JP5922553B2 - Driving monotonicity judging device and driving monotonicity judging method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving monotonicity determining device and a driving monotonicity determining method for determining monotonicity of vehicle driving by a driver (driver) of a vehicle.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for changing the scale of a warning signal depending on the degree of carelessness of a driver who drives a vehicle. In the disclosed technique of Patent Document 1, a traveling pedal position signal, a brake pedal position signal, a steering angle signal, a distance signal to a road shoulder separation line or a future distance passage, a signal related to a driver posture detected by an indoor camera, etc. Are weighted and combined to calculate one final parameter and output a warning depending on this final parameter.

  Further, for example, in Patent Document 2 below, in order to make it possible to discriminate the driver state of the driver who drives the vehicle in more detail, a plurality of (at least at least three of the three elements of arousal level, attention concentration level, and driving ability) A technique for detecting driver information reflecting two or more elements and determining a driver state based on the driver information and vehicle / driving environment information is disclosed. Patent Document 2 suggests that an accelerator pedal operation amount or a brake pedal operation amount may be used when calculating driver information.

JP 2003-323700 A (paragraph [0013]) JP 2007-265377 A (paragraphs [0015], [0019], [0123])

  According to the conventional techniques including the disclosed techniques of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 described above, it is already known to use the operation amount of the accelerator pedal to detect the driving state of the driver. However, the conventional technology obtains various parameters indicating the driver's driving operation (steering of the steering wheel, etc.) and the driver's state (driver's posture, eye opening time, etc.), and combining these parameters comprehensively, It has been developed to improve the detection accuracy of the driving state of the driver, and it appears to be more complicated.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention is a technique for determining the monotonicity of driving by a driver with an efficient and simple configuration and processing, particularly by devising processing related to information obtained from accelerator pedal operation. It aims to be realized.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a driving monotonicity judging device for judging monotonicity of vehicle driving,
A collecting unit that collects a depression position of an accelerator pedal by a driver when driving the vehicle;
A data buffer for accumulating information on the depression position of the accelerator pedal collected by the collecting unit;
A stepping momentum calculating unit that calculates a temporal difference in information about the depression position of the accelerator pedal stored in the data buffer, and calculates a depression momentum per unit time of the depression position of the accelerator pedal;
A first set of stepping momentum included in a reference time range is extracted by ignoring movement in the return direction of the accelerator pedal and extracting the stepping momentum of zero or positive value representing movement in the depression direction of the accelerator pedal. And the second set of stepping momentum included in the determination target time shorter than the reference time, and increase or decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving at the determination target time with respect to the vehicle driving at the reference time. A monotonicity determination unit that determines and outputs the determination result,
A driving monotonicity determination device is provided.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a vehicle speed data collection unit that collects vehicle speed data when the vehicle is driven,
A vehicle speed data buffer for storing the vehicle speed data collected by the vehicle speed data collection unit;
An average vehicle speed calculation unit that calculates an average vehicle speed in the determination target time based on the vehicle speed data included in the range of the determination target time;
The monotonicity determining unit further includes a driving monotonicity determining device that further uses the average vehicle speed as a parameter used to determine whether the vehicle driving monotonicity increases or decreases.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a driving monotonicity determination device that uses a product of an accelerator opening of the accelerator pedal and a pedal rod length of the accelerator pedal as information relating to a depression position of the accelerator pedal.

  Further, according to the present invention, the monotonicity determination unit is configured to compare the first representative value calculated from the first set with the second representative value calculated from the second set. A monotonicity determination device is provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, the monotonicity determination unit is an operation monotonicity determination device that uses, as the first and second representative values, numerical values relating to a histogram obtained from each of the first and second sets. Is provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, the monotonicity determination unit sets a plurality of levels based on the first representative value, and determines which of the plurality of levels the second representative value belongs to. Thus, there is provided a driving monotonicity determination device that determines increase / decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving and outputs the determination result as a level value.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a driving monotonicity determination method by a driving monotonicity determination device that determines monotonicity of vehicle driving,
A collecting step of collecting a depression position of an accelerator pedal by a driver when driving the vehicle;
An accumulation step of accumulating information on the accelerator pedal depression position collected in the collection step in a data buffer;
A stepping momentum calculating step for calculating a stepping momentum per unit time of the depression position of the accelerator pedal by calculating a time difference of information on the depression position of the accelerator pedal stored in the data buffer;
A first set of stepping momentum included in a reference time range is extracted by ignoring movement in the return direction of the accelerator pedal and extracting the stepping momentum of zero or positive value representing movement in the depression direction of the accelerator pedal. And the second set of stepping momentum included in the determination target time shorter than the reference time, and increase or decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving at the determination target time with respect to the vehicle driving at the reference time. A monotonicity determination step for determining and outputting the determination result,
A method for determining driving monotonicity is provided.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, a vehicle speed data collecting step for collecting vehicle speed data at the time of driving the vehicle,
A vehicle speed data storage step for storing the vehicle speed data collected in the vehicle speed data step in a vehicle speed data buffer;
An average vehicle speed calculation step for calculating an average vehicle speed in the determination target time based on the vehicle speed data included in the range of the determination target time.
And, in the monotonicity determination step, a driving monotonicity determination method using the average vehicle speed is further provided as a parameter used for determining increase / decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a driving monotonicity determination method using a product of an accelerator opening of the accelerator pedal and a pedal rod length of the accelerator pedal as information relating to a depression position of the accelerator pedal.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, in the monotonicity determination step, the first representative value calculated from the first set is compared with the second representative value calculated from the second set. A monotonicity determination method is provided.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, in the monotonicity determination step, the driving monotonicity determination method in which the numerical values related to the histogram obtained from each of the first and second sets are the first and second representative values. Is provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the monotonicity determining step, a plurality of levels based on the first representative value are set, and it is determined which of the plurality of levels the second representative value belongs to. Thus, there is provided a driving monotonicity determining method for determining increase / decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving and outputting the determination result as a level value.

  The present invention has an effect of making it possible to determine the monotonicity of driving by a driver with an efficient and simple configuration and processing by devising the processing related to information obtained from the accelerator pedal operation.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of a structure of the driving | operation monotonicity determination apparatus in embodiment of this invention. In embodiment of this invention, it is a schematic diagram which shows the mode of depression of the accelerator pedal by a driver. In embodiment of this invention, it is a figure which shows the mode of depression of the accelerator pedal by a driver by a polar coordinate system. In embodiment of this invention, it is a graph which shows an example of the relationship between time and the accelerator opening data L. It is a flowchart which shows an example of operation | movement of the monotonicity determination part of the driving | operation monotonicity determination apparatus in embodiment of this invention. In embodiment of this invention, it is a graph which shows an example of the relationship between time and the depression momentum of an accelerator pedal. In embodiment of this invention, it is a histogram which shows an example of the frequency of the depression momentum of an accelerator pedal. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the driving | running monotonicity determination process (level calculation process) of the monotonicity determination part of the driving | operation monotonicity determination apparatus in embodiment of this invention. 5 is a table showing an example of a relationship between a conditional expression of average vehicle speed data MV and an index α in the embodiment of the present invention. In embodiment of this invention, it is a table | surface which shows an example of the relationship between the conditional expression of peak value P0, P1, and a level (Lv). In embodiment of this invention, it is a histogram which shows an example of the specific concept of a level determination process. In embodiment of this invention, it is another histogram which shows an example of the specific concept of a level determination process.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the depression momentum per unit time of the depression position of the accelerator pedal is calculated, the first set of depression momentum included in the reference time range, and the determination target time shorter than the reference time Is compared with the second set of stepping momentums included in the range of, the monotonicity increase / decrease of the vehicle driving at the determination target time with respect to the vehicle driving at the reference time is determined, and the determination result is output. In particular, in the embodiment of the present invention, a zero or positive depressing momentum representing the depressing direction of the accelerator pedal is extracted while ignoring the returning direction of the accelerator pedal.

  It should be noted that the basic technique according to the present invention is a technique that indexes the monotonicity of driving. The monotonicity of driving indexed by the present invention can be used as one element for detecting driver fatigue, carelessness, casual driving, etc., but is not limited thereto, for example, driving stability by the driver. It can also be used as an element for detecting the characteristics (including the driver's fuel-efficient driving technology, etc.). That is, the monotonicity of driving indexed by the present invention can be interpreted negatively in relation to the risk of driving action, and can also be positively interpreted in relation to the stability of driving action. Is also possible.

  Further, the present invention acquires various parameters indicating a driver's driving operation (steering of a steering wheel, etc.) and a driver's state (driver's posture, eye opening time, etc.), and denies combining these parameters comprehensively. Note that it is not a thing. It is obvious that the present invention devises the processing related to information obtained from the accelerator pedal operation, and may be combined with various other parameters.

  First, the configuration of the driving monotonicity determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a driving monotonicity determination device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The driving monotonicity determining device shown in FIG. 1 includes an accelerator pedal position sensor 11, an accelerator opening data collecting unit 12, an accelerator opening data buffer 13, a vehicle speed sensor 21, a vehicle speed data collecting unit 22, a vehicle speed data buffer 23, A monotonicity determination unit 30 is included.

  The accelerator pedal position sensor 11, the accelerator opening data collection unit 12, and the accelerator opening data buffer 13 constitute a mechanism for collecting data related to the operation of the accelerator pedal by the driver. The accelerator pedal position sensor 11 has a function of detecting the position of the accelerator pedal that fluctuates when the driver depresses the accelerator pedal. The accelerator opening degree data collection unit 12 has a function of calculating accelerator opening degree data L based on the position of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator pedal position sensor 11. The accelerator opening data buffer 13 has a function (memory) for accumulating accelerator opening data L calculated by the accelerator opening data collecting unit 12.

  The state of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver can be schematically represented as shown in FIG. 2, for example. Since the accelerator pedal moves so as to draw a substantially circular arc around the fulcrum O of the accelerator pedal, as shown in FIG. 3, it can be expressed in a polar coordinate system centered on the fulcrum O of the accelerator pedal. . Specifically, by setting a state where the accelerator pedal is not loaded as the reference position (angle 0 °) of the accelerator pedal, the accelerator pedal is operated and a load is applied to the accelerator pedal (that is, the accelerator pedal is It is possible to represent the position of the state where the foot is stepped on by an angle (accelerator opening Θ).

  The accelerator opening data collection unit 12 acquires the accelerator pedal position (accelerator opening Θ) detected by the accelerator pedal position sensor 11, and the accelerator opening based on the accelerator pedal position (accelerator opening Θ). Data L can be calculated. The accelerator opening data collection unit 12 obtains the position of the accelerator pedal (accelerator opening Θ) at a predetermined sampling rate (for example, 500 ms), and calculates the product of the accelerator opening Θ and the pedal rod length r, for example. Thus, the accelerator opening data L (= r × Θ) can be used. In this case, the accelerator opening data L (= r × Θ) is the fan circumferential length (movement distance) in which the pedal portion where the driver steps on the accelerator pedal with his / her foot has moved.

  The accelerator opening degree data L collected by the accelerator opening degree data collecting unit 12 fluctuates every moment according to the driving state of the vehicle. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4 (time t, accelerator opening degree data L ). The accelerator opening data buffer 13 stores the accelerator opening data L together with the measurement time in a format such as (time t, accelerator opening data L). The accelerator opening data buffer 13 stores accelerator opening data L for at least a predetermined reference time T0 for processing (described later) by the monotonicity determination unit 30. As the predetermined reference time T0, one trip (for example, start of measurement from the time when the destination is set in the navigation system, or start of measurement from the start of engine start or vehicle travel) may be set, or the latest 30 minutes or 1 hour may be set.

  The vehicle speed sensor 21, the vehicle speed data collection unit 22, and the vehicle speed data buffer 23 constitute a mechanism for collecting data relating to the vehicle speed (vehicle speed). The vehicle speed sensor 21 has a function of detecting the vehicle speed. The vehicle speed data collection unit 22 has a function of acquiring the vehicle speed data V by acquiring the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 21 at, for example, a predetermined sampling rate (for example, 500 ms). Further, the vehicle speed data buffer 23 has a function (memory) for accumulating the vehicle speed collected by the vehicle speed data collection unit 22 as vehicle speed data V.

  For example, the vehicle speed data collection unit 22 can acquire the vehicle speed at a predetermined sampling rate (for example, 500 ms) and accumulate the vehicle speed data V in the vehicle speed data buffer 23. The sampling rate related to the acquisition of the vehicle speed data V may be different from the sampling rate related to the acquisition of the accelerator opening data L. Similarly to the accelerator opening degree data L, the vehicle speed data V also changes every moment according to the driving state of the vehicle, and is stored in the vehicle speed data buffer 23 together with the measurement time. The vehicle speed data buffer 23 stores vehicle speed data V for at least a predetermined determination target time T1 for processing (described later) by the monotonicity determination unit 30. The predetermined determination target time T1 may be shorter than the predetermined reference time T0. For example, the last five minutes or ten minutes may be set as the predetermined determination target time T1.

  The monotonicity determination unit 30 determines the monotonicity of the driving of the driver based on the accelerator opening degree data L accumulated in the accelerator opening degree data buffer 13 and the vehicle speed data V accumulated in the vehicle speed data buffer 23. have. The monotonicity determination unit 30 includes, for example, a stepping momentum calculation unit 31, an average vehicle speed calculation unit 32, and a distribution analysis / level determination unit 33.

  The stepping momentum calculation unit 31 is included in a range of a predetermined time (for example, a predetermined reference time T0 or a predetermined determination target time T1) from the accelerator opening data L stored in the accelerator opening data buffer 13. The accelerator opening degree data L is acquired, and the stepping momentum at each predetermined time is calculated. In addition, the average vehicle speed calculation unit 32 acquires vehicle speed data V included in a predetermined time range (for example, a predetermined determination target time T1) from the vehicle speed data V stored in the vehicle speed data buffer 23. It has a function of calculating the average vehicle speed data MV at the time. The distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 also determines a predetermined time (for example, a predetermined time) based on the stepping momentum calculated by the stepping momentum calculation unit 31 and the average vehicle speed data MV calculated by the average vehicle speed calculation unit 32. A function of determining monotonicity of driving in the determination target time T1 or the like. The distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 can output the driving monotonicity determination result as information (level value) that indexes the driving monotonicity by the driver, for example.

  As the accelerator pedal position sensor 11 and the vehicle speed sensor 21, a conventional sensor installed in a vehicle can be used. Further, the accelerator opening data collection unit 12, the vehicle speed data collection unit 22, and the monotonicity determination unit 30 are realized by an embedded processor mounted on the vehicle or a computer connected via an OBD (On-board diagnostics) serial port. Is possible. The accelerator opening data buffer 13 and the vehicle speed data buffer 23 can be realized by a storage device or an external storage device in the vehicle.

  Next, an example of the operation in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the monotonicity determination unit 30 of the driving monotonicity determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 5, as described above, the accelerator opening degree data L is accumulated in the accelerator opening degree data buffer 13 by the processing of the accelerator pedal position sensor 11 and the accelerator opening degree data collecting unit 12. 21 and the vehicle speed data collection unit 22 are premised on the vehicle speed data V being accumulated in the vehicle speed data buffer 23.

  In FIG. 5, the average vehicle speed calculation unit 32 of the monotonicity determination unit 30 reads the vehicle speed data V included in the range of the predetermined determination target time T1 from the vehicle speed data V stored in the vehicle speed data buffer 23 (step S101). ) Average vehicle speed data MV for a predetermined time is calculated from the read vehicle speed data V (step S103). The determination target time T1 can be, for example, the latest 5 minutes or 10 minutes, and the average vehicle speed data MV represents the average vehicle speed at the determination target time T1.

  Further, the depression momentum calculation unit 31 of the monotonicity determination unit 30 calculates accelerator opening degree data included in the range of the reference time T0 and the determination target time T1 from the accelerator opening degree data L stored in the accelerator opening degree data buffer 13. L is read (steps S105 and S107), and the amount of stepping motion relating to each of the reference time T0 and the determination target time T1 is calculated (steps S109 and S111). The reference time T0 is longer than the determination target time T1 (for example, 1 trip, 30 minutes, or 1 hour), and the stepping momentum calculation unit 31 reads from the accelerator opening data buffer 13 in steps S105 and S107. It is possible to extract the accelerator opening data L included in the range of the determination target time T1 from the accelerator opening data L included in the range of the reference time T0. Further, the calculation of the average vehicle speed data MV in steps S101 and S103, the calculation of the stepping momentum of the reference time T0 in steps S105 and S109, and the calculation of the stepping momentum of the determination target time T1 in steps S107 and S111 are respectively performed by parallel processing. The processing order of the steps shown in FIG. 5 is not limited.

  Here, the stepping momentum calculated by the stepping momentum calculating unit 31 will be described. As described above, the accelerator opening Θ is a numerical value representing the position of the accelerator pedal, and the movement of the accelerator pedal depending on the time can be calculated by taking into account the passage of time. For example, the accelerator pedal per unit time is calculated by calculating the difference between the accelerator opening Θ that is adjacent in time, such as the difference between the accelerator opening Θ at a certain time and the accelerator opening Θ after a unit time has elapsed. Can be calculated. In the embodiment of the present invention, the change in the accelerator opening data L that changes with the position of the accelerator pedal (the accelerator opening Θ) that changes with time as described above (the movement distance of the accelerator pedal per unit time). Is called the momentum. In addition, when the difference in the accelerator opening Θ that is temporally adjacent is calculated, the depression amount of the accelerator pedal is the movement distance per unit time that is the same as the sampling rate (for example, 500 ms) related to the measurement of the accelerator opening Θ. However, the sampling rate related to the measurement of the accelerator opening Θ is not necessarily required to be the unit time for calculating the depression amount of the accelerator pedal.

  The accelerator pedal depressing momentum has a positive value when the accelerator pedal is moving in the direction of arrow A (depressing direction) in FIG. 3, and the accelerator pedal moves in the direction of arrow B (returning direction) in FIG. If it is, it will be a negative value. That is, the accelerator pedal depression momentum takes a positive value or a negative value (or 0) according to the moving direction of the accelerator pedal, for example, as shown in FIG.

  The embodiment of the present invention considers only the depression momentum when the accelerator pedal moves in the direction of arrow A (depressing direction) in FIG. 3, while the accelerator pedal is in the direction of arrow B (returning direction) in FIG. It is characterized in that the stepping momentum when moving is not considered. The accelerator pedal is designed so that an elastic force is exerted to return to a reference position (accelerator opening 0 °) by a structure such as a spring. That is, when the driver moves the accelerator pedal in the return direction, it is only necessary to weaken the stepping force of the foot without performing an operation of applying a load to the accelerator pedal. In the present invention, a case where the accelerator pedal is depressed by the driver is defined as a state where the driver state (the state of the driver's brain) is activated. This definition is a feature that is not found in the prior art, and this makes it possible to improve the determination system of the driving state of the driver.

  As described above, in the embodiment of the present invention, only the stepping momentum when the accelerator pedal moves in the direction of the arrow A (stepping direction) in FIG. 3 is considered. This means that only when the accelerator pedal depressing momentum has a positive value of 0 or more, and the accelerator pedal depressing momentum having a negative value is ignored. For example, referring to FIG. Only a positive value with a depressing momentum of the accelerator pedal surrounded by 0 is not less than 0.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, only when the accelerator pedal depression momentum has a value of 0 or more is considered, the accelerator pedal depression momentum included in the range of the reference time T0 and the determination target time shorter than the reference time T0. The level of monotonicity of the driving by the driver at the determination target time T1 is calculated by comparing with the depression amount of the accelerator pedal included in the range of T1. There are various methods for comparing the set of accelerator pedal depression momentums included in the range of the reference time T0 and the set of accelerator pedal depression momentums included in the range of the determination target time T1, for example, the reference time T0 Each representative value may be obtained from a set of accelerator pedal depression momentums included in or a set of accelerator pedal depression momentum included in the determination target time T1, and the representative values may be compared. In the following description, an example in which the peak value of the histogram of each set is used as a representative value will be described. However, the calculation of such a representative value can use an existing technique based on statistics, and the present invention. However, it is not particularly limited. For example, in each set, a value taking into account the standard deviation σ or the like may be calculated as a representative value, or the time series power spectrum density in each set is calculated and the total value of all the frequency bands is represented. It may be a value.

  The distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 acquires, for example, a set of accelerator pedal depression momentums included in the reference time T0 calculated by the depression momentum calculation unit 31, and the accelerator pedal depression momentum is calculated based on these depression momentums. A histogram showing the distribution is obtained, and a peak value P0 of the histogram frequency (stepping exercise amount with the maximum frequency) is specified (step S113). Similarly, the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 acquires, for example, a set of accelerator pedal depression amounts included in the determination target time T1 calculated by the depression momentum calculation unit 31, and the accelerator pedal is based on these depression momentums. A histogram indicating the distribution of the stepping exercise amount is obtained, and a peak value P1 of the histogram frequency (stepping exercise amount with the maximum frequency) is specified (step S113). The peak value P0 obtained in step S113 is used as a representative value of the set of accelerator pedal momentums at the reference time T0, and the peak value P1 obtained in step S115 is representative of the set of accelerator pedal momentums in the determination target time T1. Used as a value.

  It should be noted that the accelerator pedal depression momentum used when the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 obtains the histogram is intended only for the case where the positive value is 0 or more as described above. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the histogram considered in the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 is obtained from the minimum value 0 to the maximum value Lmax (maximum accelerator opening Θ at which the accelerator pedal moves). In the range up to (value), the frequency at which the accelerator pedal depression momentum appears is shown.

  Then, the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 compares the peak value P0 that is the representative value of the reference time T0 and the peak value P1 that is the representative value of the determination target time T1 by considering the average vehicle speed data MV. Then, the monotonicity of the driving is determined (step S117), and the determination result of the monotonicity of the driving is output in the form of a level value or the like that indexes the monotonicity of the driving by the driver (step S119).

  Next, an example of the driving monotonicity determination process (level calculation process) in step S117 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of driving monotonicity determination processing (level calculation processing) of the monotonicity determination unit 30 of the driving monotonicity determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 8, the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 of the monotonicity determination unit 30 determines the index α based on the average vehicle speed data MV calculated by the average vehicle speed calculation unit 32. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 selects any of the case where the average vehicle speed data MV is less than 10 km / h, the case where the average vehicle speed data MV is 10 km / h or more and 40 km / h or less, (Steps S201 and S203). When the average vehicle speed data MV is smaller than 10 km / h, the index α = 0 (step S207). When the average vehicle speed data MV is 10 km / h or more and 40 km / h or less, the index α. = (MV-10) / 30 (step S205), if larger than 40 km, the index α = 1 (step S209).

  Next, the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 compares the accelerator pedal depression momentum peak value P0 included in the reference time T0 with the accelerator pedal depression momentum peak value P1 included in the determination target time T1. . At this time, correction is applied by the index α so that the average vehicle speed is taken into consideration in the comparison of the peak values. As a specific example, the distribution analysis / level determination unit 33 is larger than 0.4 × P0 × α when the peak value P1 is 0.4 × P0 × α or less as illustrated in FIG. If 0.8 × P1 × α or less, it is determined whether it is greater than 0.8 × P0 × α (steps S211, S213), and the peak value P1 is 0.4 × P0 × α or less. In this case, level (Lv) = 2 (step S219), and in the case of greater than 0.4 × P0 × α and less than 0.8 × P0 × α, level (Lv) = 1 (step S217), 0.8 × If it is larger than P0 × α, the level (Lv) = 0 is set (step S215).

  Hereinafter, a specific concept of the level determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. The peak value of the histogram represents a representative value related to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal by the driver. If the peak value is high, the driver's accelerator pedal operation is frequent and the driver's state (driver's brain state) is considered to be activated. If the peak value is low, the driver's accelerator pedal operation is low and the driver's state (The state of the driver's brain) is considered relatively inactive. Therefore, if the peak value is low, it indicates that the operation is more monotonous.

  The peak value P0 of the accelerator pedal depressing momentum included in the reference time T0 is based on a measured value measured for a relatively long time, and the average accelerator pedal in a normal driving operation (during normal driving) of the driver. It represents momentum. On the other hand, the peak value P1 of the accelerator pedal depression amount included in the determination target time T1 is based on the measured value measured in the latest relatively short time, and reflects the latest state (that is, the current state). It represents the momentum of the accelerator pedal.

For example, when the operation is performed at high speed during the determination target time T1 (MV> 40), the index α = 1 is set. In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, the level determination boundary is provided at 40% (0.4 × P0) and 80% (0.8 × P0) of the peak value P0. Then, when the peak value P1 of the accelerator pedal depression amount included in the determination target time T1 has hardly decreased (when it is larger than 0.8 × P0), it indicates that the driving monotony is hardly observed. It is determined that Lv = 0.
Moreover, when the peak value P1 is decreasing (when it is larger than 0.4 × P0 and equal to or smaller than 0.8 × P0), it is determined that Lv = 1 indicating that monotonicity of driving is observed. Further, when the peak value P1 of the accelerator pedal depression momentum included in the determination target time T1 is extremely low (in the case of 0.4 × P0 or less), it indicates that the driving monotony is remarkably observed. It is determined that Lv = 2.

  Further, the boundary of level determination depends on the index α. This is to reflect that the momentum of the accelerator pedal decreases as the average vehicle speed decreases. For example, when the average vehicle speed of the determination target time T1 is low, the index α is also smaller than 1, and as shown in FIG. 12, when the value indicating the boundary of each level is the index α = 1 ((0. 4 × P0) and (0.8 × P0)), which are (0.4 × P0 × α) and (0.8 × P0 × α), respectively. As described above, the index α depends on the average vehicle speed of the determination target time T1, and is further reflected in the position of the level determination boundary, whereby the correction based on the average vehicle speed in the level determination is performed.

  Although not shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, when P1 is larger than P0 (FIG. 11) or when P1 is larger than P0 × α (FIG. 12), it is determined that Lv = 0. Also good. Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the boundary of the average vehicle speed when calculating the index α is set to 10 km / h and 40 km / h, and the driving monotonicity is in three stages (LV = 0 to 2). Are set, and the boundaries of each level are set to (0.4 × P0 × α) and (0.8 × P0 × α). It is clear that can be set.

  Moreover, the use of the determination result (for example, represented by the level value) indicating the monotonicity of the driving output from the driving monotonicity determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention is various, and the present invention includes the determination result The application is not limited. As described above, the determination result indicating the monotonicity of the driving may be used as one element for detecting, for example, driver fatigue, carelessness, and casual driving, or driving stability by the driver ( It may be used as an element for detecting a driver's low fuel consumption driving technology and the like.

  The timing at which the driving monotonicity determination device according to the embodiment of the present invention performs the driving monotonicity determination process is also arbitrary. For example, the driving monotonicity determination process may be started in accordance with an instruction from the driver, or the driving monotonicity determination process may be periodically performed regardless of the presence or absence of the driver instruction. In addition, when the determination process of driving monotonicity is performed, the determination result may always be output, or when a determination result different from the previous determination result is obtained (when the level value fluctuates). The determination result may be output. In addition, the determination result by the driving monotonicity determination process may be accumulated in a predetermined storage medium mounted on the vehicle, or may be accumulated in a remote storage device through communication means. In addition, the determination result by the driving monotonicity determination process may be output as image information to a monitor of a navigation device or the like, or may be output as audio information indicating a level value.

  Further, the value of the accelerator pedal depression momentum characteristic of the present invention (which takes a positive value of 0 or more as described above) and various other values processed by the driving monotonicity determination device are notified to the driver. May be. In particular, the value of the accelerator pedal depressing momentum is information corresponding to the distance that the driver has applied the load to the accelerator pedal and moved the foot (the accelerator pedal depressing distance by the driver). For example, by recording and notifying the driver of the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal, the amount of momentum when the driver is driving the vehicle can be expressed numerically.

  The present invention has an effect of making it possible to determine the monotonicity of driving by a driver with an efficient and simple configuration and processing by devising the processing related to information obtained from the accelerator pedal operation in particular. It can be applied to a technique for determining monotonicity of vehicle driving.

Claims (12)

A driving monotonicity judging device for judging monotonicity of vehicle driving,
A collecting unit that collects a depression position of an accelerator pedal by a driver when driving the vehicle;
A data buffer for accumulating information on the depression position of the accelerator pedal collected by the collecting unit;
A stepping momentum calculating unit that calculates a temporal difference in information about the depression position of the accelerator pedal stored in the data buffer, and calculates a depression momentum per unit time of the depression position of the accelerator pedal;
A first set of stepping momentum included in a reference time range is extracted by ignoring movement in the return direction of the accelerator pedal and extracting the stepping momentum of zero or positive value representing movement in the depression direction of the accelerator pedal. And the second set of stepping momentum included in the determination target time shorter than the reference time, and increase or decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving at the determination target time with respect to the vehicle driving at the reference time. A monotonicity determination unit that determines and outputs the determination result,
A driving monotonicity judging device. A vehicle speed data collection unit that collects vehicle speed data when driving the vehicle;
A vehicle speed data buffer for storing the vehicle speed data collected by the vehicle speed data collection unit;
An average vehicle speed calculation unit that calculates an average vehicle speed in the determination target time based on the vehicle speed data included in the range of the determination target time;
2. The driving monotonicity determination device according to claim 1, wherein the monotonicity determination unit further uses the average vehicle speed as a parameter used for determination of increase / decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving.   3. The driving monotonicity determination device according to claim 1, wherein a product of an accelerator opening degree of the accelerator pedal and a pedal rod length of the accelerator pedal is used as information regarding a depression position of the accelerator pedal.   The monotonicity determination unit compares the first representative value calculated from the first set with the second representative value calculated from the second set. Driving monotonicity judging device as described in one.   5. The driving monotonicity determination device according to claim 4, wherein the monotonicity determination unit uses, as the first and second representative values, numerical values relating to a histogram obtained from each of the first and second sets.   The monotonicity determination unit sets a plurality of levels based on the first representative value, and determines which of the plurality of levels the second representative value belongs to, thereby determining the monotonicity of the vehicle driving 6. The driving monotonicity determination device according to claim 4, wherein the increase / decrease in the number is determined and the determination result is output as a level value. A driving monotonicity judging method by a driving monotonicity judging device for judging monotonicity of vehicle driving,
A collecting step of collecting a depression position of an accelerator pedal by a driver when driving the vehicle;
An accumulation step of accumulating information on the accelerator pedal depression position collected in the collection step in a data buffer;
A stepping momentum calculating step of calculating a stepwise momentum per unit time of the stepping position of the accelerator pedal by calculating a time difference of information on the stepping position of the accelerator pedal stored in the data buffer;
A first set of stepping momentum included in a reference time range is extracted by ignoring movement in the return direction of the accelerator pedal and extracting the stepping momentum of zero or positive value representing movement in the depression direction of the accelerator pedal. And the second set of stepping momentum included in the determination target time shorter than the reference time, and increase or decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving at the determination target time with respect to the vehicle driving at the reference time. A monotonicity determination step for determining and outputting the determination result,
A driving monotonicity judging method. Vehicle speed data collection step for collecting vehicle speed data during driving of the vehicle;
A vehicle speed data storage step for storing the vehicle speed data collected in the vehicle speed data step in a vehicle speed data buffer;
An average vehicle speed calculation step for calculating an average vehicle speed in the determination target time based on the vehicle speed data included in the range of the determination target time.
The monotonicity determination method according to claim 7, further comprising: using the average vehicle speed as a parameter used to determine increase / decrease in monotonicity of the vehicle driving in the monotonicity determination step.   The driving monotonicity determination method according to claim 7 or 8, wherein a product of an accelerator opening degree of the accelerator pedal and a pedal rod length of the accelerator pedal is used as information on a depression position of the accelerator pedal.   The monotonicity determination step compares the first representative value calculated from the first set with the second representative value calculated from the second set. Driving monotonicity determination method as described in one.   11. The driving monotonicity determination method according to claim 10, wherein in the monotonicity determination step, a numerical value relating to a histogram obtained from each of the first and second sets is used as the first and second representative values. In the monotonicity determination step, a plurality of levels based on the first representative value are set, and the monotonicity of the vehicle operation is determined by determining which of the plurality of levels the second representative value belongs to. The driving monotonicity determination method according to claim 10 or 11, wherein the increase / decrease of the vehicle is determined and the determination result is output as a level value.

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