JP3158663B2 - Drowsy driving prevention device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drowsy driving prevention device, and more particularly to a device for preventing drowsy driving by blowing cool air from an air conditioner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for preventing drowsy operation by blowing cold air from an air conditioner, a device has been conventionally known, for example, from Tokugawa Shoko
There is a device disclosed in 57-30683 publication, in this device, a passage is opened from the blower of the vehicle or the like near the driver's face and the like, and an on-off valve and a blower are installed in this passage. As shown in FIG. 6, when a specific operation condition is satisfied when a predetermined time (30 minutes) has elapsed, the on-off valve is opened and the blower is driven to allow the cool air from the evaporator of the blower to flow from the passage. The warning is given to the driver by preventing the driver from falling asleep by preventing the driver from falling asleep by sending the air to the vicinity of the driver's face and neck at a constant blowing time and at a predetermined blowing interval.

Here, it has been known that the danger of drowsy driving when a vehicle or the like is driven for a long distance or for a long time increases with the lapse of time (that is, the driver's arousal level decreases). In FIG. 6, this is because the danger level of the drowsiness driving (or the driver's awakening degree decrease) is the time A <
It is inevitable that time B <time C. In FIG. 6, A represents 30 minutes from 60 minutes to 60 minutes after the start of operation, B represents 30 minutes from 60 minutes to 90 minutes, and C represents 30 minutes from 90 minutes to 120 minutes. Is shown.

However, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. Sho 57-30683, the control of the blowing time (T) and the blowing interval (t) of the cold air is constant, so that the control does not match the risk of occurrence or the awakening degree of the driver. Specifically, there were the following problems.

[0005] (1) If the blowing interval (T) is small (for example, 1 minute), cold air blows out frequently at the time of A in FIG. If it is large (for example, 10 minutes), it is good at the time of A in the figure, but there is a danger of falling asleep during the time since the cool air does not easily blow out at the time of B and C in the figure with reduced arousal level.

(2) The blowing time (t) is short (for example, 2
Second), it is good at the time of A in the same figure, but in the case of B and C of the same figure, a sufficient arousal effect is not obtained, and when the blowing time is long (for example, 3 minutes), At the time of A, the driver feels very uncomfortable.

Therefore, there is a need for a device for performing a drowsy driving prevention control suitable for increasing the danger of drowsy driving occurrence over time or lowering the arousal level of the driver. There is an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-85031.

In this apparatus, instruction means for instructing the driver to press a designated button by synthetic voice, and response detecting means for checking whether or not the driver has pressed a correct button in response to the instruction are provided. Warning means for giving a buzzer warning to the driver, determining means for determining whether or not the response has been made within a predetermined time, and control means for exercising the warning means based on the output of the determining means. Have.

When the control means determines that a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has elapsed after the start of driving, the control means instructs the driver to press a designated button by the instruction means, and the driver within a predetermined time (for example, 2 minutes). Minute), it is checked whether the correct button has been pressed, and if it is determined that the button has not been pressed within a predetermined time, the driver's awakening degree is low, that is, it is determined that there is a high possibility of falling asleep, and the buzzer sounds to the driver Was giving a warning.

The control means determines that the driver's arousal level is high if the time is short, and determines the time until the next instruction is issued (instruction generation). If the time until the button is pressed is long within the predetermined time, it is determined that the driver's arousal level is low, and the time until the next instruction is issued is controlled to be short. Further, when it is determined that the driver's arousal level is low as described above, the button is not pressed within a predetermined time, so that the buzzer sounds longer or the volume is increased, and conversely, it is determined that the arousal level is high. In such a case, control is performed to shorten the time or reduce the volume.

[0011]

However, the alarm by the buzzer in the device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 60-85031 is merely an ad hoc alarm, and has the effect of drastically preventing drowsy driving. There was a problem to say small.

Further, in this apparatus, the degree of awakening of the driver is required for the driver to perform an operation other than the driving, so that the following problems are also encountered. (1) When the button is pressed, there is a possibility that the driver may become careless in the forward direction.
In addition, since this button operation is not necessary for driving, a driver who is forced to do so feels very uncomfortable.

(2) In the case of speech recognition, the cost increases,
In particular, the cost will be extremely increased if it is attempted to eliminate the effects of conversation with passengers, radio and other sounds, running noise, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive drowsy driving prevention device which does not cause discomfort to the driver and has a large effect of preventing drowsy driving.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, a drowsy driving prevention device according to the present invention comprises a vehicle speed detecting means, a room temperature detecting means, and a vehicle in which cold air is blown near the driver's face and neck. When it is found that the vehicle is running and the room temperature continuously exceeds the set temperature from the output of the air conditioning means provided in the room and the output of each detection means, the blowing time of the cold air is proportional to the duration. When the air conditioner is controlled so that the interval of blowing the cold air is shortened in inverse proportion to the duration and the blowing of the cold air is performed, the air conditioning means is simultaneously included in the air conditioning means in proportion to the duration. Control means for adjusting the air flow intensity by controlling the rotation speed of the blower.

[0016]

In the drowsy driving prevention device according to the present invention, the control means determines from the outputs of the room temperature detecting means and the vehicle speed detecting means that the room temperature has exceeded a preset temperature at which the drowsy driving is likely to occur, and the driving state is maintained for a predetermined time. When it is determined that the drowsing driving occurrence danger degree is increased when it is determined to be continued, that is, when it is determined that the driver's awakening degree is reduced, the air conditioner is driven to intermittently blow cool air around the driver's face and neck. A drowsy driving warning is sent to the driver, and the room temperature is lowered to reduce the risk of drowsy driving. Then, the intermittent blowing of the cold air is continued until the room temperature falls below the set value or the traveling stops.

The control means increases the cool air blowing time and increases the cool air blowing interval in proportion to the time during which the danger of drowsy driving increases due to the reduction in the driver's arousal level as described above. By controlling to shorten the duration in inverse proportion to the duration, the stimulus for awakening the driver and the effect of lowering the room temperature are increased in proportion to the duration.

However, when the airflow intensity in the above-mentioned cold air blowing is high when the awakening degree is high, the driver is uncomfortable, and when the airflow intensity is low when the awakening degree is low, the effect is reduced.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the control means controls the air conditioning means to blow out the cool air as described above, at the same time, the rotation of the blower included in the air conditioning means is proportional to the duration. When the number is increased, the intensity of the air flow by the blower is increased, and the stimulus for awakening the driver and the effect of lowering the room temperature can be further increased. Conversely, when the duration is short, the rotation speed of the blower is decreased to reduce the blower speed. , The intensity of the air flow can be reduced, and the discomfort to the driver and the effect of lowering the room temperature can be suppressed.

As described above, in the dozing driving prevention apparatus according to the present invention, the dozing driving prevention suitable for increasing the danger of drowsy driving occurrence over time or lowering the arousal level of the driver is achieved.

[0021]

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a dozing driving prevention apparatus according to the present invention, wherein 1 is a vehicle speed sensor as vehicle speed detecting means, and 2 is a room temperature sensor as means for detecting the room temperature of the vehicle. Reference numerals 3 to 6 respectively denote a time t1 during which the state of exceeding the set room temperature continues, a cold air blowing interval (interval at the time of starting the blowing of the cold air) t2, a cooling air blowing time (a period from the start of the blowing of the cold air) t3, and vehicle stop. A timer for detecting the time t4, 7 is an air conditioner driving circuit as air conditioning means, 8 is a damper driving circuit, 81 is a damper of an air conditioner (not shown) driven by the damper driving circuit 8, and 9 is a blower 71 described later. A blower drive circuit for controlling the rotation speed of the air conditioner; and 100, which reads the output of the vehicle speed sensor 1, the room temperature sensor 2, and the outputs of the timers 3 to 6, and controls the air conditioner drive circuit 7 and the damper drive circuit. A CPU (Central Processing Unit) as control means for operating the circuit 8.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an embodiment of an air conditioner as an air conditioner used in the drowsy driving prevention device according to the present invention. Reference numeral 71 denotes a vehicle interior (not shown).
Which is controlled by the blower driving circuit 9 (FIG. 1), 72 is a duct which is a passage of the wind from the blower 71, and 73 is a fan which cools the wind from the blower 71 installed in the duct 72. An evaporator 74, an air outlet installed on the instrument panel 91 to blow cold air 75 toward the driver, 81 a damper driven by the damper drive circuit 8 of FIG. 1 to open and close the air outlet 74,
Reference numeral 92 denotes a handle operated by the driver.

In this embodiment, the dedicated air outlet 74 is provided as described above. However, even if a conventional air conditioner has an air outlet capable of sending cool air near the driver's face and neck, a special air outlet is particularly provided. It is not necessary to provide it.

Next, FIGS. 3 and 4 show the CPU 1 shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a program stored and executed in the program shown in FIG.
The operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

When this program starts, the CPU
100 sets the flag F = 0 (step S1 in FIG. 1),
A signal is sent to the air conditioner driving circuit 7 by the air conditioning control routine to operate the air conditioner (step S2), and the room temperature P is set to a predetermined value P0 (this is a temperature set as a temperature at which the driver easily falls asleep, for example, 27 ° C)
Is checked (step S3), and this check is repeated until it is determined that the number has been exceeded. This is to prevent cold air from blowing out when the driver feels cold because the room temperature does not rise easily in winter or the like.

If it is determined that the room temperature P has exceeded the predetermined value P0, the CPU 100 sets the flag F2 to 0 (step S4), and determines whether the vehicle is currently running, that is, vehicle speed V> predetermined value V0 (for example, 5 km). / h) (step S5), and if the vehicle stops at V ≦ V0, it is continuously checked whether the flag F2 = 0 (step S6). If the flag F2 ≠ 0, the process jumps to step S9. But the flag F2 = 0
At this time, F2 = 1 is set (step S7), and the time t4 of the timer 6 is reset / started (step S8),
It is checked whether or not the state of V ≦ V0 exceeds a predetermined time t40 (this is a time for determining whether the vehicle is temporarily stopped due to a traffic light or traffic jam, for example, 5 minutes) ( In step S9), if it does not exceed, the check from step S5 is repeated.
That is, it is determined that the driver is taking a break, and this control ends.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that V> V0, that is, that the vehicle is traveling, the CPU 100 checks whether or not the flag F = 0 (step S10).
If 0, the process jumps to step S13, but if F = 0, F = 1.
(Step S11), the time t1 of the timer 3 is reset / started (step S12), and t1 indicating the duration of the vehicle running and the room temperature P> the predetermined value P0 is the predetermined time t11 as the first stage. It is checked whether it has exceeded (for example, 30 minutes) (step S13), and if it has not, the process returns to step S2. This is because immediately after starting driving, the driver's awakening degree is usually high and the danger of falling asleep is low, and blowing out cold air at this time becomes unnecessary and uncomfortable for the driver. t1
It waits until it exceeds 1.

If it is determined in step S13 that t1> t11, the CPU 100 checks whether or not t1 <t12 (a predetermined time as the second stage, for example, 60 minutes) (step S14). At this time, by generating a cold air blowing command signal, the damper 81 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
At this time, the rotation speed of the blower 71 is set via the blower driving circuit 9 so that the air volume intensity becomes BS1 (step S15 in FIG. 3).

In step S15, the air volume intensity is set to B
Although it is set to S1, the blower 71 is already operated at the time of operating the air conditioner in summer or the heater in winter, and in such a case, the initial air flow intensity is changed to BS1. This is the same in the following operation.

Subsequently, the time t3 of the timer 5 is reset and started (step S16 in FIG. 4), and it is checked whether or not the cool air blowing time t3 has exceeded a predetermined time t32 (for example, 5 seconds) (step S17). , When it is determined that the air pressure exceeds the threshold value, the cold air blowing command signal is extinguished and the air flow intensity B
After S1 is returned to "0" (step S18), the time t2 of the timer 4 is reset and started (step S18).
19) It is checked whether or not the cool air blowing interval t2 has exceeded a predetermined time t22 (for example, 10 minutes) (Step S20), and if it is determined that it has exceeded, the process returns to Step S2.

Although the air volume intensity is returned to "0" in step S18, the blower 71 must be continuously operated during the operation of the air conditioner in summer and the heater in winter similarly to the case of step S15. In such a case, the intensity of the air flow is returned to the original intensity. This also applies to the following operations.

FIG. 5 shows the control of the cool air blowing executed in the present invention over time. The control from step S13 to step S20 will be described with reference to FIG. Is equivalent to time A in FIG. In this time A, since only 30 minutes have elapsed since the start of driving, the driver's awakening level is low and the danger of drowsy driving is small, so the driver is warned by blowing cold air and blowing cold air to lower the room temperature. The interval t2 is t22 = 10 minutes, and the cool air blowing time t3 is t32
It can be seen that the value is set as short as 5 seconds.

Returning to step S14, if it is determined that t1 ≧ t12, the CPU 100 continuously checks whether t1 <t13 (for example, 90 minutes) (step S2 in FIG. 1).
1) When t1 <t13, a cold air blowing command signal is generated to move the damper 81 through the damper driving circuit 8 as shown in FIG.
The cool air 75 is blown out from the outlet 74 at the position shown in FIG. 3, and at this time, the rotation speed of the blower 71 is set via the blower driving circuit 9 so that the air intensity becomes BS2 (FIG. 3).
Step S15).

Subsequently, the time t3 of the timer 5 is reset / started (step S23 in FIG. 4), and it is checked whether the cool air blowing time t3 has exceeded a predetermined time t33 (for example, 10 seconds) (step S24). When it is determined that the air flow exceeds the threshold value, the cool air blowing command signal is extinguished, the air flow intensity BS2 is returned to "0" (step S25), and the time t2 of the timer 4 is reset and started (step S26), and the cool air blowing interval t2 is set. Is checked whether or not exceeds a predetermined time t23 (for example, 6 minutes) (step S27), and if it is determined that the time has exceeded, the process returns to step S2.

The time for performing this control (t12 <t <t
13) corresponds to a time B subsequent to the time A in FIG. In order to make the alarm and the room temperature lowering effect larger than in the case of the time A, the blowing interval t2 is set to t23 = 6 minutes,
Further, the cool air blowing time t3 is set to t33 = 10 seconds.

Further, in step S21, t1 ≧
When it is determined that the time t13, the CPU 100 continuously performs the time t1 <t1.
4 (e.g., 120 minutes) (step S28). In the flow of steps S29 to S34, in the same manner as described above, the step S29 of setting the air volume intensity to BS3 simultaneously with the generation of the cold air blowing command signal and the cold air blowing. Step S32 of returning the intensity of the air volume to the original value simultaneously with the disappearance of the command signal
Execute

When it is determined in step S28 that t1 <t14, the CPU 100 sets the air flow intensity to BS4 simultaneously with the generation of the cold air blowing command signal in the flow of steps S29 to S34 in the same manner as described above. Step S38 is executed to return the intensity of the air volume to the original at the same time as the disappearance of the cool air blowing command signal in S35.

In the above embodiment, the values t1, t2, and t2 delimit the time t1 at which the state where the temperature exceeds the set room temperature is continued.
Although the four values of 3 and t4 have been described as examples, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various time values can be set as comparison targets.

That is, in the present invention, the operation continuation time t
1 is t11 (30 minutes), t12 (60 minutes), t12
(90 minutes), t14 (120 minutes),..., As the cooling air blowing interval t2 becomes longer, t22 (10 minutes), t2
3 (6 minutes), t24 (3 minutes), t25 (1.5 minutes),
.. and shorten the cool air blowing time t3 to t
32 (5 seconds), t33 (10 seconds), t34 (20 seconds),
t35 (30 seconds), ...
The warning to the driver and the effect of lowering the room temperature are increased according to the driving duration.

Here, in the above embodiment, the intensity of the air flow at the time of blowing the cold air was not made a particular problem. However, if the intensity of the air volume at the time of the blowing of the cold air is high when the awakening degree is high, the driver may feel uncomfortable. The awakening effect may be lost if the intensity of the cold air blowing air volume is low when the awakening degree is low.

[0041]

As described above, in the device for preventing drowsy driving according to the present invention, when it is found that the vehicle is running and the room temperature continuously exceeds the set temperature, it is proportional to the duration. The air conditioner provided in the vehicle compartment is controlled so that the cool air blows near the driver's face and neck so that the cool air blow time by the air conditioner is extended and the cool air blow interval is shortened in inverse proportion to the duration. When the cold air is blown out, the air flow intensity is controlled by controlling the rotation speed of the blower included in the air conditioner in proportion to the duration at the same time. The effect can be obtained.

(1) The driver is not required to perform an operation that is not necessary for driving. (2) When the awakening degree of the driver is high, the warning time for the cold air blowing is short and the interval is long, and the intensity of the cold air blowing air is low.On the other hand, when the awakening degree is low, the warning is long for the blowing time of the cold air. Since the intensity of the flow of the cold air is short and the intensity of the flow of the cold air is increased, a great effect of preventing the driver from falling asleep can be obtained without giving the driver discomfort. (3) An alarm is generated by blowing cold air, and at the same time, the room temperature is lowered to continuously create a state in which a drowsy driving is unlikely to occur, that is, an effect of preventing a drowsy driving can be obtained. (4) The cost can be reduced because the conventional air conditioner can be used as it is or with a slight modification.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration block diagram of an embodiment of a dozing driving prevention device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of an air conditioner of the dozing driving prevention device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart (part 1) of a program executed in the dozing driving prevention device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart (2) of a program executed in the dozing driving prevention device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph for explaining a cool air blowing control operation executed in the drowsy driving prevention device according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a graph for explaining cold air blowing control executed in the conventional drowsy driving prevention device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 vehicle speed sensor 2 room temperature sensor 3-6 timer 7 air conditioner drive circuit 71 blower 72 duct 73 evaporator 74 outlet 75 cool air 8 damper drive circuit 81 damper 9 blower drive circuit 100 CPU

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60K 28/00-28/06 B60H 1/00-1/32 G08G 1/16 A61B 5/18

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A vehicle speed detecting means, a room temperature detecting means, an air conditioner provided in a vehicle interior so that cool air is blown near the driver's face and neck, When it is found that the temperature continuously exceeds the set temperature, the air conditioning is performed such that the blowing time of the cold air is extended in proportion to the duration and the blowing interval of the cold air is shortened in inverse proportion to the duration. when performing balloon of cold air to control the unit, and a control means for regulating the air flow strength by controlling the rotational speed of the blower included in the air conditioning unit in proportion to the said duration time A drowsy driving prevention device, characterized in that: