JP2013186728A - Warning system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a warning system for improving the reliability of operation support.SOLUTION: The presence/absence of the reaction of an operator with respect to the operation support of an operation support system 15 is determined from the direction of the line of sight, the direction of the face, and the movement of the head including the face of the operator, and the presence/absence of the reaction of the operator with respect to the operation support from vehicle information when the operator performs an operation in accordance with the operation support. Furthermore, whether or not the operator has understood the content of the operation support of the operation support system 15 is determined from the reaction of the operator with respect to the operation support. Then, the configurations of the operation support to be performed by the operation support system 15 are changed, or a support level is changed in accordance with the reaction of the operator with respect to the operation support and the determination result of whether or not the operator has understood the content of the operation support. Thus, it is possible to achieve operation support by improving reliability.

Description

  The present invention relates to an alarm system with improved driving support reliability.

In recent years, many vehicles equipped with an obstacle detection sensor for detecting obstacles around the vehicle have been seen. An imaging camera or a radar device is used as an obstacle detection sensor for detecting obstacles around the vehicle.
In the case of an imaging camera, the camera is installed on the front and rear of the vehicle, door mirrors on the side of the vehicle, etc., and images obstacles on the front, rear, and sides of the vehicle. The reflected wave that is reflected back by the obstacle when irradiated sideways is detected.
In this way, when the driving support device assists the driving of the vehicle using the imaging camera or the radar device as an obstacle detection sensor, a specific response is given to the vehicle driver by a voice message in response to the alarm output by the driving support device. There is a vehicle alarm system that makes a request and appropriately controls the volume of an alarm sound by raising the alarm level in a stepwise manner when the vehicle driver does not respond in response to this request (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-182323 A

However, in such a vehicle alarm system, the vehicle driver recognizes a request for a specific response to the vehicle driver, the vehicle driver responds to the request, and detects a response indicated by the vehicle driver. The volume of the alarm sound is controlled depending on whether or not to do so.
For this reason, in the situation where the response cannot be detected despite the vehicle driver responding to the request for the specific reaction, unnecessary driving assistance that raises the level of warning stepwise is executed.
In addition, even if the vehicle driver recognizes a request for a specific reaction to the vehicle driver, the unnecessary level of driving increases even if the vehicle driver cannot respond to the request. There was a problem that the reliability of driving support could not be maintained, such as support being executed.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, and it aims at providing the alarm system which improves the reliability of driving assistance.

  The invention according to claim 1 is an alarm system for causing the driver of the vehicle to recognize the assistance for driving the vehicle performed by the driving support system, the face direction information for detecting the face direction of the driver of the vehicle, and the line of sight A driver monitor unit that monitors the driver's reaction information including any of the line-of-sight information for detecting the direction and the vehicle information associated with the driving operation; and when the driving support system provides support for driving the vehicle, Based on the driver reaction information monitored by the driver monitor unit, a driver reaction determination unit that determines whether the driver of the vehicle has recognized the assistance of the driving support system, and a determination result regarding the recognition of the driver And a support changing means for changing the support for driving the vehicle performed by the driving support system.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the driver's reaction information including any one of the face direction information that detects the face direction of the driver of the vehicle, the line-of-sight information that detects the line-of-sight direction, and the vehicle information that accompanies the driving operation is displayed on the driver monitor. When the driving support system provides support for driving the vehicle, the driving support system supports the driving of the vehicle based on the response information of the driver monitored by the driver monitoring unit. The driver reaction determination unit determines whether the driver has recognized, and the driving change support provided by the driving support system is changed by the support change unit according to the determination result regarding the driver recognition by the driver reaction determination unit. Therefore, when the driver of the vehicle is not aware of the support for driving the vehicle performed by the driving support system, the driving support The support system change with the aid changing means can be recognized by the vehicle driver, there is an effect capable of providing a warning system to improve the reliability of driving support.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the driving support system provides support for driving the vehicle, the vehicle with respect to the driving support system is based on the response information of the driver monitored by the driver monitor unit. The determination of the presence or absence of the driver's reaction is determined by a response determination means, and the driver's understanding of the vehicle is evaluated based on the determination result of the presence or absence of the driver of the vehicle, and the driving support system is based on the evaluation result It is possible to perform support according to whether the driver of the vehicle understands the support of the driving support system because the understanding level determination means determines whether the driver of the vehicle has recognized the support of the vehicle. Thus, it is possible to provide an alarm system that improves the reliability of driving support.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, when it is determined by the reaction determination means that there is no response from the driver of the vehicle to the support of the driving support system, the support form of the driving support system is changed by the support form changing means. Since it is configured, it is possible to determine the response of the driver of the vehicle to the support of the driving support system. Therefore, when there is no response, the alarm system improves the reliability of the driving support by changing the support form of the driving support system. There is an effect that can provide.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the degree of assistance of the driving assistance system is increased by the assistance level changing means as the degree of understanding of the driver of the vehicle evaluated by the understanding degree judging means decreases. Since the degree of understanding of the driver of the vehicle with respect to the assistance of the driving assistance system can be determined, when the degree of understanding is low, the warning that improves the reliability of the driving assistance by increasing the degree of assistance of the driving assistance system The system can be provided.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the alarm system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the alarm system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the driving | running state of the own vehicle and other vehicles in the alarm system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the alarm system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an alarm system 100 according to this embodiment.
This alarm system 100 is mounted on a vehicle. Further, in cooperation with the driving support system 15, reliability in driving support performed by the driving support system 15 is improved.
For this reason, the alarm system 100 includes a driver imaging camera 1, a driver monitor unit 3, a driver reaction determination unit 4, and support change means 151.
The driver monitor unit 3, the driver reaction determination unit 4, and the support change unit 151 are components constituting the core of the alarm system 100, and are configured by a microcomputer.

The driver imaging camera 1 images the head including the face of the driver seated in the driver's seat of the host vehicle.
The vehicle information 2 includes the vehicle speed, the steering angle (steering angle) of the steering, the accelerator operation amount that is the depression amount of the accelerator pedal, the brake operation amount that is the depression amount of the brake pedal, and the vehicle information 2 is detected by various vehicle information. It is detected by a sensor.
The steering angle is detected by a steering angle detection sensor, the accelerator operation amount is detected by an accelerator operation amount detection sensor, and the brake operation amount is detected by a brake operation amount detection sensor.

The driver monitor unit 3 detects facial parts such as eyes, nose and mouth from the image of the head including the face of the driver seated in the driver's seat of the host vehicle, which is imaged by the driver imaging camera 1, The head direction including the face direction, the line-of-sight direction, and the driver's face is monitored.
The driver monitor unit 3 includes a face direction estimating unit 31 and a line-of-sight direction estimating unit 32 that estimate the driver's face direction and line-of-sight direction from the image of the head including the driver's face.
The driver monitor unit 3 includes a vehicle speed detected by various vehicle information detection sensors, a steering angle (steering angle), an accelerator operation amount that is an accelerator pedal depression amount, and a brake operation that is a brake pedal depression amount. Vehicle information 2 including the quantity and the like is output.
The driver monitor unit 3 monitors the driver who performs the driving operation based on the face direction, the line-of-sight direction, the movement of the head including the face, the vehicle information 2 and the rate of change thereof.

The driver reaction determination unit 4 includes the face content estimated by the face direction estimation unit 31 and the line-of-sight direction estimation unit 32 based on the support content specifying information output from the driving support system 15 and the image of the head including the driver's face. The driver assistance system 15 performs the driving support system 15 based on driver monitor information such as the movement of the head including the face detected from the gaze direction, the image of the head including the driver's face, the vehicle information 2 and the rate of change thereof. It reacts to driving assistance and further determines whether or not the contents of assistance are understood.
Then, according to the determination result of whether or not the driver has responded to the driving support performed by the driving support system 15 and further the determination result of whether or not the driver has understood the support content, the support changing unit 151 supports the driving support system 15. Change the level and form of assistance to improve driving assistance reliability.
That is, the driver reaction determination unit 4 detects the driver's face direction monitored by the driver monitor unit 3 when the driving support system 15 provides support for driving the vehicle, and the line of sight It is determined whether the driver of the host vehicle recognizes the support of the driving support system 15 based on the reaction information including either the line-of-sight direction information in which the direction is detected or the vehicle information 2.

The assistance content identification information output from the driving assistance system 15 is information for identifying the content of the driving assistance that causes the reaction indicated by the driver of the vehicle when the driving assistance is performed.
If the driving support is “careful to the right rear”, the driver's driving assistance that causes the reaction of “turning the line of sight toward the right rear” or “directing the face toward the right rear” is indicated. “Back right” for specifying the content is support content specifying information.
In addition, when the driving support is “Please decelerate the speed”, the content of the driving support that causes the “reducing vehicle speed” reaction by the brake operation indicated by the driver of the vehicle is specified. Is support content specifying information.

The determination as to whether or not the driver has responded to the driving assistance performed by the driving assistance system 15 is performed as follows.
When determining whether or not the driver has responded to the driving assistance from the face of the monitored driver, for example, the voice announcement is “Attention to the right rear in driving assistance when the vehicle changes lanes to the overtaking lane. If it is output with the content “Please do”, the support content specifying information “right rear” output from the driving support system 15 is identified, and the driver's reaction corresponding to the identified support content specifying information “right rear”, That is, it is determined from the driver monitor information output from the driver monitor unit 3 whether or not the state of facing the driver's face is “right rear” is detected, and the driver ’s face is facing “right rear”. If the state is estimated and detected by the face direction estimating means 31, it is determined that the driver has responded to driving assistance.

The determination as to whether or not the driver has responded to the driving assistance from the monitored driver's line-of-sight direction is performed, for example, as follows.
When determining whether the driver has responded to the driving assistance from the monitored driver's line of sight, for example, the voice announcement is “attention ahead” in driving assistance when the vehicle approaches the pedestrian crossing while driving. If it is output with the content “Please do”, the support content specifying information “front” output from the driving support system 15 is identified, and the driver's reaction corresponding to the identified support content specifying information “forward”, that is, driving It is determined from the driver monitor information output from the driver monitor unit 3 whether or not a state in which the direction of the driver's line of sight is directed is detected, and the state in which the direction of the driver is directed toward the front is If it is estimated and detected by the direction estimating means 32, it is determined that the driver has reacted to driving assistance.

In addition, the driver responds to driving assistance from vehicle information including monitored vehicle speed, steering angle (steering angle), accelerator operation amount that is the amount of accelerator pedal depression, and brake operation amount that is the amount of brake pedal depression. The determination of whether or not has been performed is performed as follows, for example.
When determining whether or not the driver has responded to the driving assistance from the monitored vehicle information, for example, when the host vehicle is traveling, the voice announcement “decelerates” with the driving assistance when the vehicle speed increases and exceeds the legal speed. If it is output with the content “Please”, the support content specifying information “deceleration” output from the driving support system 15 is identified, and the driver's reaction corresponding to the identified support content specifying information “deceleration”, that is, the driver Whether or not a brake operation for “decelerating” is detected is determined from the brake operation amount of the vehicle information output from the driver monitor unit 3 and the rate of change of the vehicle speed to be decelerated.
Then, if the amount of brake operation by the driver performing the brake operation and the rate of change of the vehicle speed at which the driver decelerates exceed, for example, a preset reference value, it is determined that the driver has responded to driving assistance.

Further, the determination as to whether or not the driver understands the details of the driving assistance performed by the driving assistance system 15 is performed as follows.
For example, if the voice announcement is output with the content “The other vehicle is approaching from the right rear. Please stop” in the driving assistance when leaving the parking place where the host vehicle is parked forward, the driving assistance system 15 The support content specifying information “right rear” and “stop” are identified.
Then, from the driver monitor unit 3, it is determined whether or not the driver's reaction corresponding to the identified assistance content specifying information “right rear” and “stop” is detected, that is, whether or not a state facing the “right rear” is detected. Judgment is made based on the output driver monitor information, and it is determined whether or not the face orientation estimating means 31 estimates and detects the state of facing the driver's face facing “right rear”.
In addition, the vehicle information output from the driver monitor unit 3 indicates whether or not the driver's reaction corresponding to the assistance content specifying information “stop”, that is, whether or not a brake operation for “stopping” the driving operation of the driver is detected. Judgment is made from the amount of brake operation, the vehicle speed, and the rate of change of the vehicle speed at which the vehicle is decelerated.
Then, the amount of brake operation by the driver's braking operation, the rate of change of the vehicle speed to be decelerated exceeds, for example, a preset reference value, the vehicle speed is approaching the stop state, and the driver's face orientation is “ If the face direction estimating means 31 estimates and detects the state facing “right rear”, it is determined that the driver understands the content of the driving assistance.
In other words, when the driver's positive reaction is obtained for both the assistance content specifying information “right rear” and “stop”, it is determined that the driver understands the content of the driving assistance.

In another example, the voice announcement is output with the content "Please decelerate carefully with pedestrians ahead" with driving assistance when the vehicle is running and the pedestrian is approaching the pedestrian crossing. In this case, the assistance content identification information “front” and “deceleration” output from the driving assistance system 15 are identified, and the driver's reaction corresponding to the identified assistance content identification information “forward”, that is, the driver's line-of-sight direction. It is determined from the driver monitor information output from the driver monitor unit 3 whether or not a state directed to “front” is detected, and the state directed to “front” with respect to the driver's line-of-sight direction is the line-of-sight direction estimation means 32. It is determined whether it is estimated and detected.
The vehicle information output from the driver monitor 3 indicates whether or not the driver's reaction corresponding to the support content specifying information “deceleration”, that is, whether or not a brake operation for “decelerating” the driving operation of the driver is detected. The driver reaction determination unit 4 determines the brake operation amount, the vehicle speed, and the rate of change of the vehicle speed to be decelerated.
Then, the amount of brake operation due to the driver's braking operation, the rate of change of the vehicle speed to be decelerated exceeds, for example, a preset reference value, and the vehicle speed has decreased. If the directed state is estimated and detected by the line-of-sight direction estimation means 32, it is determined that the driver has understood the content of the driving assistance.
That is, when the driver's positive reaction is obtained for both the assistance content specifying information “forward” and “deceleration”, it is determined that the driver understands the content of the driving assistance.

In yet another example, driving assistance when the host vehicle exits the right turn signal and changes lanes to the overtaking lane, when the own vehicle is about to change lanes, When the vehicle is approaching the vehicle while accelerating, the voice announcement is output from the driving support system 15 when the message “Other vehicle is approaching the vehicle from the right rear. Right lane change prohibited” is output. Identification information “right rear” and “right lane change prohibited” are identified, and the driver ’s reaction corresponding to the identified assistance content identification information “right rear”, that is, the driver ’s face direction is set to “right rear”. It is determined from the driver monitor information output from the driver monitor unit 3 whether or not a facing state is detected, and the state of the driver facing the “right rear” is estimated and detected by the face direction estimating means 31. Or To.
Further, the driver's reaction corresponding to the identified assistance content specifying information “right lane change prohibition”, that is, vehicle information detected in association with the driving operation of the driver, in this case, the steering angle of the steering is about to change the right lane. The driver reaction determination unit 4 determines from the steering angle information of the steering information of the vehicle information output from the driver monitor unit 3 whether or not the vehicle is in a straight running state.
Then, when the driver's face direction is "right rear", the face direction estimating means 31 estimates and detects the state, and if the steering angle of the steering is not in a state of changing to the right lane, the driver Judge that you understand the contents of the support.
That is, when the driver's positive response is obtained for both the assistance content specifying information “right rear” and “right lane change prohibition”, it is determined that the driver understands the content of the driving assistance.

The support change unit 151 determines whether or not the driver has responded to the driving support of the driving support system 15 determined by the driver response determination unit 4 and whether or not the driver has understood the support content of the driving support system 15. Based on the driver reaction determination result, the driving support level is changed or the form is changed by the driving support system 15.
The change in the level of driving assistance is a change in which the volume is increased when the driving assistance is performed by an alarm sound or voice announcement. Further, when visually displaying the support content on the display 21, the brightness of the display of the support content output to the display 21 is increased or the display area is enlarged. Further, when driving support is combined with auditory support such as an alarm sound or voice announcement and support for visually displaying the support content on the display 21, either one of the support content or both support Change the level of driving support for the content.
The change of the form of driving support is changed from a form of auditory driving assistance using sound such as an alarm sound or voice announcement to a form of visual display output on the display 21. Further, in the case of a support form that is visually displayed and output on the display 21, it is changed to an auditory driving support form that uses a sound such as an alarm sound or a voice announcement. In the case of the form of the auditory driving assistance or the form of the visual driving assistance, and further when the form of the auditory driving assistance and the form of the visual driving assistance are combined. The driving assistance mode is changed by giving the driver a mechanical stimulus such as mechanically vibrating a seat used in combination with the auditory driving assistance mode or the visual driving assistance mode.

The driving support system 15 is mounted on a vehicle, and a driving support sensor 16 that detects obstacles around the vehicle, searches for other vehicles and obstacles in the front, rear, left rear, and right rear of the vehicle. Driving support radar device 17 having a function capable of measuring a distance, a moving direction, a moving speed, a speed change, and the like, and a driving support camera 18 having a function capable of imaging the surroundings of the vehicle and identifying other vehicles and obstacles. To provide driving assistance. In addition to the autonomous driving support system that uses the driving support radar device 17, a configuration that functions as a communication-based driving support system may be used.
In addition, the driving support system 15 performs various driving support by voice announcement through the speaker 20 by the support control unit 19.
Further, the support control unit 19 outputs a display including icons and characters for driving support to the liquid crystal display 21 to perform visual driving support.
The driving support radar device 17 includes a front obstacle search radar device that searches for other vehicles and obstacles in front of the vehicle, a rear obstacle search radar device that searches for other vehicles and obstacles behind the vehicle, and the rear left of the vehicle. It includes a left rear obstacle search radar device that searches for other vehicles and obstacles, and a right rear obstacle search radar device that searches for other vehicles and obstacles behind the right side of the vehicle.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the alarm system 100 of this embodiment. The operation will be described below according to this flowchart.
The program shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is stored in the ROM of the microcomputer that constitutes the driver monitor unit 3, the driver reaction determination unit 4, and the support change unit 151 of the alarm system 100. The alarm system 100 and the driving support system 15 both start to operate together with the accessory power on.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the traveling status of the host vehicle 201 and the other vehicle 202 used to explain the operation of the alarm system.
The host vehicle 201 is traveling on a traveling lane 301 on a two-lane road.
At this time, the other vehicle 202 travels on the overtaking lane 302 on the right rear side of the host vehicle 201 at a speed exceeding the travel speed of the host vehicle 201.
Further, the own vehicle 201 traveling in the traveling lane 301 is about to change the lane to the overtaking lane 302 by blinking the right turn signals 211 and 212.
The driving support system 15 of the host vehicle 201 includes the other vehicle 202 that is traveling in the radar search area 221 in the overtaking lane 302 on the right rear side of the host vehicle 201 by the driving support radar device 17, and its traveling speed and speed change. Is detected.

In such a situation, the driving support system 15 of the host vehicle 201 detects that the host vehicle 201 is about to change the lane to the right lane from the blinking operation status of the right turn signals 211 and 212 of the host vehicle 201, The support control unit 19 outputs a voice announcement with the content “Please pay attention to other vehicles on the right rear” via the speaker 20.
The driving support system 15 of the host vehicle 201 outputs such a voice announcement under the situation shown in FIG. 3 and performs driving assistance according to the situation.
Then, the support content specifying information “right rear” is output to the driver reaction determination unit 4 of the alarm system 100.

At this time, the alarm system 100 determines whether or not there is a support output from the driving support system 15 (step S1).
The determination as to whether or not there is a support output is made based on the output of support content specifying information from the driving support system 15 to the driver reaction determination unit 4 accompanying the driving support executed by the driving support system 15. Alternatively, it is determined from a status signal indicating that driving support is being performed by the driving support system 15.

When driving support is being performed by the driving support system 15 and the support content specifying information is output from the driving support system 15, the support content specifying information is subsequently identified, and the corresponding reaction detection target is identified from the identified support content specifying information. Is determined (step S2).
That is, if the identified support content specifying information is “right rear”, the corresponding reaction detection target attributes are “line of sight” and “face orientation”, and if the identified support content specifying information is “deceleration”, the corresponding reaction If the detected target attribute is “brake operation amount” and the identified support content specifying information is “acceleration”, the corresponding reaction detection target attribute is “accelerator operation amount”. The attributes to be detected are defined in advance.

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the attributes “line of sight” and “face orientation” of the reaction detection target corresponding to the support content specifying information “right rear” are determined. Thus, the driver monitor information about the face direction of the driver of the host vehicle 201 is detected by the driver monitor unit 3, and the driver monitor for the driver's line of sight of the driver of the host vehicle 201 is detected by the sight line direction estimating means 32 Information is detected by the driver monitor unit 3 (step S3).

Subsequently, it is determined from the driver monitor information about the detected “face orientation” and “line-of-sight direction” of the driver whether or not the driver has responded to the driving support by the driving support system 15 (step S4). ).
For the determination of whether or not the driver has responded to the driving assistance with respect to the “face orientation” and the “gaze direction”, for example, the “face orientation” is directed more than a preset reference angle from the front to the right rear. It is determined that the driver has responded to the driving assistance when the vehicle is driving.
Further, it is determined that the driver has responded to the driving assistance when the “line-of-sight direction” is directed to the right rear or more than the reference angle set in advance to the right.
In this case, it is determined that the driver has responded to the driving assistance when it is determined that the driver has responded to either “face orientation” or “line-of-sight direction” or both.
A driver reaction determination result indicating whether or not the driver has responded to the driving assistance is output from the driver reaction determining unit 4 to the assistance changing unit 151.

If it is determined in step S4 that the driver does not respond to the driving assistance, that is, the driver faces the front and directs the face direction and the line-of-sight direction to the right rear. When it is determined that there is no driver response, the driver response determination result is output from the driver response determination unit 4 to the support change unit 151. Then, the support change means 151 changes the content of the support form performed by the driving support system 15 based on the driver reaction determination result that the driver does not respond (step S5).
If the support form up to that point is a voice announcement with the content “Please pay attention to other vehicles behind the right”, in addition to this voice announcement, the liquid crystal display 21 displays Characters such as “Attention to the vehicle” are displayed and output in a size, hue, and brightness to which the driver pays attention. Alternatively, in addition to the voice announcement, a mechanical vibration that can be sufficiently felt by the driver is output to the seat by the vibrator device.

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S4 that the driver has a reaction corresponding to the driving assistance, the driver further determines the degree of understanding of the driving assistance contents (step S6). The determination of the degree of understanding of the driving support content is performed as follows, for example.
In the example shown in FIG. 3, a stable reaction with respect to the driver's “face orientation” and “line-of-sight direction” is detected from the driver monitor information about the driver's “face direction” and “line-of-sight direction” detected in the vehicle 201. This is done by determining whether or not the person is present.

Whether or not the driver has a stable reaction depends on, for example, the number m of times when the line-of-sight direction is directed in a direction corresponding to driving assistance within a preset unit time, and the line-of-sight direction in a direction other than the direction corresponding to driving assistance. When the number of times of directivity is n, the ratio of the number of times m that the line-of-sight direction is directed in the direction corresponding to the driving assistance is defined as an understanding degree U = m / (n + m), and this understanding degree U is a preset reference value Uth. It is determined that it is “understood” if it exceeds the threshold value, and it is determined that it is “not understood” when the degree of understanding U is equal to or lower than a preset understanding level determination reference value Uth.
As a result, the reaction corresponding to the driving assistance, that is, the line of sight direction and the face direction is directed to “right rear” in the example shown in FIG. 3, while “face direction” and “line of sight direction” are directed to the left rear and rear. In situations where the “face orientation” or “line-of-sight direction” is not fixed, such as when the vehicle speed or steering angle is disturbed, the percentage of the number of times the line-of-sight direction is directed in the direction corresponding to driving assistance is reduced. Since it becomes lower than the determination reference value Uth, it is determined that the driving support content is not understood.

Note that by providing a plurality of understanding level determination reference values Uth in a stepwise manner, for example, Uth1>Uth2> Uth3, the driver's understanding level of the vehicle is evaluated, and the driving support system 15 assists based on the evaluation result. May be configured to determine whether or not the driver of the vehicle has recognized.
When configured in this manner, the degree of assistance of the driving assistance system 15 is increased as the degree of understanding of the evaluated driver becomes lower.
As a result, when the degree of understanding is lower, it is possible to improve the reliability of driving assistance by increasing the degree of assistance of the driving assistance system 15.

If it is determined in step S6 that the driver assistance content is understood, the process shown in FIG. 2 is skipped and the process is repeated from step S1. On the other hand, if it is determined that the content of the driving assistance is not understood, the assistance changing means 151 causes the driving assistance system 15 to increase the volume of the voice announcement “Please pay attention to the other vehicle on the right rear”. To change the volume level of the voice announcement.
Further, if an alarm sound is output at this time, the sound volume is changed to increase. In addition, if the LCD display 21 displays the characters and icons “Please pay attention to other vehicles on the right rear”, the brightness level is increased, or the hue is more appealing to the driver. Is changed (step S7).
Note that step S4 corresponds to the reaction determination means of claim 2, step S5 corresponds to the support form change means of claim 3, step S6 corresponds to the understanding level determination means of claim 2, and step S7 corresponds to the support level change means of claim 4. To do.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the presence or absence of the driver's reaction to the driving assistance of the driving assistance system 15 is determined from the driver's line-of-sight direction, face orientation, and the movement of the head including the face. Further, it is configured to determine whether or not the driver reacts to the driving support from vehicle information when the driver performs a driving operation according to the driving support.
Furthermore, it was comprised so that the said driver | operator could determine whether the said driver understood the content of the driving assistance of the said driving assistance system 15 from the reaction of the driver with respect to the said driving assistance.
Then, depending on the driver's reaction to the driving support and the determination result of whether or not the driver understands the content of the driving support, the driving support mode performed by the driving support system 15 is changed, or Since the support level is changed, driving support with improved reliability can be realized.

(Second Embodiment)
Next explained is the second embodiment of the invention. The configuration of the alarm system of this embodiment is the same as the configuration of the alarm system of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
In the alarm system of this embodiment, when the driver's reaction to the driving assistance of the driving assistance system 15 is delayed, the timing of the driving assistance output from the driving assistance system 15 is advanced.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the alarm system of this embodiment. In FIG. 4, the same or equivalent processes as in FIG.

In the alarm system of this embodiment, if the driver does not react in accordance with the assistance contents of the driving support system 15 in step S4, the timer count is incremented by “1” in step S11.
In subsequent step S12, it is determined whether or not the timer count value is equal to or less than a predetermined value M set in advance.
This specified value M is a period during which the presence or absence of the driver's reaction according to the support content of the driving support system 15 is observed. The driver according to the observation period corresponding to the specified value M and the support content of the driving support system 15 The presence or absence of the reaction is observed, and if there is no driver's reaction within this period, the process proceeds to step S5 to change the form of support.

If it is determined in step S4 that there is a driver's reaction according to the support content of the driving support system 15, the timer count value C when it is determined in step S21 that there is a driver's reaction is set in advance. It is determined whether or not the set specified value P is exceeded.
The specified value P corresponds to a period for determining a delay in the driver's reaction timing with respect to the driving support of the driving support system 15, and when the driver's reaction timing is delayed beyond this period, step S22 is performed. The process of advancing the timing of the driving assistance performed by the driving assistance system 15 at, for example, the timing when the voice announcement of “Please pay attention to other vehicles on the right rear” is output.
In step S21, when it is determined that the timer count value C when it is determined that there is a driver's reaction does not exceed the preset specified value P, the timing of the driver's reaction is not delayed. That is, the process proceeds to step S6 and subsequent steps.

  Therefore, according to this embodiment, in addition to the effect of the alarm system of the first embodiment, in the situation where the timing of the driver's reaction to the assistance contents of the driving assistance system 15 tends to be delayed, the driving assistance system 15 As a result, the timing of the driving assistance performed by the vehicle is accelerated, and even a driver whose reaction timing tends to be delayed can provide appropriate driving assistance, thereby realizing driving assistance with improved reliability.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Driver imaging camera, 3 ... Driver monitor part, 4 ... Driver reaction determination part, 15 ... Driving support system, 31 ... Face direction estimation means, 32 ... Gaze direction estimation means, 100 ... Alarm system 151 …… Support change means.

Claims (4)

An alarm system for causing a driver of the vehicle to recognize assistance for driving the vehicle performed by the driving support system,
A driver monitor unit that monitors the driver's reaction information including any one of face direction information that detects the face direction of the driver of the vehicle, line-of-sight information that detects a line-of-sight direction, and vehicle information that accompanies a driving operation;
The driver of the vehicle recognizes the support of the driving support system based on the response information of the driver monitored by the driver monitor unit when the driving support system provides support for driving the vehicle. A driver reaction determination unit for determining whether or not
Support change means for changing the support for driving the vehicle performed by the driving support system according to the determination result regarding the recognition of the driver;
An alarm system characterized by comprising: The driver reaction determination unit
Based on the response information of the driver monitored by the driver monitor unit, reaction determination means for determining the presence or absence of a response of the driver of the vehicle to the support of the driving support system;
Based on the determination result of the presence or absence of a response of the driver of the vehicle, an understanding of determining whether the driver of the vehicle recognizes the support of the driving support system based on the evaluation result based on the evaluation result of the driver of the vehicle Degree determination means;
The alarm system according to claim 1, further comprising:   5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising support mode changing means for changing the support mode of the driving support system when it is determined by the response determining unit that there is no response from the driver of the vehicle to the support of the driving support system. 2. The alarm system according to 2.   3. The alarm system according to claim 2, further comprising support level changing means for increasing the degree of support of the driving support system as the understanding level of the driver of the vehicle evaluated by the understanding level determination means decreases. .

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