JP2011150577A - Alarm device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an alarm device issuing an alarm to the surroundings according to an awaking degree of a driver. <P>SOLUTION: The alarm device 1 includes: a collision probability calculation part 14 deciding a collision risk between a vehicle A and a pedestrian C; and a driver state recognition part 13 deciding the awaking degree of the driver B of the vehicle A. When the alarm device issues the alarm to the pedestrian C based on the collision risk, the alarm device changes a degree of the alarm according to the awaking degree. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm device.

  Conventionally, as an alarm device for a pedestrian, for example, for a vehicle that is provided in a vehicle as disclosed in Patent Document 1 and emits a predetermined sound by an operation of a driver (driver) of the vehicle to notify the vicinity of the own vehicle to the surroundings An approach notification device is disclosed.

JP 2008-162477 A

  However, when the driver's operation is used to notify the nearby pedestrian or the like of the approach of the vehicle, the notification to the surroundings is delayed in situations where the driver is asleep or the awakening level is low. There was a problem of ending up.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and determines the risk of collision with pedestrians, etc., even if the driver's arousal level is low, without delay, for pedestrians etc. An object is to provide an alarm device capable of informing.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention comprises a collision risk determination means for determining a collision risk between a vehicle and an object, and a wakefulness determination means for determining a wakefulness level of a driver of the vehicle, and is based on the collision risk. When the alarm is issued to the object, the alarm level is changed according to the arousal level.

  The alarm device includes a collision risk determination unit that determines a collision risk between a vehicle and an object, and a wakefulness determination unit that determines a wakefulness level of a driver of the vehicle. When the alarm is issued, the alarm level is changed according to the arousal level. Thereby, it is possible to determine the risk of collision with a pedestrian or the like, and to issue a warning without delay even when the driver's arousal level is low. As a result, it is possible to reduce the risk of contact between the vehicle and the pedestrian, for example, by suppressing or avoiding the approach of the pedestrian to the vehicle.

  Moreover, in the said alarm device, it is preferable to make the degree of an alarm large, so that the said arousal level is low. The lower the alertness of the driver of the vehicle, for example, the easier it is to delay the timing of issuing an alarm to surrounding objects. By increasing the degree of alarm, it is possible to more sufficiently prevent pedestrians around the vehicle. It is possible to warn properly without delay.

  Further, the alarm device preferably further includes a future position predicting unit that predicts the future position of the vehicle in order to determine a collision risk, and the future position predicting unit preferably predicts the future position of the vehicle according to the arousal level. . The alarm device further includes a future position predicting means, and predicting the future position of the vehicle according to the awakening level of the driver of the vehicle makes it easier to determine a collision risk higher. As a result, an alarm can be given to pedestrians around the vehicle at an earlier timing, for example, and the risk of contact between the vehicle and the pedestrians can be further reduced.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, even if it is a case where the collision risk with a pedestrian etc. is determined and a driver | operator's arousal level is low, it can provide a warning device which can alert | report to a pedestrian etc. without delay. it can.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an alarm device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the alarm determination in 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the determination procedure of the alarm content in step 6 of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the map which selects the alert content by the alertness degree of the driver | operator of a vehicle, and the degree of a collision risk. It is a structure schematic diagram of the alarm device which concerns on 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the arousal level of the driver | operator of a vehicle, and prediction of the future position of a vehicle.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an alarm device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The alarm device 1 is mounted on the vehicle A, recognizes, for example, a pedestrian C that is an object around the vehicle A, predicts the future position of the vehicle A, and predicts the collision probability (collision risk between the vehicle A and the pedestrian C). ), And the device that recognizes the awakening level of the driver (driver) B of the vehicle A and changes the warning level according to the awakening level when issuing a warning to the pedestrian C based on the collision risk. is there. The alarm device 1 includes an alarm determination ECU (Electric Control Unit) 10. The alarm determination ECU 10 includes a camera (for pedestrians) 2, a wheel speed sensor 3, an acceleration sensor 4, a yaw rate sensor 5, and a camera (for drivers) 6. Electrically connected.

  The camera (for pedestrians) 2 is a camera for photographing the surroundings of the vehicle A, and for example, photographs about the direction in which the vehicle A travels. The captured image is transmitted to the pedestrian recognition unit 11 as an image signal.

  The wheel speed sensor 3 is disposed on each wheel of the vehicle A and detects the rotation speed of the wheel A. The detected rotation speed is transmitted to the host vehicle future position prediction unit 12 as a rotation speed signal.

  The acceleration sensor 4 detects the direction and magnitude of the acceleration of the vehicle A, and the detected acceleration of the vehicle A is transmitted to the own vehicle future position prediction unit 12 as an acceleration signal.

  The yaw rate sensor 5 detects the yaw rate of the vehicle A (the speed at which the vehicle rotates), and the detected yaw rate of the vehicle A is transmitted to the host vehicle future position prediction unit 12 as a yaw rate signal.

  The camera (for driver) 6 is a camera that is attached to the front side of the driver's seat, for example, and photographs the facial expression of the driver B driving the vehicle A, and the captured image is transmitted to the driver state recognition unit 13 as an image signal. Is done.

  The above-described alarm determination ECU 10 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an input / output port, and the like. The CPU operates according to a control program stored in the ROM while reading / writing data from / to the RAM. In addition to the recognition unit 11, the vehicle future position prediction unit 12, and the driver state recognition unit 13, a collision probability calculation unit 14 and an alarm determination unit 15 are provided.

  The pedestrian recognition unit 11 has a function of recognizing a pedestrian. For example, an object such as a pedestrian C can be detected from an image photographed by the camera (for pedestrian) 2 and the current position, traveling direction, speed, etc. of the pedestrian C can be estimated. It is also possible to calculate and output the probability distribution of the existing position of the recognized pedestrian after T seconds.

  The own vehicle future position prediction unit 12 has a function of predicting the future position of the own vehicle. For example, the speed of the vehicle A can be calculated based on the rotational speed of the wheel of the vehicle A transmitted from the wheel speed sensor 3, and the acceleration of the vehicle A transmitted from the acceleration sensor 4 and transmitted from the yaw rate sensor 5. Based on the yaw rate of the vehicle A and the like, the probability distribution of the location and speed of the host vehicle (vehicle A) after a certain time can be obtained.

  The driver state recognition unit 13 has a function of recognizing the state of the driver. For example, based on the face of driver B in the image taken by the camera (for driver) 6, it is possible to determine the face orientation and the side-viewing state. Further, the state of reduced arousal level can be detected from the closed state such as the movement of the eyes of the driver B and the eyelid.

  The collision probability calculation unit 14 has a function of calculating a probability that the own vehicle and a pedestrian or the like collide. For example, the collision probability can be calculated based on the probability distribution of the existence probability after a certain time between the pedestrian C and the vehicle A.

  The alarm determination unit 15 has a function of determining whether or not to activate an alarm. For example, an object corresponding to a predetermined collision probability, for example, a pedestrian C is selected, and a determination is made as to whether or not to activate an alarm for notifying the approach of the vehicle A to the selected direction of the pedestrian C, When generating an alarm, the alarm generation unit 20 is instructed.

  The alarm generation unit 20 has a function of generating an alarm. For example, an alarm such as sound or light is generated based on an instruction from the alarm determination unit 15.

  FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the procedure of alarm determination in the first embodiment, and this operation procedure is repeatedly executed by the alarm determination ECU 10 at a predetermined cycle. When the operation is started, first, as S2, the collision probability calculation unit 14 calculates the collision probability.

  In S4, based on the collision probability calculated in S2, it is determined whether or not there is a target (an object such as a pedestrian C) having a high collision probability. If there is no target with a high collision probability, the process ends with skipping. On the other hand, if there is an object with a high collision probability, the alarm content corresponding to the driver state is determined in S6. In S8, an alarm is executed according to the alarm content determined in S6.

  Here, FIG. 3 shows a specific procedure for determining the alarm contents according to the driver state in S6. First, in S <b> 10, the driver state recognition unit 13 determines the awakening level of the driver B. As a result, if the awakening level of the driver B is equal to or lower than the threshold value in S12, for example, it is considered that the driver's awakening level is low, and the first warning content, for example, a higher warning than the set value is selected (S14). ). On the other hand, when the arousal level is larger than the threshold, it is determined that the awakening level of the driver B is high, and a slow alarm smaller than the set value is selected as the second alarm content (S16).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the alarm determination unit 15 has a selection map for selecting alarm contents based on the arousal level of the driver B of the vehicle A and the degree of collision risk, and according to the area on the map. The degree of alarm content is changed. In the alarm content selection map, for example, the area is divided into three areas a to c as shown in FIG.

  The area a is a state where the collision probability is high or the awakening level of the driver B is low even if the collision probability is low. In such a state, it is necessary to notify the pedestrian C of the danger of approaching the vehicle A. Because of the high nature, warning content that emphasizes urgency is selected.

  The region b is a case where the awakening level of the driver B is intermediate, or a state where the awakening level is high even if the collision risk is high. In such a state, the pedestrian C is made aware of the approach of the vehicle A. The standard alarm content is selected because it is good.

  The area c is a state in which the driver B has a high arousal level and the collision probability is not high. Therefore, in such a state, there is no need for the pedestrian C to recognize the approach of the vehicle A, and no warning is required. Determined.

  In the area a, as described above, the alarm content that emphasizes the urgency is selected, but as a specific example of the alarm content that emphasizes the urgency, the volume of the alarm sound is increased or the period is set. Faster, higher frequency, etc. Further, since it is assumed that the alarm is intermittently performed in the region b, the intermittent interval is shortened, or when light is used, the projection angle is increased and the low beam is changed to the high beam. And so on. Further, the vehicle A approaching the pedestrian C can be recognized by projecting light for a certain period of time with a pattern such as passing that changes from constant light projection to intermittent light projection.

  Thus, since the collision risk is high and the awakening level is low, since it has a warning content selection means (selection map) that determines that the collision probability is high, by selecting the warning content that emphasizes urgency, It is also possible for the pedestrian C to recognize the difference between the time when the vehicle approaches and the time when the vehicle approaches when the vehicle is approaching abnormally (when the awakening level of the driver B is reduced). Then, by giving a more appropriate warning to the pedestrian C, the vehicle A and the pedestrian are alerted to the vehicle A to prevent or prevent the pedestrian C from approaching the vehicle A. The risk of contact with C can be reduced.

  As described above, the alarm device according to the first embodiment of the present invention determines the risk of collision with a pedestrian or the like, and notifies the pedestrian or the like without delay even if the driver's arousal level is low. Is possible.

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of an alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment (FIG. 1) of the present invention, the detection result of the driver state recognition unit 13 is output to the alarm determination unit 15. However, in the second embodiment, the detection result of the driver state recognition unit 13 is It is different from the first embodiment in that it is output to the vehicle future position prediction unit 12.

In the own vehicle future position prediction unit 12, in order to obtain the position of the own vehicle (vehicle A) after a predetermined time T seconds, for example, it is assumed that the probability distribution follows a normal distribution of the following equation. The probability density function of the position x in the traveling direction (x direction) is expressed as follows: μx = X (T) = V0 · T + 0.5 · A0 · T ² , standard deviation, where V0 is the current velocity and A0 is the acceleration Is according to the following equation (1) when δx = 0.5 · A0 · T ² (however, acceleration is positive on the same acceleration side as the traveling direction).

Similarly to the above, if the offset from the center of the current lane is y0 and the yaw rate is γ0, the average is μy = y0−0.5 · V0 · γ · T ² , and the standard deviation is δy = 0.5 · V0 · γ · T ² Assuming that the information input from the driver state is α (α ≧ 0), the yaw rate γ ₂ considering the driver state (awakening level) is γ ₂ = γ + α. It is assumed that α takes a larger value as the awakening level of the driver B decreases or the time spent on the side is longer.

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the arousal level of the driver B of the vehicle A and the prediction of the future position of the vehicle A. As shown in FIG. 6, when the awakening level of the driver B decreases, the existence range of the vehicle A after T seconds is predicted to be enlarged. Along with this, the intersection of the pedestrian C with the predicted existence position after T seconds increases, and the collision probability becomes higher than before and is easily calculated. As a result, it is possible to warn more widely, for example, the warning timing is advanced, or an object (for example, pedestrian D) that has not been a warning target until now is also a warning target.

  As described above, the alarm device according to the second embodiment of the present invention also determines the risk of collision with a pedestrian or the like, and notifies the pedestrian or the like without delay even if the driver's arousal level is low. It becomes possible.

  In addition, the said embodiment does not limit the structure of this invention. For example, in order to acquire information for recognizing the pedestrian C, in addition to acquiring an image with the above-described camera (for pedestrians) 2, for example, a millimeter wave radar or a laser radar may be used. May be used in combination.

  In the vehicle future position prediction unit 12, in addition to the measurement sensors such as the wheel speed sensor 3, the acceleration sensor 4, and the yaw rate sensor 5, the operation amount of the driver B such as an accelerator, a brake, and a steering is detected and used for prediction. Also good.

  Similarly, in addition to the camera (for driver) 6, the driver state recognition unit 13 also uses a method for estimating the awakening state of the driver B from the steering operation of the driver B and the degree of meandering in the lateral direction of the vehicle A, for example. It may be used.

  In addition, in the calculation of the collision probability, an index such as TTC (Time To Collation) conventionally used may be used in addition to the above.

  Furthermore, the alarm content selection map including the arousal level and the collision risk level of the driver B of the vehicle A may be formulated as an evaluation function instead of the map format as shown in FIG.

  In addition to the above, specific examples of alarm contents emphasizing urgency include light and sound emission, expansion of the sound generation area without narrowing down, and use of directional sound generation in area B In such a case, the region A may be switched to omnidirectional pronunciation. In addition, in the case where light emission is used in the region B, the region A can be switched to sound generation.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Alarm device, 2 ... Camera (for pedestrians), 3 ... Wheel speed sensor, 4 ... Acceleration sensor, 5 ... Yaw rate sensor, 6 ... Camera (for driver), DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Alarm determination ECU, 11 ... Pedestrian recognition part, 12 ... Own vehicle future position prediction part (future position prediction means), 13 ... Driver state recognition part (wakefulness determination means), 14 ... collision probability calculation unit (collision risk determination means), 15 ... alarm determination unit, 20 ... alarm generation unit.

Claims (3)

A collision risk judging means for judging a collision risk between a vehicle and an object;
Awakening level determination means for determining the level of awakening of the driver of the vehicle,
An alarm device, wherein when the alarm is issued to the object based on the collision risk, the alarm level is changed according to the arousal level.   The alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the degree of alarm is increased as the degree of arousal is lower. Further comprising a future position prediction means for predicting a future position of the vehicle to determine the collision risk;
The alarm device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the future position predicting means predicts the future position of the vehicle according to the arousal level.

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