JPH06328968A - Device for preventing doze at the wheel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce or eliminate the sleepiness of a driver and preliminarily prevent possible accidents from being generated by detecting the number of blinks of the driver to calculate the number of blinks per unit time, and controlling the stimulating part to give the stimulation to the driver according to the calculated results. CONSTITUTION:A blink detecting means 1 to detect the blink by flooding the light upon the upper eye lid of a driver and receiving the reflected light at a light-receiving part is provided in a vehicle cabin before the driver, and the detected signal of this blink detecting means 1 is inputted in a calculating part 2 to calculate the number of blinks per unit time. A stimulating part 4 is controlled by the calculated results through a stimulation control part 3. This stimulating part 4 consists of a stimulating part (a) consisting of a tank where the fragrant material is stored, a stimulating part (b) to actuate a buzzer, and a stimulating part (c) to expand a balloon provided in a driver's seat by supplying the compressed air to worsen the seating comfort, and realizes selective driving control of these stimulating parts (a)-(c) according to the degree of the sleepiness of the driver.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drowsy driving prevention apparatus for a driver who drives a vehicle such as an automobile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, no measures have been taken in an automobile to prevent the driver from falling asleep while driving. When a driver feels drowsiness, he / she may prevent drowsiness by opening the window of the car to take in fresh air into the car or taking individual actions such as chewing gum.

In order to drive safely while driving a vehicle, the driver accurately recognizes and responds to various external environmental conditions such as road conditions, traffic lights, and the presence or absence of pedestrians while maintaining a constant level of consciousness. I have to go. In other words, the work of driving mainly belongs to mental work, and the degree of physical fatigue is very small. Therefore, mental fatigue occurs when driving is continued for a long time. Mental fatigue gradually increases without the driver noticing,
Drowsiness appears as the final symptom of mental fatigue. In other words, the driver falls into a state of becoming drowsy while driving for a long time. Also, recently, due to the increase in long-distance driving at night, dozing driving frequently occurs.

[0004]

That is, the driver's dozing driving can cause a serious accident even if he falls asleep for only a few seconds. In fact, especially at night, the number of accidents caused by dozing driving has become a social problem. Therefore, preventing drowsiness, which is a driver's fatigue symptom, is an effective means for preventing accidents due to drowsy driving, and its realization is desired.

The present invention considers the driver's drowsiness prevention, detects drowsiness of the driver while driving the vehicle, and reduces or eliminates the drowsiness of the driver by stimulating the driver. It is an object of the present invention to provide a drowsy driving prevention device that does.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprises a blink detecting means for detecting a blink of a driver, a calculation section for calculating the number of blinks per unit time by an output from the blink detecting means,
It is a doze driving preventive apparatus comprising a single stimulating unit for stimulating a driver or a plurality of stimulating units of the same type or different types, and a stimulating control unit for controlling the stimulating unit based on an output from a calculating unit.

Further, it has a plurality of stimulating units and controls each stimulating unit according to the output of the calculating unit.

Further, a tank provided with a fragrance is installed as a stimulation unit, and the lid of the tank is opened and closed by the output from the stimulation control unit.

Further, a balloon that is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed as a stimulating unit in the driver's seat, and the air pump is operated by the output from the stimulus control unit to inflate or deflate the balloon.

Further, a buzzer is installed as a stimulating section, and the buzzer sounds by the output from the stimulating control section.

Further, the number of blinks per unit time of the driver in the normal time is stored in advance in the calculation unit, and the number of blinks per unit time detected by the blink detection means is blinked per unit time in the normal time. The stimulation control unit controls the stimulation unit that operates according to the rate of decrease with respect to the number of times.

In addition, a stimulus having a different load applied to the driver is installed as the stimulating unit, and the stimulus is applied differently according to the drowsiness level of the driver.

[0013]

With the above structure, the calculation unit calculates the number of blinks per unit time from the output from the blink detection means for detecting the blink of the driver, and the output from the calculation unit determines the number of blinks per unit time. The stimulus control unit that detects drowsiness of the driver and controls the stimulation unit that stimulates the driver can reduce the drowsiness of the driver by stimulating the driver.

Further, it is possible to give a plurality of stimuli to the driver by having a plurality of stimuli and controlling each stimulus according to the output of the calculator.

Further, a tank provided with a fragrance as a stimulating unit is installed, and the lid of the tank is opened / closed by the output from the stimulating control unit to raise the awakening level of the driver by the scent of the fragrance and reduce drowsiness It becomes possible to do.

In addition, a balloon that is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed as a stimulating unit in the driver's seat, and the air pump is actuated by the output from the stimulus control unit to inflate or deflate the balloon. It is possible to make the seat of the driver uncomfortable and give the driver discomfort, and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

Further, by installing a buzzer as the stimulating unit and causing the buzzer to sound by the output from the stimulating control unit, it becomes possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

In addition, the number of blinks per unit time of the driver in the normal time is stored in advance in the calculation unit, and the number of blinks per unit time detected by the blink detection means is blinked per unit time in the normal time. Depending on the rate of decrease with respect to the number of times, the stimulus control unit controls the stimulus unit to select and give a stimulus to the driver according to the level of drowsiness to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver. Is possible.

Further, by providing a stimulus having a different load to the driver as a stimulating section and giving different stimuli according to the drowsiness level of the driver, a stimulus with a small load is provided when the drowsiness level of the driver is low. It is possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness without imposing an extra load on the driver by giving a stimulus with a heavy load when the level of drowsiness is high.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a doze driving prevention apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the output from the blink detection means 1 for detecting the blink of the driver is sent to the calculation unit 2. As a means for detecting blinking, a light ray is applied to the upper eyelid of the driver, and the light receiving section receives the reflection of the light ray. The blink is detected by regarding when the reflected light is interrupted as when the driver blinks. The calculation unit 2 calculates the number of blinks per unit time based on the output, and the stimulation control unit 3 gives the driver a stimulation unit 4 based on the output from the calculation unit 2.
To control. The stimulation unit 4 includes a stimulation unit a (tank) and a stimulation unit b.
(Buzzer) and stimulator c (balloon).

The operation of the doze-driving prevention device constructed as described above will be described. Table 1 shows the relationship between the rate of decrease in the number of blinks in normal times and the stimulus given to the driver by the doze driving prevention device of the present invention.

[0023]

[Table 1]

The number of blinks in the normal time is the number of blinks in the normal time by calculating the number of blinks per 20 seconds from the number of blinks in 3 minutes after the driver starts driving. In this table, when the number of blinks during driving is reduced by 40% from the normal time, it is determined that the driver starts to feel drowsiness, and the herb scent is given to the driver. Since the scent of herbs has the effect of activating the brain, it is possible to reduce drowsiness of the driver.

When the number of blinks is reduced by 50%, the air pressure of the balloon under the seat of the driver's seat where the driver is sitting is increased or decreased, assuming that the driver is getting sleepy. The balloon under the seat does not let the driver notice its presence because the air is not normally contained in the balloon, but the stimulation control unit 3
When the balloon inflates or deflates due to the output from the driver, the seat in the driver's seat moves up and down irregularly, making the driver uncomfortable and discomforting, thereby reducing or eliminating drowsiness of the driver Is. Also, the number of blinks is 60
When the value decreases by more than%, it is possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness by sounding a buzzer and giving an unpleasant sound to the driver when the driver is considerably sleepy.

The reason why the stimulus given to the driver is in three stages is to prevent the driver's drowsiness from being detected from a shallow level and falling into a deep level. Further, at a shallow level, the stimulus given to the driver is softer, so that the driver's drowsiness can be reduced or eliminated, and the driver is not overloaded.

It should be noted that the means for calculating the number of blinks per unit time for calculating the number of blinks in the normal time and the rate of decrease from the normal time are merely examples, which limit the present invention. is not.

Further, although the scent of herbs is shown as the stimulus of scent, this is an example and scents other than herbs are also possible.

The stimuli given to the driver can be given separately to the driver or can be given in duplicate.

The blink detection by reflection of light rays is an example of the blink detection means, and other methods can be used as the blink detection means.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the number of blinks of the driver during driving is calculated, the drowsiness level of the driver is detected by the number of times, and the stimulus corresponding to the drowsiness level is driven. By giving it to a person, it becomes possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention, the drowsiness of the driver can be reduced or eliminated by recognizing the drowsiness of the driver by detecting the blink and stimulating the driver. Is.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a doze driving prevention device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Blink detection means 2 Calculation unit 3 Stimulation control unit 4 Stimulation unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A blink detecting means for detecting a blink of a driver,
A calculation unit that calculates the number of blinks per unit time by the output from the blink detection unit, a single or a plurality of stimulation units of the same type or different types that stimulate the driver, and based on the output from the calculation unit. And a stimulus control unit for controlling the stimulus unit. 2. The dozing driving prevention apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a tank provided with a fragrance is installed as a stimulating unit, and the lid of the tank is opened and closed by an output from the stimulating control unit. 3. A balloon that is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed in the driver's seat as a stimulating unit, and the air pump is actuated by the output from the stimulus control unit to inflate or deflate the balloon. The dozing driving prevention device according to claim 1. 4. The doze driving prevention device according to claim 1, wherein a buzzer is installed as a stimulating unit, and the buzzer sounds by the output from the stimulating control unit. 5. The calculation unit stores in advance the number of blinks per unit time of the driver at a normal time, and the number of blinks per unit time detected by the blink detection unit per unit time at a normal time is stored. The doze driving prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation control unit controls the stimulation unit according to a rate of decrease with respect to the number of blinks. 6. The stimulus section is provided with a stimulus having a different load applied to the driver, and the stimulus having a different drowsiness of the driver is provided.
The drowsy driving prevention device described.