JP2002010995A - Driving load judgment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately judge a driving load. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a judgment rule storage device 10 holding the biological signal tendency of a driver and the load state of the driver in relation as load judgment rules 11, 12, 13 and 14, driver state detectors 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D for measuring one kind of the biological signals of the driver and outputting driver load data based on the biological signals and the load judgment rules 11, 12, 13 and 14 held in the judgment rule storage device 10 and a general driving load judgment means 30 for judging the load state of the driver based on the plural driver load data outputted by the driver state detectors 20A, 20B, 20C and 20D.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operating load determining device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the tendency of a change in a heart rate variance RRV (RR Variance) calculated from a heart rate signal, a heart rate interval RR
A device that determines the mental load state of the driver from the tendency of the change of the two peak components obtained by frequency analysis of I (RR Interval), and a restriction on the presentation of alarms and vehicle control according to the determination results of these devices. Feeding devices have been developed.

For example, a method and system for determining the accumulation of fatigue described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-131424, and a transportation device
A method of determining the driver's fatigue accumulation by detecting the driver's heartbeat state and comparing the fluctuation or variance or standard deviation of beat intervals at two time points separated in time series,
In addition, when it is determined that the driver's fatigue accumulation is large, a device that reduces the speed of the vehicle or restricts the traveling direction,
And transportation equipment.

[0004] Further, a mental activity determination device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-280637 detects a heartbeat interval of a driver,
After performing a frequency analysis on the detected heartbeat interval, the extracted two frequency components are developed in a two-dimensional plane, and a mental activity determination device that determines the state of mental activity from a change pattern on the coordinates. is there.

[0005]

However, in the former driver load determination apparatus described above, the mental load of the driver while driving the vehicle is determined only by the fluctuation RRV of the heartbeat signal. However, when a device that generates electrical noise, such as a motor installed in the cabin, starts, the electrical noise may be mixed into the heartbeat signal. Determination of dynamic load,
Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the control of the vehicle or the provision of information based on the determination is performed accurately.

Further, in the latter driver load determination device, the mental load is calculated based on a locus drawn by two peak components obtained by frequency analysis of the pulsation interval RRI, that is, a blood pressure variability component and a respiration variability component. Is determined. But,
Since this method includes the respiratory variability component as described above, it is effective only when the load on the driver is maintained in a constant state, such as when driving on a highway, and breathing at a substantially constant cycle can be performed. This is a determination method. For example, when a so-called physical load is imposed, such as continuous running and curves in the city and continuous operation of the accelerator, brake and steering, the driver normally breathes at a constant rhythm. Since it is difficult to do so, there is a possibility that the influence of the physical load is mixed in the determination result of the mental load by this method as noise.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a driving load determining device capable of more accurately determining a driver's load.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a determination rule storage device which stores a driver's biological signal tendency and a driver's load state in association with each other as a load determination rule, A driver state detection device that measures a biological signal and outputs driver load data based on the biological signal and the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device, and a plurality of output signals output by the driver state detection device. And a total driving load determining means for determining the load state of the driver based on the driver load data.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the driving load determining apparatus according to the first aspect, the driving load state of the driver is classified into a mental load and a physical load based on the plurality of driver load data. A total operating load determination rule storage device that holds a total operating load determination rule to be executed, wherein the total operating load determination unit determines an operation load state based on the plurality of operating load data and the total operating load determination rule. And a load classification unit that classifies the load into a mental load and a physical load.

[0010] The invention of claim 3 is claim 1 or claim 2.
The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detection device is configured to detect a pulsation interval of a driver and detect a pulsation interval based on the pulsation interval detected by the pulsation interval detection device. The pulsation interval variance value calculation means for calculating the pulsation interval variance value for each predetermined time, the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device is based on the driver's pulsation interval variance value, A pulsation interval variance load determination rule for classifying a driver's driving load state according to the degree thereof, wherein the pulsation interval variance value and the pulsation interval variance value calculated by the pulsation interval variance value calculation means. Based on the load judgment law,
A pulse interval variance value load determining means for determining a load state of the driver is provided.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3.
The driving load determination device according to the claim, wherein the driver state detection device is based on a beat interval detected by the beat interval detecting means for detecting a beat interval of the driver and the beat interval. Pulsation frequency analysis means for frequency-analyzing a pulsation interval for each predetermined time, and calculating a ratio between a high-frequency component exceeding a predetermined frequency and a low-frequency component below the predetermined frequency from a result of the frequency analysis by the pulsation frequency analysis means. Having a pulsation frequency ratio calculation means, wherein the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device is based on the driver's pulsation frequency ratio,
It is a pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule that classifies the driving load state of the driver according to the degree, based on the pulsation frequency ratio calculated by the pulsation frequency ratio calculation means and the pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule. A pulse frequency load determining means for determining a load state of the driver.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to claims 1 to 4.
The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detection device has a respiration frequency detection unit that detects a respiration frequency of the driver, and the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device is It is a respiration frequency load determination rule for classifying the driving load state of the driver based on the respiration frequency according to the degree, based on the respiration frequency and the respiration frequency load determination rule detected by the respiration frequency detection means, The respiratory frequency average value load determining means for determining the load state of the driver is provided.

[0013] The invention of claim 6 is the first to fifth aspects of the present invention.
The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detection device includes a respiration frequency detection unit that detects a respiration frequency of the driver, and a respiration at a predetermined time interval based on the respiration frequency detected by the respiration frequency detection unit. Respiratory frequency variance value calculating means for calculating a variance value of frequency, wherein the load determination rule stored in the determination rule storage device classifies a driver's driving load state based on the driver's respiratory frequency variance value. Respiratory frequency variance load determination rule for determining a driver's load state based on the respiratory frequency variance value calculated by the respiratory frequency variance value calculation means and the respiratory frequency variance value load determination rule. It is characterized by having a variance value load determining means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided the first to sixth aspects.
The driving load determination device according to claim, wherein the load classification unit performs driving based on a result of the driving load determination by the respiration frequency average value load determination unit and a result of the operation load determination by the respiration frequency variance value load determination unit. When it is determined that the load is high, the driving load state of the driver is classified into physical load, and when it is determined that the driving load is low, the driving load state of the driver is classified into mental load. It is characterized by the following.

[0015] The invention of claim 8 is the first to seventh aspects of the present invention.
The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device performs all or a part of an action necessary for driving the vehicle, and a driving support rule memory that holds a driving support rule according to a mental or physical driving load state. A driving assistance device control unit that determines the start, stop, and operation state of the driving assistance device based on the determination by the overall driving load determination unit and the driving assistance rule stored in the driving assistance rule storage device. It is characterized by the following.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the driving load determining device according to the eighth aspect, wherein the driving support device performs all or a part of the operation necessary for driving the vehicle based on the driving support device control means. Automatic running control means for the vehicle which automatically performs the control; a steering angle variable steering means capable of changing the steering angle ratio based on the driving assistance device control means; and an accelerator operation amount based on the driving assistance device control means. Drive characteristic variable drive control means capable of changing the throttle gain with respect to the vehicle; braking characteristic variable brake control means capable of changing the braking force with respect to the brake operation amount based on the drive support device control means; It has at least one or more information providing means for providing alarm information based on the control means.

[0017]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a driver's state detection device measures one type of biological signal of the driver, and associates the tendency of the measured biological signal with the load state of the driver. By referring to the load determination rule, it becomes possible to obtain driving load data indicating the load state of the driver.
Further, by providing comprehensive driving load determination means for determining the load state of the driver based on the plurality of driver load data, the driver based on the plurality of driver load data output by the plurality of driver state detection devices is provided. , That is, the load state of the driver based on a plurality of biological signals can be determined.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the present invention, a total driving load determination rule which associates a plurality of driver load data with a driver's mental load and physical load is provided. By retaining the total driving load determination rule in the storage device, the total driving load determination means:
With respect to the input of a plurality of driving load data, it becomes possible to determine the driving load classified into mental load and physical load.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first or second aspect, the beat interval of the driver is detected by the beat interval detecting means. By collecting the beat intervals for a predetermined time, the variance value of the beat intervals can be calculated. Furthermore, by storing the pulsation interval variance load determination rule indicating the relationship between the pulsation interval variance and the driving load in the determination rule storage device, the pulsation interval variance load determination unit may appropriately determine By referring to the determination rule rule device, it becomes possible to determine the driving load in response to the driver's pulsation signal input.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first to third aspects, the beat interval of the driver is detected by the beat interval detecting means, and the beat frequency analyzing means includes:
By collecting beat intervals for a predetermined time, frequency analysis of beat intervals can be performed. The ratio between the low-frequency component and the high-frequency component extracted by the frequency analysis can be calculated by providing the pulsation frequency ratio calculation means. Further, the pulsation frequency ratio load determination means stores the pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule indicating the relationship between the pulsation frequency ratio and the driving load in the determination rule storage device. By referring to the device, it is possible to determine the driving load in response to the driver's pulsation signal input.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first to fourth aspects, the respiratory frequency of the driver is detected by the respiratory frequency detecting means, and the determination rule storage device stores
By holding the respiratory frequency load determination rule indicating the relationship between the respiratory frequency and the driving load, the respiratory frequency load determination means appropriately refers to the determination rule storage device to input the driver's respiratory signal. It is possible to determine the operation load for the vehicle.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first to fifth aspects, the respiratory frequency of the driver is detected by the respiratory frequency detecting means, and the respiratory frequency variance value calculating means is provided for a predetermined time. By collecting the respiratory frequency, the variance of the respiratory frequency can be calculated. Further, the determination rule storage device stores the respiration frequency variance value load determination rule indicating the relationship between the variance value of the respiration frequency and the driving load, so that the respiration frequency variance value load determination unit appropriately determines the determination rule. By referring to the storage device, it is possible to determine the driving load in response to the driver's input of the breathing signal.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first to sixth aspects, in the load classification means, the operation load determination result of the respiration frequency load determination means and the respiration frequency variance value load determination. From the driving load determination result of the means, if it is determined that the driving load is high, the driving load state of the driver is divided into physical loads, and if it is determined that the driving load is low, By classifying the driving load state of the driver into mental loads, it is possible to realize the classification of mental loads and physical loads of driving loads.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the first to seventh aspects, a driving support law indicating driving support suitable for a mental or physical driving load state in the driving support law storage device. In the driving support device control device, the start, stop, and operation state of the driving support device that performs all or a part of the actions necessary for vehicle driving are appropriately determined based on the determination by the total driving load determination unit. It will be possible to decide.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the eighth aspect of the invention, the driving support device further comprises an automatic cruise control means, a variable steering ratio steering means, and a variable driving force characteristic drive control means. , By holding at least one or more of braking characteristic variable braking control means and information providing means, and driving these in accordance with the mental and physical load situation of the driver and the degree thereof, The operation load can be reduced.

[0026]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving load determination device according to the present invention includes driver state detection devices 20A, 20B, 20C,
20D. Also, the judgment rule storage device 1
0, a total driving load determination unit 30, a total driving load determination rule storage device 80, a driving support device control unit 50, a driving support rule storage device 60, and a driving support device 70.

The determination rule storage device 10 stores a load determination rule, that is, a pulsation interval variance load determination rule 11 or a pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule 12, in association with the driver's biological signal tendency and the driver's load state. It holds the respiration frequency load determination rule 13 or the respiration frequency variance value load determination rule 14.

The driver state detecting devices 20A, 20B,
20C and 20D store one type of biological signal of the driver and output driver load data based on the biological signal and load determination rules 11, 12, 13, and 14 held in the determination rule storage device 10. Is what you do.

The driver state detecting device 20A includes a beat interval detecting means 211 and a beat interval variance calculating means 21.
2. A pulsation interval variance load determining means 213 is provided.
The pulsation interval detection means 211 detects the pulsation interval of the driver. The pulsation interval dispersion value calculation means 212
Calculates the variance value of the beat interval for each predetermined time based on the beat interval detected by the beat interval detecting means 211. The pulsation interval variance load determination means 213
Is operated based on the pulsation interval variance value calculated by the pulsation interval variance value calculation unit 212 and the pulsation interval variance load determination rule 11 as a load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device 10. This is to determine the load state of the user.

The driver state detecting device 20B includes a pulsating interval detecting unit 211, a pulsating frequency analyzing unit 212, a pulsating frequency ratio calculating unit 223, and a pulsating frequency ratio load determining unit 22.
4 is provided. The pulsation interval detection means 211 detects the pulsation interval of the driver. The pulsation frequency analysis means 212 is for frequency-analyzing the pulsation intervals at predetermined time intervals based on the pulsation intervals detected by the pulsation interval detection means 221. The pulsation frequency ratio calculating means 22
Numeral 3 is to calculate a ratio between a high-frequency component exceeding a predetermined frequency and a low-frequency component below the predetermined frequency from the result of the frequency analysis by the pulsation frequency analyzing means 222. The pulsation frequency ratio load determination unit 224 includes a pulsation frequency ratio calculated by the pulsation frequency ratio calculation unit 223 and a pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule 12 as a determination load rule stored in the determination rule storage device. Is used to determine the load state of the driver.

The driver state detecting device 20C includes a respiratory frequency detecting means 231 and a respiratory frequency average value load determining means 2
32. The respiratory frequency detecting means 231 includes:
It detects the driver's breathing frequency. The respiratory frequency average value load determining means 232 determines the driver's frequency based on the respiratory frequency detected by the respiratory frequency detecting means 231 and the respiratory frequency load determining rule 13 as the load determining rule held in the determining rule storage device 10. This is to determine the load state.

The driver state detecting device 20D comprises a respiratory frequency detecting means 241 and a respiratory frequency variance calculating means 24.
2. A respiratory frequency variance load determining unit 243 is provided. The breathing frequency detecting means 241 detects the breathing frequency of the driver. The respiratory frequency variance calculating unit 242 calculates the variance of the respiratory frequency for each predetermined time based on the respiratory frequency detected by the respiratory frequency detecting unit 241. The respiratory frequency variance value load determining unit 243 includes a respiratory frequency variance value calculated by the respiratory frequency variance value calculating unit 242 and a respiratory frequency variance value load determining rule 14 as a load determining rule held in the determining rule storage device 10. Is used to determine the load state of the driver.

The overall operating load determining means 30 includes a load separating means 40. The load discriminating means 40, based on the result of the driving load determination by the respiratory frequency average value load determining means 232 and the respiratory frequency variance value load determining means 243, determines that the driving of the driver is high when the driving load is determined to be high. The load state is classified into a physical load, and when it is determined that the driving load is low, the driving load state of the driver is classified into a mental load.

The above-mentioned overall operation load determination rule storage device 80
Is provided with a total operating load determination rule 81. The overall driving load determination rule 81 describes a rule that classifies a driving load state of a driver into a mental load and a physical load based on a plurality of driver load data. The driving support device 70 performs all or a part of the actions necessary for driving the vehicle. The driving support rule storage device 60 stores a driving support rule 61 according to a mental or physical driving load state.
Holding.

The driving support device control means 50 determines the start, stop, and operating state of the driving support device 70 based on the total driving load determination means 30 and the driving support rule 61 stored in the driving support rule storage device 60. To decide.

The driving support device 70 includes automatic traveling control means 71, steering angle variable steering means 72, driving force characteristic variable drive control means 73, braking characteristic variable braking control means 74, and information providing means 75. The automatic traveling control means 71
Is for automatically performing all or a part of the operation necessary for driving the vehicle based on the driving support device control means 50. The steering angle ratio variable steering means 72 changes the steering angle ratio based on the driving support device control means 50. The driving force characteristic variable drive control means 73 changes the throttle gain with respect to the accelerator operation amount based on the driving support device control means 50. The braking characteristic variable braking control unit 74 includes the driving assist device control unit 50.
The braking force with respect to the brake operation amount is changed based on the above. The information providing means 75 provides alarm information based on the driving support device control means.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 2 is a block diagram according to a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, the driving load determining apparatus according to the first embodiment includes an electrocardiogram signal detecting apparatus 100, a pulsation interval variance value calculation circuit 101, a pulsation interval variance load determination circuit 102, and a pulsation frequency analysis circuit 10.
3. A pulsation frequency ratio load determination circuit 104 is provided.
The apparatus further includes a respiratory signal detection device 105, a respiratory frequency average value calculating circuit 106, a respiratory frequency average value load determining circuit 107, a respiratory frequency variance value calculating circuit 108, and a respiratory frequency variance value load determining circuit 109. Further, it includes a comprehensive driving load determination circuit 110, a driving support device control circuit 111, an automatic driving control device 112, an information providing device 113, a load determination rule storage device 114, and a driving support rule storage device 115.

The electrocardiographic signal detecting device 100 constitutes the beat interval detecting means 211 and detects a driver's heart rate signal. The pulsation interval dispersion value calculation circuit 101
Constitutes the pulsation interval variance value calculation means 212, and calculates the variance value by calculating the pulsation interval from the detected heartbeat signal. Pulsing interval variance load determination circuit 1
02 constitutes the pulsation interval variance value load determination means 213, and compares the calculated pulsation interval variance value with the determination rule stored in the load determination rule storage device 114 to reduce the driver's driving load. It is to judge. The pulsation frequency analysis circuit 103 includes the pulsation frequency analysis unit 212.
In this method, a beat interval is obtained from a detected heartbeat signal, and the beat interval is corrected to data of a constant sampling frequency, and then frequency analysis is performed.

The pulsation frequency ratio load determination circuit 104
The pulsating frequency ratio calculating means 223 and the pulsating frequency ratio load determining means 224 are configured to obtain a ratio between a high frequency component and a low frequency component obtained as a result of frequency analysis, and store the calculated ratio in a load determining rule storage. The driving load of the driver is determined by referring to the determination rule stored in the device 114.

The respiratory signal detecting device 105 constitutes the respiratory frequency detecting means 231 and detects a driver's respiratory signal. The respiratory frequency average value calculating circuit 106 constitutes the respiratory frequency detecting means 231 and calculates a respiratory frequency from the detected respiratory signal and calculates the average value.

The respiratory frequency average load determination circuit 107
Constitutes the respiratory frequency average value load determination means 232, and determines the driver's driving load by comparing the calculated respiratory frequency average value with the determination rule stored in the load determination rule storage means 114. It is.

The respiratory frequency dispersion value calculation circuit 108
It constitutes the respiratory frequency variance value calculating means 242, and calculates a variance value by obtaining a respiratory frequency from a detected respiratory signal. The respiratory frequency variance value load determination circuit 109 is provided with the respiratory frequency variance value load determination unit 2.
43, the driving load of the driver is determined by comparing the calculated respiratory frequency variance value with the determination rule stored in the load determination rule storage unit 114.

The overall operating load determining circuit 110 constitutes the overall operating load determining means 30, and determines the determination results of the determining circuits 100, 204, 107 and 109 in the load determining rule storage device 114. The type and the degree of the driving load of the driver are determined by comparing with the law.

The driving support device control circuit 111 constitutes the driving support device control means 50, and stores the type and degree of the determined driving load in the driving support law storage device 11.
The determination of the necessity of the driver's driving support and the method of support are determined by comparing with the support law stored in 5.

The automatic cruise control device 112 constitutes the automatic cruise control means 71 and automatically performs each of steering control, accelerator control and brake control. The information providing device 113 includes the information providing unit 7.
5, which presents alarm information to the driver in the form of sound and images.

The heartbeat signal detection device 100 detects the heart beat by an ultrasonic sensor. Since the detected heartbeat signal is not intended for accurate electrocardiographic diagnosis, as shown in FIG. , The ultrasonic sensor 91 to the sheet 9
2 enables detection of a heartbeat signal. The respiratory signal detection device 105 detects a respiratory motion as a waveform by the expansion and contraction of a strain gauge disposed on the chest. As shown in FIG. Signal detection is possible.

An RRV calculation method performed in real time can be used for the processing performed by the beat interval variance value calculation circuit 101. An example of the calculation method will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In step S11, the heartbeat signal detected by the heartbeat signal detection device 100 is input. In step S12, the R wave of the heartbeat signal is detected based on a predetermined threshold value. In step S13, a time interval RRI (RR Interval) of R wave detection is calculated. In step S14, the RR for the past 30 seconds, for example, in which the RRI data calculated in step S13 is newly added.
The I data is stored in data storage means in the circuit. In step S15, a normalized variance RRV is calculated for the accumulated RRI data for 30 seconds. According to this method, an accurate RRV cannot be calculated for 30 seconds from the start of measurement, but after 30 seconds, an RRV based on a heartbeat signal for 30 seconds is calculated at a timing at which an R wave is detected. become. In step S16, the obtained RRV is output.

The flow of processing performed by the pulsation interval variance determination circuit 102 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S17, the pulsation interval dispersion value calculation circuit 10
The pulse interval variance value RRV calculated in step 1 is input. In step S18, the load determination rule storage device 114
, The degree of the operating load is calculated. The table shown in FIG. 6 showing the relationship between the pulsation interval variance value and the driving load is stored in the load determination rule storage device 114. For example, the pulsation interval variance value input in step S17 is rr
If v = 2 × 10 ⁻⁴ , the operation load stage WLrrv
= 4. The relationship between the pulsation interval variance value shown in this table and the driving load is represented by the pulsation interval variance value shown when a load is applied to a plurality of subjects (drivers) experimentally, and the load variance value. It is possible to use a result of subject's subjective evaluation of the degree, for example, a result of a five-stage evaluation and statistical analysis. In step S19, the obtained operation load is output as driver load data WLrrrv.

The flow of processing performed by the pulsation frequency analysis circuit 103 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S21, the heartbeat signal detected by the heartbeat signal detection device 100 is input. In step S22, the R wave of the heartbeat signal is detected based on a predetermined threshold value. In step S23, a time interval RRI (RR Interval) of R wave detection is calculated. In step S24, RRI data for, for example, 32 seconds to which the calculated RRI is newly added is accumulated. In step S25, the accumulated RRI data for 32 seconds is interpolated at, for example, 4 Hz. This is because the RRI data is irregularly sampled in time series. In step S26, a high-speed frequency analysis FFT is performed based on the complemented data.
According to this method, accurate frequency analysis cannot be performed for the first 32 seconds, but after 32 seconds has elapsed, a 128-point FFT can be performed at the timing when the R wave is detected. In step S27, the result of the frequency analysis is output.

The flow of processing performed by the pulsation frequency ratio determination circuit 104 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S28, the frequency analysis result calculated by the pulsation frequency analysis circuit 103 is input. In step S29, the low frequency component LF and the high frequency component H
Find F and Since the low frequency component LF is a component of blood pressure variability and is known to appear around 0.1 Hz,
The peak point around 0.1 Hz may be set as LF. It is known that the high frequency component HF is a respiratory variability component and appears at 0.2 Hz or later while the vehicle is operating. Therefore, the peak point after 0.2 Hz may be set to HF. In step S30, a ratio LH = LF / HF of the detected low frequency component LF and high frequency component HF is calculated. In step S31, the degree of the operating load is calculated with reference to the load determination rule storage device 114. Load judgment law storage device 11
FIG. 9 shows the relationship between the frequency component ratio LH and the operating load.
Is stored. For example, when the calculated LH is lh = 2.9, the operation load stage WLl
Obtain h = 3. The relationship between the frequency component ratio LH and the driving load shown in this table is based on the frequency component ratio LH shown when a load is applied to a plurality of subjects (drivers) experimentally and the degree of the load. Subjectivity of the subject, for example, 5
It is possible to use a result obtained by statistically analyzing the results evaluated at each stage. In step S32, the obtained operation load is output as driver load data WLlh.

The flow of processing performed by the respiratory frequency calculation circuit 106 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S41, the respiration signal detected by the respiration signal detection device 105 is input. Step S42
Then, for example, respiratory signals for 32 seconds are accumulated. In step S43, the respiratory signal for 320 seconds, which is the newly added respiratory signal for 32 seconds accumulated in step S42, is accumulated. High-speed frequency analysis FFT is performed based on the respiratory signal accumulated in step S43. According to this method, the first three
Although accurate frequency analysis cannot be performed for 20 seconds, 3
After the elapse of 20 seconds, the time interval set in step S42,
In this example, frequency analysis can be performed at intervals of 32 seconds. As a result of this frequency analysis, a respiratory frequency is extracted. In step S45, the obtained respiration frequency is output.

The flow of processing performed by the respiratory frequency load determination circuit 107 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S46, the respiration frequency calculated by the respiration frequency calculation circuit 105 is input. Step S
At 47, the degree of the operating load is calculated with reference to the load determination rule storage device 114. Load judgment law storage device 114
Shows the relationship between the respiratory frequency and the operating load. The table shown in FIG. 12 is stored.
If the respiratory frequency input in is r = 0.33 [Hz], the operation load stage WLr = 3 is obtained. The relationship between the respiratory frequency and the driving load shown in this table is based on the subject's subjective evaluation of the respiratory frequency and the degree of the load when a load is applied to a plurality of subjects (drivers) experimentally. For example, it is possible to use a result obtained by statistically analyzing the results evaluated in five steps. In step S48, the obtained operation load is output as driver load data WLr.

The flow of processing performed by the respiratory frequency variance value calculation circuit 108 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S51, the respiratory signal detecting device 10
The respiratory signal detected by 5 is input. In step S52, for example, respiratory signals for 32 seconds are accumulated. In step S53, a high-speed frequency analysis FFT is performed based on the accumulated respiration signal. As a result of this frequency analysis, a respiratory frequency is extracted. In step S54, the respiration frequency for 320 seconds, which is the newly added respiration frequency, is accumulated. In step S55, a variance value of the accumulated respiration frequency is obtained. According to this method, an accurate variance value of the respiratory frequency cannot be obtained for the first 320 seconds, but after the lapse of 320 seconds, a variance value of the respiratory frequency is obtained at the time interval set in step S26 and the 32 second interval. It is possible. In step S56, the obtained respiratory frequency variance value is output.

The respiratory frequency variance load determination circuit 109
Will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S57, the respiratory frequency variance value calculated by the respiratory frequency variance value calculation circuit 108 is input. In step S58, the degree of the operating load is calculated with reference to the load determination rule storage device 114. The table of FIG. 15 showing the relationship between the respiratory frequency dispersion value and the driving load is stored in the load determination rule storage device 114,
For example, when the respiratory frequency dispersion value input in step S57 is rv = 0.012, the operation load stage WLb
Obtain v = 2. The relationship between the respiratory frequency variance value shown in this table and the driving load is represented by the respiratory frequency variance value shown when a load is applied to a plurality of subjects (drivers) experimentally and the degree of the load. Subjectivity of the subject, for example, 5
It is possible to use a result obtained by statistically analyzing the results evaluated at each stage. In step S59, the obtained operation load stage is output as driver load data WLrv.

The flow of processing performed by the overall load determination circuit 110 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S61, the pulsation interval dispersion value load determination circuit 10
2. Driver load data (WLhv, WLl) determined by each of the pulsation frequency ratio load determination circuit 104, the respiration frequency load determination circuit 107, and the respiration frequency variance value determination circuit 109.
h, WLr, WLrv) are input. Step S62
With reference to the load determination rule storage device 114, the input driver load data belongs to any one of three driving load types of “mental load”, “physical load”, and “normal”. Is determined. The load determination rule storage device 114 stores the driver load data of the pulsation interval dispersion value, the pulsation frequency ratio, the respiration frequency and the respiration frequency variance value as “mental load”, “physical load”, and “normal”. Are stored as shown in the table of FIG. And the mental load value WLm is

(Equation 1) Determined by Similarly, the physical load value WLb is

(Equation 2) And the normal load value WLn is

(Equation 3) Determined by For example, if the operation load data input in step S61 is (WLhv, WLlh, WLr, WLr
v) = (4,3,3,2) and if the table is given in FIG.

(Equation 4) Get. According to this method, the one that shows the smallest value among the calculated load values is close to the load state (operating load type) where the driver is placed. That is, in the case of this example, the operation load type WLk is determined to be “mental load”. In addition,
In this table, three kinds of loads of "mental load", "physical load", and "normal" are experimentally applied to a plurality of subjects (drivers). Can be created by averaging. In step S63,
The operation load level WL based on the determination result of step S62
Calculate l. If the determination result is "mental load", the value of the driving load data WL1h based on the pulsation frequency ratio load determination that is most likely to reflect the tendency experimentally is set as the driving load level WL1. On the other hand, if the determination result is “physical load”, the value of the driving load data WLrv based on the respiratory frequency dispersion value determination that is most likely to reflect the tendency experimentally is set as the driving load level WLl. If the determination result is “normal”, the item of the operation load level may be blank. In step S64, the combination of the operating load type WLk and the operating load level WLl is used to determine the total operating load value (WL
k, WLl).

The automatic traveling control means 112 automatically or partially performs the operation related to the vehicle driving, and includes, for example, an inter-vehicle distance sensor, a speed sensor, an accelerator,
Equipped with a so-called automatic cruise control (ACC), a camera, and a steering actuator that is equipped with an actuator that drives the brake and automatically maintains the distance between the vehicle and the preceding vehicle and that can run while maintaining the vehicle speed. A lane-following control device or the like that automatically turns a steered wheel by a steering actuator in order to maintain a running lane detected by a camera also corresponds to this. In the present embodiment, an automatic cruise control and a lane following control device are mounted.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, the information providing device 113 provides a buzzer 9 installed at an arbitrary position in the vehicle interior for presenting a sound of a specific frequency at a designated time.
5 and a monitor 96 capable of presenting an arbitrary image.

The flow of processing performed by the driving support control device control circuit 111 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S71, a total operation load value, which is a combination of the operation load type and the operation load value level output from the total load determination circuit 110, is input. In step S72, the type of the driving support device to be driven and the driving method are determined with reference to the driving support rule storage device 115. The driving support law storage device 115 stores driving load types,
The table of FIG. 21 showing the relationship between the driving support devices that are driven in accordance with the driving load level is stored. According to this table, for example, the driving load type input in step S71 is “mental load”. Yes, operating load level WL
When l = 3, it indicates that a driving command is issued to the automatic cruise control of the automatic traveling control device 112. At this time, information indicating that automatic cruise control is activated is displayed on the monitor of the information providing device, and the buzzer of the information presenting device is sounded for 0.5 seconds. When the driving load level WLl ≧ 4, the lane following control device is driven in addition to the automatic cruise control, and information indicating that the lane following device has been activated is displayed on a monitor of the information providing device. This indicates that the buzzer of the information providing device sounds for one second. When the driving load type is “physical load” and “normal”, it indicates that the driving support device is not driven. The relationship between the driving load type, the driving load level, and the driving support device shown in this table indicates the subjective subjectiveness of a subject when a mental load and a physical load are experimentally applied to a plurality of subjects (drivers). It is obtained by conducting a questionnaire survey on the support means that you want to start with, further measuring the driving load type and driving load level when driving the driving support device, and comparing it with the load level before driving the driving support device, The effect can be confirmed. In step S73, the driving support measure determined in step S72 is implemented.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Load judgment based on the variance of the heartbeat interval obtained from the heartbeat signal,
A total of four types of load judgments are made: load judgment by frequency analysis of beat intervals, load judgment by respiration frequency obtained from respiration signal, and load judgment by variance of respiration frequency, and the appearance pattern of each judgment value Is compared with the pattern stored in the storage device, the driving load can be determined from the multiple biological signals, and the driving load can be separated into a mental load and a physical load. Therefore, accurate load determination can be performed, and accurate control and the like of the driving support device can be performed.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 22 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention applied to a driving load determining device for determining a driving load of a driver. In this embodiment, a variable steering angle steering device 11 is used as a device for controlling driving assistance.
6 and an example in which the drive characteristic variable drive control device 117 and the brake characteristic variable brake control device 118 are increased, and accordingly, the drive characteristic variable drive control device 117 ′ is stored in the drive support law storage device 115 ′ referred to by the drive support device control circuit 111 ′. This is an example in which the content of a certain driving support rule is changed, and the flow of processing in other configurations and components is the same as that of the first embodiment.

The steering characteristic variable steering control device 116 includes:
A steering control device capable of changing a steering gear ratio for determining a steering amount of a steered wheel with respect to a driver's steering.

The drive characteristic variable drive control device 117 comprises:
This is a drive control device capable of changing a gain of an opening degree of a throttle valve with respect to a driver's accelerator operation amount, that is, a throttle gain.

The braking characteristic variable braking control device 118 includes:
This is a braking control device that is capable of changing the braking force generated in response to the driver's brake depression force or the amount of brake depression, and is a so-called brake assist device.

The flow of processing performed by the driving support control device control circuit 111 'will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In step S81, a total operation load value, which is a combination of the operation load type and the operation load value level output from the total load determination circuit 110, is input. In step S82, the type of the driving support device to be driven and the driving method are determined with reference to the driving support rule storage device 115 '. The driving support law storage device 115 ′ stores a table shown in FIG. 24 that indicates the relationship between the driving support devices that are driven according to the driving load type and the driving load level. According to this table, for example, If the driving load type input in step S71 is “mental load” and the driving load level WLl = 4, the automatic driving control device 1
This shows that a drive command is issued for the 12 automatic cruise controls. At this time, information indicating that automatic cruise control is activated is displayed on the monitor of the information providing device, and the buzzer of the information providing device is sounded for 0.5 seconds. Also,
The steering gear ratio is set to 0.9 times normal, the throttle gain is set to 0.95 times normal, and the brake assist amount is set to 1.05 times normal. In addition, this setting is a driver's mental state when a mental load is imposed,
The sudden behavior of the vehicle is caused by feeling annoying and causing a delay in the braking operation as compared with the normal operation.

For example, if the driving load type input in step S71 is "physical load" and the driving load level is WL1 = 5, the steering gear ratio is 1.5 times the normal value and the throttle gain is Is 1.1 times the normal time,
The brake assist amount is set to 1.15 times the normal amount. Note that this setting is based on the driver's inquiry state when a physical load is imposed, because he / she wants to perform various operations in a hurry compared to the normal time and wants to reduce the amount of operation. I have. Further, when it is a normal time, it indicates that the driving support device is not driven.

The relationship between the driving load type, the driving load level, and the driving support device shown in this table indicates the relationship between when a mental load and a physical load are given to a plurality of subjects (drivers) experimentally. It is obtained by conducting a questionnaire survey on the support means that the subject wants to activate based on the subject's subjectiveness.Furthermore, the driving load type and driving load level when driving the driving support device are measured and compared with the load level before driving the driving support device. Thus, the effect can be confirmed. In step S83, the driving support measure determined in step S82 is implemented.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
Load judgment based on the variance of the beat interval obtained from the heartbeat signal,
As a result of a comprehensive judgment based on a total of four types of load judgments, a load judgment based on the frequency analysis of the beat interval and a load judgment based on the variance of the respiratory frequency obtained from the respiration signal, the driving load was reduced to a mental load and a physical load By making a distinction and calculating the respective load levels, it is possible to select and implement a driving support means suitable for the load state of the driver.

In the above embodiment, the determination is made based on both the heartbeat and the respiration. However, the determination can be made using only one of the heartbeat and the respiration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing an example of mounting an ultrasonic sensor and a respiration sensor according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an arithmetic processing procedure in a beat interval variance value calculation circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a calculation procedure in a beat interval variance load determination circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a load determination rule storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a calculation processing procedure in a pulsation frequency analysis circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an arithmetic processing procedure in the interpulsation frequency ratio load determination circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a load determination rule storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an arithmetic processing procedure in a respiratory frequency calculation circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a calculation procedure in a respiratory frequency ratio load determining circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a load determination rule storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an arithmetic processing procedure in a respiratory frequency variance value calculation circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an arithmetic processing procedure in a respiratory frequency variance value load determination circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a load determination rule storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a calculation processing procedure in the total load determination circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a load determination rule storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a load determination rule storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an installation example of an information providing apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a calculation processing procedure in a driving support control device control circuit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a driving support law storage device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart illustrating a calculation processing procedure in a driving support control device control circuit according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram of information stored in a driving support law storage device according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Judgment law storage device 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D Driver state detection device 30 Overall driving load judgment means 40 Load classification means 50 Driving support device control means 60 Driving support law storage device 61 Driving support law 70 Driving support device 71 Automatic running Control means 72 Steering angle variable steering means 73 Driving force characteristic variable drive control means 74 Braking characteristic variable braking control means 75 Information providing means 80 Comprehensive operating load determination law storage device 81 General operating load determination law

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int. Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B60R 21/00 624 B60R 21/00 624C 626A 626 627 627 A627B 5/02 320C

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A determination rule storage device that stores a driver's biological signal tendency and a driver's load state in association with each other as a load determination rule, and measures one type of biological signal of the driver, and calculates the biological signal and the biological signal. A driver status detection device that outputs driver load data based on the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device, and a driver status based on a plurality of driver load data output by the driver status detection device. A driving load determining device comprising: a total driving load determining unit that determines a load state. 2. The driving load determination apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driving load state of the driver is classified into a mental load and a physical load based on the plurality of driver load data. A total operating load determination rule storage device that holds a law, wherein the total operating load determining unit determines the determination of the operating load state as a mental load based on the plurality of operating load data and the total operating load determination rule. A driving load determination device, comprising: a load classification unit that classifies the driving load into a physical load. 3. The driving load determining device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detecting device includes a pulsating interval detecting unit that detects a pulsating interval of the driver, and the pulsating interval. A pulsation interval variance value calculation unit that calculates a variance value of the pulsation interval for each predetermined time based on the pulsation interval detected by the detection unit, wherein the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device is A pulsation interval variance load determination rule that classifies the driver's driving load state according to the degree based on the pulsation interval variance value of the driver, wherein the pulse calculated by the pulsation interval variance calculation means is A driving load determining apparatus, comprising: a pulsating interval variance load determining unit that determines a driver's load state based on a pulsating interval variance value and the pulsating interval variance load determining rule. 4. The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detection device includes a pulsation interval detection unit that detects a pulsation interval of the driver, and the pulsation interval. Pulsation frequency analysis means for frequency-analyzing pulsation intervals at predetermined time intervals based on the pulsation intervals detected by the detection means; and a high-frequency component exceeding a predetermined frequency based on a result of the frequency analysis by the pulsation frequency analysis means. Pulsating frequency ratio calculating means for calculating a ratio of low-frequency components below the frequency, wherein the load determining rule held in the determining rule storage device is based on the driver's pulsating frequency ratio, It is a pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule that classifies the load state according to the degree, and based on the pulsation frequency ratio calculated by the pulsation frequency ratio calculation means and the pulsation frequency ratio load determination rule, A pulsating frequency load determining means for determining a load state of the vehicle. 5. The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detection device includes a respiration frequency detection unit that detects a respiration frequency of the driver, and the determination rule storage. The load determination rule held in the device is a respiration frequency load determination rule for classifying the driver's driving load state according to the degree based on the driver's respiration frequency, and the respiration frequency detected by the respiration frequency detection unit. A driving load determining apparatus comprising: a respiratory frequency average load determining unit that determines a driver's load state based on a frequency and the respiratory frequency load determining rule. 6. The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the driver state detection device includes a respiration frequency detection unit that detects a respiration frequency of a driver, and a respiration frequency detection unit. A respiratory frequency variance value calculating means for calculating a variance value of the respiratory frequency for each predetermined time based on the detected respiratory frequency, wherein the load determination rule held in the determination rule storage device is a driver's respiratory frequency variance. A respiratory frequency variance load determination rule for classifying a driving load state of the driver based on the respiratory frequency variance value calculated by the respiratory frequency variance value calculation means and the respiratory frequency variance value load determination rule. And a respiratory frequency variance load determining means for determining a load state of the driver. 7. The driving load determination device according to claim 1, wherein the load classification unit determines a result of the driving load determination by the respiration frequency average value load determination unit and the respiration frequency variance value load determination. If the driving load is determined to be high based on the result of the driving load determination by the means, the driving load state of the driver is divided into physical loads, and if the driving load is determined to be low, the driving is performed. A driving load determining apparatus for classifying a driving load state of a person into a mental load. 8. The driving load judging device according to claim 1, wherein the driving support device performs all or a part of an action necessary for driving the vehicle, and a driving load state that is mental or physical. A driving support rule storage device that holds a corresponding driving support rule, and a start, stop, and operation of the driving support device based on the determination of the comprehensive driving load determination unit and the driving support rule stored in the driving support rule storage device. A driving support device control means for determining a state; 9. The driving load determination device according to claim 8, wherein the driving support device automatically performs all or a part of an operation necessary for driving the vehicle based on the driving support device control means. Automatic traveling control means, a steering angle variable steering means capable of changing a steering angle ratio based on the driving support apparatus control means, and a change in throttle gain with respect to an accelerator operation amount based on the driving assistance apparatus control means. Based on the driving force characteristic variable drive control means, the braking characteristic variable braking control means capable of changing the braking force with respect to the brake operation amount based on the driving support device control means, An operating load determining device comprising at least one of information providing means for providing alarm information.