, the gain is set higher. As a result, the response can be improved in the course prediction type, while the stability can be improved in the course maintenance type to optimize the steering characteristics of the driver.

A driving operation monitoring device for a vehicle described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-227491 detects an unstable driving operation, and performs steering within a predetermined time based on time-series data of a steering angle. Error, that is, the difference between the estimated value of the steering angle and the actual steering angle when it is assumed that the steering is smoothly operated, is calculated from the frequency distribution of the steering error by 90%.
% Tile value (distribution range including 90% of steering error)
Is calculated as an α value indicating the degree of steering variation unique to the driver during normal driving. Using the α value, a steering angle entropy value (Hp reference value) in a normal driving operation state and a calculated value under monitoring conditions are calculated, and the driving operation state is determined by a relative comparison between the two calculated values. ing.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned JP-A-8-150 is disclosed.
The device described in Japanese Patent No. 914 discloses a configuration in which the skill of the driver is detected from the vehicle control characteristics in an advanced driving task that is unlikely to occur in daily driving.
There is a problem that it is difficult to detect the skills of general drivers including elderly drivers.

In order to detect such a driving skill, the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-329739 detects a skill based on general driving behavior. However, since the driving characteristics are affected by the habit and skill of the driver, even in the case of a very advanced driving task, the effect of the habit is negligible in general driving behavior, even if it is negligible. There is a problem that the influence of the habit and the skill are mixed, and the accuracy is deteriorated. In addition, since the quantified absolute value of the specific vehicle operation result is compared with its reference value, even if the specific operation is judged to be good or bad, the accuracy including the driving margin which is one of the skill elements It is difficult to extract information on a skill.

Further, in the vehicle driving operation monitoring device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-227491, an unstable state of the driver is detected by detecting an unstable state of the driver from the amount of steering disturbance as an index for judging a driving margin. When there is, it is considered that there is no room to limit the information given to the driver, but because the effect of the skill and habit is removed at the same time and only the information of the unstable state is detected,
There is a problem that an accurate skill value including the driving margin cannot be extracted.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a driving skill monitoring device capable of detecting a driving skill of a driver by separating a driver's habit and driving skill from general driving behavior. Its purpose is to provide.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a driving skill monitoring device according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises:
A driving load detecting unit that detects a load amount of the driver, a classifying unit that classifies the load amount detected by the driving load detecting unit for each size of the same type of driving task, and a driving task classified by the classifying unit. There is provided a driving skill detecting means for detecting a driving skill by separating a driver's habit and a driving skill from a load amount corresponding to the magnitude.

[0011] The driving characteristics are divided into a driver's operation habit and a driving skill. Furthermore, the driving skill of driving can be expressed as driving skill = driving margin + driving operation load. The driving performance (operation result) when executing a certain driving task, that is, a driving task, changes depending on the driving skill of the driver. In this driving skill, the driving margin is detected based on the following characteristics. When the driving margin is small (when the ratio of the capacity required for driving to the entire driving capability capacity of the driver is large), when the difficulty of the driving task increases compared to when the driving margin is large. It is considered that the influence on driving performance is large. That is,
When the load of the driver is classified each time two driving tasks with different degrees of difficulty are executed, the classification tendency of the load differs between a driver with a small driving margin and a driver with a large driving margin. In the present invention, paying attention to this point, the driving operation load when executing the same type of driving task having different sizes, that is, the load of the driver is detected, and from the load for the driving task,
The driving skill is detected by separating the driving skill of the driver including the driving margin and the habit of the driver.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the driving skill monitoring apparatus according to the first aspect, the driving skill detecting means includes:
The driving skill of the driver is detected from the rate of change of the driver's load amount for driving tasks of the same kind and different in size. When comparing the rate of change of the load amount of the driver every time two driving tasks with different degrees of difficulty are executed, the driver with a small driving margin and the driver with a large driving margin have the following problems.
A driver with a lower driving margin has a higher rate of change, and a driver with a higher driving margin has a lower rate of change. The driving skill including the driving margin can be detected from the change rate of the load amount. Even when the influence of the habit is constantly added to the load regardless of the difficulty of the driving task, the influence of the habit can be completely eliminated by calculating the change rate of the load.

[0013] The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
In the driving skill monitoring device according to the above, the classification unit includes a road condition detection unit that detects a road condition value representing a road condition during traveling, and sets different-sized road condition values as driving tasks having different sizes, The operating load detecting means,
An operation amount detection unit that detects a driver's operation amount or a behavior of the vehicle caused by the driver's operation is provided, and detecting a driver's load amount from the operation amount or the behavior detected by the operation amount detection unit. Features.

[0014] The driving task of different size may be a combination of two or more different tasks.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the driving skill monitoring apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the classifying unit includes a road condition detecting unit that detects a road condition value indicating a road condition during driving and a vehicle speed detecting unit that detects a vehicle speed. A driving task of a different size is determined from a combination of the road condition value and a different size of the vehicle speed, and the driving load detecting means detects an operation amount of the driver or a behavior of the vehicle caused by the operation of the driver. It is characterized by comprising an amount detection means, and detecting a driver's load amount from an operation amount or behavior detected by the operation amount detection means.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claim 3 or 4.
In the driving skill monitoring device described in the above, the road condition value,
It is characterized by the curvature of the road or the inclination angle of the road.

The driving tasks of different sizes may be a combination of three or more different tasks.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in the driving skill monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2, the classifying unit detects an inter-vehicle distance with a vehicle traveling ahead and a relative distance that detects a relative speed of the vehicle traveling ahead. Speed detecting means, and a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed of the own vehicle, determining a driving task of a different size from a combination of the different sizes of the inter-vehicle distance, the relative speed and the vehicle speed, and the driving load detecting means Operating amount detecting means for detecting the operation amount of the driver or the behavior of the vehicle caused by the operation of the driver, and detecting the load amount of the driver from the operating amount or the behavior detected by the operating amount detecting means. And

As the operating load detecting means, any known means can be selected.
It is also possible to use an index obtained by the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-227471 as the load amount. For example, an operation amount detection unit that detects the operation amount of the driver or the behavior of the vehicle caused by the operation of the driver And operation amount estimating means for estimating an operation amount or behavior when the operation is estimated to be performed smoothly based on the operation amount or behavior detection value detected by the operation amount detection means; Operation deviation amount detection means for detecting a deviation amount between the estimated value and the operation amount or the behavior detection value, and a load for detecting a load amount based on a waveform at the time of operation amount detection or behavior detection of the deviation amount And a load detecting means. The load detecting means may further comprise a cycle detecting means for detecting a cycle at each detection of a deviation amount that fluctuates up and down over a zero value. When can comprise an amplitude detecting means for detecting the amplitude of the deviation amount when varies the period, and a load calculating means for calculating a load based on the said periodic amplitude. Alternatively, the load amount detection means may include a cycle detection means for detecting a cycle at each detection of a deviation amount that fluctuates up and down over a zero value, and an operation speed detection for detecting a time change rate of the deviation amount from the deviation amount. Means for calculating a load amount for each detection time based on the deviation amount, a time rate of change of the deviation amount, and the cycle.

Further, the driver's operation amount can be a steering angle of a steering wheel, a depression angle of an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal, and the like. Acceleration, speed, etc. can be used, but any other operation amount or behavior can be selected.

[0019]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the driving skill is detected from the load amount corresponding to the size of the same type of task from the general driving situation, the influence of the general driver habit is eliminated. The detected driving skill can be accurately detected. According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, it is possible to accurately detect the driving skill including the driving margin, and to add a habit to the load amount for the driving tasks having different difficulty levels. In the case where the influence of the habit is added constantly, the influence of the habit can be completely eliminated.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect, the driving task is defined as a road condition in which a difference in driving skill is considered to be conspicuous. Can be detected.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect, the driving skill is determined by setting the road condition and the vehicle speed at which the difference in driving skill appears to be remarkable as the driving task. Can be clearly detected.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the third or fourth aspect, the curvature or the inclination angle of the road on which the difference in driving skills is considered to be remarkable appears as the driving situation value. In addition, the driving skill can be clearly detected.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect, the driving task is determined by the inter-vehicle distance, the relative speed, and the vehicle speed at which a difference in driving skill is considered to appear remarkably. By doing so, the driving skill can be clearly detected.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. This driving skill monitoring device 10 mainly includes a driving load detection device 12, a classification device 14, a driving skill detection device 16
And a display device 18.

The driving load detecting device 12 detects the driver's load, and the classifying device 14 functions as a driving task detecting means for detecting a driving task when the driving load detecting device 12 detects the load. It has a function of classifying the load amounts detected by the operation load detection device 12 for each of different operation tasks. Driving skill detection device 1
Reference numeral 6 is for detecting the driving skill by separating the habit of the driver from the driving skill.

The operating load detecting device 12 is disclosed in
The index detected by the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-227491 can be used as the load amount, or the load amount can be detected by another arbitrary method. A method of calculating a quantitative value corresponding to the driver's perceived load from the smoothness of the operation of the driver is used. The amount of operation deviation between the estimated amount of operation when the operation is estimated to be performed smoothly and the actual amount of operation is affected by the size of the driving task and the driving skill of the driver. The information includes information for detecting a driver's sensible load determined by a dynamic relationship. The operation amount estimation value assuming that the operation is performed smoothly can be regarded as substantially matching the operation signal intended by the driver, and includes an operation component due to the road shape. Thus, the operation deviation amount between the operation amount detection value and the operation amount estimation value can be regarded as a corrected operation component from which the low-frequency road component has been removed. This operation deviation amount is characterized in that, after a deviation from a target value due to a given task or disturbance, the operation deviation amount approaches the target operation amount while vibrating right and left. The amount of load on the driver can be obtained based on the waveform at the time of detecting the operation amount of the operation deviation amount. In order to execute this detection method, as shown in FIG. 2, the driving load detection device 12 includes a steering angle sensor 22 (operation amount detection sensor) that is attached to a steering column and detects a steering angle of the steering, which is an operation amount detection value. A) for sampling the steering angle detection value from the steering angle sensor 22 at an arbitrary sampling cycle and performing A / D conversion.
A / D converter 24 and an arithmetic unit 26 for taking in data sampled from the A / D converter 24 are provided. Note that a low-pass filter for removing electric noise from the steering angle sensor 22 may be interposed between the low-pass filter and the A / D converter 24.

The arithmetic unit 26 includes, as its arithmetic functions, an operation amount estimating means 32, an operation deviation amount detecting means 34, and a load amount detecting means 36. Load amount detecting means 36
Further includes a period detecting unit 40, an amplitude detecting unit 42,
And a load amount calculating means 44.

The classification device 14 includes a vehicle speed sensor (vehicle speed detecting means) 50 for detecting a vehicle speed, and a vehicle speed sensor 50.
A / D converter 51 for sampling the vehicle speed signal from the vehicle at an arbitrary sampling period and A / D converting the signal, and a signal from the driving load detecting device 12 to obtain a road condition value representing a road condition during traveling. Road condition detecting means 52, and load amount classifying means 54 for classifying and storing the load amounts detected by the driving load detecting device 12 for each road condition value and each vehicle speed from the road condition detecting means 52. ing.

The driving skill detecting device 16 calculates the driving skill based on the load amounts classified by the classifying device 14.

The arithmetic unit 26, the road condition detecting means 52, the load amount classifying means 54 and the driving skill detecting device 16
Can be configured by a microcomputer having a memory such as a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and executes each algorithm based on a program stored in the ROM in advance.

The operation of each device will be described below.

In the driving load detector 12, the steering angle signal output from the steering angle sensor 22 and A / D converted by the A / D converter 24 is converted to a predetermined sampling period (for example, 0.0
At 5 sec), it is taken into the arithmetic unit 26. Arithmetic unit 26
Then, the load of the driver is calculated. The actual processing in the arithmetic unit 26 will be described below with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 3 and the waveform diagram of FIG.

First, a steering angle detection value is fetched from the A / D converter 24 at a predetermined sampling cycle (for example, 0.05 sec) (step S11, FIG. 4A). By performing so-called filtering based on the steering angle detection value taken in the sampling cycle, the operation amount when the operation is estimated to be performed smoothly is estimated, and the steering angle estimation value is calculated (step S12, FIG. 4 (b)). As for the filtering method, a moving average can be obtained. The range in which the moving average is obtained may be changed to an appropriate width depending on the resolution of the steering angle sensor 22 and the sampling period. However, without being limited to the moving average, a method of obtaining a steering angle detection value obtained in time series by performing a secondary Taylor expansion with time,
Any other method such as a method of combining a low-pass filter and phase correction can be used.

Next, the operation deviation amount detecting means 34 obtains a steering angle deviation value between the detected steering angle value and the estimated steering angle value estimated by the operation amount estimating means 32 (step S13, FIG. 4).
(C)). Assuming that the detected steering angle is θ _n , the estimated steering angle is θ _sn , and the deviation of the steering angle is Δθ _n ,

[0035]

(Equation 1) Becomes

[0036] The steering angle deviation [Delta] [theta] _n, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5, a waveform of vertical movements across the zero value, the steering angle deviation [Delta] [theta] _n sequentially, buffer of the arithmetic unit 26 The data is stored in the memory and used for the following processing. The cycle detecting means 40 regards the waveform that fluctuates up and down over the zero value as one simple waveform and obtains the cycle T (step S14, FIG. 4 (e)). The following method is conceivable as a method for obtaining the period (see FIG. 5).

Method Since the steering angle deviation value has a vibration centered at 0 degrees, the number of samplings between zero crossings is counted, and T / 2 is calculated by the number of samplings × the sampling period.

Method The interval between the positive peak value and the negative peak value is defined as T /
Calculated as 2.

Method A method and numerical values obtained by the method are averaged for each section.

Next, the amplitude detecting means 42 determines the amplitude of the waveform of the steering angle deviation value that fluctuates up and down over the zero value (step S15, FIG. 4D). This amplitude detection includes a method in which the peak value of the waveform is regarded as the amplitude value as it is, and a method in which the amplitude value is determined by regarding the waveform area and period as a sine waveform. In the case of this latter method, if the area of the waveform between zero crosses is S and the amplitude is a,

[0041]

(Equation 2) It is represented by

The steering angle deviation value is a corrected steering that oscillates around the target steering angle, and can be regarded as a spring vibration (simple vibration) around the steering that always exerts a force toward the target steering angle. In other words, the driver is performing the same work on the steering as that performed by the spring, which can be regarded as being equivalent to the amount of energy of the vibration of the steering. In actual steering, it is not a simple model because the reaction force due to self-aligning torque, friction of the steering mechanism system, and assist characteristics of power steering are added, but it is regarded as a simple model. Then, by calculating the amount of energy, it is possible to obtain a sensory load of the driver. As described above, when the correction steering that oscillates around the target steering angle is regarded as a spring vibration (simple vibration) around the steering that always exerts a force toward the target steering angle, the energy E due to the vibration that the steering has is It can be obtained by the following equation.

[0043]

(Equation 3) I is the moment of inertia of the steering. From this equation, the load amount detecting means 36 calculates the load amount using the above-mentioned cycle and amplitude value as a numerical value related to the steering amount.

[0044]

(Equation 4) (Step S16, FIG. 4F). As a modification of the above processing, instead of performing the amplitude calculation, the load amount detection means 36 may be provided with the operation speed detection means 43 to calculate the deviation angular velocity, and the load amount may be obtained using the deviation angular velocity. . The operation speed detection means 43 calculates the time rate of change of the steering angle deviation value at each sampling, that is, the deviation angular speed (step S18, FIG. 4 (h)). The deviation angular velocity is
It is calculated from the following equation.

[0045]

(Equation 5) If the correction steering that oscillates around the target steering angle, always regarded as the spring vibration of the steering around the force acts towards the target steering angle (single vibration), following the energy E _n of the moment by the vibration of the steering has Can be obtained by the following equation.

[0046]

(Equation 6) From this equation, the load amount calculating means 44 calculates the load amount by using the cycle T, the steering angle deviation value Δθ _n , and the deviation angular velocity Δθ _n dots as numerical values related to the steering amount,

[0047]

(Equation 7) (Step S16).

On the other hand, the road condition detecting means 5 of the classification device 14
Numeral 2 detects a curvature of a road as a road condition value. In this embodiment, the curvature of the road and the vehicle speed are used as the driving task for detecting the driving skill. In particular,
A signal is assumed from the manipulated variable estimating means 32 assuming that the steering is performed smoothly, the peak value is obtained, and the curvature of the curve is estimated from the obtained peak value (FIG. 4 (i)). In FIG. 4 (i), one large positive and negative peak of the steering angle signal when it is assumed that the steering is smoothly performed is as follows.
It corresponds to one curve, and the magnitude of the curvature of the curve is considered to be proportional to the steering angle, and the relationship between the curvature of the curve and the peak value can be known in advance. In the illustrated embodiment, only one of the left and right curves having a negative steering angle is targeted, and the curvature of the curve is obtained from the peak value. Since the right curve and the left curve have different road conditions, it is desirable to distinguish them as different tasks.

The load classifying means 54 performs the operation load from the beginning to the end of one target curve, that is, between the zero crosses of the signal assumed to be smoothly steered from the manipulated variable estimating means 32. An average value of the load amounts obtained from the detection device 12 is calculated (FIG. 4G), and an average value of the vehicle speed data from the vehicle speed sensor 50 is calculated. The curvature, the average vehicle speed, and the average load amount of these curves are calculated. Are sequentially stored while associating (see FIG. 6).

Next, the driving skill detecting device 16 obtains a deviation or a change rate of the load amount with respect to the task size, that is, the curvature of the curve and the vehicle speed, from the data stored in the load amount classifying means 54, and from these, the driving skill is obtained. Is calculated. FIG.
Is a three-dimensional coordinate system in which the curvature C, the vehicle speed V, and the load L of the curve are taken as coordinates. For example, FIG.
From the storage example of the two data (C1, V
(1, L1) and (C2, V1, L2) are extracted, a slope is determined from these data, and a driving skill is determined from the slope.
The smaller the inclination, the higher the driving skill, and the larger the inclination, the lower the driving skill.

[0051]

(Equation 8) Generally, as the curvature of the curve increases and the difficulty of the driving task increases, the load on the driver increases. However, if the driving margin is large, the deviation of the load with respect to the variation of the difficulty is small. Therefore, the slope of the equation (1) is small. Conversely, if the margin of the driving is small, the deviation of the load with respect to the variation of the difficulty is small. Therefore, the inclination of the equation (1) becomes large. Therefore, this inclination is considered to represent the driving skill that is the sum of the driving margin and the load amount. The influence of the driver's habit is included in the calculated load,
Regardless of the difficulty of the task, it is considered that it has always had a certain effect. Therefore, the influence of the driver's habit can be eliminated by calculating the inclination of the equation (1). Specifically, the index value of the driving skill can be obtained by taking the reciprocal of the inclination. In the storage example of FIG. 6, the driving skill can be relatively detected by calculating the inclination under the condition of the same curvature (= C2). That is, two data (C2, V1, L2) and (C2, V2, L3) having the same curve curvature are extracted, and from these data,

[0052]

(Equation 9) , It is also possible to determine the driving skill. Alternatively, in addition to calculating the change rate from two data, it is also possible to obtain a correlation coefficient from a plurality of data, use the correlation coefficient as the change rate, and calculate the driving skill from the correlation coefficient.

If there is no difference in driving performance due to the difference in vehicle speed, the classification device 14 uses the vehicle speed sensor 50.
Is omitted, and only the curvature C and the load L are stored in association with each other in the load amount classifying unit 54 with the curvature C as the driving task.
It is also possible to obtain the driving skill only from equation (1).
FIG. 8 shows a specific example in which the horizontal axis represents the curvature of the road and the vertical axis represents the load under the same vehicle speed. It can be seen that the slope of the specialist is small, the slope of the general person is moderate, and the slope is generally large in the elderly, indicating that the slope indicates the driving skill.

The display device 18 displays the driving skill calculated by the driving skill detecting device 16. Since the obtained driving skill becomes an index value including the driving margin, the amount of subtasks other than the basic operation given to the driver can be determined from this information. Typical examples of the subtask include a display and a switch operation to be presented in the vehicle interior. In particular, in recent years, display contents such as a navigation system and an inter-vehicle distance control system have tended to increase, and at the same time, the importance of using the amount and method according to the skill of the driver has increased from the viewpoint of safety. By detecting the driving skill of the driver, the subtask amount given to the driver can be determined in advance, and safety can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the curvature of the curve and the vehicle speed are used as the driving task, and the load on the driver is obtained based on the steering angle. However, the present invention is not limited to this. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention. In this example, the same members or components as those in the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The operation load detection device 12-2 of this embodiment
Is provided with a pedal angle sensor 68 (operating amount detecting means) for detecting the pedal depression angle of the accelerator pedal instead of the steering angle sensor 22, and the arithmetic unit 26 calculates the pedal depression angle from the pedal angle sensor 68 based on the pedal depression angle. To calculate the load of the driver. The calculation method is the same as in the first embodiment, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The classification device 14-2 includes a vehicle speed sensor 50 for detecting the vehicle speed of the own vehicle, an inter-vehicle distance detection sensor (inter-vehicle distance detection means) 62 for detecting an inter-vehicle distance to a vehicle traveling ahead, and a vehicle speed sensor 50. A / D converters 51 and 63 that sample and A / D convert the vehicle speed signal and the vehicle distance signal from the vehicle distance detection sensor 62 at an arbitrary sampling period, and a relative speed detection unit 64,
And a load classifying means 66.

The relative speed detecting means 64 obtains a relative speed with respect to the vehicle traveling ahead from the vehicle speed signal of the own vehicle and a change in the inter-vehicle distance signal with respect to the vehicle traveling ahead. The load classifying means 66 obtains an inter-vehicle time (= inter-vehicle distance / vehicle speed) and a virtual collision time (= inter-vehicle distance / relative speed) from the inter-vehicle distance, the relative speed, and the vehicle speed of the own vehicle. The load amounts detected by the operation load detection device 12-2 are classified and stored for each operation (see FIG. 10).

In the driving skill detecting device 16, similarly to the first embodiment, the deviation or change rate of the load amount with respect to the task size, that is, the inter-vehicle time and the collision time is obtained from the data stored by the load amount classifying means 66. Calculate driving skills. FIG. 11 is an example in which the inter-vehicle time Ta, the collision time Tb, and the load L are each represented by coordinates and represented by three-dimensional coordinates. For example, two data (Ta1, Tb1, L1), (Ta2, Tb1, L1) having the same collision time from the storage example of FIG.
The inclination can be obtained from 2), and the driving skill can be obtained based on the inclination. That is,

[0060]

(Equation 10) It is. Alternatively, two data (T
a2, Tb1, L2) and (Ta2, Tb2, L3)

[0061]

[Equation 11] It is also possible to use Further, two arbitrary data (Ta1, Tb1, L1), (Ta3, Tb3, L
From 4)

[0062]

(Equation 12) It is also possible to use Alternatively, a correlation function is obtained from a large number of data, and the driving skill can be obtained using the correlation function as a change rate.

In still another embodiment, the driving task may be a road inclination angle, and the load may be determined based on the acceleration of the vehicle body from an acceleration sensor. The inclination angle of the road can be detected from an inclinometer attached to the vehicle body. When the vehicle starts on a slope, the driving skill can be detected by detecting the driver's load obtained from the acceleration, which is one of the behaviors of the vehicle body, and calculating the rate of change of the load with respect to the magnitude of the inclination angle of the road. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving skill monitoring device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the operating load detection device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process in the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a waveform diagram corresponding to the flowchart of FIG.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a waveform diagram of a steering angle deviation value for explaining the principle of the period detecting means and the amplitude detecting means of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a storage example of a load amount classifying unit of the classifying unit;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of driving skill detection by the driving skill detecting device.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a relationship between a driving task and a load performed on a driver having different driving skills, wherein the horizontal axis represents the curvature and the vertical axis represents the load.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a driving skill monitoring device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a storage example of a load amount classifying unit of the classifying unit;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of driving skill detection by the driving skill detecting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Driving skill monitoring device 12, 12-2 Driving load detection device (driving load detection means) 14, 14-2 Classification device (classification means) 16 Driving skill detection device (driving skill detection means) 22 Steering angle sensor (operation amount detection) Means) 50 vehicle speed sensor (vehicle speed detecting means) 52 road condition detecting means 62 inter-vehicle distance detecting sensor (inter-vehicle distance detecting means) 64 relative speed detecting means 68 pedal angle sensor (operating amount detecting means)

Claims (6)

[Claims] An operation load detection means for detecting a load amount of a driver, a classification means for classifying the load amount detected by the operation load detection means for each size of the same type of operation task, and a classification means A driving skill monitoring device, comprising: driving skill detecting means for detecting a driving skill by separating a driver's habit and a driving skill from a load amount corresponding to the size of the driving task. 2. The driving skill monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the driving skill detecting means calculates a driving skill of the driver based on a change rate of a load amount of the driver for driving tasks of the same kind and different in size. A driving skill monitoring device characterized by detecting. 3. The driving skill monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the classifying unit includes a road condition detecting unit that detects a road condition value indicating a road condition during driving. As driving tasks of different sizes, the driving load detecting means includes an operation amount detecting means for detecting a driver's operation amount or a behavior of the vehicle caused by the driver's operation, and the operation load detecting means detects the operation amount. A driving skill monitoring device characterized in that a driver's load is detected from the operated amount or behavior. 4. The driving skill monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the classifying unit includes a road condition detecting unit that detects a road condition value indicating a road condition during driving, and a vehicle speed detecting unit that detects a vehicle speed. A driving task of a different size is determined from a combination of the road condition value and a different size of the vehicle speed, and the driving load detecting means detects an operation amount of the driver or a behavior of the vehicle caused by the operation of the driver. Equipped with an amount detecting means,
A driving skill monitoring device characterized in that a driver's load is detected from an operation amount or a behavior detected by the operation amount detecting means. 5. The driving skill monitoring device according to claim 3, wherein the road condition value is a curvature of a road or an inclination angle of the road. 6. The driving skill monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the classification unit detects an inter-vehicle distance with a vehicle traveling in front, and a relative unit detects a relative speed of the vehicle traveling in front. Speed detecting means, and a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed of the own vehicle, determining a driving task of a different size from a combination of the different sizes of the inter-vehicle distance, the relative speed and the vehicle speed, and the driving load detecting means Operating amount detecting means for detecting the operation amount of the driver or the behavior of the vehicle caused by the operation of the driver, and detecting the load amount of the driver from the operating amount or the behavior detected by the operating amount detecting means. Driving skill monitoring device.