JPH05294166A - Safety device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a safety device to give a data of a high reliability to investigate the cause and the like even when an accident of an automobile and the like takes place, so as to give an objective data to avoid a dangerous condition such as an accident. CONSTITUTION:A forward observation camera 1 to photograph the forward field of vision in the advancing direction of an automobile and the like, a driver watching camera 2 to photograph the pose of a driver, an image recording device 3 to record the image taken by the forward observation camera 1 and the image taken by the driver watching camera 2, an image processing device 4 to receive the image output obtained by the forward observation camera 1 and the image output obtained by the driver watching camera 2, and a warning device 5 to inform a danger responding to the signal from the image processing device 4 to the driver, are provided. And the data to facilitate the investigation of the cause of an accident is recorded, and by generating an alarm by detecting a nap of the driver, a dangerous substance in the scenery, and the like, an accident can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safety device, and more particularly to a safety device provided in a drive machine driven by human operation such as an aircraft, an automobile, a machine tool and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, tachometers, speedometers and other measuring instruments have been used as safety management devices for automobiles.
These are only used to manage the distance and speed of operation. Further, the aircraft is equipped with a flight recorder, which can be used as a clue for investigating the cause of the accident.

However, it cannot be said that both of them positively contribute to safety. It is also strange that a car with an overwhelmingly higher accident rate than an aircraft does not have a drive recorder equivalent to a flight recorder.

[0004]

By the way, in recent years, drive machines such as automobiles, aircrafts and machine tools have been significantly improved in performance due to the influence of high technology. In particular, the speed of automobiles is increasing. On the other hand, as represented by the term traffic war, the incidence of accidents is rising. Against this background, the widespread use of safety devices in drive machinery is rapidly increasing in need.

On the other hand, the conventional safety management device as described above is positioned as a means for investigating the cause when an accident occurs, and has not positively contributed to the safety of automobiles and the like. In addition, the flight recorder records only voice, and the amount of information is extremely insufficient. Airbags have been actively studied in order to prevent damage to a human body due to a collision of an automobile, and a collision prediction device for that purpose is also actively studied, which is also a countermeasure in the event of an accident.

Explaining a little more, in accidents caused by driving machines, especially automobiles and trains, the most important issue is whether or not there is negligence. As mentioned above, conventionally, the aircraft is equipped with a voice recorder, but cars and trains are not equipped with anything similar to this, and only after the accident, by testimony from the person or witness, I couldn't make that decision. Therefore, when a driver is injured or injured, it takes a very long time to make a decision, and the vagueness of the testimony tends to make the decision uncertain.

[0007] Further, the safety management for avoiding the occurrence of accidents in automobiles and the like has conventionally been based only on self-judgment by an instrument or the like and judgment based on the visual sense. However, there are many cases where the reaction speed determined by the driver's self-determination cannot be compensated for due to the speeding up accompanying higher performance. Moreover, the accidents caused by drowsy driving and side-by-side driving are endless.

Therefore, there is a strong need for means for making an objective judgment and notifying one of the dangers, in addition to one's own judgment.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide highly reliable information for investigating the cause and the like even when an accident occurs in a driving machine such as an automobile. It is also possible to provide a safety device capable of providing the driver with objective information for avoiding the danger of an accident or the like.

[0010]

A safety device of the present invention which achieves the above object is a safety device installed in a drive machine driven by an operation of a driver, in which a front view of a visual field in a traveling direction of the drive machine is taken. A monitoring camera, a driver monitoring camera that captures an image of the driver, and an image recording device that records the image captured by the front monitoring camera and the image captured by the driver monitoring camera. It is a feature.

Further, another safety device of the present invention is a safety device installed in a drive machine driven by a driver's operation, wherein a front monitoring camera for photographing a view of a traveling direction of the drive machine and a driver A driver monitoring camera that captures the image of the vehicle, an image output obtained by the front monitoring camera, and an image output obtained by the driver monitoring camera,
An image processing device for performing a predetermined image processing, and an alarm device for informing a driver of a danger in response to a signal from the image processing device are provided.

[0012]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the front monitoring camera for photographing the view of the driving machine in the traveling direction, the driver monitoring camera for photographing the appearance of the driver, the image photographed by the front monitoring camera and the Since it is equipped with an image recording device that records the image captured by the driver's surveillance camera, it is possible to record information on both the front situation and the state of the driver, making it easy for the drive recorder to investigate the cause of the accident. Become.

Further, in the second aspect of the present invention, the front monitoring camera for photographing the view of the driving machine in the traveling direction, the driver monitoring camera for photographing the driver's figure, and the image obtained by the front monitoring camera. An image processing device that receives output and an image output obtained by the driver monitoring camera and performs predetermined image processing, and an alarm device that notifies a driver of a danger in response to a signal from the image processing device. Since it is equipped with, by detecting the driver's dozing, etc., it is possible to generate an alarm and prevent an accident in advance, and further, detect a danger from the scenery in the front and generate an alarm, It is possible to ensure the safety of the driving machine by performing control such as stopping or reducing the speed.

[0014]

Embodiments of the safety device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first embodiment of the present invention, which is an example of a safety device mounted on a transportation device such as an automobile or an aircraft. This safety device is provided with a front monitoring camera 1 and a driver monitoring camera 2, and the image from the front monitoring camera 1 and the image from the driver monitoring camera 2 are recorded in a recorder 3 in case of an accident or the like. Later, it will be used later for judgment of negligence. in this case,
In addition to the situation in front, the face of the driver who is driving is also recorded, which makes it easier to find the cause of the accident. Note that the recorder 3 is a repetitive recording type VTR capable of simultaneously recording audio and recording a plurality of video information,
These two pieces of video information may be simultaneously recorded on one recording medium or may be separately recorded on different recording media. In the latter case, it is desirable to record the time on each recording medium at the same time, so that the recorded front view information and the driver's information can be compared.

Further, the safety device is provided with an image processing device 4, and the image from the driver monitoring camera 2 is also input to the image processing device 4 and subjected to image processing. The driver monitoring camera 2 mainly photographs the driver's face, and detects unnatural wobbling of the driver's face by this image processing. Also, focusing on the eyelids, it detects whether the eyelids are closed abnormally long. Further, the movement of the pupil is detected to determine whether the movement is unnaturally stopped. Accidents can be prevented in advance by detecting a driver's abnormality through the image processing as described above, sending a signal to the alarm device 5 and dismissing the alarm.

Since there are individual differences in human behavior, uniform conditions cannot be used to judge a driver's abnormality. Therefore, a computer with a learning function is used as the image processing device 4 for the determination. That is, the driver is observed for a certain period of time, and the characteristics of the driver under normal conditions are recorded. For example, the number of blinks or the movement of the pupil. Of course, if you get tired while driving, the conditions will change, so the conditions will change from moment to moment. A computer having the above-described learning function is preferable for such condition setting and judgment.

In addition to the image from the driver monitoring camera 2, image information from the front monitoring camera 1 is also included in the image processing device 4.
And the risk avoidance action 6 is performed by the processing of the image processing device 4. This is done, for example, when an obstacle is found on the road or when entering a curve at high speed. In the former case, the image processing device 4 makes a determination that there is an obstacle on the road, and sends an alarm signal to the alarm device 5. When the alarm device 5 is started, the image processing device 4 again determines whether or not the risk avoidance behavior 6 is present.
When the risk avoidance action 6 is taken, the alarm device 5 is given a release signal 7
To turn off the alarm. On the contrary, when the danger avoidance action 6 is not taken, the automatic stop system 8 provided in the automobile or the like is activated. Instead of stopping the automobile or the like, the speed may be reduced.

Further, it is desirable that the light receiving member of the front monitoring camera 1 be sensitive to not only visible light but also infrared light. In this case, it becomes possible to park on the street at night and detect drunk people, pedestrians, etc.

Further, the alarm device 5 may be a device for notifying the alarm by sound of a buzzer or the like, and may be a device for generating or blinking light, vibration of a seat or a handle, display on a windshield or a meter panel, and the like.

FIG. 2 shows an external view of the safety device according to the second embodiment. This is an example of mounting on a vehicle, and the front monitoring camera 10 that also serves as a driver monitoring camera is provided on the dashboard 11 of the driver's seat. As shown in FIG. 3, the configuration of the front monitoring camera 10 is provided with a front monitoring lens 12 and a driver monitoring lens 13, and two images from each lens are captured by one image sensor 14 (for example, C
The image is picked up by a CD) like a normal TV image.
As shown in FIG. 4, the recorded image includes a front view image and a driver's face, which are taken in parallel at the same time. A wide-angle lens is selected as the front monitoring lens 12 so that the whole view can enter in a wide range, and a driver monitoring lens 13 having a focal length that allows the driver's face to be photographed as large as possible is selected.
The image processing device (FIG. 1) analyzes the state of the driver and issues an alarm or the like to prevent a drowsiness. in this case,
By sharing the front monitoring camera and the driver monitoring camera, one camera, one recording device, one image processing device, etc.
It can be installed on a stand, and an inexpensive safety device can be provided.

By the way, the movement of the driver's face is also related to the movement of a driven device such as an automobile. Therefore, the safety device of the present invention is provided with an operating state detection device for a driven device such as an accelerometer, and whether the movement of the driver is due to the operating state of the driven device such as acceleration or due to an abnormality of the driver himself. It is also possible to make a determination and issue an alarm or the like only when it is determined to be the latter.

Although the safety device of the present invention has been described with reference to some embodiments, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and various modifications can be made.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the safety device of the present invention, it is possible to record information on both the front situation and the state of the driver, and the drive recorder can easily find out the cause of the accident. . In addition, an alarm can be generated by detecting a driver's dozing, etc., and an accident can be prevented before it occurs. It is possible to ensure the safety of the drive machine by controlling the reduction of

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a first embodiment of a safety device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a safety device according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a front monitoring camera of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state of an image recorded by the apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Front monitoring camera 2 ... Driver monitoring camera 3 ... Recorder 4 ... Image processing device 5 ... Warning device 6 ... Danger avoidance action 7 ... Warning release signal 8 ... Automatic stop system 10 ... Front monitoring camera 11 ... Dashboard 12 ... Front Monitoring lens 13 ... Driver monitoring lens 14 ... Imaging device (CCD)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A safety device installed in a drive machine driven by a driver's operation, comprising: a front monitoring camera for capturing a field of view in the traveling direction of the drive machine; and a driver monitoring camera for capturing an image of the driver. A safety device comprising: an image recording device that records an image captured by the front monitoring camera and an image captured by the driver monitoring camera. 2. A safety device installed in a drive machine driven by a driver's operation, comprising: a front monitoring camera for capturing a field of view in the traveling direction of the drive machine; and a driver monitoring camera for capturing an image of the driver. An image processing device that receives the image output obtained by the front monitoring camera and the image output obtained by the driver monitoring camera and performs predetermined image processing,
A safety device comprising: an alarm device that notifies a driver of a danger in response to a signal from the image processing device.