JP2015207253A - Vehicle notification device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle notification device capable of urging a driver to appropriately use an operation support.SOLUTION: A vehicle notification device (1) includes: self vehicle position acquisition means (3) for acquiring the position of a self vehicle; self vehicle use frequency acquisition means (3) for acquiring the use frequency HA of an operation support system (15) in a self vehicle in an area including the position of the self vehicle; other vehicle use frequency acquisition means (3) for acquiring the use frequency HB of an operation support system in another vehicle in the area; first notification means (3) for performing first notification on condition that the excess level of the use frequency HA with respect to the use frequency HB exceeds a predetermined high frequency threshold (a) and also the operation support system is being used in the self vehicle (b); and second notification means (3) for performing second notification on condition that the shortage level of the use frequency HA with respect to the use frequency HB exceeds a predetermined low frequency threshold.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle alarm device.

  Conventionally, driving assistance such as constant speed traveling / inter-vehicle distance control (ACC) and lane keeping (LKA) is known. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for explaining a driving support function to a driver by voice.

JP-A-9-109803

  The driver may overestimate driving assistance and use it excessively. In addition, the driver may distrust driving assistance and refrain from using it more than necessary. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle notification device that can prompt a driver to appropriately use driving assistance.

  The vehicle notification device according to the present invention includes a host vehicle position acquisition unit that acquires a position of the host vehicle, and a host vehicle use frequency acquisition that acquires a use frequency HA of the driving support system in the host vehicle in an area including the position of the host vehicle. Means, and another vehicle use frequency obtaining means for obtaining the use frequency HB of the driving support system in another vehicle in the region.

  Furthermore, in the vehicle alarm device of the present invention, (a) the degree of excess of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB exceeds a preset high frequency threshold, and (b) the driving support system is being used in the own vehicle. On the condition that the first notification means for performing the first notification and the degree of shortage of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB exceeds a preset low frequency threshold, the second Second informing means for informing.

  The vehicle alarm device according to the present invention has a high possibility that the driver is overconfident in the driving support system ((a) the degree of excess of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB exceeds a preset high frequency threshold. And (b) when the driving support system is being used in the host vehicle), the first notification is performed. As a result, the driver can be prevented from overconfidencing the driving support system, and the use of the driving support system can be optimized.

  In addition, the vehicle alarm device according to the present invention can be used when the driver is likely to be distrusted with respect to the driving support system (the degree of lack of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB is a preset low frequency threshold value). 2), the second notification is performed. As a result, distrust that the driver has in the driving support system can be reduced, and effective use of the driving support system can be promoted.

  The vehicle notification device of the present invention includes, for example, driver information acquisition means for acquiring information on the driver of the host vehicle, and the first notification means is provided when the driver information corresponds to specific driver information set in advance. Compared to other cases, the first notification mode can be changed. In this case, notification more suitable for the situation can be performed.

  The vehicle notification device of the present invention includes, for example, an environment information acquisition unit that acquires environment information around the host vehicle, and the first notification unit includes a case where the environment information corresponds to specific environment information set in advance. Compared to other cases, the first notification mode can be changed. In this case, notification more suitable for the situation can be performed.

In the vehicle notification device of the present invention, for example, the second notification can include a functional description of the driving support system. In this case, the use of the driving support system can be further promoted.
The vehicle alarm device according to the present invention can include, for example, a stopping unit that stops the use of the driving support system when (a) and (b) are established. In this case, the use of the driving support system can be further optimized.

It is explanatory drawing showing the structure of the alerting | reporting apparatus 1 for vehicles. It is a flowchart showing the update process of the own vehicle use log | history and other vehicle use log | history which the vehicle alerting | reporting apparatus 1 performs. It is explanatory drawing showing the usage information of the own vehicle. It is a flowchart showing the alerting | reporting process which the alerting | reporting apparatus 1 for vehicles performs.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1. Configuration of Vehicle Notification Device 1 The configuration of the vehicle notification device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The vehicle notification device 1 is an on-vehicle device mounted on a vehicle, and includes a control unit 3 and a database 5. In the following description, a vehicle on which the vehicle notification device 1 is mounted is referred to as a host vehicle, and other vehicles are referred to as other vehicles.

  The control unit 3 is a well-known computer that includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM (all not shown), and the like, and executes processing to be described later. The ROM of the control unit 3 stores a program for executing processing to be described later.

  The control unit 3 acquires information from the GPS 7, the map database (DB) 9, the driver information acquisition unit 11, the environment information acquisition unit 13, and the driving support system 15. The GPS 7, the map DB 9, the driver information acquisition unit 11, the environment information acquisition unit 13, and the driving support system 15 are all mounted on the host vehicle.

The GPS 7 can acquire the position information of the host vehicle and outputs the position information to the control unit 3. The map DB 9 stores map information and outputs the map information to the control unit 3.
The driver information acquisition unit 11 is installed in the passenger compartment of the host vehicle and can capture a driver's face, hands, feet, and the like, and a biological information sensor that can acquire the driver's biological information (sweat amount, heart rate, etc.) It consists of. The driver information acquisition unit 11 outputs the image captured by the camera and the biological information detected by the biological information sensor to the control unit 3.

The environment information acquisition unit 13 includes a camera capable of photographing the outside of the host vehicle (for example, the periphery of the host vehicle). The environment information acquisition unit 13 outputs an image captured by the camera to the control unit 3.
The driving support system 15 performs well-known driving support such as constant speed traveling / inter-vehicle distance control (ACC), lane keeping (LKA), and the like. There may be one type of driving assistance, or two or more types. The driving support system 15 determines whether the driving support is being executed (whether the driving support system 15 is on (in use) or off (not in use)) and the setting of the driving support system (for example, the set inter-vehicle distance in ACC). , Set speed, etc.) to the controller 3. The driving support system 15 outputs error information to the control unit 3 when an error occurs in driving support. Moreover, the control part 3 can stop the driving assistance which the driving assistance system 15 is performing, or can change setting conditions.

  The control unit 3 controls the speaker 17, the display 19, and the head-up display (HUD) 21. The speaker 17, the display 19, and the HUD 21 are all mounted on the host vehicle.

  Moreover, the control part 3 can transmit / receive information between portable information terminals (for example, a smart phone, a tablet-type terminal, a notebook computer, etc.) 23. The portable information terminal 23 includes a display and a speaker (not shown) and can output images and sounds. The portable information terminal 23 includes an application for performing first and second notifications described later.

  The control part 3 can transmit information to the external cloud computer 27 using the transmission part 25 with which the own vehicle is provided. Moreover, the control part 3 can receive information from the cloud computer 27 data using the receiving part 29 with which the own vehicle is provided. The cloud computer 27 includes a database 31 and can store information transmitted from the host vehicle and the other vehicle 33 in the database 31.

The control unit 3 includes a clock (not shown) and can acquire real-time time information.
The database 5 is composed of a hard disk drive (HDD) and can store, save, and read information. The database 5 stores an own vehicle use history 35 and an other vehicle use history 37. These will be described later.

2. Process (2-1) Update processing of own vehicle usage history and other vehicle usage history executed by the vehicle notification device 1 The own vehicle usage history and the other vehicle usage history are repeatedly executed by the vehicle notification device 1 every predetermined time. The update process will be described with reference to FIGS.

In step 1 of FIG. 2, it is determined whether or not the update timing has been reached. Here, the update timing can be any of the following, for example.
-Timing when a predetermined time has passed since the last update timing.

-Timing when the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance from the previous update timing.
-Timing when the host vehicle reaches a preset point on the map.
If the update timing has been reached, the process proceeds to step 2, and if not, the process ends.

  In step 2, the usage information of the own vehicle is created. As shown in FIG. 3, the use information of the own vehicle is information including ON / OFF of the driving support system, setting of the driving support system, position information, time information, error information of the driving support system, and a vehicle identification number. It is.

  Here, the on / off of the driving support system is information indicating whether the driving support system 15 is on or off at that time. When there are two or more types of driving assistance executed by the driving assistance system 15, it indicates whether each is on or off.

  Further, the setting of the driving support system is information representing a set inter-vehicle distance, a set speed, and the like in ACC, for example. The position information is the position information of the host vehicle at that time acquired using the GPS 7 and the map DB 9. The time information is time information at that time acquired using a clock provided in the control unit 3. Further, the error information of the driving support system is information indicating an error that occurs during the use of the driving support system. The vehicle identification number is an identification number of the own vehicle.

  In step 3, the usage information of the host vehicle created in step 2 is stored in the database 5. When the process of step 3 has been executed in the past, the past usage information of the host vehicle is already stored in the database 5. In the following, it is assumed that the past usage information of the own vehicle is the own vehicle usage history 35 (before update). In this step 3, the usage information of the own vehicle created in the immediately preceding step 3 and the past usage information of the own vehicle are combined and used as the updated own vehicle usage history 35.

  In step 4, the usage information of the host vehicle created in step 2 is transmitted to the cloud computer 27 using the transmission unit 25. Note that the cloud computer 27 can store the usage information of the host vehicle in the database 31 and transmit it to the other vehicle 33 as appropriate.

  In step 5, the use information of other vehicles is received from the cloud computer 27 using the receiving unit 29. The other vehicle use information basically has the same contents as the own vehicle use information shown in FIG. However, in the usage information of other vehicles, the on / off of the driving support system is information indicating whether the driving support system of the other vehicle is on or off at the time when the usage information of the other vehicle is created. In addition, the setting of the driving support system is information representing a set inter-vehicle distance, a set speed, and the like in another vehicle, for example, in ACC. The position information is the position information of the other vehicle at the time when the usage information of the other vehicle is created. Moreover, time information is time information showing the time which produced the usage information of the other vehicle. Further, the error information of the driving support system is information representing an error that has occurred while using the driving support system in another vehicle. The vehicle identification number is an identification number of another vehicle.

  The other vehicle 33 creates the usage information of the other vehicle and transmits it to the cloud computer 27 in the same manner as the method of creating the usage information of the own vehicle. The cloud computer 27 stores other vehicle usage information in the database 31 and transmits it to the own vehicle as appropriate.

In step 6, the usage information of the other vehicle received in step 5 is stored in the database 5. If the processing of step 6 has been performed in the past, the past usage information of other vehicles has already been stored in the database 5. Hereinafter, the past use information of other vehicles is referred to as another vehicle use history 37 (before update). In this step 6, the usage information of other vehicles received in step 5 immediately before and the usage information of other vehicles in the past are combined and used as the updated other vehicle usage history 37.
(2-2) Notification Process The notification process that the vehicle notification device 1 repeatedly executes every predetermined time will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, when there are two or more types of driving assistance executed by the driving assistance system 15, the following processing is performed for each driving assistance.

In step 11 of FIG. 4, the position of the host vehicle at that time is acquired using the GPS 7 and the map DB 9.
In step 12, first, all the usage information of the host vehicle that meets the following conditions is read from the host vehicle usage history 35.

  Condition: The position specified by the “position information” in the use information of the own vehicle belongs to a certain range (an example of an area including the position of the own vehicle) centered on the position of the own vehicle acquired in step 11.

  Next, let NA be the total number of the usage information of the own vehicle read out as described above, and the number of the usage information of the own vehicle read out as described above is “ON / OFF of driving support system” is on. When nA is used, the usage frequency HA is calculated by the following equation (1).

Formula (1) HA = nA / NA
This use frequency HA is a parameter that represents the use frequency of the driving support system in the host vehicle in an area including the position of the host vehicle.

In step 13, first, all usage information of other vehicles that meet the following conditions is read from the other vehicle usage history 37.
Condition: The position specified by the “position information” in the use information of the other vehicle belongs to a certain range (an example of an area including the position of the own vehicle) centered on the position of the own vehicle acquired in step 11.

  Next, let NB be the total number of usage information of other vehicles read out as described above, and the number of the usage information of other vehicles read out as described above is “ON / OFF of driving support system” is on. When nB is used, the usage frequency HB is calculated by the following equation (2).

Formula (2) HB = nB / NB
This use frequency HB is a parameter that represents the use frequency of the driving support system in another vehicle in a region including the position of the host vehicle.

In step 14, the driver information acquisition unit 11 (particularly a camera) is used to acquire images of the driver's face, right foot, and upper body. These are examples of driver information.
In step 15, the environment information acquisition unit 13 is used to acquire an image (an example of environment information) obtained by shooting a road around the host vehicle.

  In step 16, it is determined whether or not the value obtained by subtracting the usage frequency HB acquired in step 13 from the usage frequency HA acquired in step 12 is greater than the high frequency threshold T1. Here, the high frequency threshold T1 is a positive constant set in advance. If it is greater than the high frequency threshold T1, the process proceeds to step 17, and if it is equal to or less than the high frequency threshold T1, the process proceeds to step 19.

In this step 16, the value obtained by subtracting the usage frequency HB from the usage frequency HA is an example of the degree of excess of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB.
In step 17, it is determined whether or not the driving support system is being used (turned on) by the own vehicle at that time. If it is in use, the process proceeds to step 18, and if it is not in use, this process ends.

  In step 18, a first notification is made with a content that warns that the driver is overconfident in the driving support system. This first notification can be performed by one or more of the sound of the speaker 17, the image of the display 19, and the image of the HUD 21. Moreover, you may perform 1st alert | report by the audio | voice or image which the portable information terminal 23 utters.

Here, the first notification mode differs depending on the driver information acquired in Step 14 or the environment information acquired in Step 15.
For example, if the driver information acquired in step 14 is one of the following information (an example of specific driver information), the first notification mode (for example, the content of the image or sound, the volume of the sound) , Notification time, etc.) is more emphasized than in other cases.

An image showing that the driver's right foot is not attached to the brake pedal.
-An image showing that the driver's line of sight is not fully facing the meter.
An image showing that the driver's hand is away from the handle.

An image showing that the driver is eating and drinking and operating a mobile phone.
When the environment information acquired in step 15 is the following (an example of specific environment information), the first notification mode (for example, the contents of the image or sound, the volume of the sound, the notification time, etc.) ) Is more emphasized than otherwise.

An image indicating that there are a predetermined number or more of other vehicles around the host vehicle.
On the other hand, if a negative determination is made in step 16, the process proceeds to step 19. In step 19, it is determined whether or not a value obtained by subtracting the usage frequency HA acquired in step 12 from the usage frequency HB acquired in step 13 is larger than the low frequency threshold T2. Note that the low frequency threshold T2 is a positive constant set in advance. If it is greater than the infrequent threshold T2, the process proceeds to step 20. If it is less than the infrequent threshold T2, this process ends.

The value obtained by subtracting the usage frequency HA from the usage frequency HB is an example of the degree of shortage of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB.
In step 20, a second notification is made with a content that warns that the driver has distrust in the driving support system. This second notification can be performed by one or more of the sound of the speaker 17, the image of the display 19, and the image of the HUD 21. Moreover, you may perform 2nd alerting | reporting with the audio | voice or image which the portable information terminal 23 utters. The second notification includes a function description of the driving support system.

3. Effects produced by the vehicle notification device 1 (1) When the vehicle notification device 1 is highly likely that the driver is overconfident in the driving support system (when affirmative determination is made in steps 16 and 17), the first Notification. As a result, the driver can be prevented from overconfidencing the driving support system, and the use of the driving support system can be optimized.

  (2) The vehicle notification device 1 performs the second notification when the driver is highly likely to have distrust with the driving support system (when an affirmative determination is made in Step 19). As a result, distrust that the driver has in the driving support system can be reduced, and effective use of the driving support system can be promoted.

  (3) The vehicle notification device 1 changes the notification mode in the first notification unit based on the driver information and the environment information. This makes it possible to perform notification that is more suitable for the situation.

(4) The second notification includes a functional description of the driving support system. As a result, the use of the driving support system can be further promoted.
<Other embodiments>
(1) In step 16, it may be determined whether or not the following expression (3) holds.

Formula (3): HA / HB> T1
In the formula (3), T1 is a constant larger than 1. In this case, the value of “HA / HB” is an example of the degree of excess of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB.

In step 19, it may be determined whether or not the following equation (4) is established.
Formula (4): HB / HA> T2
In the formula (4), T2 is a constant larger than 1. In this case, the value of “HB / HA” is an example of the degree of shortage of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB.

  (2) In the case of performing the first notification, the vehicle notification device 1 may stop using the driving support system. In this case, the use of the driving support system can be further optimized.

  (3) When performing the first notification, the vehicle notification device 1 may change the setting conditions in the driving support system in addition to the notification. For example, when the driving support system is ACC, the set value of the inter-vehicle distance can be increased or the set speed can be decreased. Further, when the driving support system is KLA, the condition for determining the protrusion on the curve can be made stricter. The above setting conditions may be changed at once or gradually.

  (4) The second notification mode may also be changed based on driver information and environment information. For example, when the environmental information indicates that there are few other vehicles around the host vehicle, the function of the driving support system can be demonstrated in the actual road environment as the second notification mode.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Vehicle alerting device, 3 ... Control part, 5 ... Database, 7 ... GPS, 9 ... Map DB, 11 ... Driver information acquisition part, 13 ... Environmental information acquisition part, 15 ... Driving assistance system, 17 ... Speaker, 19 ... Display, 23 ... Portable information terminal, 25 ... Transmitter, 27 ... Cloud computer, 29 ... Receiver, 31 ... Database, 33 ... Other vehicle, 35 ... Own vehicle use history, 37 ... Other vehicle use history

Claims (5)

Own vehicle position acquisition means for acquiring the position of the own vehicle;
Own vehicle use frequency obtaining means for obtaining the use frequency HA of the driving support system in the own vehicle in an area including the position of the own vehicle;
Other vehicle use frequency acquisition means for acquiring the use frequency HB of the driving support system in another vehicle in the region;
(A) The degree of excess of the usage frequency HA with respect to the usage frequency HB exceeds a preset high frequency threshold, and (b) on the condition that the driving support system is being used in the host vehicle. First informing means for informing 1;
Second notification means for performing second notification on the condition that the degree of lack of the use frequency HA with respect to the use frequency HB exceeds a preset low frequency threshold;
A vehicle informing device comprising: Provided with driver information acquisition means for acquiring driver information of the own vehicle
The said 1st alerting | reporting means changes the aspect of a said 1st alerting | reporting, compared with the case other than that, when the information of the said driver corresponds to the specific driver information set beforehand. The vehicle alarm device according to 1. Environmental information acquisition means for acquiring environmental information around the host vehicle,
The first notification means changes the first notification mode when the environment information corresponds to specific environment information set in advance, as compared to other cases. The vehicle alarm device described in 1.   The vehicle notification device according to claim 1, wherein the second notification includes a functional description of the driving support system.   The vehicle notification device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a stopping unit that stops use of the driving support system when (a) and (b) are established.

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