JP2008084219A - Alarm device for curve in front - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automotive alarm device which gives an alarm according to a driver's recognition state to a traveling road in front. <P>SOLUTION: When the driver gazes at a curve direction and the vehicle speed is low as shown in (a), the automotive alarm device gives no alarm. When the driver gazes at the curve direction, and the vehicle speed is high as shown in (b), the automotive alarm device gives an alarm by sound. When the driver does not gaze at the curve direction, and the vehicle speed is low as shown in (c), the automotive alarm device gives alarms by sound and display. When the driver does not gaze at the curve direction, and the vehicle speed is high, the automotive alarm device gives alarms by sound, display, and vibration. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a forward curve warning device that obtains a road condition ahead of an automobile and issues a warning to the driver about the curve when there is a curve ahead, and a control method therefor.

  When the vehicle travels on a curved road, if the vehicle speed is excessive with respect to the curvature of the curve, the vehicle alarm device adjusts the vehicle speed to prevent the vehicle from slipping or spinning. This alarm device is called a traction control device. The alarm device is also called an ASR (Anti-Slip Regulator) or an anti-slip device.

In order to operate the traction control device at an early stage, the alarm device according to the invention described in Patent Document 1 first acquires the traveling road information ahead from a storage device such as a navigation system. And this warning device will issue a warning if the current vehicle speed is too large with respect to the curve when there is a curve on the road ahead. This warning allows the driver to recognize early that the vehicle speed is excessive with respect to the curvature of the curve ahead.
JP-A-8-202991

  However, the alarm device according to the invention described in Patent Document 1 is configured to issue an alarm according to only the vehicle speed with respect to the forward curve, regardless of whether or not the driver recognizes the forward curve. . Therefore, even when the driver recognizes the forward curve, an alarm is issued by the alarm device when the vehicle speed is high, and the driver feels the alarm very annoying. On the other hand, there is a problem that even when the driver does not recognize the forward curve at all, when the vehicle speed is low, the alarm device cannot issue an alarm.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize an automobile alarm device that issues an alarm according to a driver's cognitive status with respect to a forward running road.

In order to achieve the above object, a forward curve alarm device according to the first aspect of the present invention includes:
Obtaining means for obtaining information on the forward running road of the vehicle;
Gaze direction discriminating means for discriminating the driver's gaze direction;
A curve discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not a curve exists ahead based on the forward running road information acquired by the acquiring unit;
An alarm means for determining that the curve determination means determines that there is a curve ahead, and issuing a predetermined alarm when the gaze direction determined by the gaze direction determination means does not match the direction of the forward curve;
It is characterized by providing.

In addition, in the forward curve alarm device according to the first aspect, speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the vehicle,
Based on the speed detected by the speed detection means and the forward running road information acquired by the acquisition means, an allowable speed acquisition means for obtaining an allowable speed at which the vehicle can travel safely,
With
The warning means may be configured to issue a warning when a curve is present ahead and the speed detected by the speed detection means exceeds the allowable speed acquired by the allowable speed acquisition means.

Further, in the forward curve alarm device according to the first aspect, ecological information acquisition means for acquiring biological information of the driver,
Awakening determination means for determining whether or not the driver is awakened from the biological information acquired by the ecological information acquisition means;
With
The warning means may be configured to issue a warning when it is determined that a curve exists ahead and the driver is not awake by the awakening determination means.

Furthermore, speed detection means for detecting the speed of the vehicle in the forward curve alarm device according to the first aspect;
Based on the speed detected by the speed detection means and the forward running road information acquired by the acquisition means, an allowable speed acquisition means for obtaining an allowable speed at which the vehicle can travel safely,
With
When the speed detected by the speed detection means exceeds the allowable speed acquired by the allowable speed acquisition means, a speed reduction means for reducing the speed of the automobile to the allowable speed or less may be provided.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the warning device of the motor vehicle which issues a warning according to the recognition condition with respect to a driver | operator's front runway is realizable.

Hereinafter, an alarm device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the alarm control system according to the present embodiment includes a curve approach alarm device 200, an indoor camera 210, a vehicle speed sensor 220, a biological sensor 230, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor 240, and navigation. The system 250 includes a vibration generator 261, a buzzer 263, a vehicle speed control device 270, and a display unit 280.

  The curve approach warning device 200 is a device that generates a warning to the vibration generator 261, the buzzer 263, and the display unit 280 when the automobile enters a curve. The curve approach alarm device 200 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 20, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 100, an image recognition unit 150, an alarm device control unit 180, and a vehicle speed control unit. 190.

  The CPU 10 reads the control program 110 of the curve approach warning device 200 from the ROM 100 and executes it.

  The RAM 20 functions as a work area for the CPU 10.

  The ROM 100 stores the control program 110 of the curve approach warning device 200 and various set values.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ROM 100 includes a control program 110, a curve discrimination reference curvature Cc (m ⁻¹ ), an angle difference reference value θt (rad), a wakefulness reference heart rate Pt (beats / minute), Stores the number of waking reference blinks Wt (times / minute), the required alarm risk Rt, and the reference discriminating curvature Ca (rad).

Here, the curve discriminating reference curvature Cc (m ⁻¹ ) is a set value for discriminating whether or not there is a steep curve ahead. When the front curve has a curvature larger than C1, the CPU 10 It is determined that there is a curve. The angle difference reference value θt (rad) is a value for determining whether or not the driver is facing the curve direction, and the angle formed by the driver's line of sight and the curve direction is equal to or greater than θt. The CPU 10 determines that the driver is facing the curve direction. The awakening reference heart rate Pt and the awakening reference blink number Wt are set values for determining whether or not the driver is awake, and the driver's heart rate is higher than Pt or a predetermined time of the driver. If the number of blinks is higher than Wt, the CPU 10 determines that the driver is awake. The alarm required risk Rt is a set value for determining how much alarm is necessary, and the product of the vehicle speed (Km / h) and the curvature of the curve (m ⁻¹ ) is divided by the correction value. When the value is higher than Rt, the CPU 10 causes the buzzer 263 to generate an alarm. The alarm discriminating reference curvature CA (m ⁻¹ ) is a setting value for discriminating the necessity of the alarm, and the CPU 10 alerts the buzzer 263 depending on whether the curvature of the front curve is higher than C2. generate.

  The control program 110 is a program that is executed when the curve approach warning device 200 is controlled, and includes a road curvature calculation program 101, a driver state acquisition program 103, a driver awareness level calculation program 105, and an alarm level setting. A program 107 and an alarm device operation program 109 are stored.

  The image recognition unit 150 shown in FIG. 1 receives an image of a digital signal from the indoor camera 210, performs distortion correction and noise reduction based on this signal, detects the face portion of the driver, and the CPU 10 Send to.

  The alarm device control unit 180 receives an alarm level notification from the CPU 10, and transmits an alarm signal instructing the vibration generator 261, the buzzer 263, or the display unit 280 to generate an alarm according to the alarm level.

  The indoor camera 210 acquires an image of the front of the driver's head at regular intervals, and transmits this image to the image recognition unit 150 as an analog signal. The number of images acquired by the indoor camera 210 per second is sufficient to accurately measure the number of blinks of the driver, for example, 30 frames per second. Further, the image quality of the image acquired by the indoor camera 210 is sufficient to detect the direction of the driver's line of sight, such as when the width is 320 pixels and the height is 240 pixels when converted to a digital image. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the indoor camera 210 is installed at a position where the driver's head near the steering wheel can be photographed.

  The vehicle speed sensor 220 detects the current vehicle speed V (Km / h) and transmits the measured value to the CPU 10.

  The biometric sensor 230 measures the driver's biometric information, for example, the heart rate P (beats / min) per minute, and transmits the measured value to the CPU 10 in order to determine the driver's arousal state. For example, the biological sensor 230 preferably acquires the biological information without restraining the driver. Therefore, for example, a sensor for measuring the pulse and blood pressure is incorporated in the steering so that the driver can measure the pulse and blood pressure while holding the steering wheel naturally.

  The GPS sensor 240 receives radio waves from a plurality of artificial satellites, and transmits the received radio waves to the navigation system 250 as position information.

  The navigation system 250 receives position information from the GPS sensor 240 and estimates the current position based on the received position information. Further, the navigation system 250 stores the road information, calculates the optimum route to the driver's desired destination based on the estimated current position and the road information, and causes the display unit 280 to display the route. Here, the road information is road map information with different scales. Then, the traveling direction of the vehicle is detected by the built-in gyrocompass, the traveling road information ahead is extracted based on the traveling direction and the traveling road information, and is transmitted to the CPU 10 in response to a request from the CPU 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the navigation system 250 is installed on the instrument panel.

  The vibration generator 261 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that issues a warning to the driver. The vibration generator 261 receives a warning signal from the warning device control unit 180 and generates a warning due to vibration according to the warning signal. The vibration generator 261 includes, for example, a variable frequency transmitter, and performs a sweep operation that periodically changes the vibration frequency in the range of about 3 Hz to 25 Hz, for example, when an alarm is generated. The frequency at which resonance with the human body occurs differs from that of an individual, but with such a configuration, resonance occurs at any frequency, and a warning due to vibration can be reliably issued to the driver.

  The vibration generator 261 is a device that issues a warning to the driver. The vibration generator 261 receives a warning signal from the warning device control unit 180 and generates a sound warning according to the warning signal.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the vibration generator 261 is installed in the lower part of the seat.

  The vehicle speed control device 270 receives the deceleration signal from the vehicle speed control unit 190 and decelerates the vehicle speed according to the deceleration signal. The vehicle speed is reduced by throttle control, shift down control, or the like.

  The display unit 280 receives the travel route information, the optimum route, and the vehicle speed V from the navigation system 250 and displays them on the screen. Also, an alarm signal is received from the alarm device control unit 180, and a warning for the curve is displayed on the screen according to the alarm signal.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 280 is installed on the instrument panel.

  Next, the operation of the curve approach warning device 200 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the control program 110 stored in the ROM 100. While the vehicle is traveling forward, the CPU 10 repeatedly executes the control program 100 shown in FIG. 4 by, for example, periodic timer interruption.

  First, the CPU 10 reads out the forward road information from the navigation system 250 and stores it in the RAM 20. The CPU 10 reads various setting values from the ROM 100 and stores them in the RAM 20. (Step S50). And CPU10 performs the process which calculates a track curvature by running the track curvature calculation program 101 (step S100).

  The running path curvature calculation process will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. This running path curvature calculation process is a process for calculating the degree of bending of the running road ahead of the vehicle and determining whether or not there is a curve having a curvature of a certain value or more on the running road ahead.

  FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the road curvature calculation process. The CPU 10 reads the information on the forward traveling road from the RAM 20, sets a plurality of detection points on the forward traveling road, and stores these coordinates in the RAM 20 (step S105). Then, the CPU 10 calculates the curvature at each detection point (step S110). The curvature is a value that represents the degree of curve bending at each point on the curve, and is the reciprocal of the radius of curvature. The greater the degree of bending, the greater the curvature.

  CPU10 calculates | requires the largest curvature Cm in the curvature in each detection point, and stores it in RAM (step S115).

  Subsequently, the CPU 10 reads the maximum curvature Cm and the curve determination reference curvature Cc from the RAM 20, and determines whether or not Cm is C1 or less as shown in FIG. 5 (step S120). If Cm is C1 or less (step S120: YES), the CPU 10 does not need to issue an alarm, so the risk R is set to 0 and stored in the RAM 20 (step S125), and the track curvature calculation process is terminated. .

  When Cm is larger than C1 (step S120: NO), the CPU 10 is a curve that is an angle formed by the tangent line of the curvature circle having the detection point at which the curvature is Cm and the vehicle traveling direction as shown in FIG. The angle θm (rad) is obtained and stored in the RAM 20 (step S130), and the track curvature calculation process is terminated. Here, θm is a positive value if the curve of the forward runway is in the right direction as viewed from the driver, and a negative value in the left direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4, after step S100, the CPU 10 acquires the vehicle speed V (Km / h) from the vehicle speed sensor 220 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S150). Then, CPU10 starts the process which acquires a driver | operator state by running the driver | operator state acquisition program 103 (step 200).

  The driver state acquisition process will be described with reference to FIGS. This driver state acquisition process is a process of acquiring the driver's heart rate and calculating the number of blinks of the driver and the direction of the eyes based on the driver's image information.

  FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the driver state acquisition process. The CPU 10 acquires the driver's heart rate P (beats / minute) per minute from the biometric sensor 230 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S205). After step S205, the CPU 10 receives the driver's image from the image recognition unit 150, calculates the number of blinks W (times / minute) per minute of the driver based on the received driver image, and stores it in the RAM 20. Store (step S210).

  Subsequently, the CPU 10 reads out the image information from the RAM 20, calculates a line-of-sight angle θd (rad) that is an angle formed by the driver's line of sight and the traveling direction of the vehicle based on the image information, and stores the calculated line-of-sight angle in the RAM 20 ( Step S215). Here, the line-of-sight angle θd is a positive value if the curve of the forward runway is in the right direction as viewed from the driver, and a negative value if the curve is in the left direction. Then, the CPU 10 reads the curve angle θm, the eye angle θd, and the angle difference reference value θt from the RAM 20, and determines whether or not θm−θd is smaller than the angle difference reference value θt (step S220). If θm−θd is smaller than the angle difference reference value θt (step S220: YES), the CPU 10 stores in the RAM 20 that the driver is facing the curve direction (step S225), and ends the driver state acquisition process. If θm−θd is equal to or greater than the angle difference reference value θt (step S220: NO), the CPU 10 stores in the RAM 20 that the driver is not facing the curve direction (step S230), and ends the driver state acquisition process. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, when the driver's line of sight is directed in the curve direction, the difference between the curve angle θm and the line of sight angle θd is small. Therefore, when θm−θd is smaller than the angle difference reference value θt, the CPU 10 can determine that the driver is facing the curve direction. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the driver's line of sight is not in the curve direction, the difference between θm and θd increases. Therefore, if θm−θd is equal to or larger than the angle difference reference value θt, the CPU 10 can determine that the driver is not facing the curve direction.

  Note that the method of determining the direction of the driver's line of sight is arbitrary. For example, a comprehensive eye direction can be obtained by superimposing the driver's face direction and the eye direction with respect to the face direction. As for the orientation of the face, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-65673, the face image is processed by a Sobel filter or the like, and the vertical and horizontal edges of the face (both sides of the face and the face) The position of the eyebrow / mouth, etc.) is detected, and on the other hand, the face image is binarized to obtain the vertical and horizontal centroids thereof, and the position of the centroid relative to the edge is obtained to determine the face orientation. The eye direction may be obtained from the amount of deviation in the vertical and horizontal directions between the black eye portion and the eye center by extracting the eye image from the face image.

  As shown in FIG. 4, after step S200, the CPU 10 executes a driver awareness level calculation program 105 to start a process for setting the driver awareness level (step S250).

  Here, the driver's consciousness level expresses how much the driver is aware of the curve ahead and pays attention in three stages from 1 to 3, and the higher the level, the more This means that the person is fully aware of the curve ahead and the need for warning is low. The CPU 10 sets this consciousness level based on the driver's heart rate, the number of blinks, and the direction of the eyes obtained in the driver state acquisition process.

  FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the driver awareness level setting process. The CPU 10 reads out the heart rate P (beats / minute), the number of blinks W (times / minute), the awakening reference heart rate Pt, and the awakening reference blink number Wt from the RAM 20, and the heart rate P is determined from the set value Pt. It is determined whether or not the number of blinks W is higher than the set value Wt (step S255). When the heart rate P is less than or equal to the set value Pt and the number of blinks W is less than or equal to the set value Wt (step S255: NO), the CPU 10 reads from the RAM the truth about the driver facing the curve direction, It is determined whether or not the driver is facing the curve direction (step S260). If the driver is not facing the curve direction (step S260: NO), the CPU 10 sets the consciousness level to 1 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S265), and ends the driver consciousness level setting process.

  In step S260, when the driver is facing the curve direction (step S260: YES), the CPU 10 sets the consciousness level to 2 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S270), and ends the driver consciousness level calculation process. In step S255, when the heart rate P is higher than the set value Pt or the blink count W is higher than the set value Wt (step S255: YES), the CPU 10 determines from the RAM 20 whether the driver is facing the curve. Reading is performed to determine whether or not the driver is facing the curve (step S275). If the driver is not facing the curve (step S275: NO), the CPU 10 executes step S270. That is, the consciousness level is set to 2 and stored in the RAM 20, and the driver consciousness level setting process is terminated.

  In step S275, when the driver is facing the driver curve direction (step S275: YES), the CPU 10 sets the consciousness level to 3 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S280), and the driver consciousness level setting process is terminated.

As shown in FIG. 4, after step S250, the CPU 10 reads the consciousness level, the vehicle speed V, and the maximum curvature Cm from the RAM 20, and calculates the degree of risk. The CPU 10 stores the calculated value in the RAM 20 as the risk level R (step S300). Here, the risk level R is a value for determining whether or not an alarm is necessary. The risk level R = [vehicle speed V (Km / h) × maximum curvature (m ⁻¹ ) / (consciousness). Level)] (Equation 1). If the degree of danger is higher than a certain value, it means that an alarm is required.

  After step S300, the CPU 10 reads the risk level R and the alarm required risk level Rt from the RAM 20, and determines whether the risk level R is higher than the set value Rt (step S350). When the risk level R is equal to or less than the set value Rt (step S350: NO), the CPU 10 ends the process of the control program 110. On the other hand, when the degree of risk R is higher than the set value Rt (step S350: YES), the CPU 10 reads the vehicle speed V, the maximum curvature Cm, and the forward running road information from the RAM 20, and the vehicle slips from these values. An allowable speed Vt (Km / h) at which the curve can be safely bent without spinning is calculated and stored in the RAM 20 (step S400).

  Subsequently, the CPU 10 sets an alarm level by executing the alarm level setting program 107 (step S450).

  Here, the alarm level represents the importance of the alarm in three stages from 1 to 3 according to the curvature of the curve, the vehicle speed, and the consciousness level. The higher the level, the more important the alarm is. The alarm device which is activated according to the level increases. The alarm level setting process will be described with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of the alarm level setting process. The CPU 10 reads the consciousness level from the RAM 20 and determines whether or not the consciousness level is 1 (step S455). If the consciousness level is 1 (step S455: YES), the CPU 10 reads out the maximum curvature Cm, the vehicle speed V, the alarm determination required reference curvature CA, and the allowable speed Vt, and whether the curvature Km is higher than the set value C2. Alternatively, it is determined whether or not the vehicle speed V is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S460). When Km is higher than the set value Kt or the vehicle speed V (47) is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S460: YES), the CPU 10 sets the alarm level to 3 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S465). The alarm level setting process ends.

  In step S460, when the curvature Cm is not more than the set value C2 (135) and the vehicle speed V is not more than the allowable speed Vt (step S460: NO), the CPU 10 sets the alarm level to 2 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S460). S470), the alarm level setting process is terminated.

  When the consciousness level is not 1 in step S455 (step S455: NO), the CPU 10 determines whether or not the consciousness level is 2 (step S475). When the consciousness level is 2 (step S475: YES), the CPU 10 reads the maximum curvature Cm, the vehicle speed V, the set value C2, and the allowable speed Vt, and the maximum curvature Cm is not more than the set value C2 and the vehicle speed V. Is less than or equal to the allowable speed Vt (step S480). When the maximum curvature Cm is not more than the set value Kt or the vehicle speed V is not more than the allowable speed Vt (step S480: YES), the CPU 10 sets the alarm level (61) to 1 and stores it in the RAM 20 (step S485). The level setting process ends.

  In step S480, when the maximum curvature Cm is higher than the set value C2 or the vehicle speed V is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S480: NO), the CPU 10 determines that the maximum curvature Cm is higher than the set value C2 and the vehicle speed V is It is determined whether or not the speed is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S490). When the curvature Km is higher than the set value Kt and the vehicle speed V is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S490: YES), the CPU 10 executes step S465. That is, the alarm level is set to 3.

  In step S490, when the curvature Km is not more than the set value Kt or the vehicle speed V is not more than the allowable speed Vt (step S490: NO), the CPU 10 executes step S470. That is, the alarm level is set to 2.

  If the consciousness level is 3 in step S475 (step S475: No), the CPU 10 reads the maximum curvature Cm, the set value Ct, the vehicle speed V, and the allowable speed Vt from the RAM 20, and the maximum curvature Cm is set. It is determined whether or not the vehicle speed V is higher than the value C2 and the vehicle speed V is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S495). When the curvature Km is higher than the set value Kt and the vehicle speed V is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S495: YES), the CPU 10 executes step S470. That is, the alarm level is set to 2.

In step S495, when the curvature Km is not more than the set value Kt or the vehicle speed V is not more than the allowable speed Vt (step S495: NO), the CPU 10 executes step S485. That is, the alarm level is set to 1.

  As shown in FIG. 4, after step S450, the CPU 10 executes the alarm device operation program 109 to perform processing for operating the alarm device (step S500).

  The alarm device operation process will be described with reference to FIG. This alarm device operation process is a process of generating an alarm by vibration, sound, or display according to the alarm level.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the alarm device operation process. The CPU 10 reads the alarm level from the RAM 20 and determines whether the alarm level is 1 (step S505). When the alarm level is 1 (step S505: YES), the CPU 10 transmits an alarm signal to the buzzer 263 to cause the buzzer 263 to generate an alarm by sound (step S510). After step S510, the CPU 10 ends the alarm device operation process.

  In step S505, when the alarm level is not 1 (step S505: NO), the CPU 10 determines whether or not the alarm level is 2 (step S515). When the alarm level is 2 (step S515: YES), the CPU 10 transmits an alarm signal to the buzzer 263 and the display unit 280, thereby generating an alarm by sound on the buzzer 263 and displaying the alarm on the display unit 280. (Step S520). After step S520, the CPU 10 ends the alarm device operation process.

  In step S515, when the alarm level is 3 (step S515: NO), the CPU 10 transmits an alarm signal to the buzzer 263, the vibration generator 261, and the display unit 280, so that the buzzer 263 is sounded. An alarm is generated, the alarm is displayed on the display unit 280, and an alarm due to vibration is generated in the vibration generator 261 (step S525). After step S525, the CPU 10 ends the alarm device operation process.

  As shown in FIG. 4, after step S500, the CPU 10 reads the vehicle speed V and the allowable speed Vt from the RAM 20, and determines whether or not the vehicle speed V is higher than the allowable speed Vt (step S550). When the vehicle speed V is greater than the allowable speed Vt (step S550: YES), the CPU 10 decelerates the vehicle by transmitting a deceleration signal for decelerating the vehicle to the vehicle speed control device 270 (step S600). After step S600, the CPU 10 ends the process of the control program 110. In step S550, when the vehicle speed V is equal to or lower than the allowable speed Vt (step S550: NO), the CPU 10 ends the process of the control program 110.

FIG. 12 shows an operation example when the control program 110 is executed. For example, let us consider a case in which the warning risk level Rt = 0.08 is set, the maximum curvature Cm = 1/200 (m ⁻¹ ), and the allowable speed Vt = 50 (Km / h) are calculated.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, when the driver is facing the curve and the speed is 30 (Km / h), the CPU 10 executes the driver awareness level setting process S250 to set the awareness level 3. calculate. Then, the CPU 10 executes step S300 to calculate the risk level R = 0.05. Since the risk level R is equal to or less than the set value Rt (step S350: NO), the CPU 10 does not execute the alarm device operation process S500. Therefore, when the vehicle speed is lower than the set value and the driver is facing the curve direction, the CPU 10 does not generate an alarm because the curve can be safely turned.

  As shown in FIG. 12B, when the driver is facing the curve and the speed is 60 (Km / h), the consciousness level is 3 as in FIG. 12A. And since the vehicle speed is higher than a set value, the danger level R becomes 0.1 larger than the case of Fig.12 (a). Since the risk level R is greater than the set value Rt (step S350: NO), the CPU 10 executes the alarm device operation process S500 to generate an alarm only by sound. That is, it is an alarm only by sound. Therefore, even if the driver is facing the curve direction, if the vehicle speed is higher than the set value, the curve may not be able to bend, so the CPU 10 generates an alarm only by sound.

  As shown in FIG. 12C, when the driver is not facing the curve direction and the speed is 30 (Km / h), the level of consciousness is 1 lower than in the case of FIG. Since the degree of risk R is 3/20 and is larger than the set value Rt (step S350: NO), the CPU 10 generates an alarm by sound and vibration by executing the alarm device operation process S500. Therefore, even if the vehicle speed is lower than the set value, if the driver is not paying attention to the curve direction, it is more dangerous than in the case of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 12 (d), when the driver is not facing the curve direction and the speed is 60 (Km / h), the level of consciousness is lower than in the case of FIG. Since the degree of risk R is 6/20 and is larger than the set value Rt (step S350: NO), the CPU 10 generates an alarm based on sound, a display, and vibration. Therefore, when the vehicle speed is higher than the set value and the driver is not facing the curve direction, it is more dangerous than in the case of FIG. 12C, so the CPU 10 warns with sound, display, and vibration. Is generated.

  By implementing this embodiment, an alarm can be generated according to the recognition status of the driver on the forward runway. That is, even if the vehicle speed is relatively high, if the driver is gazing at the curve direction, the warning is stopped to a minimum. Therefore, when the driver recognizes the curve, the troublesomeness of the alarm is reduced. On the other hand, even if the vehicle speed is relatively low, if the driver is not gazing at the curve direction, a stronger warning is given than when the driver is aware.

  When the maximum curvature Cm is calculated, the number of detection points may be more than five, or correction may be made according to the type of curve, such as when the curve is continuous or when it is a blind curve that is difficult to recognize.

  You may set the consciousness level by combining one or two of the driver's heart rate, the number of blinks, and the direction of the line of sight. Other information such as the driver's sweat rate and alcohol intake The will level may be set in combination. Of course, the level of consciousness is not limited to three levels, and may be of multiple levels.

  The alarm level may be set by adding a discriminating element other than the curvature of the curve, the vehicle speed, and the consciousness level.

  The alarm may be a combination of two alarms based on sound, display, and vibration, or only one alarm, for example, the volume may be increased according to the alarm level. . Also, other types of alarm devices may be combined.

  The degree of risk may be calculated by an expression other than (Expression 1) in consideration of other discriminating factors such as weather and road surface conditions.

1 is a configuration diagram of an alarm control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram of ROM. 1 is a layout diagram of an alarm control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart of an alarm control process. It is a flowchart of a road curvature calculation process. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation method of a track curvature. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of a driver | operator state acquisition process. It is a figure for demonstrating the method to discriminate | determine whether the driver | operator is facing the curve direction. It is a flowchart of a driver | operator awareness level calculation process. It is a flowchart of an alarm level setting process. It is a flowchart of an alarm device operation process. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement when a control program is performed.

Explanation of symbols

10 CPU (acquisition means, gaze direction discrimination means, curve discrimination means)
20 RAM
100 ROM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 150 Image recognition part 180 Alarm apparatus control part 190 Vehicle speed control part 200 Curve approach alarm apparatus 210 Indoor camera 220 Vehicle speed sensor 230 Biosensor 240 GPS sensor 250 Navigation system 261 Vibration generator (alarm means)
263 Buzzer (alarm means)
270 Vehicle speed control device (deceleration means)
280 Display (alarm means)

Claims (4)

Obtaining means for obtaining information on the forward running road of the vehicle;
Gaze direction discriminating means for discriminating the driver's gaze direction;
A curve discriminating unit for discriminating whether or not a curve exists ahead based on the forward running road information acquired by the acquiring unit;
An alarm means for determining that the curve determination means determines that there is a curve ahead, and issuing a predetermined alarm when the gaze direction determined by the gaze direction determination means does not match the direction of the forward curve;
A forward curve alarm device comprising: Speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the vehicle;
Based on the speed detected by the speed detection means and the forward running road information acquired by the acquisition means, an allowable speed acquisition means for obtaining an allowable speed at which the vehicle can travel safely,
With
The warning means issues a warning when there is a curve ahead and the speed detected by the speed detection means exceeds the allowable speed acquired by the allowable speed acquisition means.
The forward curve warning device according to claim 1. Ecological information acquisition means for acquiring driver's biological information;
Awakening determination means for determining whether or not the driver is awakened from the biological information acquired by the ecological information acquisition means;
With
The warning means issues a warning when it is determined that a curve exists ahead and the driver is not awake by the awakening determination means,
The forward curve warning device according to claim 1. Speed detecting means for detecting the speed of the vehicle;
Based on the speed detected by the speed detection means and the forward running road information acquired by the acquisition means, an allowable speed acquisition means for obtaining an allowable speed at which the vehicle can travel safely,
With
2. The front of claim 1, further comprising a deceleration unit that decelerates a vehicle speed to be equal to or lower than the allowable speed when the speed detected by the speed detection unit exceeds the allowable speed acquired by the allowable speed acquisition unit. Curve alarm device.

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