JP2009277145A - Drowsiness awakening device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a drowsiness awakening device for remarkably improving the awakening efficiency for a driver and securing safety of a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: The device is a drowsiness awakening device 1 having a travelling state detection means 5 to detect the travelling state of the vehicle, an awakening control means 3 to give stimulus for making the driver of the vehicle awaken based on the detection result of the travelling state detection means 5, and a stimulus reduction operation means 4, provided in the vehicle, to reduce the stimulus given by an awakening control means 3 based on the operation by the driver. The stimulus reduction operation means 4 is arranged at a position where the operation becomes a burden to the driver. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sleepiness awakening device, and is particularly suitable for application to a sleepiness awakening device that awakens the drowsiness of a vehicle driver.

In recent years, various techniques have been proposed as techniques for awakening drowsiness of a vehicle driver. For example, in Patent Document 1, when a driver's drowsiness is detected, the navigation screen displays so that the driver performs various exercises such as finger movement and facial stretching using a navigation device mounted on the vehicle. A vehicle driver awakening system that prompts (warns) by output and / or audio output is shown.
JP 2005-352895 A

  However, in such a vehicle driver awakening system, although the driver can be surely prompted to exercise for sleepiness awakening (that is, warn the driver), the motion for sleepiness awakening is This does not force the driver to execute. Therefore, since it is up to the driver to decide whether or not to perform the exercise for awakened sleepiness, it is difficult for the driver to necessarily wake up because it is not always the exercise. It was.

  In other words, the warning by the voice output may be erased by the noise of the passenger's speaking voice, the vehicle itself or the vehicle periphery. Further, the warning by the display output does not function unless the driver sees the warning display. Therefore, as in the system of Patent Document 1, a warning that is not yet sufficient may cause a function that is not sufficient to awaken a drowsy driver by warning only by display output and / or voice output. was there.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of such problems, and has as its main object to provide a sleepiness / awakening device that can significantly improve the driver's awakening efficiency and ensure the safety of the vehicle. To do.

  One aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object is an operation state detection means for detecting the operation state of the vehicle, and a stimulus for awakening the driver of the vehicle based on the detection result of the operation state detection means. A sleepiness and awakening device comprising: an arousal control means to be applied; and a stimulus reduction operation means that is provided in the vehicle and reduces the stimulus applied by the awakening control means in response to an operation by the driver. The driver is arranged at a position where the operation is a burden for the driver.

  Such an aspect is greatly different from the conventional method of simply inducing passive awakening to the driver, in other words, passive awakening. In other words, the awakening control means forcibly gives a stimulus to awaken the driver positively, and the stimulus for awakening is continued until the driver himself performs an operation for reducing the stimulus. For this reason, the driver is awakened by applying a troublesome stimulus, and is awakened with a high probability by performing an operation that becomes a burden for reducing the troublesome stimulus. Therefore, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the driver can be awakened with high probability and the safety of the vehicle can be ensured.

  Moreover, in one embodiment of the present invention, the position where the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed is preferably a position where the driver needs to stretch his / her body. That is, for example, the stimulus reduction operation means is provided on the ceiling near the driver's seat, where the driver needs to stretch his body, around the driver's suspension in the driver's seat, or around the seat back of the driver's seat. By providing the driver, the driver inevitably performs a stretching exercise during operation. As a result, the driver can be awakened with a higher probability.

  Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, the position where the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed is preferably a position away from the driver's seat. That is, for example, by providing a stimulus reduction operation means on the rear seat side, the passenger seat side, the bonnet, or the trunk (including the cargo bed portion in a van truck, etc.) that is located away from the driver's seat, The burden increases, and the driver can be awakened with a higher probability.

  In addition to these, as one aspect of the present invention, the position where the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed is preferably a position where the driver needs to get off the vehicle. That is, if it is necessary for the driver to get off the vehicle as a premise for operating the stimulus reduction operation means, it is possible to make it easy to awaken sleepiness when operating the stimulus reduction operation means. Therefore, the awakening efficiency can be further increased compared to the case where the driver reduces the stimulus while traveling.

  Further, in one aspect of the present invention, the operation state detection unit includes a drowsiness detection unit that detects the drowsiness of the driver, and the wakefulness control unit gives a stimulus to the driver based on a detection result by the drowsiness detection unit. It is preferable to do. As a result, it is possible to detect the sleepiness of the driver, so that the sleepiness can be awakened locally, and moreover, for example, the sleepiness is awakened more than when the driver is periodically stimulated. Can be made. For this reason, when giving a stimulus periodically, even if the driver's consciousness has not deteriorated even in the state of continuing for a long time or long distance, the troublesomeness to give the driver unnecessary use This can be avoided and waste in awakening control can be eliminated.

  Furthermore, in one aspect of the present invention, the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed at a plurality of positions and controlled to function according to an operation by the driver by the awakening control means. It is preferable to selectively control at least one stimulus reduction operation means among the operation means to notify the driver of the position of the selected stimulus reduction operation means. That is, the stimulus reduction operation means is provided at a plurality of positions and is selected by the arousal control means, so that, for example, in the case of an operation at the same position, the operation becomes familiar with the position and becomes a mannerized operation. It can be avoided in advance that the awakening efficiency is lowered.

  Furthermore, in one aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the awakening control means selects a stimulus reduction operation means at a position corresponding to the operation state based on the detection result of the operation state detection unit. That is, when the arousal control means selects the stimulus reduction operation means, the stimulus reduction operation means at a position corresponding to the driving state of the vehicle is selected. If the driver's awareness is reduced to a level where it is difficult for the driver to continue driving, the driver can select the stimulus reduction operation means at a position that does not interfere with the driving state of the vehicle by the driver. Therefore, it is possible to select the stimulus reduction operation means at a position where the operation is burdened or the vehicle is required to get off. Thereby, it is possible to awaken in accordance with the driver's consciousness level, and the awakening efficiency can be remarkably improved.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the wakefulness control unit stops the wakefulness to be given to the driver after the stimulus is reduced by operating the stimulus reducing operation unit. In other words, the awakening control means stops by reducing the stimulus given to the driver by operating the stimulus reduction operation means by the driver, for example, compared to the case where the stimulus is immediately stopped according to the operation. The amount of time it takes to stop the stimulus, in other words, the amount of trouble that the driver is given to reduce the stimulus while the stimulus is gradually reduced while stopping giving the stimulus for a certain period. , Can further increase the awakening efficiency.

  According to the present invention, the wake-up control means forcibly gives a stimulus to the driver to wake up actively, and the stimulus for the wake-up continues until the driver performs an operation to reduce the stimulus. Is done. For this reason, the driver is awakened by applying a troublesome stimulus, and is awakened with a high probability by performing an operation that becomes a burden for reducing the troublesome stimulus. Thus, it is possible to provide a sleepiness awakening device that can significantly improve the driver's awakening efficiency and ensure the safety of the vehicle.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of one embodiment of the sleepiness / awakening apparatus according to the present invention, and shows the sleepiness / wakening apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention as a whole. The sleepiness / awakening device 1 includes a stimulation action 2 that gives a stimulus to the vehicle driver to awaken, and an alarm control unit 3 that is a wake-up control means for controlling the stimulation action 2. is doing. In addition, the sleepiness / awakening device 1 has a stimulus stop button 4 as an operation unit which is a stimulus reduction operation means for reducing (stopping) the stimulus by the stimulus actuation 2.

  Furthermore, the sleepiness / awakening device 1 includes an operation state detection unit 5 as an operation state detection unit that detects the operation state of the vehicle, and a driver that estimates the operation state of the driver based on the detection result of the operation state detection unit 5. A state estimation unit 6 is provided. In addition to this configuration, in this embodiment, the sleepiness / awakening device 1 includes a sleepiness detection unit 7 for detecting the driver's sleepiness as one of the operation state detection means.

  In the present embodiment, a case is described in which when the sleepiness of the driver is detected by the sleepiness detection unit 7, the driver is given a stimulus for awakening. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the sleepiness detection unit 7 is not limited thereto. The driver may be periodically given the above stimulus without providing the driver.

  Each stimulus stop button 4 is disposed at a position where operation is burdensome for the driver, for example, a plurality of positions where the driver in the vehicle needs to stretch his / her body. In this case, the position where the driver needs to stretch his / her body is, for example, the vicinity of the driver's head on the ceiling in the passenger compartment, the vicinity of the interior light, the back side of the installation panel, or the driver in the driver's seat. , And the seat back side surface, the seat cushion side surface, and the like, all of which are arranged at positions where a driver inevitably performs a stretching exercise when operated by the driver. In this embodiment, the case where the stimulus stop button 4 is arranged at a plurality of positions will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the stimulus stop button may be arranged at a position where the operation is burdensome for the driver. The arrangement position may be one.

  The alarm control unit 3 selects one of the stimulation stop buttons 4 among the plurality of stimulation stop buttons 4 to function according to the estimation result of the driver state estimation unit 6 based on the detection result of the operation state detection unit 5. A stimulus stop button selection unit 31 to be performed and a position notification unit 32 for notifying the driver of the position of the stimulus stop button 4 selected by the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 are provided.

  Accordingly, the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 is, for example, a position where the driver can perform the upper body when the driver performs an operation with a foot such as an accelerator or a brake operation (that is, the driver's head on the ceiling in the passenger compartment). The stimulation stop button 4 provided in the vicinity, in the vicinity of the interior light, on the back side of the installation panel, on the side of the seat back, on the side of the seat cushion, or the like is selected. Further, the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 is operated manually by the driver, such as steering wheel operation (especially during driving on a sharp curve), turn signal (direction indicator) operation, wiper operation, or headlight operation. In the case of performing the operation, the stimulus stop button 4 provided at a position where the operation can be performed on the lower body (that is, around the driver's suspension around the driver's seat) is selected.

  Here, the alarm control unit 3 is a main ECU (Electronic Control Unit), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), and various types. A microcomputer having an interface or the like is configured as a main part, and a driver awakening control process described later is executed.

  The driving state detection unit 5 includes a vehicle speed sensor 51 that outputs a pulse signal at a cycle according to the traveling speed of the host vehicle (that is, an accelerator operation and a brake operation), and steered wheels (in this embodiment, front wheels but front and rear wheel steerers). The steering angle sensor 52 that detects the steering angle (that is, the steering wheel operation) of other types such as a formula, and the operation that detects the operation of various operation units (the blinker, the wiper, the headlight, etc.) A sensor 53 is provided.

  Stimulation Actuation 2 gives a stimulus for urging the driver to be alerted, that is, for awakening drowsiness when the driver is forcibly awakened by a driver awakening control process described later. In the embodiment, a warning sound output from the speaker 21 (see FIG. 3) is used as the stimulus.

  The drowsiness detection unit 8 includes, for example, a camera 81 that is provided in front of the driver's seat and captures the driver's face position, and performs various image processing on the image signal output from the camera 81. The image signal is output to a driver state estimating unit 7 that functions as an image ECU that is a device.

  The driver state estimation unit 6 includes a microcomputer as a main part, and converts the image signal output from the camera 71 of the drowsiness detection unit 7 into an image signal that can specify the position and orientation of the driver's face and the eye state. At the same time, the reference data such as the contour of the face and the contour of the eyes when the driver stored in front is facing the front is compared with the actual detected image data. And, when the driver's face does not exist in the detected image, the face is not facing the front, the eyes are closed, and the like are continuously detected for a predetermined period, the driver cannot drive normally. A state, that is, sleepiness is determined, and a sleepiness detection signal as a driver state estimation result is output to the alarm control unit 3 as the main ECU.

  The driver state estimation unit 6 is based on detection results (for example, the accelerator is operated) input from each sensor (the vehicle speed sensor 51, the steering angle sensor 52, or the operation sensor 53) of the operation state detection unit 5. The operation state of the driver is determined, and an operation state detection signal as an operation state estimation result is output to the alarm control unit 3 as the main ECU.

  Thus, the warning control unit 3 instructs the stimulus actuation 2 to give a stimulus to the driver based on the drowsiness detection signal input from the driver state estimation unit 6. At the same time, the alarm control unit 3 uses the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 to reduce (stop) the stimulus given to the driver based on the operation state detection signal input from the driver state estimation unit 6. Stimulus stop button 4 provided at a position corresponding to the operating state among a plurality of positions where button 4 is installed (in this case, for example, in the vicinity of the driver's head on the ceiling of the passenger compartment that can be performed on the upper body). Is selectively functioned, while the position notification unit 32 notifies the driver of the position of the selected stimulus stop button 4.

  At this time, the notification to the driver may be announced from the speaker 21 together with the stimulus, or may be displayed as an image separately using, for example, a vehicle-mounted navigation device. Further, the stimulus stop button 4 is selected on the basis of the operation state detection signal in consideration of not impeding the driver's vehicle operation (that is, ensuring the safety of the vehicle). .

  Then, the driver is provided near the driver's head on the ceiling of the passenger compartment as an operation that becomes a burden for arousing sleepiness and reducing troublesome stimulation by the stimulus given in this way. By stretching and operating the stimulation stop button 4 inevitably, a stretching exercise for stretching the body is inevitably performed, so that sleepiness is further awakened.

  Next, the procedure of the driver awakening process unique to the present invention executed by the alarm control unit 3 in the sleepiness / awakening apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, although the case where the driver is performing an operation with a foot such as an accelerator operation or a brake operation is described here as an example, the driver operates a steering wheel operation (especially during a sharp curve driving), a turn signal operation, As described above, when a wiper operation or a headlight operation is performed, a stimulus stop button provided at a position where the lower body can be operated (that is, the side of the seat cushion, etc.) Since the same processing is performed only in that the stimulus is stopped by selecting 4 and operating with the foot, the description is omitted here.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the driver awakening process executed by the alarm control unit 3 which is the main ECU, and is stored as a control program in the ROM of the alarm control unit 3. The driver awakening process is started in step SP1 when the driver turns on an ignition switch of the vehicle, and is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle.

  When activated in step SP1, the alarm control unit 3 moves to the subsequent step SP2 and waits until a predetermined time elapses. And if the warning control part 3 obtains the affirmative result which predetermined time passes in this step SP2, it will transfer to the following step SP3, and a driver | operator's consciousness has fallen (it is sleepy) or not. Is determined based on the drowsiness detection signal input from the drowsiness detection unit 7 and the driver state estimation unit 6.

  When the alarm control unit 3 recognizes a positive result in step SP3, that is, the driver's consciousness decrease (drowsiness), the warning control unit 3 proceeds to subsequent step SP4, for example, for awakening the driver DL as shown in FIG. As a stimulus, a warning sound for awakening is given by outputting from the speaker 21. At the same time, the alarm control unit 3 is arranged at a position corresponding to the current driving state of the driver by the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 based on the driving state detection signal similarly input from the driver state estimation unit 6. The stimulus stop button 4 is selectively functioned to notify the driver DL of the position of the stimulus stop button 4.

  That is, when the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 recognizes that the driver DL is operating the accelerator AC, that is, the operation by the foot, based on the operation state detection signal input from the driver state estimation unit 6, The function is performed by selecting a stimulus stop button 4 provided at a position that can be performed on the upper body (that is, near the head of the driver DL on the ceiling in the passenger compartment). On the other hand, the position notification unit 32 notifies the driver DL of the position of the stimulus stop button 4 selected by the stimulus stop button selection unit 31.

  Then, the alarm control unit 3 moves to the next step SP5 and determines whether or not the driver DL reduces the stimulus (warning sound output from the speaker 21). For example, as shown in FIG. By operating the stimulus stop button 4 provided in the vicinity of the head of the driver DL on the position notified by the driver DL, that is, on the ceiling in the passenger compartment, an affirmative result of performing an operation for reducing the stimulus can be obtained. Until a negative result is obtained until the above operation is performed and a positive result is obtained when the above operation is performed, the process proceeds to step SP6, where the stimulation is gradually reduced and stopped. That is, the stimulus given to the driver does not stop immediately by operating the stimulus stop button 4, but stops while being gradually reduced (after being continued for a certain period).

  Thereafter, the warning control unit 3 proceeds to the following step SP7, determines whether or not the driver DL ends the driving of the vehicle, and when obtaining a positive result to end the driving, moves to the next step SP8, The driver awakening process is terminated.

  In the driver awakening process described above, if a negative result is obtained in step SP2, that is, a result that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the alarm control unit 3 proceeds to step SP7 and determines whether or not the driver ends the driving. to decide. In step SP7, if the driver obtains a negative result that does not end the driving, the alarm control unit 3 returns to step SP2 and repeats the routines of steps SP2 and SP7 that wait until a predetermined time elapses again.

  In step SP3, the warning control unit 3 determines whether or not the driver's consciousness is lowered (drowsiness) based on the drowsiness detection signal input from the driver state estimation unit 6. If a negative result is obtained in which the driver's consciousness is not lowered (not drowsy), the process returns to step SP2 and waits again until a predetermined time elapses.

[Operations and effects of the first embodiment]
As described above, in the sleepiness / awakening device 1 of the present embodiment, when the alarm control unit 3 detects the driver's sleepiness based on the sleepiness detection signal, the speaker 21 of the stimulation actuation 2 is used to notify the driver. A warning sound that is a stimulus for awakening is output. At the same time, the alarm control unit 3 has a plurality of stimulus stop buttons 4 for reducing the stimulus given to the driver by the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 based on the operation state detection signal. While the stimulus stop button 4 at the position corresponding to the operation state is selected and functioned, the position notification unit 32 notifies the driver of the position of the selected stimulus stop button 4. At this time, since each stimulus stop button 4 is disposed at a plurality of positions where the driver of the vehicle needs to stretch his body, the driver inevitably stretches his body during the stimulus stop operation. You will do stretching exercise.

  Therefore, the driver wake-up process by the sleepiness wake-up device 1 is greatly different from the conventional method of simply performing passive wake-up for the driver, in other words, passive awakening. In other words, in the sleepiness / awakening device 1, the warning control unit 3 forcibly gives a stimulus to the driver to wake up actively, and the driver himself / herself is required to awaken until an operation for reducing the stimulus is performed. Stimulation is continued.

  As a result, according to the sleepiness / awakening device 1, the driver is awakened by applying annoying stimuli, and can inevitably execute a stretching exercise by an operation that becomes a burden for reducing the annoying stimuli, with high probability. Can awaken the driver. At this time, since the operation for reducing the stimulus is performed by the stimulus stop button 4 selected at a position corresponding to the vehicle operation state, the operation state of the vehicle by the driver is not hindered. Thus, it is possible to realize the sleepiness / awakening device 1 that can significantly improve the driver's awakening efficiency and ensure the safety of the vehicle.

  In the first embodiment, since the driving state detection 5 includes the drowsiness detection unit 7 that detects the drowsiness of the driver, the drowsiness of the driver can be detected. Compared with the case where a stimulus is given to a person, sleepiness can be intensively awakened. For this reason, when giving a stimulus periodically, even if the driver's consciousness has not deteriorated even in the state of continuing for a long time or long distance, the troublesomeness to give the driver unnecessary use This can be avoided and waste in awakening control can be eliminated.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, as a second embodiment of the present invention, in the sleepiness / awakening apparatus according to the present invention, the stimulus stop button 4 is located at a position away from the driver's seat (in particular, a position where the driver needs to get off the vehicle). The case where is provided will be described.

  FIG. 5, in which the same reference numerals are assigned to the parts corresponding to FIG. 1, is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration in the second embodiment of the sleepiness / awakening apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 5 shows the drowsiness / awakening device 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention as a whole, and is provided with a vehicle state detection unit 8 for detecting the surrounding state and running state of the vehicle, and the stimulus stop button 4. Is configured in substantially the same manner as the sleepiness / awakening apparatus 1 in the first embodiment described above except that is disposed in the trunk. Therefore, here, the description overlapping with the first embodiment is omitted for convenience.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the sleepiness / awakening device 10, the position where the stimulus stop button 4 requires the driver to get off the vehicle (that is, in the trunk, in the hood, on the rear seat side, in the passenger seat, Here, the case where the stimulus stop button 4 provided in the trunk is selected by the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 will be described.

  Further, the sleepiness / awakening device 10 captures the surrounding situation of the vehicle by an in-vehicle camera or the like, analyzes the captured image by a vehicle state ECU or the like, and drives the vehicle surrounding state detection result obtained by the analysis as a vehicle state signal. The vehicle state detection part 8 output to the person state estimation part 6 is provided.

  In such a sleepiness / awakening apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 6, a stimulus stop button 4 is also provided in the trunk TR. And as above-mentioned, when the warning control part 3 gives irritation | stimulation with respect to driver | operator DL, based on the vehicle state signal input from the vehicle state detection part 8, the driver state estimation part 6 is a driver | operator. When it is determined that the vehicle can be safely stopped in the operation state of the vehicle by DL, the determination result is output to the alarm control unit 3 as a vehicle stop enable signal.

  Thereby, the alarm control unit 3 selects the stimulus stop button 4 corresponding to the current operation state, that is, provided in the trunk TR, by the stimulus stop button selection unit 31 based on the inputted vehicle stoppage possible signal. In addition, the position notification unit 32 notifies the driver DL of the position of the selected stimulus stop button 4.

  As a result, when the driver DL is given a stimulus, the driver DL stops the vehicle at a place where safety can be secured in order to reduce (stop) the stimulus, then get off the vehicle, and then the stimulus stop button 4 in the trunk TR. The operation for reducing the above stimulation is performed using. At this time, the driver DL inevitably performs a stretching exercise for stretching the body in order to operate the stimulation stop button 4 in the trunk TR.

  As described above, in the sleepiness / awakening apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, first, the driver DL is given the stimulus, the first awakening is performed, and then, the operation becomes a burden for reducing the stimulus. , A second awakening is performed to get off the vehicle. And since the 3rd awakening which operates the stimulus stop button 4 in trunk TR next is performed, it is possible to raise awakening efficiency further by stepping on the awakening action and working.

[Operation and effect of the second embodiment]
As described above, according to the sleepiness / awakening device 10 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the sleepiness / wakefulness device 1 of the first embodiment described above, the stimulus stop button 4 allows the driver DL to get off the vehicle. The first awakening that gives a stimulus to the driver DL, the second awakening that gets off the vehicle to perform an operation for reducing the stimulus, and the trunk TR. It is possible to wake up by stepping on the third awakening and stretching the body in order to operate the stimulation stop button 4 therein.

  For this reason, it is possible to make it easy for the driver to awaken sleepiness, and in the trunk TR (or in the hood, on the rear seat side, in the passenger seat) where the stimulus stop button 4 needs to stretch. Therefore, in the operation of the stimulus stop button 4, a more effective stretch exercise can be performed as compared to the stop operation performed during traveling. As a result, the awakening efficiency can be improved more reliably than when the driver is awakened by stopping the stimulus while traveling.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a warning sound (sound buzzer) output from the speaker 21 is used as a stimulus for awakening the driver is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, alarm control. Based on the control of the unit 3, the vibration source previously provided in the seat may be operated by the stimulus actuation 2 to give vibration to the driver, and air is sent to the driver using the air conditioner. Or a lamp in the passenger compartment (for example, a map lamp) may be illuminated to the driver. In short, various other methods can be widely applied as the stimulus as long as the driver gives the driver sleepiness. However, it goes without saying that in any case, the driver should not interfere with the driving of the vehicle.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the drowsiness detection unit 7 includes the camera 71 and the driver state estimation unit 6 functioning as an image ECU uses a configuration in which the state of the driver is determined from an image is described. The present invention is not limited to this, and various other configurations can be widely applied as the drowsiness detection unit. For example, a state in which the steering operation is not continuously performed for a predetermined period may be detected, and it may be determined that the driver cannot drive normally, that is, is in a sleepy state. Alternatively, the driver's heart rate and respiratory rate may be detected, and the driver's arousal level may be determined based on the two detection values. In this case, the heart rate can be detected by an ultrasonic sensor built in the driver's seat, and the respiration rate can be detected by measuring the chest movement using a pressure sensor or the like incorporated in the seat belt. Then, it may be determined that the driver is sleepy when the ratio between the heart rate and the respiratory rate is out of the reference range.

  The present invention can be used in the automobile manufacturing industry, the automobile parts manufacturing industry, and the like.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the drowsiness awakening apparatus in 1st Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process sequence of a driver | operator awakening process. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the mode of the driver's seat vicinity required for description of a driver | operator awakening process. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the mode of the driver's seat vicinity required for description of a driver | operator awakening process. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the drowsiness awakening apparatus in the 2nd Example of this invention. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state behind a vehicle required for explanation of a driver awakening process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 10 ... Sleepiness awakening apparatus 2 ... Stimulation actuation 3 ... Alarm control part (wake control means)
4. Stimulus stop button (stimulus reduction operation means)
5 ... Operation status detection unit (operation status detection means)
6 ... Driver state estimation unit 7 ... Drowsiness detection unit (drowsiness detection means)
8 ... Vehicle state detection unit

Claims (8)

Operation state detection means for detecting the operation state of the vehicle;
Awakening control means for applying a stimulus for awakening the driver of the vehicle based on a detection result of the operation state detection means;
A drowsiness awakening device provided in the vehicle and having a stimulus reduction operation means for reducing a stimulus given by the awakening control means in response to an operation by the driver,
The drowsiness awakening device, wherein the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed at a position where operation is a burden for the driver. The position where the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed is
The sleepiness / wakefulness device according to claim 1, wherein the driver needs to stretch his / her body. The position where the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed is
The sleepiness / wakefulness device according to claim 1, wherein the sleepiness / wakefulness device is located away from the driver's seat. The position where the stimulus reduction operation means is disposed is
The sleepiness / awakening device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the driver needs to get out of the vehicle. The operation state detection means includes a drowsiness detection unit that detects drowsiness of the driver,
The sleepiness / wakefulness device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the awakening control unit applies the stimulus to the driver based on a detection result by the sleepiness detection unit. The stimulus reduction operation means is disposed at a plurality of positions, and controlled to function according to the operation by the driver by the wakefulness control means.
The arousal control means selectively controls at least one stimulus reduction operation means among the plurality of stimulus reduction operation means, and notifies the driver of the position of the selected stimulus reduction operation means. The sleepiness / wakefulness device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein The awakening control means includes
The sleepiness / awakening device according to claim 6, wherein the stimulus reduction operation unit at a position corresponding to the operation state based on a detection result of the operation state detection unit is selected. The said arousal control means stops after reducing the irritation | stimulation for awakening given with respect to the said driver by operation of the said stimulus reduction operation means, The stop of any one of Claim 1 thru | or 7 characterized by the above-mentioned. The drowsiness / awakening device according to 1.

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