JP2019079328A - Vehicle alarm system - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress a notification of an alarm based on an erroneous determination regarding a driving state.SOLUTION: An imaging unit 2 images a driver of a vehicle. A coordinate detection unit 51 detects position information indicating a position of the vehicle and a traveling direction. A propriety determination unit 50 analyzes an image captured by the imaging unit 2 to determine a propriety of a driving state of the vehicle by the driver. A sunshine direction acquisition unit 52 acquires a sunshine direction by referring to a sunshine database that stores a date, the position information, and the sunshine direction in association with each other. When it is determined that the driving state of the driver is not appropriate, an alarm unit 53 gives an alarm on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle satisfy a predetermined relationship.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present disclosure relates to a vehicle alarm device.

  Various alarm devices for vehicles have been proposed. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of monitoring the periphery of a vehicle, detecting an obstacle that may collide with the vehicle, and issuing an alarm.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-038954

  In the above-described technology, when it is determined that the alarm should be output, the driver is notified of the alarm. The alarm is for alerting the driver. Therefore, in order to direct the driver's awareness while driving the vehicle, sounds or vibrations are presented to the driver, or a message is presented on the display unit.

  It is useful to be notified of these alerts when the driver should be alerted. However, when an alarm is notified when there is no need to warn due to an erroneous determination, the driver's concentration while driving the vehicle may be disturbed.

  This indication is made in view of these points, and it aims at providing art which controls a notice of an alarm based on a misjudgment about a driving state.

  One aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle alarm device. The apparatus analyzes an image captured by the driver by an image capturing unit capturing an image of a driver of the vehicle, a coordinate detection unit detecting position information indicating a position of the vehicle and a traveling direction, and an image captured by the imaging unit. A sunshine direction acquisition unit that acquires a sunshine direction by referring to a sunshine database that stores a date / time, position information, and a sunshine direction in association with an appropriateness determination unit that determines the appropriateness of the driving state of the vehicle; And an alarm unit for notifying an alarm on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle satisfy a predetermined relationship when it is determined that the driving state is unsuitable.

  The alarm unit may notify an alarm on the condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle is not a direction opposite to a sunshine direction.

  The vehicle alarm device refers to a car body database storing three-dimensional data of a car body constituting the vehicle, and the light of the sun is irradiated to the face of the driver of the car or at least a part of the imaging unit The alarm unit may further include an irradiation determination unit that determines whether or not the alarm unit is alarmed on the condition that the light of the sun is not irradiated to the face of the driver of the vehicle or at least a part of the imaging unit. May be notified.

  The alarm device for a vehicle may further include a weather acquisition unit that acquires the weather at the position of the vehicle, and the alarm unit proceeds the vehicle when it is determined that the driving state of the driver is unsuitable. Even when the direction and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle do not satisfy a predetermined relationship, an alarm may be notified when the weather is not sunny.

  According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress notification of an alarm based on an erroneous determination regarding a driving state.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the outline | summary of the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on embodiment. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows typically the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the data structure of the sunshine direction database which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating a part of information stored in the vehicle body database which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the alert notification process which the alarm device for vehicles which concerns on embodiment performs.

<Overview of Embodiment>
With reference to FIG. 1, the outline | summary of the alarm device 1 for vehicles which concerns on embodiment is described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view for explaining an outline of the alarm device 1 for a vehicle according to the embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the alarm device 1 for vehicles is mounted in the vehicle V which the driver | operator D drives. The vehicle V also includes an imaging unit 2 and a position information acquisition unit 3 as part of the vehicle alarm device 1.

  The imaging unit 2 is, for example, a solid-state imaging device such as a charge coupled device (CCD) or a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), and captures an image of the driver D of the vehicle V. The alarm device 1 for a vehicle is a vehicle by the driver D based on the driving posture of the driver D obtained by analyzing the image captured by the imaging unit 2 and the degree of eye opening indicating the degree of eye opening of the driver D. Determine whether the operating condition of V is appropriate.

  Here, “the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D” means the state of the driver D indicating whether the driver D can normally drive the vehicle V. For example, when the driver D can not drive due to heart disease, cerebral infarction, etc., the driver D can not run the vehicle V normally, and the driving state is "not suitable". It can be said. In addition, even when the eyes of the driver D are closed, it can be said that it is unsuitable.

  The alarm device 1 for vehicle analyzes the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D based on the image captured by the imaging unit 2 which is an optical imaging device. For this reason, depending on the imaging condition of the driver D by the imaging unit 2, the analysis of the driving state may be disturbed. Specifically, the driver D or the imaging unit 2 is exposed to direct sunlight.

  In FIG. 1, a broken arrow A1 indicates the direction of sunlight. In addition, a broken arrow A2 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle V. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the driver D is hit directly by sunlight because the traveling direction of the vehicle V is opposed to the sun and the angle α formed by the arrow A1 and the arrow A2 is small. . In such a case, even if the imaging unit 2 has an automatic exposure function, the imaging unit 2 may not be able to generate an appropriate image due to saturation of the imaging element. The same applies to the case where the sun enters the angle of view of the imaging unit 2. As a result, even if the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D is appropriate, the vehicle alarm device 1 may erroneously determine that it is unsuitable.

  Therefore, in the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment, when it is determined that the driving state of the driver D is inappropriate, the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the existing position of the vehicle V satisfy a predetermined relationship. An alert is notified on condition of. The position information acquisition unit 3 acquires the existing position of the vehicle V. The position information acquisition unit 3 is, for example, a known GPS (Global Positioning System). The “predetermined relationship” is a relationship that should be satisfied by, for example, the arrows A1 and A2 for preventing the light of the sun from being irradiated to the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or at least a part of the imaging unit 2. Thereby, alarm device 1 for vehicles concerning an embodiment can control a notice of an alarm based on a misjudgment about a driving state.

<Functional Configuration of Vehicle Alarm Device 1>
Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the alarm device 1 for a vehicle according to the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2: is a figure which shows typically the alarm device 1 for vehicles which concerns on embodiment. A vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment includes an imaging unit 2, a position information acquisition unit 3, a storage unit 4, and a control unit 5.

  The imaging unit 2 images the driver D of the vehicle V. The position information acquisition unit 3 acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle V. The storage unit 4 includes a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and a temporary storage unit such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM). The non-volatile storage device functions as a storage unit for various programs and databases for realizing the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The temporary storage unit functions as a working memory of the control unit 5.

  The control unit 5 is a processor such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle V. The control unit 5 functions as a coordinate detection unit 51, a sunshine direction acquisition unit 52, an alarm unit 53, an irradiation determination unit 54, and a weather acquisition unit 55 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 4.

  The suitability determination unit 50 determines the suitability of the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D by analyzing the image captured by the imaging unit 2. Specifically, the appropriateness determination unit 50 acquires the appropriateness of the driving condition of the driver D by acquiring the driving posture of the driver D and the eye opening degree of the driver D by using a known image recognition technology. judge.

  The coordinate detection unit 51 acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle V from the position information acquisition unit 3. The coordinate detection part 51 detects the advancing direction of the vehicle V from the time change of the acquired positional information. The sunshine direction acquisition unit 52 acquires the sunshine direction by referring to a sunshine database that stores the date, the position information, and the sunshine direction in association with each other.

  FIG. 3 is a view schematically showing a data structure of a sunlight direction database according to the embodiment. The sunshine direction database is stored in the storage unit 4 and managed by the sunshine direction acquisition unit 52. As shown in FIG. 3, in the sunshine direction database, data of sunshine direction is organized in units of dates. In the example shown in FIG. 3, data of the sunshine direction on June 19, 2017 is illustrated.

  More specifically, in the sunlight direction database, the altitude and direction of the sun are organized for each combination of latitude and longitude on each date. The sunlight direction acquisition unit 52 can acquire, for example, the altitude and the direction of the sun every 30 minutes by specifying the date, the latitude, and the longitude and referring to the sunlight direction database.

  The alarm unit 53 warns on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V satisfy a predetermined relationship if the suitability determination unit 50 determines that the driving state of the driver D is inappropriate. To notify. Thereby, alarm device 1 for vehicles concerning an embodiment can control a notice of an alarm based on a misjudgment about a driving state.

  As an example of the predetermined condition, the alarm unit 53 may notify an alarm on the condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle V is not a direction facing the sunshine direction. When the traveling direction of the vehicle V is opposite to the sunshine direction, the probability that the direct sunlight hits the face of the vehicle V is high, and the possibility of affecting the determination of the driving state of the driver D by the suitability determination unit 50 Because there is As a result, the alarm unit 53 can suppress notification of an alarm based on the erroneous determination of the driving state of the driver D by the suitability determination unit 50.

  As another example of the predetermined condition, the alarm unit 53 may notify the alarm on the condition that the light of the sun is not irradiated to the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or at least a part of the imaging unit 2. Good. In this case, first, the irradiation determination unit 54 refers to the car body database storing the three-dimensional data of the car body constituting the vehicle V, and the sunlight is at least one of the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or the imaging unit 2 It is determined whether the part is irradiated.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for describing a part of the information stored in the car body database according to the embodiment. The vehicle body database is stored in the storage unit 4 and managed by the irradiation determination unit 54. The car body database also includes CAD (Computer-Aided Design) data which is design data of the vehicle V, and the irradiation determination unit 54 may construct a three-dimensional shape of the vehicle V based on the CAD data. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the driver D is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle V, the distance H from the road surface to the eyes of the driver D is stored in the vehicle body database. Also, in the vehicle body database, when the driver D is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle V, the maximum elevation angle β, which is the maximum value of the angles that the driver D can look up through the windshield W without being shielded by the vehicle It is stored. Furthermore, in the vehicle body database, when the driver D is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle V, the maximum depression angle γ, which is the maximum value of the angle at which the driver D can look down through the windshield W without being shielded by the vehicle It is stored.

  When the elevation angle formed by the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction is within the range of the angle formed by β and γ shown in FIG. It is determined that the face of D or at least a part of the imaging unit 2 is irradiated. In other words, when the elevation determination unit 54 determines that the elevation angle formed by the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction is out of the range of the angle formed by β and γ shown in FIG. It is determined that the face of the driver D or at least a part of the imaging unit 2 is not irradiated. Since the irradiation determination unit 54 determines whether the light of the sun is irradiated to the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or at least a part of the imaging unit 2 based on the design data of the vehicle V, the determination accuracy is enhanced. be able to.

  The above has described the case where the alarm device 1 for a vehicle determines whether sunlight is exposed to the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or the imaging unit 2 based on the sunshine direction and the traveling direction of the vehicle V. . Here, the sunshine direction is information obtained by calculation from the date and time and the position of the vehicle V, and does not guarantee that the vehicle V is actually exposed to direct sunlight when the vehicle V is traveling. For example, even if the vehicle V is exposed to direct sunlight in calculation, it may be considered that the direct sunlight does not reach the vehicle V because it is blocked by a cloud or the like when the weather is bad.

  Therefore, the weather acquisition unit 55 acquires the weather at the position of the vehicle V. Specifically, the weather acquisition unit 55 may acquire weather information from a network such as the Internet via a wireless device (not shown). Alternatively, or in addition to this, the weather acquisition unit 55 acquires operation information of the windshield wiper (not shown) of the vehicle V, and determines that the weather is rainy when the windshield wiper is in operation. It is also good.

  Even when the warning unit 53 determines that the driving state of the driver D is inappropriate, the vehicle V does not satisfy the predetermined relationship even if the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V do not satisfy a predetermined relationship. When the weather at the driving position is not sunny, an alarm is notified. If the weather is not sunny, sunlight is not exposed directly to the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or to the imaging unit 2, and the probability that the suitability determination unit 50 erroneously determines the driving state of the driver D is low. is there. Thereby, the alarm device 1 for vehicles can make suppression of the misjudgment of the driving | operation state under the influence of a direct sunlight compatible with alerting to the driver D by alarm notification.

<Processing flow of alarm notification processing performed by the vehicle alarm device 1>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the alarm notification process performed by the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The process in this flowchart starts, for example, when the engine of the vehicle V is started.

  The imaging unit 2 captures an image including the driver D of the vehicle V as an object (S2). The propriety determination unit 50 analyzes the image captured by the imaging unit 2 to determine the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D (S4). The position information acquisition unit 3 acquires position information indicating the existing position of the vehicle V (S6).

  The sunshine direction acquisition unit 52 acquires the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V and the traveling date and time with reference to a sunshine database that stores the date and time, the position information, and the sunshine direction in association with one another (S8). When the driving state of the driver D by the suitability determination unit 50 is not appropriate (Yes in S10), the alarm unit 53 acquires the relationship between the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V (S12).

  When the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V satisfy the predetermined relationship (Yes in S14), the weather acquiring unit 55 acquires the weather at the traveling position of the vehicle V (S16). When the weather at the traveling position of the vehicle V is not fine (No in S18), the alarm unit 53 notifies an alarm (S20).

  Whether the driving condition of the driver D is appropriate (No in S10), the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V do not satisfy a predetermined relationship (No in S14), or the traveling of the vehicle V When the weather at the position is fine (Yes in S18), the alarm unit 53 ends the process in the flowchart without notifying the alarm. The vehicle alarm device 1 continues the alarm notification process by repeating the above-described process.

<Effects of the vehicle alarm device 1>
As described above, according to the alarm device 1 for a vehicle according to the embodiment, it is possible to suppress notification of an alarm based on an erroneous determination regarding a driving state. In particular, the vehicle alarm device 1 determines the driving state by analyzing the video. For this reason, the alarm device 1 for vehicles can suppress the notice of the alarm based on a misjudgment by stopping an alarm, when there is concern about the direct light of the sunlight which may affect determination of a driving state.

  In addition, the alarm device 1 for vehicles notifies an alarm when the weather is not clear even if direct light of sunlight is concerned in calculation. Thereby, the alarm device 1 for vehicles can make suppression of an alarm based on a misjudgment, and the purpose as an original alarm device be compatible.

  As mentioned above, although the present invention was explained using an embodiment, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the range given in the above-mentioned embodiment, and various modification and change are possible within the range of the gist. is there. For example, a specific embodiment of device distribution and integration is not limited to the above embodiment, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit. Can. In addition, new embodiments produced by any combination of a plurality of embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiment generated by the combination combine the effects of the original embodiment.

<Modification>
Above, the alarm device 1 for vehicles demonstrated the case where a warning was controlled based on the relation between the direction of movement of vehicles V, and the direction of sunshine. Here, the traveling direction of the vehicle V may vary depending on the shape of the road on which the vehicle V travels. For example, when the vehicle V is traveling on a motorway such as an expressway, it is considered that the change in the traveling direction is gradual as compared with the case where the vehicle V is traveling in a city area or the like.

  Therefore, the alarm unit 53 may suppress the alarm when the fluctuation in the traveling direction of the vehicle V satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the fluctuation in the traveling direction. Here, the “predetermined condition regarding the change in the traveling direction” is one of the alarm suppression reference conditions to be referred to in order to determine whether the alarm unit 53 suppresses the alarm.

  Specifically, the alarm unit 53 suppresses the alarm when the vehicle V is traveling on the motorway. The alarm unit 53 can determine whether the vehicle V is traveling on a motorway by referring to a road database (not shown) based on the position coordinates acquired by the coordinate detection unit 51.

  When the vehicle V is traveling in an urban area other than a motorway, the variation in the traveling direction of the vehicle V is large. Also, there is a high probability that the condition will not be satisfied in a short time. Therefore, the alarm unit 53 suppresses the alarm on the condition that the vehicle V is traveling on a road where the condition in which direct sunlight hits the driver D and the imaging unit 2 is easily maintained, that is, an automobile exclusive road with many straight roads. Do. Thereby, the alarm device 1 for vehicles can make suppression of an alarm based on a misjudgment, and the purpose as an original alarm device be compatible.

Reference Signs List 1 vehicle alarm device 2 imaging unit 3 position information acquisition unit 4 storage unit 5 control unit 50 suitability determination unit 51 coordinate detection unit 52 · · · Sunshine direction acquisition unit 53 · · · alarm unit 54 · · · irradiation determination unit 55 · · · weather acquisition unit V · · · vehicle W · · · windshield

Claims (4)

An imaging unit for imaging a driver of a vehicle;
Position information indicating the position of the vehicle and a coordinate detection unit for detecting a traveling direction;
An appropriateness determination unit that analyzes an image captured by the imaging unit and determines whether the driver is in a driving state of the vehicle;
A sunshine direction acquisition unit that acquires a sunshine direction by referring to a sunshine database that stores date and time, position information, and sunshine direction in association with each other;
An alarm unit that notifies an alarm on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle satisfy a predetermined relationship, when it is determined that the driving state of the driver is inappropriate;
A vehicle alarm device comprising: The alarm unit notifies an alarm on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle is not a direction opposite to a sunshine direction.
The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1. Irradiation with which it is determined whether or not the light of the sun is irradiated to the driver's face of the vehicle or at least a part of the imaging unit with reference to the vehicle body database storing three-dimensional data of the vehicle body constituting the vehicle Further comprising a determination unit;
The alarm unit notifies an alarm on the condition that the light of the sun is not irradiated to the face of the driver of the vehicle or at least a part of the imaging unit.
The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1. It further comprises a weather acquisition unit for acquiring the weather at the position of the vehicle,
The alarm unit is configured to determine that the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle do not satisfy a predetermined relationship when it is determined that the driving state of the driver is inappropriate. Alert you when the weather is not sunny,
The alarm device for vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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