JP7059566B2 - Vehicle alarm device - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a vehicle alarm device.

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

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-038954

In the above technique, when it is determined that an alarm should be output, the driver is notified of the alarm. The warning is to call the driver's attention. Therefore, in order to direct the driver's consciousness while driving the vehicle, sound or vibration is presented to the driver, or a message is presented to the display unit.

It is useful to be notified of these alarms when the driver should be alerted. However, if an alarm is notified when there is no need to call attention due to a misjudgment, the concentration of the driver who is driving the vehicle may be disturbed.

The present disclosure has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for suppressing an alarm notification based on an erroneous determination regarding an operating condition.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a vehicle alarm device. This device analyzes an image pickup unit that captures an image of the driver of a vehicle, a coordinate detection unit that detects position information indicating the position of the vehicle and a traveling direction, and an image captured by the image pickup unit, and is described by the driver. A sunshine direction acquisition unit that acquires the sunshine direction by referring to a sunshine database that stores the date and time, position information, and the sunshine direction in association with the suitability determination unit that determines the suitability of the driving state of the vehicle, and the driver's When it is determined that the driving state is unsuitable, an alarm unit for notifying an alarm is provided on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle satisfy a predetermined relationship.

The warning unit may notify the warning on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle is not the direction facing the sunshine direction.

The vehicle warning device refers to a vehicle body database that stores three-dimensional data of the vehicle body constituting the vehicle, and the sun light is applied to the driver's face of the vehicle or at least a part of the image pickup unit. An irradiation determination unit for determining whether or not the vehicle may be further provided, the alarm unit may provide an alarm on condition that the sun light is not emitted to the driver's face of the vehicle or at least a part of the image pickup unit. May be notified.

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

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

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the outline of the vehicle alarm device which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the alarm device for a vehicle which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the data structure of the sunshine direction database which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating a part of the information stored in the vehicle body database which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the alarm notification processing executed by the vehicle alarm apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

<Outline of the embodiment>
An outline of the vehicle warning device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle alarm device 1 is mounted on the vehicle V driven by the driver D. The vehicle V also includes an image pickup unit 2 and a position information acquisition unit 3 as a part of the vehicle alarm device 1.

The image pickup unit 2 is a solid-state image pickup element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor), and images the driver D of the vehicle V. The vehicle alarm device 1 is a vehicle by the driver D based on the driver D's driving posture and the degree of eye opening indicating the driver D's eye opening degree obtained by analyzing the image captured by the image pickup unit 2. Judge the suitability of the operating condition of V.

Here, the "driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D" means the state of the driver D indicating whether or not the driver D can normally drive the vehicle V. For example, if the driver D is incapacitated and crouched due to a heart disease, cerebral infarction, etc., the driver D cannot drive the vehicle V normally, so the driving condition is "unsuitable". I can say. It can also be said that it is unsuitable when the eyes of the driver D are closed.

The vehicle alarm device 1 analyzes the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D based on the image captured by the image pickup unit 2 which is an optical image pickup element. Therefore, depending on the imaging conditions of the driver D by the imaging unit 2, the analysis of the operating state may be hindered. Specifically, it is a case where the driver D or the image pickup unit 2 is exposed to direct sunlight.

In FIG. 1, the broken line arrow A1 indicates the direction of sunshine. Further, the broken line arrow A2 indicates the traveling direction of the vehicle V. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the traveling direction of the vehicle V opposes the sun, and the angle α formed by the arrows A1 and the arrow A2 is small, so that the driver D is directly hit by sunlight. .. In such a case, even if the image pickup unit 2 has an automatic exposure function, the image pickup device may be saturated and the image pickup unit 2 may not be able to generate an appropriate image. The same applies when the sun enters the angle of view of the image pickup unit 2. As a result, even if the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D is appropriate, the vehicle alarm device 1 may erroneously determine that the vehicle V is unsuitable.

Therefore, in the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment, when it is determined that the driving state of the driver D is unsuitable, the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position where the vehicle V exists satisfy a predetermined relationship. On condition that, an alarm is notified. The position information acquisition unit 3 acquires the existing position of the vehicle V. The position information acquisition unit 3 is, for example, a known GPS (Global Positioning System). Further, the "predetermined relationship" is a relationship that the arrow A1 and the arrow A2 should satisfy so that, for example, the sunlight does not irradiate at least a part of the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or the image pickup unit 2. Thereby, the vehicle warning device 1 according to the embodiment can suppress the notification of the warning based on the erroneous determination regarding the driving state.

<Functional configuration of vehicle alarm device 1>
Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment includes an image pickup unit 2, a position information acquisition unit 3, a storage unit 4, and a control unit 5.

The image pickup unit 2 takes an image of the driver D of the vehicle V. The position information acquisition unit 3 acquires position information indicating the position of the vehicle V. The storage unit 4 includes a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and a temporary storage unit such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The non-volatile storage device functions as a storage unit for various programs and databases for realizing the vehicle alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The temporary storage unit functions as a working memory of the control unit 5.

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

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

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

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

More specifically, the sunshine direction database summarizes the altitude and direction of the sun for each combination of latitude and longitude on each date. The sunshine direction acquisition unit 52 can acquire the altitude and direction of the sun, for example, every 30 minutes by designating the date, latitude, and longitude and referring to the sunshine direction database.

When the suitability determination unit 50 determines that the driving state of the driver D is unsuitable, the warning unit 53 gives an alarm on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V satisfy a predetermined relationship. Notify. Thereby, the vehicle warning device 1 according to the embodiment can suppress the notification of the warning based on the erroneous determination regarding the driving state.

As an example of a predetermined condition, the warning unit 53 may notify the warning on the condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle V is not the direction facing the sunshine direction. When the traveling direction of the vehicle V is a direction facing the sunshine direction, there is a high possibility that the face of the vehicle V will be exposed to direct sunlight, which may affect the determination of the driving state of the driver D by the suitability determination unit 50. Because there is. As a result, the warning unit 53 can suppress the notification of the warning based on the erroneous determination of the driving state of the driver D by the suitability determination unit 50.

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

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

As shown in FIG. 4, the vehicle body database stores the distance H from the road surface to the eyes of the driver D when the driver D sits in the driver's seat of the vehicle V. In addition, the vehicle body database also contains a maximum elevation angle β, which is the maximum value of the angle at which the driver D can look up through the windshield W without being shielded by the vehicle body when the driver D sits in the driver's seat of the vehicle V. It is stored. Further, the vehicle body database also contains a maximum depression angle γ, which is the maximum value of the angle at which the driver D can look down through the windshield W without being shielded by the vehicle body when the driver D sits in the driver's seat of the vehicle V. It is stored.

In the irradiation determination unit 54, when the elevation / depression angle formed by the traveling direction and the sunshine direction of the vehicle V is within the range of the angle formed by β and γ shown in FIG. 4, the sunlight is the driver of the vehicle V. It is determined that the face of D or at least a part of the imaging unit 2 is irradiated. In other words, in the irradiation determination unit 54, when the elevation / depression angle formed by the traveling direction and the sunshine direction of the vehicle V deviates from the range of the angle formed by β and γ shown in FIG. 4, the sunlight is emitted from the vehicle V. It is determined that the face of the driver D or at least a part of the image pickup unit 2 is not irradiated. The irradiation determination unit 54 determines whether or not the sunlight is applied to the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or at least a part of the image pickup unit 2 based on the design data of the vehicle V, so that the determination accuracy is improved. be able to.

The case where the vehicle alarm device 1 determines whether or not the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or the image pickup unit 2 is directly exposed to sunlight based on the sunshine direction and the traveling direction of the vehicle V has been described above. .. Here, the sunshine direction is information obtained by calculation from the date and time and the existence position of the vehicle V, and does not guarantee that the vehicle V is actually exposed to direct sunlight when the vehicle V is traveling. For example, even if the vehicle V is exposed to direct sunlight in calculation, it is conceivable that the direct sunlight does not reach the vehicle V because it is shielded by clouds or the like when the weather is bad.

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

When it is determined that the driving state of the driver D is unsuitable, the warning unit 53 may use the vehicle V even if the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V do not satisfy a predetermined relationship. If the weather at the driving position is not sunny, an alarm will be issued. When the weather is not sunny, the face of the driver D of the vehicle V or the image pickup unit 2 is not directly exposed to sunlight, and it is unlikely that the suitability determination unit 50 will erroneously determine the driving state of the driver D due to the influence. be. As a result, the vehicle warning device 1 can both suppress the erroneous determination of the driving state due to the influence of direct sunlight and alert the driver D by the warning notification.

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

The image pickup unit 2 captures an image including the driver D of the vehicle V as a subject (S2). The suitability determination unit 50 analyzes the image captured by the image pickup unit 2 and determines the driving state of the vehicle V by the driver D (S4). The position information acquisition unit 3 acquires position information indicating the existing position of the vehicle V (S6).

The sunshine direction acquisition unit 52 acquires the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V and the travel date and time by referring to the sunshine database that stores the date and time, the position information, and the sunshine direction in association with each other (S8). When the driving state of the driver D by the suitability determination unit 50 is unsuitable (Yes in S10), the warning unit 53 acquires the relationship between the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle V (S12).

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

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

<Effects of vehicle alarm device 1>
As described above, according to the vehicle warning device 1 according to the embodiment, it is possible to suppress the notification of the warning based on the erroneous determination regarding the driving state. In particular, the vehicle alarm device 1 determines the driving state by analyzing the image. Therefore, the vehicle alarm device 1 can suppress the notification of the alarm based on the erroneous determination by stopping the alarm when there is a concern about direct sunlight that may affect the determination of the driving state.

Further, the vehicle alarm device 1 notifies an alarm when the weather is not sunny, even if there is a concern about direct sunlight in calculation. As a result, the vehicle alarm device 1 can achieve both the suppression of the alarm based on the erroneous determination and the original purpose of the alarm device.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist. be. For example, the specific embodiment of the distribution / integration of the device is not limited to the above embodiment, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in any unit. Can be done. Also included in the embodiments of the present invention are new embodiments resulting from any combination of the plurality of embodiments. The effect of the new embodiment produced by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment together.

<Modification example>
In the above, the case where the vehicle warning device 1 suppresses the warning based on the relationship between the traveling direction and the sunshine direction of the vehicle V has been described. Here, the traveling direction of the vehicle V may vary depending on the shape of the road on which the vehicle V travels. For example, when the vehicle V is traveling on a motorway such as an expressway, it is considered that the fluctuation in the traveling direction is gradual as compared with the case where the vehicle V is traveling in an urban area or the like.

Therefore, the warning unit 53 may suppress the warning when the change in the traveling direction of the vehicle V satisfies a predetermined condition regarding the change in the traveling direction. Here, the "predetermined condition regarding the change in the traveling direction" is one of the alarm suppression reference conditions referred to by the alarm unit 53 for determining whether or not to suppress the alarm.

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

When the vehicle V is traveling in an urban area other than the motorway, the direction of travel of the vehicle V fluctuates greatly, so that the condition that the driver D and the image pickup unit 2 are exposed to direct sunlight is satisfied. However, there is a high possibility that the conditions will not be satisfied in a short time. Therefore, the warning unit 53 suppresses the warning on condition that the vehicle V is traveling on a road where the condition that the driver D and the image pickup unit 2 are exposed to direct sunlight is easily maintained, that is, a car-only road having many straight roads. do. As a result, the vehicle alarm device 1 can achieve both the suppression of the alarm based on the erroneous determination and the original purpose of the alarm device.

1 ... Vehicle alarm device 2 ... Imaging unit 3 ... Position information acquisition unit 4 ... Storage unit 5 ... Control unit 50 ... Compliance determination unit 51 ... Coordinate detection unit 52.・ ・ Sunlight direction acquisition unit 53 ・ ・ ・ Alarm unit 54 ・ ・ ・ Irradiation judgment unit 55 ・ ・ ・ Weather acquisition unit V ・ ・ ・ Vehicle W ・ ・ ・ Windshield

Claims (3)

An image pickup unit that captures the image of the driver of the vehicle,
The position information indicating the position of the vehicle and the coordinate detection unit for detecting the traveling direction,
The suitability determination unit that analyzes the image captured by the image pickup unit and determines the suitability of the driving state of the vehicle by the driver, and the suitability determination unit.
A sunshine direction acquisition unit that acquires the sunshine direction by referring to the sunshine database that stores the date and time, location information, and the sunshine direction in association with each other.
When it is determined that the driving condition of the driver is unsuitable, an alarm is notified on condition that the traveling direction of the vehicle is not the direction facing the sunshine direction, and the traveling direction of the vehicle is in the direction facing the sunshine direction. Even if there is, if the vehicle is traveling on a road other than the motorway, an alarm unit that notifies an alarm and
Vehicle alarm device. Irradiation for determining whether or not the sun light is applied to the driver's face of the vehicle or at least a part of the image pickup unit with reference to a vehicle body database that stores three-dimensional data of the vehicle body constituting the vehicle. Further equipped with a judgment unit,
The alarm unit notifies the alarm on condition that the sun light is not applied to the driver's face of the vehicle or at least a part of the image pickup unit.
The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1 . Further equipped with a weather acquisition unit for acquiring the weather at the position of the vehicle,
When the driver's driving condition is determined to be unsuitable, the alarm unit may use the alarm unit even if the traveling direction of the vehicle and the sunshine direction at the position of the vehicle do not satisfy a predetermined relationship. Notify an alarm when the weather is not sunny,
The vehicle alarm device according to claim 1 or 2 .

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