JPH07232571A - Device for preventing dozing during driving - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce and eliminate the drowsiness by operating the pressure applied to a steering wheel and a driver's seat respectively, and the position of pressure application by the prescribed rule, and stimulating a driver when the operated value is different from the normal value to detect the condition of fatigue and the drowsiness. CONSTITUTION:The pressure on a steering wheel and the position of the pressure application are detected by a steering wheel pressure detecting means 1, and the pressure on a seat of a driver's seat and the position of the pressure application are detected by a seat This calculation part 3 incorporates a timer, and the pressure to be applied to the steering wheel and the seat per unit time and the positions of pressure application are calculated, and compared with the normal values, and the stimulating command is inputted into a stimulation control part 4 following the prescribed rule. Stimulating part 5a-5c are driven according to the input, and alarm is given to the driver with the fragrance, the air pressure or the buzzer sound. Thus, the level of the fatigue and drowsiness of the driver is detected, and the drowsiness is reduced or eliminated by giving the stimulation according thereto.

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 asleep while driving for a long time.

A 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.

[0005]

By the way, as a drowsiness driving prevention device, a proposal is made to detect the drowsiness of a driver from the change in the number of blinks of the driver to reduce the drowsiness of the driver (Japanese Patent Application No. 0).
No. 5-4023) is made. However, with blink detection, the number of blinks decreases even when paying attention to a visual object such as an obstacle, so it stimulates the driver even when the driver is not sleepy. Was possible.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problems, and in consideration of the driver's desire to prevent drowsiness, by detecting the driver's fatigue state and drowsiness while driving a vehicle and stimulating the driver. It is an object of the present invention to provide a doze-driving prevention device that encourages the driver to rest and reduces or eliminates drowsiness of the driver.

[0007]

According to the present invention of claim 1, steering wheel pressure detecting means for detecting pressure applied to a steering wheel and a position where the pressure is applied, and pressure applied to a driver's seat and a position where the pressure is applied are detected. Seat pressure detecting means for
A calculation unit that calculates a stimulus command from outputs from the steering wheel pressure detection unit and the seat pressure detection unit based on a predetermined rule, and a single stimulus unit that gives a stimulus to the driver, or a plurality of stimulus units of the same type or different types. And a stimulation control section for controlling the stimulation section based on a stimulation command from the calculation section.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drowsy driving preventive device characterized in that a tank provided with a fragrance is installed as the stimulating section, and the lid of the tank is opened / closed by an output from the stimulating control section. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a balloon which is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed in the driver's seat as the stimulating section, and the air pump is operated by the output from the stimulating control section to activate the balloon. A drowsy driving prevention device characterized by expanding or contracting.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a drowsiness driving prevention apparatus characterized in that a buzzer is installed as the stimulating section, and the buzzer sounds by the output from the stimulating control section.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the predetermined rule is that the steering wheel pressure and the pressure-applied position when the driver normally operates, the seat pressure and the pressure-applied position, and the steering wheel pressure during the current operation. A doze-driving prevention device for specifying a stimulation command based on a position where pressure is applied and a comparison between the seat pressure and the position where pressure is applied.

According to the present invention of claim 6, the steering wheel pressure and the pressure-applied position and the seat pressure and the pressure-applied position during the normal operation are obtained on the basis of a predetermined time from the start of the operation. It is a feature of a doze driving prevention device. Prevention device.

The present invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that a stimulus having a different load applied to the driver is installed as the stimulating section, and different stimuli are applied according to the fatigue level and drowsiness of the driver. It is a device.

[0014]

In general, when fatigue increases due to sitting for a long period of time, it becomes painful for a person to sit still, and he / she begins to move each part of the body in small steps.

When driving fatigue is added by continuing driving for a long time, driving operation and posture change. It becomes difficult to control the vehicle speed, the reaction is delayed, and chatter, grumbles, yawns, and rubbing of the eyes occur frequently. In posture, one-handed driving or changing the position of the steering wheel frequently,
As you sit down and stretch, and when fatigue increases, you lean on the handlebars, push it in, or hold the handlebars. At the same time, drivers complain of strong drowsiness (Muhiko Kitagawa, Takanobu Morita)
Others; Research on driving fatigue (1) (2) (1972), Yasuhiro Nagatsuka, Hiroo Ota, Methodological issues of fatigue research (1) Location of problem, observation method of driving behavior (1978)). The present invention was invented paying attention to such a phenomenon.

According to the present invention of claim 1, the steering wheel pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure applied to the steering wheel and the position where the pressure is applied, and the seat pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure applied to the driver's seat and the position where the pressure is applied. From the output, the calculation unit compares, for example, those states during normal operation, outputs a stimulation command according to the result, and drives the stimulation unit by the stimulation control unit according to the stimulation command. , Stimulate the driver to rest, and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

By driving a plurality of stimulation units, it is possible to give a plurality of stimulations to the driver.

Further, by installing a tank provided with a fragrance as a stimulating portion and opening and closing the lid of the tank, the scent of the fragrance raises the driver's arousal level to reduce drowsiness and encourage the driver to rest. Is possible.

Further, a balloon that is inflated or deflated by an air pump is installed in the driver's seat as a stimulating portion, and the air pump is actuated to inflate or deflate the balloon, thereby making the driver's seat uncomfortable. As a result, it is possible to make the driver uncomfortable, encourage the driver to rest, and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

Further, a buzzer is installed as a stimulating unit and the buzzer sounds to encourage the driver to rest and
It becomes possible to reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

Further, the calculation unit stores in advance the steering wheel pressure and the position where the driver applies pressure, and the seat pressure and the position where the driver applies pressure, or the steering wheel pressure and Calculate the normal steering wheel pressure and pressure applied position and the seat pressure applied pressure position from the seat pressure applied position and the seat pressure applied position, and compare them with the current operating conditions A stimulus command is output according to the. As a result, it becomes possible to select and give a stimulus to the driver according to the level of fatigue and drowsiness, encourage the driver to rest, and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

Further, by providing stimuli having different loads to the driver as the stimulating unit and giving different stimuli according to the levels of fatigue and drowsiness of the driver, when the driver's fatigue and drowsiness levels are low, the load is reduced. It is possible to give a small stimulus to the driver and, when the level of fatigue and drowsiness is high, to give a heavy load to encourage the driver to rest without imposing an extra load, and to reduce or eliminate drowsiness.

[0023]

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, an output from the steering wheel pressure detecting means 1 for detecting the pressure applied to the steering wheel and the position where the pressure is applied, and a seat pressure detecting means 2 for detecting the pressure applied to the driver's seat and the position where the pressure is applied.
The output from is input to the calculation unit 3. As a means for detecting the pressure applied to the handle and the seat and the position where the pressure is applied, a pressure sensor such as a plurality of piezoelectric exchange elements is attached in the handle and the seat. The calculation unit 3 has a built-in timer and calculates a handle pressure and a pressure-applied position and a seat pressure and a pressure-applied position per unit time based on the output, and various calculation is performed according to a predetermined rule described later. It outputs a stimulus command. The stimulus control unit 4 controls the stimulus unit 5 according to the output from the calculation unit 3. The stimulation unit 5 includes a stimulation unit a (tank), a stimulation unit b (buzzer), and a stimulation unit c.
The three stimuli (balloons) can be given to the driver.

The operation of the doze-driving prevention device constructed as described above will be described.

(Table 1) is a rule of the relationship between the steering wheel pressure and the position where pressure is applied and the seat pressure and the position where pressure is applied by the drowsiness prevention device of the present invention compared with the normal time and the stimulus given to the driver. Is a table showing. The calculation unit 3 outputs various stimulation commands according to this rule.

[0027]

[Table 1]

As is clear from (Table 1), the steering wheel pressure and the pressure-applied position during normal operation and the seat pressure and the pressure-applied position are applied with the steering wheel pressure and the pressure for 30 minutes after the driver starts driving. From the position and the position where the seat pressure and the pressure are applied, the average pressure and position for 5 minutes are calculated and used as the pressure and position during normal operation.

The position of the pressure applied to the steering wheel during operation is
When the rate of movement from the normal position is more than twice per hour, fatigue begins to appear, so it is judged that the driver has changed the position where the steering wheel is held or one-handed driving, and the herb scent is driven. Give to others. Since the scent of herbs has the effect of activating the brain, it is possible to reduce the driver's dull condition caused by fatigue and also to encourage the driver to rest.

When the seat pressure changes by 50%, or when the position of the pressure applied to the seat changes as compared with the normal time, and when the ratio occurs twice or more per hour, the driver As it became difficult to maintain the posture of sitting in the car, the air pressure of the balloon under the seat of the driver's seat where the driver was sitting Increase or decrease. The balloon under the seat does not let the driver notice that it is not normally filled with air, but when the balloon is inflated or deflated by the output from the stimulation control unit, the seat in the driver's seat becomes By going up and down the rules and making the driver uncomfortable and giving discomfort, it is possible to encourage the driver to rest and reduce or eliminate drowsiness.

Further, when the pressure applied to the steering wheel is increased by 50% or more as compared with the normal time, the driver is leaning against the steering wheel or pressed against the steering wheel, and immediately before the driver begins to fall asleep with extreme fatigue. It is possible to reduce the drowsiness as well as to promote the rest by judging that the state is the state and sounding the buzzer to give the driver an unpleasant sound.

The reason why the stimulus given to the driver is set in three stages is to prevent the driver's fatigue and drowsiness from being detected from a shallow level and falling into a deep level. Also, at a shallow level, the stimulus that is given is softer, which can encourage the driver to rest, reduce or eliminate fatigue and drowsiness, and do not impose an extra load on the driver. .

As the pressure sensors 1 and 2, any one other than the piezoelectric exchange element can be used.

The calculation unit 3 may use a computer.

Further, the stimulating portion 5 has shown the scent of herbs as the stimulus of the scent, but this is an example, and scents other than the herbs are also possible.

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

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description,
According to the present invention, the driver's fatigue and drowsiness level are detected by detecting the steering wheel pressure and the pressure-applied position and the seat pressure and the pressure-applied position, and the driver is detected according to the fatigue and drowsiness level. Can be stimulated.
Therefore, it is possible to reduce the extra load on the driver, encourage the driver to rest, and reduce or eliminate drowsiness of the driver.

[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 Handle pressure detection means 2 Seat pressure detection means 3 Calculation part 4 Stimulation control part 5 Stimulation part

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A steering wheel pressure detection means for detecting pressure applied to a steering wheel and a position where the pressure is applied, a seat pressure detection means for detecting pressure applied to a seat in a driver's seat and a pressure applied position, and the steering wheel pressure detection means. And from the output from the seat pressure detection means, based on a predetermined rule,
A calculation unit that calculates a stimulus command, a single stimulus unit that gives a stimulus to the driver, or a plurality of stimulus units of the same type or different types, and a stimulus control unit that controls the stimulus unit based on the stimulus command from the calculation unit. And a drowsiness prevention device. 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 predetermined rules include a steering wheel pressure and a position where the driver normally operates, a seat pressure and a position where the driver applies pressure, a steering wheel pressure and a position where the driver currently operates, and a seat. The drowsiness drive prevention device according to claim 1, wherein the stimulation command is specified based on a comparison between the pressure and the position where the pressure is applied. 6. The handle pressure and the position where the pressure is applied and the seat pressure and the position where the pressure is applied during the normal operation are calculated in a calculation unit with reference to a predetermined time from the start of the operation. The dozing driving prevention device according to claim 5. Prevention device. 7. The drowsiness prevention according to claim 5, wherein the steering wheel pressure and the position where the pressure is applied and the seat pressure and the position where the pressure is applied during the normal operation are stored in advance in the calculation unit. apparatus. Prevention device. 8. The stimulus unit is provided with stimuli having different loads to be applied to the driver, and different stimuli are applied according to the level of fatigue and drowsiness of the driver. The drowsy driving prevention device described in.