JP6755095B2 - Margin judgment device, margin judgment method and driving support system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a margin determination device, a margin determination method, and a driving support system.

Conventionally, there has been disclosed a driver state estimation device that acquires information on the pulse of a driver who is driving a vehicle and estimates the state of the driver based on the change in the pulse (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-22738

However, in the above-mentioned driver state estimation device, it is necessary to equip the driver with a sensor for acquiring a pulse, and the driver may find it troublesome to install the sensor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and provides a margin determination device, a margin determination method, and a driving support system capable of determining a margin for a driving operation without causing trouble to the driver. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the margin determination device according to the present embodiment includes a behavior detection unit, a peripheral situation detection unit, a margin estimation unit, and a margin determination unit. The behavior detection unit detects the behavior of the driver of the own vehicle. The peripheral condition detection unit detects the peripheral condition of the own vehicle. The margin estimation unit estimates a margin candidate for the driver's driving operation based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. The margin determination unit determines the margin for driving operation based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit after estimating the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit. judge.

According to one aspect of the embodiment, it is possible to determine the margin for the driving operation without causing trouble to the driver.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a margin determination method according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a margin determination system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the driving support system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of margin estimation information. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of margin determination information. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the margin determination system according to the present embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that realizes the function of the margin determination device according to the present embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the margin determination device, the margin determination method, and the driving support system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below.

An outline of the margin determination method according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a margin determination method according to the present embodiment. The margin determination method according to the present embodiment is executed by, for example, the margin determination device 10 mounted on the vehicle C.

The margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D based on signals input from sensors (not shown) installed in the vehicle C, various devices, and the like, and acquires the surrounding conditions of the vehicle C, for example. The sensors and various devices (not shown) include, for example, an image pickup device such as a camera that captures the state of the driver D and the surroundings of the vehicle C, and sensors such as a vehicle speed sensor and a steering sensor that acquire the driving operation of the vehicle C. ..

Here, the behavior of driver D includes gestures such as body movement, face orientation, and vocalization of driver D, and driving operations such as accelerator operation, brake operation, blinker operation, steering wheel operation, and horn operation. Is done. In addition, the surrounding conditions include the situation related to surrounding vehicles such as the number and position of other vehicles around vehicle C, the trends of other vehicles such as passing from other vehicles to vehicle C, horns, and the number of pedestrians around the road. Contains information about pedestrians such as and position.

The margin determination device 10 detects the behavior and surrounding conditions based on a signal input from a sensor or the like (not shown) arranged in the vehicle C instead of the driver D, and determines the margin to determine the driver. The margin of the driver D can be detected without bothering D.

Here, for example, if the margin determination device 10 determines the driver's state from the behavior of the driver D, it may lead to an erroneous determination. In this case, for example, even if the driver D erroneously performs the horn operation, when the margin determination device 10 detects the horn operation as the behavior of the driver D, for example, the driver D's margin is irritated. It will be judged as a state. In this case, the driver D is determined to be in an irritated state even if he / she is not actually in an irritated state.

Therefore, the margin determination device 10 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding condition of the vehicle C. Further, the margin determination device 10 determines the margin based on the behavior of the driver D detected after estimating the margin candidate and the margin candidate. That is, the margin determination device 10 determines the margin in consideration of the behavior of the driver D after estimation from the margin candidates.

As a result, the margin determination device 10 can accurately determine the margin for the driving operation of the driver D without bothering the driver D.

Subsequently, the margin determination method performed by the margin determination device 10 will be specifically described. As shown in FIG. 1, the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D at time t1 and acquires the surrounding situation of the vehicle C (step S1). Subsequently, the margin determination device 10 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding condition of the vehicle C (step S2).

Here, the margin determination device 10 is in a state of frustration, for example, when the detected behavior of the driver D is a horn operation or when the surrounding conditions such as the horn being sounded by another vehicle are acquired. Estimate as.

Subsequently, at time t2, the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate (step S3), and operates the driver D based on the behavior and the estimation candidate. The margin for the operation is determined (step S4).

In step S4, when the estimation candidate is in a frustrated state, for example, when the driver D detects a behavior such as honking another vehicle as the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate. The margin for driving operation is judged as an irritation state. On the other hand, if the behavior of the driver D after the estimation does not change before and after the estimation, it is not determined to be in an irritated state.

In this way, the margin determination device 10 estimates the margin candidate based on the behavior of the driver D and the detection result of the surrounding situation, and the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate and the margin candidate. In consideration of the above, the driver D determines the margin for the driving operation. As a result, the margin determination device 10 can accurately determine the margin for the driving operation of the driver D without bothering the driver D.

Subsequently, a configuration example of the margin determination system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the margin determination system 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the margin determination system 1 includes, for example, at least one margin determination device 10 and a margin determination server 50. Note that FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which there are a plurality of margin determination devices 10. Each margin determination device 10 and the margin determination server 50 are, for example, communicably connected to each other via a wireless communication network, and can transmit and receive information to and from each other.

The margin determination device 10 shown in FIG. 2 is arranged in, for example, vehicles C1, C2, ..., CN (N is a natural number of 1 or more, hereinafter also referred to as vehicle C), and the vehicles C1, C2, ... ..., The margins of the drivers D1, D2, ..., DN (hereinafter, also referred to as driver D) who drive the CN are determined. Further, the margin determination device 10 acquires the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding conditions of the vehicle C and outputs them to the margin determination server 50.

When the margin determination server 50 acquires the behavior of the driver D and the surrounding conditions of the vehicle C from the margin determination device 10, the margin determination server 50 manages information such as the behavior and surrounding conditions acquired for each margin determination device 10, for example. And remember. Further, the margin determination server 50 outputs the information managed in response to the request of the margin determination device 10 to the margin determination device 10. In this way, the margin determination device 10 can reduce the processing load of the margin determination device 10 by determining the margin through the margin determination server 50.

Hereinafter, the driving support system 100 including the margin determination system 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6.

First, a configuration example of the driving support system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the driving support system 100 according to the present embodiment. The driving support system 100 includes the above-mentioned margin determination system 1, a navigation device 30, a peripheral situation sensor group 5, a behavior detection sensor group 6, and a notification unit 7. In addition, although FIG. 3 shows a case where one margin determination device 10 is used for simplification of explanation, the margin determination system 1 has a plurality of margin determinations as shown in FIG. The device 10 may be included.

The margin determination device 10 includes an acquisition unit 11, a communication unit 12, and a control unit 20. Further, the margin determination device 10 is connected to the peripheral situation sensor group 5, the behavior detection sensor group 6, and the navigation device 30. Further, the margin determination device 10 is connected to the margin determination server 50 so as to be able to communicate with each other via the communication network 2 as described above.

The peripheral condition sensor group 5 includes at least one sensor for acquiring the peripheral condition of the vehicle C. Such sensors include, for example, sensors such as millimeter-wave radars and optical sensors that detect the presence or absence of an object existing around the vehicle C and the distance to such an object. Further, such a sensor includes a camera equipped with an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) to image the surroundings of the vehicle C, a microphone for acquiring the surrounding sound, and the like. The peripheral condition sensor group 5 outputs the result detected by the sensor as a peripheral sensor signal to the margin determination device 10.

Further, the behavior detection sensor group 6 includes at least one sensor for detecting the behavior of the driver D. Such a sensor includes, for example, an accelerator sensor, a brake sensor, a steering sensor, and the like as a sensor for detecting the driving operation of the driver D. Further, as a sensor for acquiring the state of the driver D, for example, a camera arranged inside the vehicle C to capture the driver D, a microphone for acquiring the sound emitted by the driver D, and the like are included. The behavior detection sensor group 6 outputs the result detected by the sensor as a behavior sensor signal to the margin determination device 10. The peripheral sensor signal and the behavior sensor signal are also described as a sensor signal.

The acquisition unit 11 acquires the peripheral conditions of the vehicle C and the behavior of the driver D by acquiring the sensor signals from the peripheral condition sensor group 5 and the behavior detection sensor group 6. Such surrounding conditions include, for example, the distance between the vehicle C and another vehicle, the driving operation of the other vehicle, and the like. In addition, the acquisition unit 11 can also acquire the operation history of the driver D for the navigation device 30 and the information on the current location of the vehicle C from the navigation device 30. Then, the acquisition unit 11 outputs the information including the acquired sensor signal to the control unit 20. It is assumed that the acquisition unit 11 acquires sensor signals from the peripheral situation sensor group 5 and the behavior detection sensor group 6 at a predetermined cycle.

The control unit 20 detects the behavior of the driver D of the vehicle C and / or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C based on the sensor signal acquired by the acquisition unit 11, and determines the margin for the driving operation of the driver D. The control unit 20 includes, for example, a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), an input / output port, and various circuits. The CPU of such a microcomputer realizes the control described later by reading and executing the program stored in the ROM.

Further, the control unit 20 includes a peripheral situation detection unit 21, a behavior detection unit 22, an information acquisition unit 23, a margin estimation unit 24, and a margin determination unit 25. The functions of the peripheral situation detection unit 21, the behavior detection unit 22, the information acquisition unit 23, the margin estimation unit 24, and the margin determination unit 25 are realized, for example, by the CPU calling and executing the program. ..

A part or all of the peripheral situation detection unit 21, the behavior detection unit 22, the information acquisition unit 23, the margin estimation unit 24, and the margin determination unit 25 are ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate), respectively. It may be configured by hardware such as Array).

The peripheral condition detection unit 21 detects the peripheral condition of the vehicle C based on the peripheral sensor signal input from the peripheral condition sensor group 5 via the acquisition unit 11. The peripheral situation detection unit 21 outputs the peripheral situation, which is the detection result, to the information acquisition unit 23.

The peripheral situation detection unit 21 calculates the inter-vehicle distance between another vehicle around the vehicle C and the vehicle C based on, for example, the radar value of the millimeter-wave radar included in the peripheral sensor signal and the captured image around the vehicle C. The peripheral condition detection unit 21 detects the peripheral condition according to the calculated inter-vehicle distance. The peripheral situation detection unit 21 detects, for example, the driving operation of another vehicle as such a peripheral situation. Specifically, the peripheral situation detection unit 21 operates the other vehicle when, for example, the calculated inter-vehicle distance decreases discontinuously, or when another vehicle whose inter-vehicle distance is less than or equal to a predetermined value appears in front of the vehicle C. As an operation, sudden interruption operation of another vehicle is detected.

In addition, the driving operation of other vehicles is not limited to the interrupt operation. For example, the peripheral sensor signal includes a signal related to a sound acquired by a microphone provided in the vehicle C. When the surrounding situation detection unit 21 detects a horn from another vehicle or a siren sound of an emergency vehicle from a signal related to such a sound, the surrounding situation includes a horn operation of another vehicle or an approaching operation of an emergency vehicle from the sound. Detected as a vehicle driving operation.

Further, for example, the peripheral sensor signal includes a sensor value detected by an optical sensor arranged behind the vehicle C. When the peripheral situation detection unit 21 detects light from another vehicle behind, for example, based on a sensor value input from an optical sensor, it detects passing of the vehicle C from the other vehicle behind as a peripheral situation.

The behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D based on the behavior sensor signal input from the behavior detection sensor group 6 via the acquisition unit 11. Specifically, first, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the vehicle state based on the behavior sensor signal. The behavior detection unit 22 detects the current accelerator opening degree and steering angle of the vehicle C based on sensor values such as an accelerator sensor and a steering sensor as the vehicle state. The behavior detection unit 22 outputs the detected vehicle state (accelerator opening degree, steering angle, etc.) to the information acquisition unit 23.

Subsequently, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D based on the detected vehicle state. Specifically, the behavior detection unit 22 acquires, for example, the average value of the accelerator opening degree in normal times from the margin determination server 50, and compares the average value with the current accelerator opening degree of the vehicle C as a threshold value. As a result of the comparison, when the current speed of the vehicle C is equal to or higher than the threshold value for a certain period of time or longer, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D that "the accelerator operation is rougher than in normal times".

Further, the behavior detection unit 22 acquires, for example, the average value of the steady departure times of the vehicle C from the margin determination server 50 as a threshold value, and compares the current departure time of the vehicle C with the threshold value. As a result of the comparison, when the current departure time is later than the threshold value, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D that "the departure time is later than the steady departure time".

On the other hand, as a result of comparison, when the current departure time is earlier than the threshold value, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D that "the departure time is earlier than the steady departure time".

Further, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the movement of the driver D's face and body as the behavior of the driver D based on, for example, an captured image of the driver D included in the behavior sensor signal. Such body movements include, for example, shaking the body, hitting the steering wheel, biting nails, smoking cigarettes, and the like. In this way, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D as the behavior of the driver D based on the behavior sensor signal.

Alternatively, when the behavior detection sensor group 6 includes a smoke detection sensor having an in-vehicle air cleaning function (not shown), when the smoke detection sensor detects cigarette smoke, the driver D smokes a cigarette. The behavior may be detected. Further, when the behavior detection sensor group 6 includes a microphone arranged in the vehicle C, the behavior detection unit 22 emits the driver D based on the signal input from the microphone of the behavior detection sensor group 6. By acquiring the sound and analyzing the sound, the behavior of hitting the handle or the speech of the driver D may be detected.

Further, the behavior detection unit 22 can also detect the behavior of the driver D with respect to the operation performed on the navigation device 30 based on the information acquired from the navigation device 30 via the acquisition unit 11. Here, the operation on the navigation device 30 is, for example, an operation such as a destination setting or a traveling route setting. The behavior detection unit 22 detects a behavior such as "execution of a traveling route reconstruction measure many times with the navigation device" when the operation for a predetermined period is performed a predetermined number of times or more.

In addition, the behavior detection unit 22 can also detect the behavior of the driver D other than the vehicle C as a behavior. Specifically, the behavior detection unit 22 acquires the sensor value and position information of the G sensor of the terminal device (not shown) possessed by the driver D via the communication network 2 at a predetermined cycle, and the acquired sensor. The behavior of the driver D outside the vehicle C is detected based on the value and the position information. Specifically, for example, when the position of the terminal device approaches the vehicle C while the sensor value of the G sensor maintains a value equal to or higher than a predetermined value, the behavior detection unit 22 determines the behavior of the driver D as the vehicle C. Detects that you have run and boarded. The behavior detection unit 22 outputs the detected behavior to the information acquisition unit 23.

The information acquisition unit 23 acquires the peripheral situation and the behavior of the driver D from the peripheral situation detection unit 21 and the behavior detection unit 22. Further, the information acquisition unit 23 acquires the position information of the vehicle C from the navigation device 30 via, for example, the acquisition unit 11 and the behavior detection unit 22. The information acquisition unit 23 generates acquisition information in which the acquired surrounding conditions and the behavior of the driver D are associated with the acquired time and position information, and the margin estimation unit 24 and the margin determination unit 25. Output to. Further, the information acquisition unit 23 acquires the vehicle state from the behavior detection unit 22, generates vehicle state information in which the acquired vehicle state and the time when the acquired vehicle state is acquired are associated with each other, and together with the acquired information, via the communication unit 12. And output to the margin determination server 50.

The information acquisition unit 23 outputs the acquired surrounding conditions and the behavior of the driver D to the margin estimation unit 24. Further, the information acquisition unit 23 outputs the behavior of the driver D after estimating the margin candidate by the margin estimation unit 24 to the margin determination unit 25.

The margin estimation unit 24 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. Specifically, when the above-mentioned behavior of the driver D and / or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C is input from the information acquisition unit 23, the margin estimation unit 24 sends the communication unit 12 to the margin determination server 50. Through this, an inquiry is made for a margin candidate corresponding to at least one of such behavior and the surrounding situation.

As a result of the inquiry, the margin estimation unit 24 acquires a margin candidate corresponding to at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation from the margin determination server 50 via the communication unit 12, and operates the acquired margin candidate. Estimate as a margin candidate for person D.

The margin estimation unit 24 associates the time when the behavior and / or the surrounding situation corresponding to the estimated margin candidate with the estimated margin candidate as the estimated time to the margin determination unit 25. Output.

The margin determination unit 25 determines the behavior of the driver D based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit 22 after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24. Judge the margin for driving operation.

Specifically, first, in the margin determination unit 25, when the margin candidate is input from the margin estimation unit 24, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate from the information acquisition unit 23, and then the behavior detection unit 22. Get the behavior detected by.

For example, when the margin determination unit 25 acquires the time corresponding to the margin candidate from the margin estimation unit 24, the margin determination unit 25 acquires the behavior detected within a predetermined period from the acquired time from the information acquisition unit 23. For example, the behavior is acquired from the information acquisition unit 23 by designating a predetermined period from the time acquired by the margin determination unit 25. Alternatively, by notifying the information acquisition unit 23 of the time acquired by the margin determination unit 25, the behavior acquired by the information acquisition unit 23 within a predetermined period from the time of receiving the notification is output to the margin determination unit 25. You may do so.

Subsequently, the margin determination unit 25 makes an inquiry to the margin determination server 50 via the communication unit 12 for the margin corresponding to the behavior after estimation. Then, the margin determination unit 25 acquires the margin from the margin determination server 50 via the communication unit 12.

Here, for example, the margin determination unit 25 compares the margin candidates estimated by the margin estimation unit 24 with the margins acquired from the margin determination server 50. As a result of the comparison, when the margin candidate and the margin corresponding to the behavior after estimation match, the margin determination unit 25 determines such a margin candidate as the margin.

On the other hand, the margin determination unit 25 does not determine the margin that is applied when the margin candidate and the margin corresponding to the behavior after estimation do not match, and maintains, for example, the previously determined margin. Alternatively, the determination result may be "undecidable" or "undetermined". This is because if the margin candidate and the margin do not match, there is a high possibility that the margin candidate is erroneously determined. Therefore, the margin determination unit 25 can suppress erroneous determination of the margin. The margin determination unit 25 outputs the determined margin to the margin determination server 50 and the navigation device 30.

Next, a configuration example of the margin determination server 50 will be described. The margin determination server 50 includes a communication unit 51, a control unit 60, and a storage unit 70. The communication unit 51 is communicably connected to the margin determination device 10 via the communication network 2.

The control unit 60 includes, for example, a microcomputer having a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), an input / output port, and various circuits. The CPU of such a microcomputer realizes the control described later by reading and executing the program stored in the ROM.

Further, the control unit 60 includes a history information generation unit 61, an extraction unit 62, and a margin information update unit 63. The functions of the history information generation unit 61, the extraction unit 62, and the margin information update unit 63 are realized, for example, by the CPU calling and executing the program.

Even if a part or all of the history information generation unit 61, the extraction unit 62, and the margin information update unit 63 are composed of hardware such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Good.

The history information generation unit 61 acquires the acquisition information and vehicle state information generated by the information acquisition unit 23 of the margin determination device 10, and the margin that is the determination result of the margin determination unit 25. The history information generation unit 61 generates the history information 71 by associating the vehicle state information or the acquired information with the margin, and stores the history information 71 in the storage unit 70.

The history information 71 includes, for example, vehicle state information and behavior history information. The vehicle condition information is, for example, information associated with the vehicle condition, the time, and the margin. The behavior history information is information associated with, for example, the behavior of the driver D, the surrounding conditions, the traveling position of the vehicle C, the time, the weather, and the determination result of the margin determination device 10.

When the history information generation unit 61 acquires the vehicle state information, the acquired information, and the margin, the history information generation unit 61 associates the vehicle state information or the acquired information with the margin so that the time of the vehicle state information or the acquired information and the margin matches. Generates vehicle state information and behavior history information.

When there are a plurality of margin determination devices 10 connected to the margin determination server 50, the history information generation unit 61 generates history information 71 for each margin determination device 10 and reserves the generated history information 71. It is stored in association with the degree determination device 10.

The extraction unit 62 extracts the information corresponding to the inquiry received from the margin determination device 10 via the communication unit 51 from the margin information 72, and outputs the information to the margin determination device 10 via the communication unit 51 and the like. The margin information 72 is, for example, information in which a margin candidate or margin is associated with behavior or surrounding conditions, and includes margin estimation information and margin determination information.

The margin estimation information is information in which the margin candidate is associated with the behavior and the surrounding situation, and is the information extracted by the extraction unit 62 in response to an inquiry from the margin estimation unit 24. Further, the margin determination information is information in which the margin is associated with the behavior and the surrounding situation, and is the information extracted by the extraction unit 62 in response to an inquiry from the margin determination unit 25. Here, a specific example of the margin information 72 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B.

FIG. 4A is a diagram showing an example of margin estimation information. FIG. 4B is a diagram showing an example of margin determination information. As shown in FIG. 4A, the margin estimation information is, for example, information in which the "candidate ID", the "behavior or surrounding situation", the "margin candidate", and the "link destination ID" are associated with each other. is there. Further, the margin determination information shown in FIG. 4B is information in which the "link ID" and the "behavior after estimation" are associated with each other.

The "candidate ID" is an ID assigned to each "behavior or surrounding situation". The "behavior or surrounding situation" is the behavior of the driver D or the surrounding situation of the vehicle C. The "margin candidate" indicates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D according to the behavior or the surrounding situation, and there is irritation, impatience, and room. The “link destination ID” indicates an ID linked to the “link ID” of the margin determination information shown in FIG. 4B.

When the extraction unit 62 receives an inquiry from, for example, the margin estimation unit 24 for at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation of the driver D, the extraction unit 62 receives the inquiry from the margin estimation information for the margin corresponding to at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. Extract candidates and link destination IDs.

For example, when the inquired behavior is "execute the horn operation for a certain period of time or longer", the extraction unit 62 responds to the "irritability" which is a margin candidate corresponding to the behavior and the surrounding situation and the irritation. The link IDs "1 to 7" are extracted. Then, the extraction unit 62 outputs the extracted margin candidate and the link ID to the margin estimation unit 24.

When the margin candidate and the link destination ID are input, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate as the margin candidate of the driver D. Further, the margin estimation unit 24 inputs the acquired margin candidate and the link destination ID into the margin determination unit 25.

Further, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate based on the behavior of the driver D outside the vehicle C, as shown in the candidate ID “A3” as the behavior. As a result, the margin estimation unit 24 can determine the margin candidate of the driver D from the behavior of the driver D outside the vehicle C.

In addition, the margin estimation unit 24 can be used for driving operations of other vehicles such as horns from other vehicles, passing from other vehicles, and sudden interruptions from other vehicles as shown in candidate IDs "B1 to B3" as surrounding conditions. Estimate margin candidates based on this. As a result, the margin candidate can be estimated not only by the behavior of the vehicle C but also by the driving operation of another vehicle, so that the margin candidate can be accurately determined.

Further, in this case, the margin estimation unit 24 determines the margin candidate based on the distance between the vehicle C and another vehicle. As a result, the margin determination unit 25 can estimate the margin candidate based on the distance between the vehicle C and the other vehicle, so that the margin candidate can be accurately determined.

When the margin candidate and the link destination ID are input, the margin determination unit 25 acquires the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit 22 from the information acquisition unit 23 after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate. .. Subsequently, the margin determination unit 25 inquires the extraction unit 62 via the communication unit 51 for the margin corresponding to such behavior.

When the extraction unit 62 receives the inquiry of the behavior from the margin determination unit 25, the extraction unit 62 extracts the link ID corresponding to the behavior from the margin determination information and outputs the extracted link ID to the margin determination unit 25.

When the link ID is input, the margin determination unit 25 compares the above-mentioned link destination ID with the link ID. As a result of the comparison, when the link destination ID and the link ID match, the margin determination unit 25 determines the margin candidate as the margin, and when the link destination ID and the link ID do not match, for example, the margin The degree candidate is not judged as a margin. This is because if the link destination ID and the link ID do not match, there is a high possibility that the determination is erroneous.

Here, as shown in the link IDs "1 to 4 and 8, 9" in FIG. 4B, the margin determination unit 25 determines the margin based on the driving operation of the driver D as the behavior after estimation. In this way, the margin determination unit 25 can accurately determine the margin by determining the margin based on the driving operation of the driver D.

Further, the extraction unit 62 calculates a value of the vehicle state (accelerator opening degree, steering angle, etc.) in normal times in response to an inquiry from the behavior detection unit 22. Specifically, for example, the extraction unit 62 extracts the vehicle state in normal times from the vehicle state information and calculates an average value for each vehicle state. The value obtained by giving a certain range to the calculated average value is the value in normal times. The extraction unit 62 outputs the calculated normal value to the behavior detection unit 22.

Here, the term "normal" means, for example, a case where the margin is determined to be "clear". Alternatively, when the margin determination unit 25 determines the margin including "normal", it may be determined as such "normal".

When the behavior detection unit 22 receives an inquiry about the value of the accelerator opening in normal times, for example, the extraction unit 62 calculates the average value of the accelerator opening determined to be "clear". In addition, when receiving an inquiry about the departure time in normal times, for example, the average time of "departure" determined to have a margin of "clearance" is calculated.

The margin information update unit 63 updates the margin information 72 based on the history information 71. Specifically, first, the margin information update unit 63 performs statistical processing of behavior and surrounding conditions for each margin for the history information 71. As a result of the statistical processing, when the margin information updating unit 63 detects the behavior and the peripheral situation common to each margin, the common behavior and the peripheral situation are added to the margin information 72.

Specifically, in the statistical results when the margin is frustrating, it is assumed that, as a common behavior of the driver D, in addition to "the accelerator operation is rougher than in normal times", "tongue hitting" is often detected. In this case, the margin information updating unit 63 adds one link ID of the margin determination information shown in FIG. 4B, adds a “tongue” to the estimated behavior of the added link ID, and adds “tongue” to FIG. 4A. The link ID corresponding to the tongue is added to the link destination ID corresponding to the irritation of the margin candidate of the margin estimation unit 72A shown. In this way, the margin information updating unit 63 updates the margin information 72, so that the margin determination device 10 can accurately determine the margin.

The storage unit 70 stores, for example, the history information 71 and the margin information 72 described above as information necessary for the processing performed by the control unit 20 of the margin determination device 10, and also stores various processing results. The storage unit 70 is, for example, a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

The navigation device 30 operates as a support device that supports the operation of the driver D and the driving operation of the driver D based on the determination result of the margin determination unit 25 of the margin determination device 10. Further, the navigation device 30 is provided with a GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna (not shown), and can acquire the position information of the vehicle C and output the position information to the margin determination device 10. Further, the navigation device 30 stores a map database in a storage unit (not shown), and stores the determination result of the margin determination device 10 and the position information in which the determination result is input in association with the map database.

The navigation device 30 includes an operation unit 31, a route setting unit 32, and a notification information generation unit 33.

The operation unit 31 is an input device that accepts setting operations such as destination setting and travel route setting for the driver D of the vehicle C and the navigation device 30 of the passenger. The navigation device 30 outputs the received setting operation to the margin determination device 10.

The route setting unit 32 sets the travel route of the vehicle C based on the operation of the driver D input from the operation unit 31. Here, for example, as described above, when the navigation device 30 stores the map information and the margin as a map database in association with each other, in the route setting unit 32, the margin determination device 10 stores the driver D in the margin. The travel route is set by avoiding the section in which the value is reduced, that is, the section determined to be frustrated or impatient, for example.

Specifically, for example, the route setting unit 32 avoids a section including a position determined as irritation or impatience more than a predetermined number of times from the map database described above. For example, the route is set by lowering the priority of the section determined to be frustrated or impatient more than a predetermined number of times. Further, the route setting unit 32 may preferentially select a section including a position determined to be more than a predetermined number of times, that is, set the traveling route by raising the priority. In addition, if you have no choice but to drive in or near a section that is judged to be frustrating or impatient, we suggest that you stop by a facility (for example, a resting place) that has a higher margin before entering that section or vicinity. You may.

As a result, the navigation device 30 can avoid irritation and impatience and present the driver D with a traveling route that allows the driver to travel comfortably, and supports the driver D in safe and comfortable driving. be able to. In addition, the navigation device 30 can provide the driver D with a comfortable driving environment.

The notification information generation unit 33 generates notification information according to the current margin of the driver D determined by the margin determination device 10. The notification information generation unit 33 generates notification information with a small amount of information when the margin for the driving operation of the driver D decreases.

This is because if the driver D has a small margin for the driving operation and the amount of information of the notification information is large, the driver D may find the notification information annoying and hinder the driving operation. When the margin for the driving operation of the driver D is reduced such as "irritability" or "hurry", the notification information is notified without interfering with the driving operation of the driver D by reducing the amount of information of the notification information. be able to.

On the other hand, when the driver D has a large margin for the driving operation, that is, when the driver D is "clear", a large amount of information can be notified to the driver D by increasing the amount of information of the notification information. By generating the notification information according to the margin of the driver D in this way, the notification information can be more appropriately notified to the driver D.

Further, the notification information generation unit 33 superimposes, for example, music having an effect of suppressing irritation on the guidance voice such as the guidance of the traveling route when the margin input from the margin determination device 10 is in an irritated state. You may decide to generate the notified information. Alternatively, voice information having an effect of suppressing irritation, such as changing the guidance voice to a calm voice, may be generated as the notification information. In this way, the notification information generation unit 33 generates the notification information according to the margin of the driver D, so that a comfortable driving environment can be provided to the driver D.

The notification unit 7 notifies the driver D of the notification information generated by the notification information generation unit 33 of the navigation device 30. The notification unit 7 includes a display unit, a speaker, and the like. When the display unit is composed of, for example, a touch panel display, the operation surface of the touch panel display functions as the operation unit 31 of the navigation device 30.

Subsequently, the processing procedure of the margin determination process executed by the margin determination device 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the margin determination device 10 according to the present embodiment. The processing shown below is repeatedly executed by the control unit 20 of the margin determination device 10.

First, the behavior detection unit 22 of the margin determination device 10 detects the behavior of the driver D based on the information input from the peripheral condition sensor group 5 via the acquisition unit 11 (step S101). Subsequently, the peripheral condition detection unit 21 acquires the peripheral condition of the vehicle C based on the information input from the peripheral condition sensor group 5 via the acquisition unit 11 (step S102).

Subsequently, the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidates based on the behavior of the driver D and / or the surrounding conditions of the vehicle C (step S103). Subsequently, the behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D after the margin estimation unit 24 estimates the margin candidate (step S104).

The margin determination unit 25 determines the margin based on the behavior detected in step S104 and the margin candidates estimated by the margin estimation unit 24 (step S105).

The processing order of steps S101 and S102 does not matter, and they may be executed at the same time. Further, steps S101 and S102 may be executed at a predetermined cycle regardless of whether or not the processes of steps S103 to S105 are being executed while the margin determination process is being executed.

The margin determination device 10 according to the present embodiment can be realized by a computer 600 having a configuration shown as an example in FIG. FIG. 6 is a hardware configuration diagram showing an example of a computer that realizes the function of the margin determination device 10.

The computer 600 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 610, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 620, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 630, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) 640. Further, the computer 600 includes a media interface (I / F) 650, a communication interface (I / F) 660, and an input / output interface (I / F) 670.

The computer 600 may include an SSD (Solid State Drive), and the SSD may perform some or all of the functions of the HDD 640. Further, an SSD may be provided instead of the HDD 640.

The CPU 610 operates based on a program stored in at least one of the ROM 620 and the HDD 640, and controls each part. The ROM 620 stores a boot program executed by the CPU 610 when the computer 600 is started, a program that depends on the hardware of the computer 600, and the like. The HDD 640 stores a program executed by the CPU 610, data used by the program, and the like.

The media I / F 650 reads the programs and data stored in the storage medium 680 and provides them to the CPU 610 via the RAM 630. The CPU 610 loads the program from the storage medium 680 onto the RAM 630 via the media I / F 650, and executes the loaded program. Alternatively, the CPU 610 executes the program using such data. The storage medium 680 is, for example, an optical magnetic recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), an SD card, a USB memory, or the like.

The communication I / F 660 receives data from another device via the network 690 and sends it to the CPU 610, and transmits the data generated by the CPU 610 to the other device via the network 690. Alternatively, the communication I / F 660 receives a program from another device via the network 690 and sends it to the CPU 610, and the CPU 610 executes the program.

The CPU 610 controls a display unit such as a display (not shown), an output unit such as a speaker, and an input unit such as a keyboard, a mouse, and a button via an input / output I / F 670. The CPU 610 acquires data from the input unit via the input / output I / F 670. Further, the CPU 610 outputs the generated data to the display unit and the output unit via the input / output I / F 670.

For example, when the computer 600 functions as the input device 1, the CPU 610 of the computer 600 executes a program loaded on the RAM 630 to execute a peripheral situation detection unit 21, a behavior detection unit 22, an information acquisition unit 23, and a margin. Each function of the estimation unit 24 and the margin determination unit 25 is realized.

The CPU 610 of the computer 600 reads, for example, these programs from the storage medium 680 and executes them, but as another example, these programs may be acquired from another device via the network 690. Further, the HDD 640 can store the information stored in the storage unit 20.

As described above, the margin determination device 10 according to the embodiment includes a behavior detection unit 22, a peripheral situation detection unit 21, a margin estimation unit 24, and a margin determination unit 25. The behavior detection unit 22 detects the behavior of the driver D of the own vehicle. The peripheral condition detection unit 21 detects the peripheral condition of the own vehicle. The margin estimation unit 24 estimates a margin candidate for the driving operation of the driver D based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation. The margin determination unit 25 operates based on the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit 22 after estimating the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24 and the margin candidate estimated by the margin estimation unit 24. Estimate the margin for.

Therefore, according to the margin determination device 10 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the margin for the driving operation without causing trouble to the driver D.

By the way, the above-described margin determination device 10 exemplifies the case where the margin determination for the driving operation of the driver D is determined via the margin determination server 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the margin determination device 10 may be configured to include a part or all the functions of the margin determination server 50. Further, the margin determination server 50 may be configured to include a part or all the functions of the margin determination device 10.

Further, the above-mentioned margin determination device 10 exemplifies a case where the driver D determines a "relaxed" state, a "hurried" state, and a "irritated" state as the margin, but the present invention is not limited to this, and "tension" The margin may be determined including the state and the "sleepy" state.

Further effects and variations can be easily derived by those skilled in the art. For this reason, the broader aspects of the invention are not limited to the particular details and representative embodiments described and described above. Therefore, various changes are possible without departing from the spirit or scope of the overall concept of the invention as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1 Margin judgment system 10 Margin judgment device 20 Control unit 21 Peripheral situation detection unit 22 Behavior detection unit 23 Information acquisition unit 24 Margin estimation unit 25 Margin judgment unit 30 Navigation device 50 Margin judgment server 60 Control unit 61 History information Generation unit 62 Extraction unit 63 Margin information update unit 70 Storage unit 71 History information 72 Margin information

Claims (7)

A behavior detection unit that detects the behavior of the driver of the own vehicle,
The peripheral situation detection unit that detects the peripheral situation of the own vehicle and
A margin estimation unit that estimates a margin candidate for the driver's driving operation based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation, and a margin estimation unit.
Based on the margin information which is the information of the behavior associated with the margin candidate, the behavior detected by the behavior detection unit after the margin estimation unit estimates the margin candidate is the margin information. A margin determination unit for determining the margin candidate as a margin corresponding to the driving operation is provided when the result matches with .
The margin information is
A margin determination device, characterized in that it is updated based on the history of the determined margin. The peripheral situation detection unit
Detecting the driving operation of another vehicle as the surrounding situation,
The margin estimation unit
The margin determination device according to claim 1, wherein the margin candidate is estimated based on the driving operation of the other vehicle detected by the peripheral situation detection unit. The peripheral situation detection unit
Detecting the surrounding situation according to the distance between the own vehicle and another vehicle,
The margin estimation unit
The margin determination device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the margin candidate is estimated based on the distance. The behavior detection unit
The driving operation of the driver is detected as the behavior,
The margin determination unit
The margin determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the margin determination is determined based on the operation operation. The behavior detection unit
The behavior of the driver outside the own vehicle is detected as the behavior,
The margin estimation unit
The margin determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the margin candidate is estimated based on the behavior of the driver outside the own vehicle. The margin determination device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
It is provided with a route setting unit for setting the traveling route of the own vehicle.
The route setting unit
A driving support system characterized in that the traveling route is set so as to avoid the traveling route in a section where the margin determining device determines that the margin has decreased. A behavior detection process that detects the behavior of the driver of the own vehicle,
The peripheral situation detection process for detecting the peripheral situation of the own vehicle and
A margin estimation step for estimating a margin candidate for the driver's driving operation based on at least one of the behavior and the surrounding situation,
Based on the margin information which is the information of the behavior associated with the margin candidate, the behavior detected by the behavior detection step after the margin estimation process estimates the margin candidate is the margin information. If matching, see containing and determining margin determination step the margin candidate margin corresponding to the driving operation and,
The margin information is
A margin determination method, characterized in that it is updated based on the history of the determined margin.

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