JP2010068941A - Apparatus and method for inducing sleep - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for inducing sleep, which induce sleeping comfortably in a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: A system 1 for inducing sleep is composed of a pulse wave sensor 10 for obtaining the pulse wave data of a passenger 3 of a vehicle 2, an electrocardiographic sensor 11 for obtaining heart beat data, an ECU20, controlling sleep induction, for detecting the sleepiness which the passenger has, a plurality of in-vehicle equipments for operating movements suitable for sleeping of the passenger 3 (a seat reclining device 30, a massage device 40, a seat air conditioner 50, an air conditioner 60, an addition device 70 for adding oxygen, an audio device 80, a device 90 for opening and closing a sun shade, a light 100, an ottoman 110, a monitor window 120). A control device 21 of the ECU 20 detects the sleepiness of the passenger 3 from the pulse wave data and the heart beat data detected by the pulse wave sensor 10 and the electrocardiographic sensor 11, and makes the above each in-vehicle device suitably operate for sleeping when the sleepiness of the passenger 3 is detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a sleeping apparatus and a sleeping method for promoting sleep of a vehicle occupant.

Conventionally, techniques for inducing human sleep have been proposed. Among them, a technique for inducing sleep of a vehicle occupant has been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
In order to put the driver in a sleep state in a short time, this technology gives a stimulus such as light based on the awakening rhythm period, and adjusts reclining, air conditioner, etc. to form an environment where the driver can easily sleep.
JP-A-7-108847

  Although the driver needs to maintain an awake state such as when the vehicle is running, a passenger other than the driver may be in a sleep state, and may sleep inside the vehicle. In this case, it is difficult to enter a sleep state unless an on-board device is operated by itself to form a sleep-friendly environment such as declining reclining or adjusting the air conditioner to an appropriate temperature. In some cases, the passenger himself / herself creates an environment in which he / she is likely to be in a sleep state in advance. However, the passenger often suddenly falls asleep during traveling, and in this case, it is necessary to operate the in-vehicle device after feeling sleepy.

  The technology of Patent Document 1 described above is to prepare an environment for becoming a sleep state by itself, and cannot be applied when suddenly becoming sleepy. And when suddenly becoming sleepy, there is a problem that the user is awakened by the action of forming the environment, or sleepiness is eliminated without forming the environment.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a sleep apparatus and a sleep method that allow a user to sleep comfortably inside a vehicle.

  The invention according to claim 1, which has been made to solve the above-described problem, detects that the passenger is drowsy based on the biological information of the passenger of the vehicle, and the passenger has drowsiness. When it is detected that the vehicle is in a state, the sleep device is configured to cause a predetermined vehicle-mounted device mounted on the vehicle to perform an operation suitable for the sleep of the passenger.

  With the sleep device configured as described above, when the vehicle occupant feels sleepy, the vehicle-mounted device can automatically perform an operation that makes it easy for the occupant to fall asleep. Therefore, when the passenger feels sleepy, the environment difficult to fall asleep is improved, and it is not necessary to consciously operate the in-vehicle device to form a comfortable environment easy to fall asleep. By doing so, it is possible to suppress awakening and to fall asleep comfortably.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the sleep apparatus according to the first aspect, at least the first drowsiness state and the second drowsiness having a greater degree of drowsiness than the first drowsiness state as the state in which the occupant has drowsiness Of the state and the state of the passenger is detected and detected, and when it is detected that the state is the first sleepy state, the sleep falling to prompt the passenger to fall asleep as an operation suitable for sleep On the other hand, when it is detected that the in-vehicle device is in the second drowsiness state, the in-vehicle device is caused to perform a sleep maintenance operation for maintaining the sleep state of the passenger as an operation suitable for sleep. This is a sleep function that is characterized.

  With the sleep device configured as described above, the operation to be performed by the in-vehicle device can be changed according to the degree of sleepiness of the passenger. When the sleepiness level is small, for example, when the passenger is transitioning from an awake state to a sleep state, and when the sleepiness level is large, for example, when the passenger is in a sleep state, the passenger sleeps. The appropriate environment is different.

  Specifically, when the degree of sleepiness is small, it becomes difficult to transition to a sleep state if the body is cooled too much. Therefore, the temperature setting and the air blowing direction of the air conditioner (on-vehicle device) are adjusted according to whether the first drowsiness state or the second drowsiness state.

  Thus, if it is the sleep apparatus of the said Claim 2, a passenger | crew will sleep comfortably by changing operation | movement of a vehicle-mounted apparatus according to whether it is a 1st sleepiness state or a 2nd sleepiness state. become able to.

  The boundary between the first drowsiness state and the second drowsiness state described above may be configured as in the sleep apparatus according to claim 3. That is, the first sleepiness state is a state in which the passenger has sleepiness but is awake, and the second sleepiness state is a configuration in which the boundary is set as a state in which the passenger is not awake and is sleeping. is there.

  With the sleep device configured as described above, when an operation suitable for the sleep of the passenger is performed, the operation of the in-vehicle device changes depending on whether or not the passenger is awake, that is, whether or not the user is sleeping. When a passenger is awake, even if it is a stimulus that has a wakefulness (for example, music that has a wakefulness), the same stimulus acts as a stimulus for awakening when the passenger is sleeping. May end up. Therefore, by setting the presence or absence of awakening as a boundary, the operation of the in-vehicle device can be matched to each state.

  In addition, when the passenger's state transitions between the first drowsiness state and the second drowsiness state described above, the sleep sleep promoting operation and the sleep maintenance operation may be switched according to the transition. When the detected state transitions from the second drowsiness state to the first drowsiness state as in the sleep device described in Item 4, the operation of the in-vehicle device is not changed to the sleep asleep promoting operation, and the sleep maintenance operation is continued. It is also possible to make it happen.

  With the sleep device configured as described above, the sleep maintenance operation is continued even when the degree of sleepiness of the passenger is reduced. Since there is a wave in the depth of sleep, if the operation control is switched when the sleep becomes shallow (the degree of drowsiness becomes small), there is a possibility that it may become a stimulus and wake up. However, in the sleep apparatus having the above-described configuration, such a danger can be reduced by continuing the sleep maintenance operation.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the sleeping apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein environmental information indicating an environment of the vehicle is acquired, and the in-vehicle device is based on the acquired environmental information. The operation suitable for the sleep of the passenger to be performed is changed.

  The sleep apparatus configured in this manner changes its operation according to the environment in which the vehicle is placed. The environment here includes, for example, the temperature outside the vehicle, the illuminance around the vehicle, the presence or absence of rainfall, and the like. And when performing an action suitable for sleep, adjust the temperature setting of the air conditioning inside the vehicle according to the temperature outside the vehicle, open and close the sunshade according to the illuminance around the vehicle, depending on the rainfall Adjust the air conditioning and audio volume inside the vehicle. Therefore, if it is a sleep apparatus of the structure mentioned above, a more suitable environment can be prepared for a passenger's sleep.

  By the way, the specific content of the biometric information described above is not particularly limited as long as it can detect the sleepiness of the passenger. For example, as in the sleeping device according to claim 6, the biological information includes at least one of the heartbeat, the pulse wave, and the brain wave of the occupant, and the occupant has a drowsiness. This detection may be performed based on at least one of the heartbeat, pulse wave, and brain wave of the passenger.

With the sleep device configured as described above, it is possible to detect that the passenger is drowsy based on any one of the heartbeat, pulse wave, and brain wave of the passenger.
In addition, as a configuration using biological information other than heartbeat, pulse wave, and brain wave, the biological information includes positional information indicating the position of the component on the face of the passenger as in the sleep device according to claim 7. The detection that the passenger is drowsy may be performed based on the position information.

  With the sleep device configured as described above, it is possible to detect that the passenger is sleepy based on the position information of the passenger's face. A specific method for acquiring the position information is not particularly limited. For example, it is conceivable to acquire the position information by analyzing image data obtained by capturing a face image.

  In addition, in the above-described claims 6 and 7, the sleepiness may be detected based only on the passenger's heartbeat, pulse wave, brain wave, or face position information. Or drowsiness may be detected in combination with other biological information.

  By the way, the in-vehicle device described above is a seat reclining device, a massage device, a seat air conditioning device, an air conditioner, an oxygenation device, an audio, a sunshade opening / closing device, lighting, an ottoman, and a monitor screen, as in the sleep device according to claim 8. It is good also as being one or more of them.

If it is a sleep apparatus comprised in this way, the operation | movement suitable for a passenger's sleep can be performed with respect to said each vehicle-mounted apparatus.
The invention according to claim 9 is a case in which it is detected that the passenger is in a sleepy state based on the biological information of the passenger in the vehicle, and the passenger is in a state of sleepiness. Is a sleeping method characterized in that a suitable on-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle performs an operation suitable for the sleep of the passenger.

  With such a sleeping method, the same action and effect as the sleeping device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 can be obtained.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[Example 1]
(1.1) Overall Configuration The sleep system 1 according to the first embodiment is used by being mounted on a vehicle 2, and is provided around the passenger seat 4 as shown in FIG. A pulse wave sensor 10 that acquires pulse wave data indicating the pulse wave of the person 3, an electrocardiographic sensor 11 that acquires heart rate data indicating the heartbeat of the passenger 3, and each of the pulse wave sensor 10 and the electrocardiographic sensor 11 acquired Based on the data, the sleeper control ECU 20 detects that the passenger 3 has sleepiness but is awake or the sleeper 3 is not awake, and the sleeper control ECU 20 controls the passenger 3 A plurality of in-vehicle devices (seat reclining device 30, massage device 40, seat air conditioner 50, air conditioner 60, oxygenation device 70, audio 80, sunshade opening / closing) Device 90, illumination 100, ottoman 110, and monitor screen 120).

  Among these, the pulse wave sensor 10 is a sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and is installed at a portion where the hand of the passenger 3 touches. The pulse wave sensor 10 measures the pulse wave from the palm of the passenger 3 and transmits the pulse wave data to the sleep control ECU 20 via an amplifier (not shown).

  The electrocardiographic sensor 11 is a piezoelectric sensor having a piezoelectric element, and is built in the seat back of the seat 4. The electrocardiographic sensor 11 measures a heartbeat from the back portion of the passenger 3 and transmits heartbeat data to the sleep control ECU 20 via an amplifier (not shown).

  It is desirable that the pulse wave sensor 10 be installed in a portion where an occupant's hand can easily touch such as an armrest. Moreover, the electrocardiographic sensor 11 may be disposed other than the seat back. For example, it may be a position close to the passenger 3 such as the inside of the seat bottom of the seat 4 or a seat belt. In addition, you may use the sensor which measures a pulse wave and a heartbeat using a sound wave or electromagnetic waves.

As shown in FIG. 2, the sleep control ECU 20 includes a control device 21, a memory 22, an input device 23, a communication IC 24, and the like.
The control device 21 is configured around a known microcomputer including a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O, a bus line connecting these components, and the like, and controls the sleep control ECU 20 as a whole. The control device 21 executes drowsiness detection processing, which will be described later, in accordance with an application program read from the ROM and various data stored in the memory 22.

  The control device 21 stores the data in the memory 22 every time the pulse wave data acquired by the pulse wave sensor 10 or the heart rate data acquired by the electrocardiographic sensor 11 is received. Then, drowsiness is detected in the drowsiness detection process described later based on the pulse wave data and the heart rate data.

Moreover, this control apparatus 21 makes each vehicle-mounted apparatus mentioned above perform operation | movement suitable for sleep mentioned later, when the sleepiness of the passenger 3 is detected in the sleepiness detection process.
The input device 23 includes a start button for starting the drowsiness detection process, an end button for ending the drowsiness detection process, and the like, and a button operation by the passenger 3 is possible.

  The control device 21 is connected to an illuminance sensor 25 that measures the illuminance above the vehicle 2, a temperature sensor 26 that measures the temperature outside the vehicle 2, and a rain sensor 27 that detects raindrops outside the vehicle 2.

  The control device 21 is connected to the navigation system 28 via the communication IC 24. The navigation system 28 includes a position detection unit including a GPS receiver, a gyroscope, a vehicle speed sensor, a storage unit that stores map data, a display unit that displays various images such as a map display image, and various types of passengers. It is an apparatus provided with an input means for inputting instructions, and executes map display processing, route guidance processing, and the like.

  The map display process is a process of calculating the current position of the vehicle based on each detection signal from the position detection means, and displaying a map near the current position on the display means based on the map data stored in the storage means. is there. The route guidance process calculates a destination route that is an optimum route from the current position to the destination set by the passenger based on the map data stored in the storage means, and calculates the current position and the destination. This is a process of performing travel guidance to the target in consideration of the relationship with the route.

  When the sleepiness of the passenger 3 is detected in the sleepiness detection process described later, the display means is notified that the passenger 3 is sleepy. Thereby, the driver of the vehicle 2 can know that the passenger 3 is in a state of drowsiness.

Among the on-vehicle devices described above, the seat reclining device 30 is a device that performs the reclining operation of the seat 4 seat back and the position adjusting operation of the seat bottom.
The massage device 40 is a device that is disposed inside the seat 4 and massages the occupant 3 by pressing the back of the occupant 3 by operating a pressurizing element or an airbag.

The seat air conditioner 50 is a device that air-conditions the seat by blowing warm air or cold air from the seat 4.
The air conditioner 60 is a device that performs air conditioning inside the vehicle 2.

  The oxygen addition device 70 is a device that feeds air with an increased oxygen concentration into the interior of the vehicle, and passes the oxygen enriched film through the oxygen-enriched film from an exhaust port disposed above the seat 4. Discharge into the car. In addition, an oxygen concentration sensor for measuring the oxygen concentration inside the vehicle 2 is provided. When the oxygen concentration deviates from the reference value, the oxygen concentration inside the vehicle 2 is kept constant by adjusting the oxygen concentration of the air sent to the vehicle 2 inside. Operates to keep within range.

  The sunshade opening / closing device 90 opens and closes the sunshade of the side window. Note that when the sleep system 1 is arranged in the rear seat, the rear window sunshade may be opened and closed.

  The ottoman 110 is a platform (footrest) on which the passenger 3 can put his / her foot. The ottoman 110 is stored in the lower position of the seat 4 and in front of the seat 4 (leftward in FIG. 1). It is configured to be displaceable between the unfolded position raised to substantially the same height as the seat bottom.

The monitor screen 120 is an image display device arranged in front of the passenger 3.
In addition, each in-vehicle device including the audio 80 and the lighting 100 operates according to the operation of the passenger 3 by an operation switch (not shown) or the like when the drowsiness detection process by the control device 21 is not executed.
(1.2) Detection Principle In this embodiment, a detection principle for detecting whether or not the patient has drowsiness will be described. In this embodiment, the state of autonomic nerve activity is measured from the heartbeat or pulse wave, and it is detected that the patient has drowsiness based on the measurement result.

  Autonomic nerves include sympathetic nerves that dominate when waking up and nervous, and parasympathetic nerves that dominate when sleeping and relaxing. The parasympathetic nervous system becomes more active when sleepiness becomes stronger. Therefore, the sleepiness of the subject can be detected by measuring the activities of the sympathetic nerve and the parasympathetic nerve and observing the changes.

  In the electrocardiogram, the time interval between the R wave of one heartbeat and the R wave of the next heartbeat is called an RR interval (see FIG. 3A). It is known that this RR interval varies with time. HF (High Frequency domain) and LF (Low Frequency domain) can be obtained by calculating the instantaneous heart rate HR from the RR interval and further performing FFT analysis on the information (FIG. 3 (b )reference). The HF described above reflects parasympathetic activity, and the LF reflects sympathetic activity.

  In the present embodiment, the HF and LF are calculated based on the heartbeat data acquired by the electrocardiographic sensor 11. At the same time, the HF and LF are obtained based on the pulse wave data acquired by the pulse wave sensor 10.

  The pulse wave used in the present embodiment refers to a vasomotor reaction that captures a change in volume or pressure of an arterial blood vessel caused by blood inflow as a waveform from the body surface. The pulse wave is linked to the movement of the heart, and it is possible to obtain information having the same meaning as the RR interval obtained from the electrocardiogram indirectly by measuring the movement of the peripheral blood vessel.

  Therefore, the RR interval is acquired from the pulse wave, and the above-described HF and LF are calculated based on the acquired RR interval. Note that the peak of pulse wave data is greatly affected by noise and is not a prominent peak such as an R wave in an electrocardiogram. For example, using a pulse wave analysis method described in JP-A-2001-70265, Noise may be reduced.

  Thus, based on LF and HF calculated from the heart rate data and the pulse wave data, the sleepiness is detected and the detected sleepiness level is obtained. Here, LF / HF is used as a sympathetic nerve activity index. The LF / HF may be obtained by using one of the LF and HF calculated by the heart rate data and the pulse wave data (for example, the one having less influence of noise), It is good also as calculating | requiring from the LF and HF average value which each pulse wave data calculated.

  Sleepiness is detected by comparing the above-mentioned LF / HF with a predetermined threshold value. Specifically, when LF / HF exceeds a predetermined first threshold value, there is no sleepiness, a second threshold value that is lower than the first threshold value and lower than the first threshold value. The first drowsiness state is when the value is above the value, and the second drowsiness state is when the value is below the second threshold. By setting the second threshold value to a value that does not exceed the sleep threshold, the second sleepiness state can be detected as a state in which the passenger 3 is sleeping.

  Note that the detection of drowsiness and the determination of the degree of drowsiness by LF and HF as described above are affected by various factors, and the results change. Therefore, detection of drowsiness is performed using methods other than the above-described sleepiness detection methods. The degree of sleepiness detected may be obtained.

  Further, sleepiness may be detected in combination with other biological information in addition to the heartbeat or pulse wave. For example, it is detected that the person is drowsy based on a heartbeat or a pulse wave, and it is determined whether or not the patient is in a sleep state from an operation of an electroencephalogram or facial expression muscle. Then, if sleepiness is detected based on the heartbeat or pulse wave, and if it is not a sleep state, it may be determined as a first sleepiness state, and if it is a sleep state, it may be determined as a second sleepiness state.

Moreover, the structure which measures only one from the beginning and does not measure both a heartbeat and a pulse wave, and detects sleepiness based on the measurement result may be sufficient. Furthermore, instead of heartbeats and pulse waves, sleepiness may be detected only from brain waves.
(1.3) Processing by Sleeping Control ECU 20 A processing procedure of sleepiness detection processing executed by the sleep control ECU 20 of the sleep system 1 in the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

  This sleepiness detection process is started when a start button provided in the input device 23 is pressed (S1). This process is periodically executed thereafter until the end button provided in the input device 23 is pressed.

Next, the sleepiness of the passenger is detected (S2). Here, drowsiness is detected based on the heart rate data and pulse wave data stored in the memory 22 using the detection principle described above.
In S2, if sleepiness is not detected (S3: No), that is, if it is neither the first sleepiness state nor the second sleepiness state, control of the sleep control operation and sleep maintenance operation described later is stopped (S4). If the above operations are not performed, nothing is performed and the present process is terminated. On the other hand, if drowsiness is detected (S3: Yes), that is, if it is either the first drowsiness state or the second drowsiness state, vehicle environment information indicating the environment of the vehicle 2 is acquired (S5).

  Here, data of an illuminance sensor 25 mounted on the vehicle 2, a temperature sensor 26 that measures the temperature outside the vehicle 2, a rain sensor 27 that measures the amount of rainfall outside the vehicle 2, and the current vehicle 2 acquired from the navigation system 28. The position information indicating the position is acquired.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the drowsiness detected in S2 is the first drowsiness state (S6), and if it is the first drowsiness state (S6: Yes), whether or not a sleep maintenance operation described later is started. Is determined (S7). If the sleep maintenance operation has already been started (S7: Yes), this process ends. On the other hand, if the sleep maintenance operation is not started (S7: No), the sleep onset promoting operation is started (S8), and this process is terminated. The details of this sleep promotion operation and sleep maintenance operation will be described later.

Moreover, if it determines with not being the 1st sleepiness state in S6 (S6: No), sleep maintenance operation | movement will be started (S9) and this process will be complete | finished.
The sleep onset promoting operation and the sleep maintaining operation are controlled by executing the process again after a predetermined time has elapsed from the end of the drowsiness detection process and stopping the control in S4, or by pressing the stop button described above. Continue until pressed.
(1.4) Operation suitable for sleep of vehicle-mounted device by sleep control ECU 20 Table 1 shows a list of control contents of sleep sleep promotion operation and sleep maintenance operation as operations suitable for sleep.

In the seat reclining device 30, the sleep promoting operation is an operation of reclining to a midpoint between the state set by the occupant 3 and the maximum reclining position (the position in which the seat back is tilted to the end). Moreover, sleep maintenance operation | movement is operation | movement which reclines to a reclining maximum. When the sleep control operation and sleep maintenance operation control (hereinafter simply referred to as “operation control”) is completed, the state returns to the state set by the passenger 3.

  In the massage device 40, the sleep onset promoting operation when the massage device 40 is in operation before each operation control described above is performed, gradually decreases the speed and pressure of the massage operation, and after a predetermined time has elapsed. This is an operation to stop the operation. Moreover, the sleep maintenance operation | movement in the said conditions is an operation | movement which will stop the massage operation at the time, if the massage operation has stopped, and the state will be continued.

  When the massage device 40 is stopped before each operation control is executed, the sleep onset promoting operation is a massage operation that makes the passenger 3 sleepy. Specifically, it performs an action of gently shaking the body from side to side. Moreover, the sleep maintenance operation | movement in the said conditions is operation | movement which stops a massage operation | movement.

  The sleep promoting operation of the seat air conditioner 50 and the air conditioner 60 is an operation of performing air conditioning by setting a temperature suitable for falling asleep (a temperature slightly higher than the appropriate temperature at awakening). In addition, the sleep maintenance operation is an operation for performing air conditioning by setting the temperature to a slightly lower temperature from the above setting. Note that the temperature set in each operation control is set based on the temperature outside the vehicle 2 measured by the temperature sensor 26.

  In the oxygen addition device 70, when the oxygen addition device 70 is stopped before the above-described operation control is executed, the oxygen addition device 70 does not operate by each operation control. On the other hand, when the oxygen addition device 70 is operating before each operation control is performed, the sleep onset promoting operation and the sleep maintaining operation are operations for increasing the oxygen concentration inside the vehicle 2.

In the audio 80, when the audio 80 is stopped before each operation control described above is executed, the audio 80 is not operated by each operation control.
On the other hand, the sleep onset promoting operation when the audio 80 is operating before each operation control is performed is an operation of changing to music suitable for sleep falling and gradually lowering the volume. In addition, the sleep maintenance operation under the above conditions is an operation for stopping the audio 80. When the rain sensor 27 detects rain outside the vehicle 2, music playback may be continued with a small volume so as to cancel out the rain sound.

  The operation in each operation control of the audio 80 may be performed by operating only a speaker arranged at a position close to the target passenger 3, and other speakers may perform only an operation of lowering the volume. Also good.

  When the sunshade is closed before each operation control is executed, the sunshade opening / closing device 90 is not operated by each operation control. On the other hand, the sleep onset promoting operation and the sleep maintaining operation when the sunshade is opened before each operation control is performed are operations for closing the sunshade. Note that when the sunshade is closed, the outside view by passengers other than the sleepy passenger 3 is blocked, so the sunshade may be closed only when the measured value of the illuminance sensor 25 is equal to or higher than a predetermined illuminance. Good.

  When the illumination 100 is turned off before each operation control is executed, the operation by each operation control is not performed. On the other hand, the sleep onset promoting operation in the case where the lighting is in progress before each operation control is executed is an operation of changing the light emitted by the illumination 100 to an orange dim light. Moreover, the sleep maintenance operation | movement in the said conditions is operation | movement which turns off the illumination 100. FIG.

The sleep promoting operation of the ottoman 110 is an operation that is displaced between the storage position and the deployed position. Sleep maintenance operation | movement is operation | movement which displaces to a deployment position.
The sleep onset promoting operation on the monitor screen 120 is an operation for displaying an image having a sleeping effect. Specifically, it displays images such as underwater images that feel healing and waterfalls that make negative ions imagine. In addition, the sleep maintenance operation is an operation for stopping the display of the video.
(1.5) Effect With the sleep system 1 configured as described above, when the passenger 3 feels sleepy, each in-vehicle device automatically executes an operation suitable for sleep. In other words, since it is possible to automatically form an environment in which the passenger 3 can easily sleep, the environment where it is difficult to fall asleep is improved, and it is possible to suppress awakening by consciously operating the in-vehicle device, It becomes possible to fall asleep comfortably inside the vehicle 2.

  Further, when the degree of sleepiness of the passenger 3 increases, that is, when the passenger 3 enters a sleep state, the in-vehicle device is operated so as to maintain the sleep state. 3 becomes difficult to wake up, and the sleep state can be maintained for a long time.

  In addition, since the pulse wave sensor 10 is installed in a place where the hand can be touched naturally, such as an armrest or a door knob, or drowsiness is detected using the electrocardiographic sensor 11 built in the seat, each data is acquired by the passenger 3 Do not feel uncomfortable by installing a device to do.

  Further, when the passenger 3 becomes asleep from the sleep state, the sleep maintenance operation is continued as it is. Since there is a wave in the depth of sleep, if the operation control switches when it becomes shallow, it may become a stimulus and wake up, but by continuing the sleep maintenance operation, Risk can be reduced.

Moreover, since the setting of operation | movement is changed according to environments, such as the illumination intensity of the periphery of the vehicle 2, the temperature outside the vehicle 2, and the presence or absence of rainfall, an optimal environment can always be prepared.
(1.6) Modifications As described above, the first embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can take various forms as long as they belong to the technical scope of the present invention. Needless to say, you get.

  For example, in the above embodiment, when sleepiness is detected, the degree of sleepiness is classified into two stages and detected, but the detection is performed in more stages and detected. You may make it change operation | movement of a vehicle-mounted apparatus according to a step. In addition, when detecting in more stages, the operation control of the in-vehicle device suitable for each of the stage that is at least drowsiness but is awake and the stage that is not awake and is in a sleep state is performed. By setting to do, it becomes possible to fall asleep and sleep comfortably.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the operation of the in-vehicle device is continued in the sleep maintenance operation even when the sleepiness level decreases, but when the sleepiness level decreases, the sleep onset promotion operation is performed. It may be changed.

  In the above embodiment, the passenger 3 who sits in the passenger seat of the vehicle 2 is targeted. However, it may be used for a passenger seated in the rear seat, or the driver of the vehicle. May be used as a target. When the driver of the vehicle performs an operation suitable for sleep, the operation condition is determined by the navigation system 28 that the vehicle 2 is in a safe place such as a parking lot, and the shift lever It may be limited when the vehicle is in the parking range, the traveling speed of the vehicle 2 is 0, or the like.

Moreover, in the said Example, although the structure which starts when a drowsiness detection process is pressed when a start button was pushed, the structure started on conditions other than that may be sufficient. For example, the pulse wave sensor 10 and the electrocardiographic sensor 11 constantly measure the pulse wave and heart rate to detect the sleepiness of the passenger 3, and the sleepiness detection process is started when the sleepiness of the passenger 3 is detected. It may be a configuration.
[Example 2]
(2.1) Overall Configuration The sleep system 1 in the second embodiment is basically the same configuration as the sleep system 1 of the first embodiment, but as shown in FIGS. It replaces with the electric sensor 11, and the imaging device 130 which image | photographs the passenger's 3 face image is provided.

  The photographing device 130 is arranged toward the passenger 3 in the front direction of the passenger 3 in the vehicle 2, and takes a face image of the front of the passenger 3 at a predetermined time interval, and the photographed face image Is sequentially transmitted to the sleep control ECU 20.

  The control device 21 of the sleep control ECU 20 stores the image data in the memory 22 every time the image data is received from the imaging device 130. Thereafter, based on the image data, drowsiness is detected in the drowsiness detection process, and the degree of detected drowsiness is determined.

The sleepiness detection process by the sleep control ECU 20 is the same as that of the first embodiment except that the sleepiness detection method in S1 is different.
(2.2) Detection Principle In this embodiment, a detection principle for detecting drowsiness will be described. In this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the person has drowsiness based on the facial feature point (the position of the facial component).

  Normally, when a person becomes sleepy from an awakened state or sleeps, the facial muscles that change facial expressions relax and contract, and the skin moves and the facial expression changes. Moreover, when sleepiness becomes strong, it becomes difficult to keep the head upright, and the head tilts. Therefore, the distance between facial feature points that reflect the movement of facial muscles associated with sleepiness (for example, the distance between the left and right mouth corners, the distance between the eyebrows and the eyes, the distance between the upper eyelid and the lower eyelid, etc.) and the inclination of the head By measuring, sleepiness can be detected and the degree of sleepiness can be determined.

  The face feature points described above are detected from the image data representing the face image. However, in consideration of practical use, the face feature points are detected from the image on the assumption that they can be processed using an image taken with one camera. To detect the distance between them.

  Face feature points are generally detected by detecting the two-dimensional coordinates on the image using shape extraction or pattern matching, but in this embodiment, the distance between feature points can be accurately determined even when the face orientation changes. Since it needs to be detected, the face feature points are detected as three-dimensional coordinates. Specifically, using AAM (Active Appearance Model), the three-dimensional coordinates of the feature points are detected from the face image photographed by one camera, and the distance between the face feature points as the feature amount is calculated from the coordinates. To do. AAM uses a two-dimensional model (see FIG. 7 (a)) having a form and texture information consisting of a large number of feature points, and a three-dimensional model (see FIG. 7 (b)) consisting only of a form. This is a method for detecting the three-dimensional coordinates of the feature points and the angle of inclination of the head by fitting these models.

Many methods for detecting a sleep state using a face image have been proposed, and methods other than those described above may be used.
(2.3) Effect With the sleep system 1 configured as described above, the same effect as the sleep system 1 of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In addition, since the distance between feature points of a person's face is used as biometric information, the influence of noise due to vibration during traveling of the vehicle 2 is greatly increased as in the case of measuring heartbeats, pulse waves, and brain waves. I do not receive it.
(2.4) Modification Although the second embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can take various forms as long as it belongs to the technical scope of the present invention. Needless to say, you get.

  For example, by acquiring facial image data of an awake state and a sleep state in advance, and setting a threshold value of a facial feature point when transitioning from the awake state to the sleep state, sleep from the awake state with high accuracy. A transition to a state can be detected.

Side view showing sleep system Block diagram showing the sleep system The figure which shows the method of calculating | requiring LF and HF from RR interval Flow chart showing processing procedure of sleepiness detection processing The side view which shows the sleep system of Example 2 The block diagram which shows the sleeping system of Example 2 Diagram showing 2D model and 3D model of AAM

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Sleeping system, 2 ... Vehicle, 3 ... Passenger, 4 ... Seat, 10 ... Pulse wave sensor, 11 ... Electrocardiogram sensor, 20 ... Sleeping control ECU, 21 ... Control device, 22 ... Memory, 23 ... Input device, 24 ... Communication IC, 25 ... Illuminance sensor, 26 ... Temperature sensor, 27 ... Rain sensor, 28 ... Navigation system, 30 ... Seat reclining device, 40 ... Massage device, 50 ... Seat air conditioner, 60 ... Air conditioner, 70 ... Add oxygen Device: 80 ... Audio, 90 ... Sunshade opening / closing device, 100 ... Illumination, 110 ... Ottoman, 120 ... Monitor screen, 130 ... Shooting device

Claims (9)

Drowsiness detection means for detecting that the passenger is in a state of drowsiness based on biometric information of a vehicle occupant;
Control for causing the predetermined in-vehicle device mounted on the vehicle to perform an operation suitable for sleep of the occupant when it is detected by the drowsiness detection means that the occupant is in a state of drowsiness And a sleep apparatus characterized by comprising: The drowsiness detection means is a state of the passenger among at least a first drowsiness state and a second drowsiness state having a greater degree of drowsiness than the first drowsiness state as the state in which the passenger has drowsiness. Is determined and detected,
When the drowsiness detection unit detects that the first drowsiness state is detected, the control unit performs a sleep onset promoting operation for encouraging the passenger to fall asleep as an operation suitable for the sleep. The sleep maintenance operation | movement which maintains the said sleep state of the said passenger is performed as an operation | movement suitable for the said sleep, when it is detected by the detection means that it is the said 2nd sleepiness state. The sleeping device as described. The first drowsiness state is a state in which the occupant has sleepiness but is awake, and the second drowsiness state is a state in which the occupant is not awake and is sleeping. The sleep apparatus according to claim 2, wherein The control means does not change the operation of the in-vehicle device to the sleep onset promotion operation when the state detected by the sleepiness detection means transitions from the second sleepiness state to the first sleepiness state, and maintains the sleep maintenance The sleep apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the operation is continuously performed. Environmental information acquisition means for acquiring environmental information indicating the environment of the vehicle,
The said control means changes the operation | movement suitable for the said passenger's sleep to make the said vehicle-mounted apparatus perform based on the said environment information acquired by the said environment information acquisition means. 4. The sleep apparatus according to any one of 4 above. The biological information includes at least one of the occupant's heartbeat, pulse wave, brain wave,
The drowsiness detection means detects that the occupant is drowsy based on at least one of the heartbeat, pulse wave, and brain wave of the occupant. The sleep apparatus according to claim 5. The biological information includes position information indicating the position of a component on the passenger's face,
The sleep device according to claim 1, wherein the sleepiness detection unit detects that the occupant is in a state of sleepiness based on the position information. The on-vehicle device is at least one of a seat reclining device, a massage device, a seat air conditioner, an air conditioner, an oxygen addition device, an audio, a sunshade opening / closing device, illumination, an ottoman, and a monitor screen. The sleep apparatus according to claim 7. When it is detected that the occupant is drowsy based on the biological information of the occupant of the vehicle, and is detected that the occupant is drowsy, the vehicle is mounted on the vehicle. And a predetermined in-vehicle device to perform an operation suitable for the sleep of the occupant.