JP2017001548A - Driving support apparatus for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a driving support apparatus for a vehicle capable of awakening a driver whose consciousness is deteriorated, to a normal state, and coping when an unexpected situation occurs in a road condition, weather, vehicles around, etc.SOLUTION: A driving support apparatus for a vehicle mounted on a vehicle in which an engine starts when a brake is released from an idling stop state, which awakens a driver when he or she falls into a doze state while driving includes: an on-vehicle camera for taking a picture of the driver's face; and a conscious condition determination unit for determining whether or not the driver is in a deteriorated consciousness state on the basis of the picture of the driver's face taken by the on-vehicle camera. If the conscious condition determination unit determines that the driver is in a deteriorated consciousness state, the start of the vehicle is caused to be delayed when the driver presses down on the accelerator, and the driver is caused to know that he or she is in a deteriorated consciousness state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention
Equipped with the vehicle where the engine starts when the brake is released from the idling stop state,
The present invention relates to a driving support device for a vehicle that wakes up the driver when the driver falls asleep during driving.

[1] Technology of Patent Document 1 Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a driver's drowsiness is detected, a throttle valve, an igniter, a suspension, an injector, an intake valve, an automatic transmission of a running vehicle There has been a technique for controlling the machine, the idle cylinder, etc. to generate a change in the running state.
However, according to this technology, it has been impossible to cope with unexpected situations in road conditions, weather, surrounding vehicles, and the like, because the driving state of the vehicle is changed.
[2] Technology of Patent Document 2 The driver's arousal level and consciousness level decrease more strongly during non-driving operations such as waiting for traffic lights and stopping traffic than when driving. In recent years, an increasing number of vehicles have an idling stop function for forcibly stopping an engine when the vehicle is stopped and restarting the engine when starting. In such a vehicle, the vibration and noise in the passenger compartment are eliminated by stopping the rotation of the engine when the vehicle stops. Therefore, there is a problem that the interior of the vehicle is quieter than that of a normal idling vehicle, and the driver's sleepiness is further increased.
As disclosed in Patent Document 2, a method for prohibiting restart of the engine in a state where the driver's consciousness is lowered has been proposed.
However, if the engine stops only, the driver will not notice that the engine has been stopped and the vehicle will remain stopped, which may interfere with surrounding traffic.
[3] Technology of Patent Document 3 As disclosed in Patent Document 3, a technique for acquiring doze information of a driver of a vehicle approaching from behind by inter-vehicle communication and advancing the restart timing of the engine has been proposed. However, with this technology, the driver of the own vehicle cannot be awakened.
[4] Technology of Patent Document 4 Patent Document 4 discloses an apparatus for sending a scent from an air conditioner to a vehicle interior when the engine is restarted. However, it is difficult for the driver to be aware that the engine has been restarted simply by sending the scent from the air conditioner into the passenger compartment. Further, if the air conditioner is controlled uniformly with respect to drivers having different awakening states, problems may arise that some drivers feel bothered, or the driver becomes accustomed and the awakening effect is reduced.
[5] In addition, there are techniques such as increasing the volume of the radio and increasing the air volume of the air conditioner, but the effect is reduced when operating with windows open.

JP 2005-162173 A JP 2004-137978 A JP 2010-254239 A JP2013-203358A

The purpose of the present invention is to
In a vehicle with an idling stop function, a driver who has a reduced arousal level or low consciousness can be awakened to a normal state, and an unexpected situation has occurred in road conditions, weather, surrounding vehicles, etc. The present invention provides a vehicle driving support device that can cope with the situation, can prevent the host vehicle from interfering with surrounding traffic, can avoid the driver's troublesomeness, and can avoid the reduction of the awakening effect due to the driver's familiarity. is there.

The feature of the present invention is that
Equipped with the vehicle where the engine starts when the brake is released from the idling stop state,
A driving support device for a vehicle that awakens the driver when the driver falls asleep during driving,
An in-vehicle camera for photographing the face of the driver;
A consciousness state determination unit that determines whether or not the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness based on the driver's face image captured by the in-vehicle camera;
When the consciousness state determination unit determines that the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness, when the driver depresses the accelerator, the start of the vehicle is delayed to notify the driver that the state of consciousness is in a lowered state. is there. (Claim 1)

With the above configuration, the vehicle-mounted camera captures the driver's face. Then, based on the driver's face image captured by the in-vehicle camera, the consciousness state determination unit determines whether or not the driver is in a consciousness lowered state. When the consciousness state determination unit determines that the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness, when the driver depresses the accelerator, the start of the vehicle is delayed to notify the driver that the state of consciousness is in a lowered state.
As a result, it is possible to awaken a driver who has experienced a decrease in arousal level or a decrease in consciousness to a normal state. Moreover, it can cope with unexpected situations in road conditions, weather, surrounding vehicles, etc., can prevent the host vehicle from interfering with surrounding traffic, avoid driver's trouble, It is possible to avoid a reduction in the awakening effect due to. (Claim 1)

In the present invention,
A subsequent vehicle, and a subsequent vehicle detection unit that detects a vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle,
When the succeeding vehicle detection unit detects the succeeding vehicle and detects a vehicle speed less than a predetermined value of the succeeding vehicle, the start of the vehicle is delayed. it can. (Claim 2)

  When the succeeding vehicle detection unit detects the succeeding vehicle and detects a vehicle speed less than a predetermined value of the succeeding vehicle, the start of the vehicle is delayed, so that the succeeding vehicle is prevented from colliding with the own vehicle. can do. (Claim 2)

In the present invention,
A subsequent vehicle, and a subsequent vehicle detection unit that detects an inter-vehicle distance from the subsequent vehicle,
When the succeeding vehicle detection unit detects the succeeding vehicle and detects the inter-vehicle distance greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the start of the vehicle is delayed, and the following effects can be achieved. (Claim 3)

  When the succeeding vehicle detection unit detects the succeeding vehicle and detects the inter-vehicle distance greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the start of the vehicle is delayed, so that the succeeding vehicle is prevented from colliding with the own vehicle. Can do. (Claim 3)

In the present invention,
If the display means at the rear of the vehicle indicates that the start of the vehicle is delayed and notifies the subsequent vehicle, the following action can be achieved. (Claim 4)

  The safety of surrounding vehicles including the following vehicle can be ensured. (Claim 4)

In the present invention,
If the following vehicle is informed by the inter-vehicle communication that the start of the vehicle is delayed, the following action can be achieved. (Claim 5)

  The safety of surrounding vehicles including the following vehicle can be ensured. (Claim 5)

According to the present invention,
In a vehicle with an idling stop function, a driver who has a reduced arousal level or low consciousness can be awakened to a normal state, and an unexpected situation has occurred in road conditions, weather, surrounding vehicles, etc. It is possible to provide a vehicle driving support device that can cope with the situation, can prevent the host vehicle from interfering with surrounding traffic, can avoid the driver's annoyance, and can reduce the awakening effect due to the driver's familiarity. It was.

System configuration diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle driving support device Flowchart of operation of vehicle driving support device (A) is a timing chart when the driver is in a normal state, and (b) is a timing chart when the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a driving support device 50 is mounted on a vehicle (automobile) that starts when the brake is released from the idling stop state. The driving support device 50 includes an in-vehicle camera 9 that captures the driver's face, and a consciousness state determination unit 4 that determines whether or not the driver is in a consciousness reduction state based on the driver's face image captured by the in-vehicle camera 9. And an arithmetic processing unit 8 for performing arithmetic processing.

  When the driver's consciousness state determination unit 4 determines that the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness, the driving support device 50 delays the start of the vehicle when the driver depresses the accelerator, and confirms that the driver is in the state of consciousness reduction. Inform. That is, when the driver falls asleep during driving, the driving support device 50 awakens the driver.

  The in-vehicle camera 9 is provided on the column cover of the vehicle. The in-vehicle camera 9 may be provided in a dashboard, a meter panel, a room mirror, or a ceiling.

  The consciousness state determination unit 4 detects the opening degree of the eyelids, the blinking time and frequency from the driver's face image taken by the in-vehicle camera 9, and determines the driver's arousal level from these information in the normal state or consciousness reduction. Determine the state and level.

  The driving support device 50 further includes a subsequent vehicle detection unit 3. The subsequent vehicle detection unit 3 detects the subsequent vehicle, and also detects the vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle and the inter-vehicle distance from the subsequent vehicle. When the subsequent vehicle detection unit 3 detects the subsequent vehicle, the vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle that is less than a predetermined value, and the inter-vehicle distance that is greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the driving support device 50 delays the start of the vehicle. In addition, the driving support device 50 notifies the following vehicle that the vehicle has been delayed by a back lamp (corresponding to display means) at the rear of the vehicle.

[Control when vehicle restarts]
Control at the time of re-start of the vehicle will be briefly described in the following [1] and [2], and then described in more detail.
[1] When the driver is in a normal state When the driver loosens the brake pedal in order to restart the vehicle from the idling stop state, the brake controller 13, the engine start control unit 5, the engine controller 12, etc. Restart the engine at normal timing. Thereafter, when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal, the vehicle start control unit 6, the engine controller 12, or the like controls the engine speed or the fuel injection amount at a normal timing to start the host vehicle.

[2] When the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness When the driver releases the brake pedal in order to restart the vehicle from the idling stop state, the brake controller 13, the engine start control unit 5, the engine controller 12, etc. Do not restart the engine. Then, after depressing the accelerator pedal, the engine start control unit 5, the vehicle start control unit 6, the engine controller 12 and the like restart the engine at a timing slower than usual, and the engine speed at a timing later than usual. The start of the own vehicle is delayed by performing control or control of the fuel injection amount.

Hereinafter, the above control will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
(Step 101 (S101), hereinafter, the parentheses are omitted)
Vehicle information 10 such as vehicle speed, rudder angle, direction indicator, accelerator opening, brake switch, engine speed, fuel injection amount, etc. is acquired from the vehicle side and recorded in the vehicle information recording unit 1.

(Step 102)
Information on sensors such as sonar, camera, millimeter wave radar, and laser radar 11 provided at the rear of the vehicle body is acquired, and the following vehicle detection unit 3 determines whether there is a following vehicle, the distance between the vehicle and the following vehicle, Detect the moving speed.

(Step 103)
The face image of the driving driver photographed by the in-vehicle camera 9 is recorded by the camera image recording unit 2 for each frame.

(Step 104)
The consciousness state determination unit 4 detects the eyelid opening from the driver's face image. In order to detect the eyelid opening, a series of processes such as detection of a face area in an image, specification of an eye area in the face area, and detection of upper eyelid and lower eyelid are performed as preprocessing. The interval between the upper eyelid and the lower eyelid is detected as the eyelid opening. As the heel opening degree, an average value of values calculated on the left and right sides may be used, or a large value or a small value may be adopted. The blinking time, blinking frequency, etc. are calculated from the time series change of the past frame of the heel opening.

(Step 105)
The consciousness state determination unit 4 determines the driver's consciousness state from information such as the driver's eyelid opening, blinking time, and blinking frequency. For example, if the opening degree of the heel (the distance between the upper heel and the lower heel) is 50% or more, the normal state is assumed, and if it is less than 50%, the consciousness is lowered. For example, if the time from the start to the end of blinking is 1.0 sec or more later than the time in the normal state, the consciousness may be lowered. Furthermore, for example, a case where the number of blinks in the past fixed period (for example, 60 sec) has decreased or increased from the normal time (for example, 50%) may be set as the consciousness lowered state.

(Step 106)
In a situation where the host vehicle is stopped at idling stop, it is determined whether or not the driver has depressed the brake pedal. A threshold value is determined for the value of a sensor that detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal, or the threshold value is determined for the value of a sensor that measures the hydraulic pressure of the brake. If it is determined that the driver is depressing the brake, the process returns to the beginning of the loop process and waits for the next frame process. If it is determined that the driver has released the brake, the next step is executed.

(Step 107)
The consciousness state determination unit 4 determines the state of the driver. When the consciousness state determination unit 4 determines that the driver state is the normal state, the engine is restarted at the normal timing. When the consciousness state determination unit 4 determines that the driver's state is the consciousness lowered state, a consciousness recovery process is performed to recover the driver from the consciousness lowered state to the normal state.

(Step 108)
The subsequent vehicle detection unit 3 determines whether there is a subsequent vehicle. If there is no subsequent vehicle, no allowance for the subsequent vehicle is required, and the process proceeds to step 113. If there is a succeeding vehicle, the next step is performed in order to execute the allowance for the succeeding vehicle.

(Step 109)
The vehicle speed of the following vehicle is determined as a threshold. If the vehicle speed of the succeeding vehicle is equal to or higher than a threshold value (for example, 5 km / h or higher), the risk of rear-end collision increases, so that the consciousness recovery process is not performed and the process proceeds to a process of restarting the engine at a normal timing (step 115). . At this time, the vehicle speed as the threshold value is set to 5 km to 10 km / h, which is a slow driving vehicle speed that can be stopped immediately. If the vehicle speed of the following vehicle is less than the threshold value, the process proceeds to the next process.

(Step 110)
A threshold value is determined for the distance to the following vehicle (inter-vehicle distance). If the following vehicle is approaching the host vehicle, that is, if the distance from the host vehicle to the following vehicle is within a certain distance (for example, within 3 m), the risk of a rear-end collision is increased, so the consciousness recovery process is not performed. The process proceeds to a process of restarting the engine at the timing (step 115). At this time, the threshold distance is set to a traveling distance of 3 m per second at a higher speed of 10 km per hour (2.78 m per second) of the slow driving vehicle speed of 5 km to 10 km per hour. When the succeeding vehicle is more than a certain distance from the host vehicle, the next process is performed.

(Step 111)
The consciousness recovery process is executed when the following vehicle exists and the conditions of the vehicle speed and distance of the following vehicle are satisfied. At that time, in order to ensure the safety of surrounding vehicles including the following vehicle, a signal is transmitted to the lamp controller 14 to forcibly turn on or blink the back lamp of the own vehicle. The lamp controller 14 controls the back lamp to light up or blink while the consciousness recovery process is being executed. By executing control different from normal, the following vehicle is notified that the start of the own vehicle is delayed.

(Step 112)
When the following vehicle is equipped with the inter-vehicle communication device 16, the inter-vehicle communication unit 7 notifies that the own vehicle executes the consciousness recovery process from the own vehicle. The succeeding vehicle detects in advance that the front stop vehicle will not start immediately and controls the own vehicle (the succeeding vehicle) not to start suddenly.
At that time, it is also possible to transmit a signal for requesting the preceding vehicle to sound a warning sound or blink the headlamp to the following vehicle by inter-vehicle communication. When the succeeding vehicle is a vehicle equipped with a vehicle-to-vehicle communication function, after receiving the signal, control is performed to sound the alarm or blink the headlamp. The succeeding vehicle can sound a horn or flash the headlight to make the driver aware that the start of the own vehicle is delayed. Moreover, the effect (consciousness recovery effect) which returns a consciousness fall state to a normal state can be acquired more strongly.

(Step 113)
The driver's consciousness recovery process is executed, and the engine is started at a later timing than usual.

(Step 114)
If the driver depresses the accelerator pedal after releasing the brake pedal, the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal is measured by the sensor, and the engine is restarted at a timing slower than normal, and the engine rotates at a timing slower than normal. The vehicle is started by controlling the number or the fuel injection amount.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show timing charts when the host vehicle restarts.
[Normal state (see FIG. 3A)]
Let ΔTa1 be the time from when the driver starts to weaken the depression force of the brake pedal until the cell for engine restart starts to rotate. This time is uniquely determined for each vehicle in order to detect a change in the brake pedal stroke, a change in the brake hydraulic pressure, and the like with a sensor and determine the threshold value. Generally, ΔTa1 = about 0.2 sec.
Let ΔTb1 be the start delay time from when the driver starts depressing the accelerator pedal until the vehicle actually starts to move. This time is uniquely determined for each vehicle, such as the time lag of the engine speed increase, the time lag of the torque converter or the CV. Generally, ΔTb1 = about 0.5 sec.
Generally, the time for starting the engine by rotating the cell motor is about 0.5 sec. Also, the time it takes for the driver to move his / her foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal after starting to weaken the brake pedal force Is about 1.0 sec.

[Low consciousness state (see FIG. 3B)]
Let ΔTa2 be the time from when the driver starts to weaken the depression force of the brake pedal until the cell for engine restart starts to rotate. ΔTa2 is set so as to satisfy the following condition. In other words, even if the driver starts to step on the accelerator pedal, the engine is not yet started.

ΔTa2 + cell rotation time> Brake release time + pedal movement time

Delayed bodily sensation time <1> = (ΔTa2 + cell rotation time) − (brake release time + movement time between pedals)

  For example, in order to set the cell rotation time to 0.5 sec, the brake release time + the movement time between the pedals to 1.0 sec, and the delay bodily sensation time <1> to 1.0 sec or more, the value of ΔTa2 is set to 1.5 sec. It may be a value that exceeds.

  Let ΔTb2 be the delay experience time <2> from when the driver starts to step on the accelerator pedal until the vehicle actually starts to move. In addition to the time uniquely determined for each vehicle, such as the time lag for increasing the engine speed, the torque converter and the CVT evening time lag, the vehicle is set to start at a later timing.

  These delays directly give the driver a startle feeling that the engine is not restarting (not idling) when the accelerator pedal starts to be depressed, and that the vehicle cannot start. This will encourage the driver to awaken.

  It is known that the reaction time of the driving operation in the state of reduced consciousness in which the driver feels sleepy is delayed by about 0.5 sec to 1.0 sec with respect to the normal state. For this reason, in order to awaken a driver in a state of reduced consciousness, at least the delayed experience time <1> or the delayed experience time <2> may be set to 1.0 sec or more. Furthermore, it is known that in the case of an elderly driver, the response time of the driving operation in the normal state is delayed by about 0.5 sec to 1.0 sec compared to the young driver. For this reason, in the case of an elderly driver, it is desirable that the delayed experience time <1> or the delayed experience time <2> be 1.5 sec to 2.0 sec or more.

  In order to determine whether the driver is an elderly person, an input switch may be provided, and a means for switching the switch by itself may be provided. Alternatively, the time from the engine start timing to the accelerator switch-on timing in the normal state is measured in advance, and the default time +1.0 sec is automatically set with the past tendency of the driver as the default time. good.

  At this time, ΔTa2 or ΔTb2 may be set so as to change the delay bodily sensation time according to the degree of driver's consciousness decrease. For example, the value of ΔTa2 or ΔTb2 is set so that the delayed sensation time becomes longer as the degree of consciousness decrease is greater.

  Furthermore, ΔTa2 or ΔTb2 may be set so as to change the delay experience time according to the presence or absence of the following vehicle.

  Furthermore, ΔTa2 or ΔTb2 may be set so that the delay sensation time is changed randomly each time the operation is performed.

  When performing engine start control to give a delayed experience time, the driver may be confused with a vehicle failure or abnormality unless the driver is notified that the engine start control is operating at a timing that is not normal. . Therefore, when the engine start control is being performed, and after the vehicle starts running, or when the vehicle is stopped by stepping on the brake pedal again, information that the driver's arousal level has decreased and the start control has been activated is displayed. Display on the indicator. That is, information presentation 15 (see FIG. 1) is performed.

  When controlling the engine to restart after a certain period of time after the accelerator pedal is depressed, the host vehicle is prevented from starting suddenly when the engine is started while the accelerator pedal is depressed. As a means for this, the engine speed or the fuel injection amount is controlled to gradually increase over a fixed time with respect to the depression amount of the accelerator pedal.

  As a means for giving a sense of incongruity or a startle to a driver who is in a low consciousness state, a mechanism for temporarily fixing the accelerator pedal may be provided in addition to control for delaying the engine restart timing. As a result, when the driver tries to step on the accelerator pedal, the accelerator pedal does not move, so that the driver can be given further discomfort and startle. In addition, it is possible to prevent the driver from depressing the accelerator pedal abruptly and starting the vehicle suddenly due to a startle feeling.

  According to the present invention, when the consciousness state determination unit 4 determines that the driver is in a consciousness-lowering state, when the driver depresses the accelerator, the start of the vehicle is delayed and the driver is informed that the consciousness-lowering state is present. It is possible to awaken a driver who has a reduced arousal level or reduced consciousness to a normal state. Moreover, it can cope with unexpected situations in road conditions, weather, surrounding vehicles, etc., can prevent the host vehicle from interfering with surrounding traffic, avoid driver's trouble, It is possible to avoid a reduction in the awakening effect due to.

3 Subsequent vehicle detection part 4 Consciousness state determination part 9 Car-mounted camera

Claims (5)

Equipped with the vehicle where the engine starts when the brake is released from the idling stop state,
A driving support device for a vehicle that awakens the driver when the driver falls asleep during driving,
An in-vehicle camera for photographing the face of the driver;
A consciousness state determination unit that determines whether or not the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness based on the driver's face image captured by the in-vehicle camera;
When the consciousness state determination unit determines that the driver is in a state of reduced consciousness, the start of the vehicle is delayed when the driver depresses the accelerator, and the vehicle is informed that the driver is in the state of reduced consciousness. Driving assistance device. A subsequent vehicle, and a subsequent vehicle detection unit that detects a vehicle speed of the subsequent vehicle,
2. The driving of the vehicle according to claim 1, wherein when the succeeding vehicle detection unit detects the succeeding vehicle and detects a vehicle speed of the succeeding vehicle that is less than a predetermined value, the start of the vehicle is delayed. Support device. A subsequent vehicle, and a subsequent vehicle detection unit that detects an inter-vehicle distance from the subsequent vehicle,
The vehicle driving support device according to claim 1, wherein when the succeeding vehicle detection unit detects the succeeding vehicle and detects the inter-vehicle distance that is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the start of the vehicle is delayed. .   The vehicle driving support device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a display means at a rear portion of the vehicle indicates that the start of the vehicle is delayed and notifies a subsequent vehicle.   The driving support apparatus for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which notifies a subsequent vehicle that vehicle start is delayed by inter-vehicle communication.

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