JPH0418564B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a glasses-type drowsy driving system that detects drowsy driving by having the driver wear glasses that have a function of detecting the occurrence of drowsiness of the wearer and issuing an alarm. This invention relates to a detection device.

[Technical Background of the Invention and Problems Therewith] In recent years, various devices have been proposed to prevent drowsy driving and improve driving safety. For example, the drowsy driving prevention device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 127198/1983 is a device for this purpose. This drowsy driving prevention device is in the form of glasses,
When a driver wears these like glasses, electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays are transmitted towards the eyes, and the level of reflected waves from the eyelids is higher than from the cornea of the eyes. This is a device that detects when a driver falls asleep and issues a warning to the driver if the driver falls asleep.

By the way, such conventional drowsy driving prevention devices use relatively small batteries as a power source to make them small and easy to carry, and furthermore, when worn and used, the driver manually turns on the power switch. It is necessary to remove the power switch and manually turn off the power switch when not in use.

However, in such conventional devices, the driver sometimes forgets to turn off the power switch when disconnecting the device, and in such a case, the battery is wasted unnecessarily. If such wasteful consumption is repeated, or if the switch is left on even after being removed and not used for a long period of time, the output level of the battery may drop and the device may no longer work. In such a case, if the driver uses the device without knowing that the battery is depleted, there is a problem that an appropriate warning cannot be obtained.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and its purpose is to detect drowsiness while driving by having the driver wear glasses that have a function of detecting the occurrence of drowsiness of the wearer and issuing an alarm. To provide a drowsy driving prevention device that prevents wasteful consumption of power in a device for driving.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve the above object, the first invention of the present application includes a wave transmitting means for transmitting electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays toward the wearer's eyes, and a wave transmitting means for transmitting electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays toward the wearer's eyes. A wave receiving means for receiving waves, and a determining means for detecting the opening/closing state of the wearer's eyelids from the strength of the received reflected wave, and determining whether or not the wearer is dozing based on the detection result. A glasses-type drowsy driving prevention device having: a device that is installed at a portion where the glasses and a part of the driver's body come into direct contact when the driver wears the glasses, and when pressure is applied; The gist of the present invention is to include a switch means that is turned on at a time to supply voltage from a power source to the drowsy driving prevention device.

Further, a second invention of the present application includes a wave transmitting means for transmitting electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays toward the wearer's eyes, and a wave receiving means for receiving the reflected waves from the wearer's eyes.
Dozing off in the form of eyeglasses, the glasses-type dozing device having a judgment means for detecting the open/closed state of the wearer's eyelids from the strength of the received reflected waves, and determining whether or not the wearer is dozing based on the detection result. A driving prevention device, which is provided between the tendon of the glasses and the lens frame, and turns on when pressure is detected to supply voltage from the power source to the drowsy driving prevention device. The gist is to have a switch means.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Examples of the invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a drowsy driving prevention device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The components of this drowsy driving prevention device are provided in the glasses 1, and include a wave transmitting/receiving unit 3 provided near the bottom part 7 of the frame that holds the lenses of the glasses 1, and a battery for the power source of the glasses 1. It consists of a control circuit box 5 provided on one vine 27, and power switches 2a and 2b made of pressurized conductive rubber provided on parts 4a and 4b of the glasses 1 that correspond to the user's nose, respectively. . The wave transmitting/receiving section 3, the control circuit box 5, and the power switches 2a and 2b are electrically connected to each other by a cord (not shown), for example, a cord passed through the frame of the eyeglasses 1.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 2a and 2b, the structure and operating principle of the power switches 2a and 2b made of pressurized conductive rubber will be explained.

The power switches 2a and 2b have a substrate 101 fixed with an adhesive or the like on the portions 4a and 4b of the above-mentioned glasses 1 that correspond to the user's nose.
A pair of comb-shaped electrodes 105a and 105b are alternately formed on one surface of the electrode 1 by, for example, printed wiring. Then, a pressurized conductive rubber 10 is placed on the electrodes 105a and 105b formed in this way.
3 are arranged in close contact with each other.

As is well known, the pressurized conductive rubber 103 is a mixture of ordinary rubber and powder or fine particles of a conductive member such as a metal, and in a normal state where the rubber is not compressed under pressure. Since the internal conductive members do not touch each other, the resistance is very high, but when the rubber is compressed under pressure, the internal conductive members come into contact with each other, so the resistance decreases. It is.

Therefore, the power switches 2a and 2b configured as shown in FIG. Since the resistance of the rubber 103 is very high, the electrodes 105a,
105b is not electrically connected and is in an off state, but the pressurized conductive rubber 103 is shown by the arrow 107.
As shown in , the resistance of the pressurized conductive rubber 103 becomes very low when it is compressed, so the electrodes 105a and 105b are connected to each other.
In other words, it is in the on state.

Power switches 2a and 2b configured in this way
As shown in Figure 1, the part 4 of the glasses 1 that the nose touches
If attached to the power switches 2a and 4b, the pressurized conductive rubber 103 of the power switches 2a and 2b can be used when the glasses 1 are worn.
is pressed by the wearer's nose and the power switches 2a, 2b
is turned on, and when the glasses 1 are removed, the power switches 2a and 2b are turned off.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the drowsy driving prevention device shown in FIG. 1, which uses power switches 2a and 2b constructed as shown in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 3, power switches 2a, 2b are connected in series to the positive electrode side of a battery 4 housed in a control circuit box 5.
The positive electrode side of the battery 4 is connected to the capacitor 109 via 2b.
and one end of each of the resistors 111. The other end of the resistor 111 is a Zener diode 1
13, and further connected to the dozing detection alarm circuit 6. Further, the negative electrode side of the battery 4, the other end of the capacitor 109, the anode of the Zener diode 113, and the other end of the dozing detection alarm circuit 6 are each connected to ground. Note that the dozing detection alarm circuit 6 includes the wave transmitting/receiving section 3 and the control section 8.
The control circuit box 5 houses a battery 4, a capacitor 109, a resistor 111, a Zener diode 113, and a control section 8.

In the device configured as described above, when the driver puts on the glasses 1 to start driving, the pressurized conductive rubbers 103 of the power switches 2a and 2b are pressurized by the driver's nose and activated, turning them on. Therefore, the voltage from battery 4 is applied to power switches 2a and 2b.
After the capacitor 109 is first charged via
The voltage is supplied to a Zener diode 113 via a resistor 111, and after being set to a constant voltage by the Zener diode 113, it is supplied to activate the dozing detection alarm circuit 6. Also,
When the driver takes off the glasses 1, the power switches 2a and 2b are automatically turned off, so the battery 4 is not wasted. Note that after the power switches 2a and 2b are turned off,
The voltage charged in the capacitor 109 is discharged through the dozing detection alarm circuit 6, and thereby the operation of the dozing detection alarm circuit 6 is stopped. This prevents the supply of power voltage to the drowsiness detection alarm circuit 6 from being cut off immediately when the driver puts on the glasses 1 or when the power switches 2a and 2b are momentarily turned off due to vibration, etc. That's what I'm doing. Furthermore,
In the above embodiment, two power switches 2a and 2b are provided and connected in series, but they may be connected in parallel or only one.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the dozing detection alarm circuit 6
I will explain about it.

The drowsiness detection alarm circuit 6 includes a wave transmitting/receiving unit 3 that transmits electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength near infrared light to the eyes of the wearer of the glasses 1 and receives reflected waves from the wearer's eyes; The control section 8 includes a control section 8 that drives and controls the wave transmitting/receiving section 3, and detects and alerts the driver who wears the glasses 1, based on a signal from the wave transmitting/receiving section 3, if he or she falls asleep.

The wave transmitting/receiving unit 3 includes a wave transmitting means 9 that transmits electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength (for example, 900 nm) to the eyes of the wearer of the glasses 1.
and a first wave receiving means 11 which receives the electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 reflected by the cornea or eyelids of the wearer's eyes; It has a second wave receiving means 13 that receives electromagnetic waves in a wavelength band different from the wavelength band of electromagnetic waves (for example, 1200 nm). The wave transmitting means 9 includes a light emitting element 15 that outputs electromagnetic waves in a wavelength band near near-infrared light, and a wave transmitting narrowband filter 17 that allows only the electromagnetic waves of the specific wavelength (for example, 900 nm) to pass among the output electromagnetic waves. This is a configuration having the following. The first and second wave receiving means 11 and 13 each include receiving narrow band pass filters 19 and 21 that pass only electromagnetic waves of specific wavelengths, and electromagnetic waves that have passed through the light receiving narrow band filters 19 and 21, respectively. This configuration includes light receiving elements 23 and 25, respectively, which receive light and convert it into an electrical signal. Note that the light reception signals 23 and 25 are composed of, for example, phototransistors.

The control unit 8 includes a drive circuit 29 that is connected to the light emitting element 15 and controls driving of the light emitting element, and a drive circuit 29 that is connected to the light emitting element 15 and controls the driving of the light emitting element;
and connected to the light receiving elements 23 and 25 of the second wave receiving means 11 and 13, and these light receiving elements 23,
It has a processing circuit 31 that processes the light receiving elements from 25 and determines whether the driver has fallen asleep.

In the processing circuit 31, the output of the light receiving element 23 is connected to a non-inverting input terminal (+) of a comparator 35 via an amplifier 33. This comparator 35 is
Its inverting input terminal (-) is connected in series between the power supply voltage Vcc and ground, and is connected between a resistor 37 and a resistor 39 that divide the power supply voltage Vcc, and its output is the input terminal of the AND circuit 41. b and the differential circuit 43 to the input terminal a of the AND circuit 45 . In the comparator 35, the divided voltage supplied to the inverting input terminal (-) is determined so that the level of the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9, reflected by the eyelids, is higher than the level of the reflected wave by the cornea. Since the setting is made so that this difference becomes clear by focusing on ) signal.

On the other hand, in the processing circuit 31, the receiving element 25
is connected to the non-inverting input terminal (+) of the comparator 53 via the output amplifier 51. This comparator 53
is connected in series between the power supply voltage Vcc and the ground, and between a resistor 55 and a resistor 57 that divide the power supply voltage Vcc, and its output is connected through an inverter 59. AND
Input terminal b of the circuit 45 and the AND circuit 41
is connected to the input terminal c of. This comparator 53
In this case, the divided voltage supplied to the inverting input terminal (-) is transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 by the headlights of an oncoming vehicle, etc., so that the electromagnetic wave level in the vicinity of near infrared rays around the wave transmitting/receiving section 3 is increased. It is set to be able to determine whether the received electromagnetic waves are at a high enough level to affect the level of reflected waves by the cornea or eyelids of the driver's eyes. It detects that the level is high enough to affect the waves reflected by the eyelids and outputs a high level (H) signal. Note that instead of providing the circuit from the second wave receiving means 13 to the comparator 53 described above, a vapor-deposited film of a filter is coated on the lens surface of the glasses 1 in order to block external electromagnetic waves in the near-infrared region. Good too.

The AND circuit 41 has input terminals b and c connected to the output of the comparator 35 and the output of the comparator 53 via the inverter 59, respectively, and input terminal a connected to the oscillator 47.
The output of the counter circuit 48 is connected to the clock input terminal CL of the counter circuit 48. That is,
This AND circuit 41 operates in a state in which the comparator 35 outputs a high level (H) signal and the comparator 53 outputs a low level (L) signal, in other words, a state in which the comparator 35 outputs a high level (H) signal and the comparator 53 outputs a low level (L) signal. When the background level of electromagnetic waves in the infrared region is below a predetermined level and it is detected that the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 are reflected by the driver's eyelids, the oscillator 47 generates a signal at a predetermined time interval. The pulse output from the counter circuit 48 is supplied to the clock terminal CL of the counter circuit 48.

As described above, the counter circuit 48 measures the time during which the driver's eyelids are closed by counting the pulses from the oscillator 47 supplied when the driver's eyelids are closed, and this count value reaches a predetermined value. When the driver's eyelids have been closed for a predetermined period of time (for example, 2 seconds), the system determines that the driver is drowsy while driving.
An alarm command signal is output to the alarm drive circuit 49 connected to the output to drive the alarm speaker 50. Note that since the output of the counter circuit 48 is connected to the reset terminal R of the counter circuit 48, the count value of the counter circuit 48 is reset at the same time as the alarm command signal is output.

On the other hand, the AND circuit 45, as described above,
In addition to the fact that the input terminals a and b are connected to the output of the comparator 35 via the differentiating circuit 43 and the output of the comparator 53 via the inverter 59, the output is connected to the reset terminal R of the counter circuit 61.
It is connected to the. This counter circuit 61 has its clock terminal CL connected to the oscillator 47,
Its output terminal is connected to the warning speaker 65 via the warning driving circuit 63, and time is measured by counting pulses supplied from the oscillator 47 at regular time intervals, and a reset signal is sent to the reset terminal R. When the count value reaches a predetermined value without being supplied, a notification command signal is output to the warning drive circuit 63 to drive the warning speaker. That is, the AND circuit 4
5, when the output of the comparator 53 is at a low level (L), in other words, when the background level of electromagnetic waves in the near-infrared region near the wave transmitting/receiving section 3 is below a predetermined level, the output of the comparator 35 is at a low level (L). When the level (L) rises to the high level (H), in other words, when it is detected that the driver's eyelids are closed, the pulse formed by the differentiating circuit 43 is used as the reset signal to the counter circuit 61. Output to reset terminal R of. Therefore, as the counter circuit 61,
If this action of closing the eyelids (blinking) is not detected for a predetermined period of time (for example, 1 minute), the glasses 1
It determines that the device is not in the correct position and notifies you of this. Note that the notification in this case does not need to be a signal with a level as high as the alarm sound level output when the driver falls asleep at the wheel, so the warning notification drive circuit 63 is constructed of, for example, a melody IC or the like.

Next, the operation of the drowsiness detection and alarm circuit shown in FIG. 4 will be explained.

When the driver puts on the glasses 1 at the start of driving and closes the power switches 2a and 2b to supply power supply voltage, the light emitting element 15 emits light from the wave transmitting means 9 under the control of the drive circuit 29, and the light emitting element 15 emits light for wave transmission. Electromagnetic waves of a specific wavelength are transmitted to the driver's eyes via the narrow band filter 17. This transmitted electromagnetic wave is reflected by the cornea when the driver's eyelids are open, and reflected by the eyelids when the driver's eyelids are closed.
A portion of each of them reaches the first and second wave receiving means 11 and 13 as a reflected wave together with the light reflected by the cornea or eyelid due to the external light. 1st
In the wave receiving means 11 , only the specific wavelength component of the reflected wave that is the same as the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 is extracted by the wave receiving narrow band filter 19 and then received by the light receiving element 23 . On the other hand, the second wave receiving means 1
In step 3, a wavelength component different from the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 to measure the level of the external light is extracted by the receiving narrow band filter 21 among the reflected waves, and then extracted by the light receiving element 25. Receive light.

The light receiving element 23 photoelectrically converts the received electromagnetic wave into a received light signal, which is amplified by the amplifier 33 and sent to the comparator 3.
Output to 5. Comparator 35 compares the level of this light reception signal with the voltage level divided by resistors 37 and 39, and outputs a high level (H) signal when the level of the light reception signal is high. That is, in this comparator 35, the level of the electromagnetic wave reflected by the eyelids of the electromagnetic wave transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 with the divided voltage supplied to the inverting input terminal (-) is higher than the level of the reflected wave by the cornea. Since the setting is made so that this difference becomes clear by paying attention to the fact that the difference occurs, it detects that the received light signal is a reflected wave from the eyelids and outputs a high level (H) signal. This high level (H) signal is the input terminal b of the AND circuit 41.
At the same time, at the rising edge, the differentiating circuit 4
3, the differentiating circuit 43 outputs a pulse signal of a predetermined time width to the input terminal a of the AND 45 by this trigger.

On the other hand, the light receiving element 25 photoelectrically converts the received electromagnetic wave and outputs it to the comparator 53 after being amplified by the amplifier 51 as a received light signal. Comparator 53 compares the level of this light reception signal with the voltage level divided by resistors 55 and 57, and outputs a high level (H) signal when the level of the light reception signal is high. This comparator 5
3, the divided voltage supplied to the inverting input terminal (-) is transmitted from the wave transmitting means 9 by the head lamp of an oncoming vehicle, etc., when the electromagnetic wave level in the near-infrared region around the wave transmitting/receiving section 3 is set. It is set to be able to determine whether the level of electromagnetic waves reflected by the cornea or eyelids of the driver's eye is high enough to affect the level of the electromagnetic waves reflected by the cornea or eyelids of the driver's eye. Or, if the level is high enough to affect the waves reflected by the eyelids, it is a high level.
(H) Output signal. This high level (H) signal is inverted by the inverter 59 and then output to the input terminal b of the AND circuit 45 and the input terminal c of the AND circuit 41. That is, this second wave receiving means 13
In the circuit from to the inverter 59, in order to accurately detect drowsy driving or the wearing state of glasses 1, detection cannot be performed when the electromagnetic wave level in the near-infrared region around the wave transmitting/receiving unit 3, so to speak, the background level is high. The above AND
Output a low level (L) signal to circuits 41 and 45,
This prevents the necessary signals from being supplied to the circuit for performing the detection.

The AND circuit 41 detects the reflected wave from the driver's eyelids when the input terminals b and c are in a high level (H) state, that is, when the background level around the wave transmitting/receiving section 3 is not higher than a predetermined level as described above. In this state, the oscillator 47 outputs a pulse signal at fixed time intervals to the counter circuit 48. When the counter circuit 48 counts the supplied pulses and reaches a predetermined value, that is, when the driver's eyelids remain closed for a predetermined period of time, the counter circuit 48 determines that the driver is dozing and issues an alarm. Outputs a command signal. The alarm drive circuit 49 receives this alarm command signal and operates the alarm speaker 50 to wake up the driver.

Furthermore, the AND circuit 45 operates when the input terminal b is at a high level (H), that is, as described above, the wave transmitting/receiving section 3
A pulse signal outputted from the differentiating circuit 43 in a state where the surrounding background level is not higher than a predetermined level is outputted to the reset terminal R of the counter circuit 61 as a reset signal. The counter circuit 61 normally generates an oscillator under reset control each time it is supplied with a reset signal from the differentiating circuit 43, that is, a signal generated when the driver's eyelids change from an open state to a closed state. The counting operation of pulse signals from 47 continues. and,
During such a counting operation, if the reset signal is not supplied for a predetermined period of time or more, in other words, when a human being is awake, he or she will blink momentarily for about 0.5 seconds or less, but this is part of the blinking operation. If the action of closing the eyelids cannot be detected for a predetermined period of time or longer, the counter circuit 61 determines that the glasses 1 are not correctly worn and outputs a warning command signal. Warning drive circuit 63
In response to the command signal, the warning speaker 65
to prompt the driver to wear glasses 1 correctly.

Note that the doze detection alarm circuit shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and is not limited to this.
57, comparator 53, inverter 59, AND circuit 45, counter circuit 61, warning drive circuit 6
3. The speaker 65 may be removed and the counter 48 may detect the driver's drowsy driving state from the time the eyelids are closed.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the invention. In the drowsy driving prevention device shown in FIG. 1, the power switches 2a and 2b are provided on the nose portions 4a and 4b of the glasses 1, whereas in the drowsiness driving prevention device shown in FIG. A power switch 12 made of pressurized conductive rubber similar to that shown in FIG. 2 is attached between the lens frame and the vine 28 which is movably attached to the lens frame with a hinge. With this structure, when in use, when the vines 27 and 28 of the glasses 1 are spread out and placed on the face, the power switch 12 made of pressurized conductive rubber is squeezed between the vines 28 and the lens frame. Since the glasses are pressurized and turned on, the drowsy driving prevention device is activated, and when not in use, the power switch 12 is turned off by taking off the glasses 1 from the face and folding the vines 27 and 28, thereby wasting battery power. It is designed so that it cannot be consumed.

In each of the above embodiments, the power switches 2a, 2
b and 12 have been described using pressurized conductive rubber, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a micro switch or the like may be used instead of the pressurized conductive rubber.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the power for operating the device is turned on only when the driver wears it, so when the driver does not wear it, that is, when it is not in use, the power is automatically turned on. Since the power is cut off, the power supply is not wasted due to forgetting to turn off the power switch as in the conventional case, and as a result, proper operation can be performed at all times.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a drowsy driving prevention device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2a is a configuration diagram of a power switch used in the device shown in FIG.
Figures b and c are exploded perspective views of the power switch.
The figure is a block diagram of the drowsy driving prevention device shown in Figure 1.
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of a drowsiness detection alarm circuit of the drowsy driving prevention device shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of the drowsiness driving prevention device according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Glasses, 2a, 2b... Power switch, 3
...Transmission/reception section, 4...Battery, 5...Control circuit box, 6...Drowsiness detection alarm circuit, 12...Power switch, 27, 28...Tree.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Wave transmitting means for transmitting electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays toward the wearer's eyes, wave receiving means for receiving reflected waves from the wearer's eyes, and received reflected waves. A device for preventing drowsy driving in the form of glasses, the device having a judgment means for detecting the opening/closing state of the wearer's eyelids based on the strength of the eyelids, and determining whether or not the wearer is dozing off based on the detection result. and is provided at a portion where the glasses and a part of the driver's body come into direct contact when the driver wears the glasses, and is turned on when pressure is applied to the drowsy driving prevention device. A drowsy driving prevention device characterized by having a switch means for supplying voltage from a power source. 2. A transmitting means for transmitting electromagnetic waves such as infrared rays toward the eyes of the wearer, a receiving means for receiving the reflected waves from the eyes of the wearer, and the strength of the received reflected waves. A device for preventing drowsy driving in the form of eyeglasses, comprising a judgment means for detecting the opening/closing state of a person's eyelids and determining whether or not the wearer is dozing based on the detection result, drowsy driving, characterized in that it has a switch means provided between the drowsy driving prevention device and the lens frame, which turns on when pressure is detected to supply voltage from the power source to the drowsy driving prevention device. Prevention device.