JP3008365U - Doze detector - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Awakening of a person based on the open / closed state of the person's eyelids.
It is a type of drowsiness detection device that detects the state of drowsiness, which can detect the state of drowsiness with high accuracy and is easy to operate.
Provide a doze detection device having a wide range of applications. [Structure] Flashing light-emitting means X of visible light, and means G for irradiating the area including the eyes with the flashing light B1 from the light-emitting means X,
A means Y for receiving the reflected light B2 emitted from the irradiating means G and reflected from the area including the eyes, and converting it into an electric signal;
The signal processing means E includes a signal processing means E for processing the converted electric signal and outputting awakening / drowsiness information. The signal processing means E performs processing based on a light receiving level difference between when the flashing light emitting means X emits light and when it does not emit light. Drowsiness detection device that outputs active awakening / drowsiness information.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a type of drowsiness detection device for detecting the awakening / drowsiness state of a person based on the opening / closing state of a person's eyelids.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 There is no problem if you are awake, but often a big problem when you sleep. For example, driving various vehicles, ships, airplanes, working with dangerous machinery, work requiring careful operation, and watching. Even when studying for an examination, dozing is a major enemy. Therefore, a device for detecting drowsiness has been proposed. One of these types uses brain waves, but this type of doze detection device has not reached widespread use due to its large-scale structure.

Recently, various types of doze detection devices have been proposed which detect the doze state based on the open / closed state of a person's eyelids. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-127198 teaches a device that irradiates an electromagnetic wave to the eye and determines that the level of the reflected wave is a level when the eyelids are closed and continues for a predetermined period of time, and that the person is dozing. Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 3-14656 teaches a device for detecting a dozing driving based on a comparison between the number of blinks per unit time and a reference number of blinks at the time of awakening.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, a conventional drowsiness detection device of the type that detects the awakening / drowsiness state of a person based on the opening / closing state of a person's eyelids is not always satisfactory in one or more points such as the drowsiness detection accuracy, device structure, and application range. Not something you can do. Therefore, the present invention is a type of drowsiness detection device that detects the awakening / drowsiness state of a person based on the opening / closing state of a person's eyelids, which can detect the drowsiness state with high accuracy, is easy to work on, and has a wide range of applications. An object is to provide a wide doze detection device.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The drowsiness detection device of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems includes: a blinking light emitting unit for visible light; a unit for irradiating the region including the eyes with the blinking light by the light emitting unit; and a region including the eyes illuminated by the irradiation unit. And a signal processing unit for processing the converted electrical signal and outputting awakening / drowsiness information. The signal processing unit is configured to perform the blinking. The processing is performed based on the difference in the light receiving level between when the light emitting means emits light and when the light is not emitted, and outputs awakening / drowsiness information.

Each of the above parts will be further described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 1, which shows the device of the present invention in principle. In FIG. 1, I is a part of the eye of a person who is a drowsiness detection target, and a region including the eye I, typically an eyeball i1 of the eye (more specifically, a cornea) or an eyelid i2 with the eye closed. On the other hand, visible light B1 blinking from the visible light blinking light emitting means X can be emitted through the irradiation means G. Further, a means Y for receiving the reflected light B2 that is irradiated and reflected by the area including the eye I and converting it into an electric signal, and a signal for processing the converted electric signal and outputting awakening / drowsiness information. And processing means E.

The visible light blinking light emitting means X can be composed of, for example, a light emitting element B and a drive circuit A for causing the light emitting element to blink and emit light at a frequency of, for example, 400 Hz. As the drive circuit A, one having an oscillation function for causing the light emitting element to blink and emit light is considered. The light emitted to the eyes must be undetectable to the eyes so that it does not interfere with the sight. Therefore, the light emitted from the means X is an outside visible light. As the visible light used here, it is possible to cite, for example, infrared rays and ultraviolet rays that are easily available and do not damage the health of the eyes. Therefore, when the light emitting element is adopted, the light emitting element may emit such visible light, and a typical example thereof is an infrared light emitting element.

In addition, when the visible light is applied to the area including the eyes, sunlight, tungsten light, fluorescent light, mixed light of these, and the like are also irradiated depending on the location, so that it can be distinguished from them. As described above, the light is emitted as light that repeatedly blinks at a frequency of 400 Hz, for example. The means Y for receiving the reflected light and converting it into a predetermined electric signal is, as a typical example, a light receiving element C for receiving the reflected light and converting it into an electric signal, and an amplifier for amplifying the light receiving element output to the extent necessary for post-processing. The circuit D can be exemplified. Awakening / drowsiness information output from the signal processing means E can be used for operation control of the alarm means F and the like.

The signal processing means E shown in FIG. 1 is, for example, an A / D conversion circuit E1 for A / D converting the output from the amplification circuit D in a cycle of several times (for example, 100 times) and a digital signal from the circuit E1. It can be configured by an arithmetic circuit E2 that processes the output and outputs awakening / drowsiness information. In this case, the arithmetic circuit E2 filters the captured digital value to make it a component of only reflected light that eliminates the influence of ambient light, enables blinking to be detected without noise, and awakens based on the reflected light component. -It may be possible to configure it so that it can output doze information.

Although the digital signal is handled in this example, it may be processed as an analog signal as shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, Z is a signal processing means, which is typically a circuit including a filter circuit z1. FIG. 3 is an output example of the amplifier circuit D shown in FIG. A light emission ON (ON) and light emission OFF (OFF) repetitive signal is output at a frequency of 400 Hz. A / D conversion is performed by the A / D conversion circuit E1 at a cycle 100 times that cycle, for example. Then, in the arithmetic circuit E2, in order to remove the noise component, preferably, the A / D-converted level at the time of light emission ON and the level at the time of light emission OFF are, for example, averaged. Information on whether the eyes are closed or open is included in the light emission ON, and the light emission OF becomes noise light due to ambient light. Therefore, according to the output V (light reception level) of FIG. 3, in the arithmetic circuit E2, the average value of the light reception level when the light emission is turned on once is Von (n), and the average value of the light reception level when the light emission is turned off is Voff (n). Then, the difference RV (n) between this Von (n) and Voff (n) is taken. This difference data RV (n) is shown in FIG. 4, and the individual points are obtained by one light emission ON and one light emission OFF. This is an extraction of only the reflected light component (in other words, the difference in received light level), and the difference is clearly seen when the eyes are closed and when the eyes are opened. In the analog processing, this information corresponds to the output of the filter circuit z1. In addition, if there is a noise component, the noise component may be removed by averaging the reflected light components based on multiple measurements of Von (n) and Voff (n).

In general, including the signal processing means E, the signal processing means in the device of the present invention uses a plurality of blinking light emission by the blinking light emitting means as a light reception level difference (reflected light component) for noise component removal. It is conceivable to adopt an average value of the received light level differences obtained in each of the above cases, perform processing based on the average value, and output awakening / drowsiness information.

In this case, the signal processing means differentially processes the amount of change between the average value of the received light level difference and the average value of the previously measured received light level difference, and when the differentiated value exceeds a predetermined reference value, the reference value is changed. The time interval from the time when the differential excess value appears to the time when the next differential excess value appears may be measured, and when the time interval exceeds a predetermined reference interval, the doze information may be output.

Further, in this case, the signal processing means sets two types of the reference intervals, that is, a first reference interval for detecting a sleeping state and a second reference interval for detecting falling asleep. If the time interval from the appearance of the differential value excess differential value to the appearance of the next reference value excess differential value exceeds the first reference interval, the doze information indicating that he / she fell asleep is output. It may be configured to output the drowsiness information indicating the falling asleep when the two reference intervals are exceeded.

Further, in this case, a sound generation alarming means that operates based on an instruction from the signal processing means is provided, and the alarming means outputs a doze information output indicating that the person has slept and a doze information output indicating that he is asleep. The alarm sound may be emitted in different states based on each. Next, an example of the differential processing will be described. FIG. 5 is a waveform obtained by differentiating the output example of the reflected light component of FIG. This differential processing is performed by the arithmetic circuit E2. Pay attention to the plus and minus waveforms that the value indicated by this waveform is above a certain reference level. As shown in Fig. 5, the time between plus and minus is equivalent to closing the eyes, and if the time is longer than a certain time, it means sleeping.

As described above, the alarm means is generally an alarm device that emits a buzzer sound, a siren sound, or the like based on the information output from the signal processing means, and a voice such as "wake up, wake up". A speech synthesizing circuit that emits, a combination thereof, and the like are possible. In addition, these alarm means, based on the information output from the signal processing means, sleep silently when not sleeping, and medium-volume sound and / or intermittent sound when sleeping. It may emit a loud sound and / or a continuous sound. In this connection, the signal processing means generally, as the drowsiness information, provide at least two types of information according to the degree of the drowsiness depending on the time interval of blinking, for example, the information of the drowsiness and the sleep. It is conceivable to configure it to output the information to represent.

Next, a means for irradiating the area including the eyes with the blinking light by the blinking light emitting means for the visible light will be described. As such irradiation means, in order to accurately detect the blinking state of the eyes, a light emission irradiation end is included, and the light emission irradiation end is supported by an arm member, and the arm member has a rotation center axis line approximately the eyeball. It is connected to and supported by a rotation shaft that is set so as to pass through the center, and the light emission irradiation end is set at the center of the eyeball when the rotation shaft is set so that the rotation center axis line passes substantially through the eyeball center. The thing supported by the said arm member so that it may be faced substantially may be illustrated. Such a pivot can be attached, for example, to the temple of a spectacle frame without a lens, with a lens, or fitted with glass.

In addition to this, as the irradiation means, a light emission irradiation end is supported, and the light emission irradiation end is supported by one end of the arm member, and the arm member is made of a flexible material (for example, an aluminum material that can be bent and twisted by hand). And the other end of the arm member is fixed to the spectacle frame. For example, the light emitting element in the visible light blinking light emitting means may also serve as the light emitting irradiation end directly, but a converging convex lens provided in front of the light emitting element, or as shown in FIG. A converging convex lens L1 facing the front end of the optical fiber LF1 for guiding the light from the element B may be used. When such an optical fiber is adopted as a constituent element of the irradiation means, it is considered that the fiber and the condenser lens are supported by the arm member for supporting the irradiation end. Further, when the optical fiber is adopted, it is possible to support the light emitting element at an appropriate position of the spectacle frame.

Regarding the irradiation means and the like, in addition to the above, the following can be considered. That is, the irradiation means is for irradiating the area including the eyes with blinking light to detect opening / closing of the eyes, that is, blinking. Therefore, as shown in FIG. That can be irradiated with light, that can irradiate a part of the area including the eyes as shown in FIG. 7B, and that that has a plurality of areas including the eyes as illustrated in FIG. 7C. Various things are possible. Further, it may be one that can be illuminated by one eye or one that is illuminated by both eyes. When irradiating a plurality of parts of the eye with light, it is sufficient to judge that the blinking occurs even if the differential value based on the average value of the received light level difference exceeds the reference value even at one of them.

Further, the light emitting end of the emitting means and the light receiving end of the means for receiving the reflected light and converting the reflected light into a predetermined electric signal are as close to the eyes as possible so as not to obstruct the view and not to be aware of the foreign matter. In addition, it is desirable to install it in a place where a wide field of view can be taken. Further, in this regard, it is desirable that the irradiation end and the light receiving end are as small as possible, and therefore, as described above, the lens L1 is used as the irradiation end by using the optical fiber LF1 and the lens L1. Also for the light receiving end, a converging convex lens provided in front of the light receiving element is used, or as shown in FIG. 6, the converging convex lens L2 and the optical fiber LF2 are used to guide the reflected light to the light receiving element C. It is conceivable to use L 2 as the light receiving end. Regarding the lens L2 and the fiber LF2, it can be considered to support them by an arm member for supporting the irradiation end. Further, when the optical fiber is adopted, it may be possible to support the light receiving element at an appropriate position on the spectacle frame. It is also possible that the light-receiving element directly serves as the light-receiving end.

When a spectacle frame is used to support the irradiation end and the light receiving end, they are, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, at any one of a, b, c ... The irradiation end and the light receiving end can be attached as a pair at multiple locations, or the irradiation end and the light receiving end can be attached at different locations in any one pair or a combination of multiple pairs such as the irradiation end at the b position and the light receiving end at the d position. May be. Further, it can be attached so as to be built in the eyeglass frame. Furthermore, as another attachment method, the irradiation end / light receiving end ER may be supported by a hair band HB as shown in FIG.

As for the spectacle frame in which the glass or the lens is fitted, as shown in FIG. 10, the irradiation end / light receiving end ER can be attached to the outer surface or the inner surface of the glass or the lens GL. As another attachment method, as shown in FIG. 11, a fixing jig FX is attached to the temple part GR of the spectacle frame, and the arm AM is extended from there to the front part and the upper part of the spectacle, and the irradiation end and the light receiving end ER are attached there. May be attached.

In order to improve the detection accuracy in any of the mounting methods, it is necessary to properly set the mounting positions and angles of the irradiation end and the light receiving end in accordance with the shape of the wearer's face. It is desirable to provide a fine adjustment mechanism. In this regard, for example, in the attachment shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to adopt a material that can be freely bent and twisted by hand, such as an aluminum rod, as the material of the arm AM.

[0023]

[Action]

 According to the drowsiness detection device of the present invention, the blinking light from the visible light blinking light emitting means is emitted from the irradiation means to the area including the eyes of the person subject to the drowsiness detection, and the reflected light reflected from the area receives the light. Then, it is received by the means for converting into an electric signal and converted into an electric signal. The blinking light is typically applied to the eyeball (more specifically, the cornea) of the eye or the closed eyelid, and in that case, the reflected light is such that the light is reflected from the eyeball with the eyes open. The level is different from that reflected from the eyelids.

This converted signal is input to the signal processing means. In the signal processing means, the signal processing means performs processing so as to determine the blinking state of the eyes based on the light reception level difference between when the flashing light emitting means emits light and when it does not emit light, and outputs awakening / drowsiness information. . This information output is used to control the operation of alarm means.

[0025]

【Example】

 Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a spectacle-mounted doze detection device for study, and FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit and the like of the device. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the arithmetic circuit CPU 19 described later. 15 and 16 are views for explaining a preferred mounting example of the sensor unit 1 described later.

This detection device is easy to work with, and in consideration of easiness of handling, the irradiation end and the light reception end are arranged in a pair with respect to a part of one eye, and the dozing state is detected by spot irradiation. As shown in FIG. 12, this device includes a sensor unit 1, an arm member 2 that supports the sensor unit 1, a holding unit 3 that fixes the arm member 2 to the temple portion 4b of the spectacle frame 4, and control of the sensor unit 1. , A controller unit 5 having a function of processing a received light signal and an alarm to the wearer of the apparatus. The sensor unit 1 and the controller unit 5 are connected by a cable 6.

As shown in FIG. 13, the sensor unit 1 includes a light emission irradiation unit 10 that emits infrared light of a specific wavelength to a region including the eyes of the wearer of the apparatus, and a light emission irradiation unit 10 that emits the infrared light and emits light to the eyes of the wearer. It has a light receiving portion 11 for receiving the reflected light from the eyelid or the cornea of the eye. The light emission irradiation unit 10 is configured to have an infrared light emitting diode 12 that outputs infrared light and an irradiation convex lens 13 that collects the emitted infrared light in order to improve measurement efficiency. The light receiving unit 11 includes a light receiving convex lens 14 that collects the reflected light emitted from the light emitting and emitting unit 10 and reflected by the eyes, and only the light of the wavelength emitted from the light emitting and emitting unit 10 among the collected light. It is configured to include a bandpass filter 15 that passes the light and a light receiving element phototransistor 16 that receives the light that has passed through the bandpass filter 15 and converts the light into an electric signal. The light receiving element 16 may be a photodiode.

The controller unit 5 amplifies the received light signal from the phototransistor 16, an amplifier circuit 17, an A / D conversion circuit 18 for converting the amplified received light signal into a digital signal, and processes the received light signal converted into a digital signal. It includes an arithmetic circuit CPU 19 using a microprocessor, and a buzzer 20 which is driven by an output signal from the arithmetic circuit CPU 19 to give an alarm. Further, a blink detection lamp 21 that operates according to an instruction from the arithmetic circuit CPU 19, which informs the wearer of blink detection when the wearer adjusts the position of the sensor unit 1. It also includes a drive circuit 22 for controlling the blinking drive of the red light emitting diode 12 according to the output signal of. Although the buzzer 20 is arranged in the controller unit 5, it may be arranged in the holding unit 3 or in the ear portion 4a of the wearer of the spectacle frame 4.

In the example shown in FIG. 12, the sensor unit 1 including the light emitting unit 10 and the light receiving unit 11 is fixedly supported at a fixed position of the spectacle frame 4 or the arm member 2 so as to face the wearer's eyes. However, here, an example of means for adjusting the position / angle of the sensor unit 1 to an appropriate portion using the spectacle frame 4 will be shown. This drowsiness detection device detects eye blinks, that is, detects eyelid movements. Thinking of the eye as a sphere, blinking means that the eyelids cover part of the sphere or block the entire sphere. At this time, as the position of the sensor unit 1, as shown in FIG. 15, the position facing the center O of the eyeball i1 and facing the large movement part of the eyelid and not blocking the view is S / The N ratio can be set to a large value, which is a convenient position for drowsiness detection. On the other hand, focusing on the temple portion 4b of the spectacle frame 4, they are almost in the plane including the center O of both eyes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 16, the support portion 3 is attached to the temple portion 4b of the spectacle frame 4, the sensor portion 1 is attached to one end of the arm member 2, and the other end portion 21 of the arm member 2 is attached to the support portion 3. The rotation shaft is connected and has a constant rotation frictional resistance. The rotation shaft 21 on the support portion 3 is set on a straight line passing through the center O of both eyes. Then, the arm member 2 is rotated so that the sensor unit 1 takes an appropriate position. Then, the sensor unit 1 is always attached to the arm member 2 facing the center O of the eyeball i1. This makes it possible to detect blinking with high accuracy, and consequently to detect the dozing state with high accuracy. The arm member 2 may be made of a material that has appropriate strength and is easily bendable, such as an aluminum material. In this case, it is possible to finely adjust the position and angle of the sensor unit 1, and the snooze detection accuracy can be further improved. Further, if the supporting portion 3 is structured so that it can be easily attached to and detached from the spectacle frame 4, it is convenient even when it is used only as ordinary spectacles.

The operation of the drowsiness detection device described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 14 showing the operation of the arithmetic circuit CPU 19. A person who wants to wear the drowsiness detection device wears the spectacle frame 4 provided with the sensor unit 1 and sets the sensor unit 1 as close to the eyeball center as possible. Then, in the controller section 5, the arithmetic circuit CPU 19 is operated, and the drive circuit 22 is operated under the instruction to cause the infrared light emitting diode 12 to blink (see steps 100 and 120 in FIG. 14) and emit the blinking light. The convex lens 13 collects the light and illuminates the area including the eyes. The reflected light reflected by the eyelid or cornea of the wearer of the device passes through the light-receiving convex lens 14 and the bandpass filter 15 and reaches the phototransistor 16. However, the light reaching the phototransistor 16 is combined with other light that is a disturbance between the irradiation convex lens 13 and the light reception convex lens 14, and becomes infrared light that has passed through the bandpass filter 15. The received light signal converted into an electric signal by the phototransistor 16 is amplified by the amplifier circuit 17, converted into a digital value by the A / D conversion circuit 18, and input to the arithmetic circuit CPU 19. The arithmetic circuit CPU 19 judges the blinking state based on this and outputs awakening / drowsiness information and controls the buzzer 20.

As roughly described, the arithmetic circuit CPU 19 causes the infrared light emitting diode 12 to blink and emit light as well as the reflected light in the digital light reception signal from the A / D conversion circuit 18 as shown in the flowchart of FIG. Blink signal extraction processing is performed to extract blink signals from the components (steps 100 to 180), and blink interval monitoring processing to detect blinks and measure blink time intervals is performed (steps 190 to 230) for a fixed time. As described above, when there is no blink, an alarm output control process for outputting an alarm signal (drowsiness information) is executed (steps 240 to 260).

More specifically, the arithmetic circuit CPU 19 first outputs a light emission instruction output to the drive circuit 22 of the infrared light emitting diode 12 to turn on the infrared light emitting diode 12 (step 100). Then, in order to reduce disturbance noise, the signal value from the A / D conversion circuit 18 is read a plurality of times (here, 10 times), and these are averaged and stored as light emission ON time data (step 110). Next, the driving circuit 22 of the infrared light emitting diode 12 is instructed to turn off the light, and the infrared light emitting diode 12 is turned off (step 120). By turning off the light, only the disturbance light reaches the phototransistor 16. Therefore, the arithmetic circuit CPU 19 reads the signal values from the A / D conversion circuit 18 a plurality of times (here, 10 times) as in the case of turning on the infrared light emitting diode, averages them, and stores them as light emission OFF data ( Step 130). Then, the OFF data is subtracted from the ON data to extract only the reflected light component (step 140). The above steps 100 to 140 are repeated a plurality of times (here, five times) to average the reflected light components (step 160).

The amount of change between the reflected light component value and the previous reflected light component value is differentiated with respect to time (step 170). This change in the differential value represents blinking. Next, the current reflected light component value is substituted for the previously reflected light component value (step 180). Next, it is judged whether or not this differential value exceeds a predetermined reference value (step 190), and if it exceeds, it is judged that blinking has been performed, and a timer for blinking time interval measurement is initialized ( In step 200), the blink detection lamp 21 is turned on (step 210). Next, the timer for measuring the blinking time interval is examined, and when the reference interval 2 (60 seconds in this case) has elapsed, it is determined that the wearer of the device is sleeping, and the buzzer 20 is continuously operated to issue an alarm ( Step 260), if it corresponds to the reference interval 1 (here, more than 30 seconds and 60 seconds or less), it is determined that the wearer of the apparatus is asleep, and the buzzer 20 is intermittently operated to issue an alarm (Step 250). If 30 seconds have not elapsed, it is determined that the user is awake and the buzzer 20 is turned off (step 240).

In the example described above, the number of A / D conversions is performed 10 times in steps 110 and 130, and the operations from step 100 to step 140 are performed 5 times to reduce noise by averaging. The number of times is not fixed and may be changed depending on the conversion speed of the A / D conversion circuit 18 and the calculation speed of the arithmetic circuit CPU 19. Further, although the buzzer 20 is operated continuously or intermittently as an alarm, it may be possible to adopt a loudness level, a pitch level, or the like. Further, instead of the buzzer, a sound generator that wakes up asleep, for example, a sound generator such as "wake up, wake up ..." may be adopted. Also, a buzzer sound may be generated when sleeping in combination with a headphone stereo or the like.

Further, since the sensor unit 1 and the controller unit 5 are connected by the connection cable 6, the structure is simplified and there is an advantage that the load on the power source is reduced, but the sensor unit 1 and the controller unit 5 are provided. The signal may be exchanged wirelessly by disconnecting or the controller unit 5 may be downsized and attached to the eyeglass frame 4. As can be understood from the embodiments described above, the present invention doze detection device has a simple structure and can output awakening / drowsiness information with high accuracy, so that it can be used not only for study but also for driving a wide range of vehicles, ships, airplanes, etc. Available.

[0036]

[Effect of device]

 According to the present invention, a drowsiness detection device of the type that detects the awakening / drowsiness state of a person based on the opening / closing state of a person's eyelids, can detect the drowsiness state with high accuracy, is easy to work on, and has a wide range of applications. A wide snooze detection device can be provided. According to the drowsiness detection device of the second aspect, it is possible to output information according to the degree of drowsiness according to the time interval of blinking, and various alarms can be issued by using this information.

According to the drowsiness detection device of the third aspect, a plurality of parts of the eyes can be irradiated with blinking light to detect the drowsiness state with high accuracy. According to the drowsiness detection device of the fourth aspect, the light emission irradiation end of the blinking light irradiation means can be set substantially at the center of the eyeball, and the blinking can be detected with higher accuracy. According to the drowsiness detection device of the fifth aspect, it is possible to set the light emission irradiation end of the blinking light irradiation means toward a predetermined direction, such as to set the light emission irradiation end substantially toward the center of the eyeball, and the blinking can be detected with higher accuracy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing in principle a dozing detection device of the present invention by digital processing.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing in principle a part of the doze detection device of the present invention by analog processing.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an output example of an amplifier circuit in a unit that receives reflected light and converts it into an electric signal.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in reflected light components when the eyelids are opened and closed in the output example of the amplifier circuit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a waveform when a variation amount of a reflected light component is differentiated in the example shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing in principle an example of a blinking light emitting means and a reflected light receiving means.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a blinking light irradiation region for an eye.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of attachment of a light emitting end and a light receiving end to a spectacle frame.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing another example of attachment of a light emitting end and a light receiving end.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of attachment of a light emitting end and a light receiving end to a spectacle frame.

FIG. 11 is a view showing still another example of attachment of the light emitting end and the light receiving end to the spectacle frame.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment shown in FIG.

14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the arithmetic circuit shown in FIG.

15 is a diagram showing in principle another example of attachment of the sensor unit in the embodiment of FIG.

16A and 16B show a state in which the example of mounting the sensor unit shown in FIG. 15 is embodied, and FIG. 16A is a plan view thereof, and FIG.
The figure is a side view thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

I eye i1 eyeball i2 eyelid O eyeball center X visible light flashing light emitting means A light emitting element drive circuit B light emitting element G flashing light emitting means Y reflected light receiving / electrical signal converting means C light receiving element D amplification circuit E signal processing means E1 A / D conversion circuit E2 arithmetic circuit F warning means B1 irradiation light B2 reflected light Z signal processing means z1 filter circuit LF1, LF2 optical fiber L1, L2 convex lens a, b ... g, h irradiation end in spectacle frame, emission end mounting Position HB Hair band ER Irradiation end / light reception end GL Eyeglass frame lens GR Eyeglass frame temple AM irradiation end / light reception end support arm FM Fixing jig 1 Sensor part 2 Arm member 21 End part of arm member 2 as rotating shaft 3 holding part 4 eyeglass frame 4a ear part 4b temple part 5 controller part 6 connection cable 10 light emission irradiation part 11 light reception 12 infrared light emitting diodes 13 a convex lens (irradiation end) 14 a convex lens (receiving end) 15 band filter 16 phototransistor 17 amplifier circuit 18 A / D converter circuit CPU19 arithmetic circuit 20 buzzer 21 blink detection lamp 22 light-emitting element driving circuit

Claims (5)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A blinking light emitting unit for visible light, a unit for irradiating the blinking light by the light emitting unit to a region including an eye, and a reflected light which is emitted from the irradiating unit and reflected from the region including an eye. It includes means for receiving light and converting it into an electric signal, and signal processing means for processing the converted electric signal and outputting awakening / drowsiness information, wherein the signal processing means emits light when the blinking light emitting means emits light and does not emit light. A drowsiness detection device that performs processing based on the difference in received light level with time and outputs awakening / drowsiness information. 2. The signal processing means as drowsiness information,
The drowsiness detection device according to claim 1, wherein at least two types of information corresponding to the degree of drowsiness are output according to the blinking time interval. 3. The doze detection device according to claim 1, wherein the blinking light irradiating means illuminates a plurality of portions of the eye with blinking light. 4. The flashing light irradiation means includes a light emission irradiation end, and the light emission irradiation end is supported by an arm member, and the arm member is set so that a rotation center axis passes substantially through the eyeball center. The arm member is connected to and supported by a rotation shaft, and the light emission irradiation end is substantially oriented toward the eyeball center when the rotation shaft is set so that the rotation center axis passes substantially through the eyeball center. The doze detection device according to claim 1, which is supported by. 5. The blinking light irradiation means includes a light emission irradiation end, the light emission irradiation end being supported by one end of an arm member, the arm member being formed of a flexible material, and the other end of the arm member. The drowsiness detection device according to claim 1, which is fixed to a spectacle frame.