Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60W—CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
  • B60W40/00—Estimation or calculation of non-directly measurable driving parameters for road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub unit, e.g. by using mathematical models
  • B60W40/08—Estimation or calculation of non-directly measurable driving parameters for road vehicle drive control systems not related to the control of a particular sub unit, e.g. by using mathematical models related to drivers or passengers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60K—ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PROPULSION UNITS OR OF TRANSMISSIONS IN VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENT OR MOUNTING OF PLURAL DIVERSE PRIME-MOVERS IN VEHICLES; AUXILIARY DRIVES FOR VEHICLES; INSTRUMENTATION OR DASHBOARDS FOR VEHICLES; ARRANGEMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH COOLING, AIR INTAKE, GAS EXHAUST OR FUEL SUPPLY OF PROPULSION UNITS IN VEHICLES
  • B60K28/00—Safety devices for propulsion-unit control, specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles, e.g. preventing fuel supply or ignition in the event of potentially dangerous conditions
  • B60K28/02—Safety devices for propulsion-unit control, specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles, e.g. preventing fuel supply or ignition in the event of potentially dangerous conditions responsive to conditions relating to the driver
  • B60K28/06—Safety devices for propulsion-unit control, specially adapted for, or arranged in, vehicles, e.g. preventing fuel supply or ignition in the event of potentially dangerous conditions responsive to conditions relating to the driver responsive to incapacity of driver
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
  • A61B5/16—Devices for psychotechnics; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
  • A61B5/162—Testing reaction times
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B5/00—Measuring for diagnostic purposes; Identification of persons
  • A61B5/16—Devices for psychotechnics; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state
  • A61B5/18—Devices for psychotechnics; Testing reaction times ; Devices for evaluating the psychological state for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60W—CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
  • B60W50/00—Details of control systems for road vehicle drive control not related to the control of a particular sub-unit, e.g. process diagnostic or vehicle driver interfaces
  • B60W50/08—Interaction between the driver and the control system
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
  • B60W—CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
  • B60W2540/00—Input parameters relating to occupants
  • B60W2540/229—Attention level, e.g. attentive to driving, reading or sleeping

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a method and means at vehicles, more precisely a measuring and parameter managing method and a computing unit to extract indicators of various security critical interactions (parameter constellations) over the interface driver/vehicle, the purpose of which is to quality grade said communication over said interface.
• a picture is created of the transmission capacity of each part of the system and how these separate parts are working dynamically.
• a safe driving with a vehicle takes for granted that the driver all the time adaptively adapts himself to a dynamic process and has enough of decision- making inputs to control the vehicle.
• the senses of sight, balance and equilibrium do hereby have a vital importance in the collecting of information, or in reality a flow of information being managed and evaluated continuously, principally on a not conscious level. Tiredness, stress, influence of drugs and medicine and maybe talking in the cellular phone may affect the driver negatively both concerning the receptivity, and possibility to make the right decisions.
• to make the right decisions is also simple reflex behaviours being trigged by the driver in a not conscious manner. You can also mention "micro decisions, i.e.
• check-up question is when a man is making his way on a slippery surface.
• One check-up question asked is in the form of a small twist of the forward foot during load whereby an earlier made experience is compared regarding the easiness by which the foot is twisted, i.e. how slippery it is and from that how long steps to be taken without giving rise to too big lateral forces to loose the grip both when putting the foot down and pushing it backwards (when walking).
• a movement in the room is an example of an activity with feedback and with check-up questions.
• the feed-back of the system and the ability to ask check-up question may be not be fully requisitioned or fully developed, or it is disturbed with changes in reaction time and/or reaction pattern as a consequence.
• a disturbed feedback will often result in negative effects on the performing of the activity.
• the activity is a basic skill training, e.g. to drive a vehicle, it is important to exercise in a neuro pedagogic correct way, i.e. e without any mentally restricting elements as an excessive focusing on risk and consequence which will obstruct the learning process, which assumes to take place in fully safe and confident forms.
• This torque signal is more important than the angle deflection of the steering wheel because it exists in chronological order ahead and a change of the torque must not necessarily result in a change of angle deflection of the steering wheel.
• the driver seeks information, deciphers said information instinctively and reacts and the car responds.
• the response from the car is at the same time an inquire back to the driver and the drivers response is again a new inquire to the car, i.e. a continuous dynamic interaction is in progress.
• the commands from the driver have to be distinct as well as the responding of the vehicle to these commands must be consistent, clear and logical.
• the tires, the wheel suspension and the steering must bring about information from the road and give signals about the behaviour of the vehicle; i.e. as a response to executed motions to the steering wheel. It may also be expressed such that the vehicle ought to supply the driver with small but clear signals confirming and supporting the driver in his further control of the vehicle.
• This clear signalling is achieved first after filtering and removal of noise and unnecessary disturbances. Different signals initiated from the vehicle may be of different strength at different speeds and at different states of the road. However the behaviour characterisation of the vehicle should not be changed in view of different external conditions, as state of the road, load distribution, choice of tires, etc.
• US-A-5 821 860 disclose a technique to supervise the condition or fitness of a driver to drive a vehicle. This technique confirms the "normality" of a driver's behaviour during a ride and compares using neural network technique with different ride critical parameters to warn when a risky behaviour exists.
• the main object of the present invention is to obtain a technique being active much earlier compared to driver supervising technique of the prior art and to react on enhanced risks for wrong decisions and misbehaviour of the driver prior to there might have been a serious accident. This is accomplished by a continuous supervision of the interaction between driver/vehicle/road over the interface driver/vehicle.
• a very early establishment of the conditions for the driver to really be able to drive his vehicle in a safe way, or establishment of the capability of the vehicle to react on the actions from the driver, the incompatibility between the driver and the vehicle, and to some extend also between the driver and road by way of the vehicle in the interface driver/vehicle is disclosed.
• Another object of the invention is to disclose a method to train and confirm the ability of the driver to both register and "understand” the behaviour of the vehicle caused by the manoeuvring and by outer influences. What is important in this respect is not to understand in a conscious way, but to make it easy and possible to train a sensation of where the limits are both considering the road grip and the behaviour of the vehicle, i.e. also over the interface vehicle/road. This sensation is necessary in the achievement of a healthy confidence in the role as a driver.
• Yet another object of the invention is to quality assure the communication between driver/vehicle/road by exercising a sensitive for small variations in the pattern of gravitational pull caused by steering deflections.
• the presence of mind is supervised, the motoric quickness and behaviour in the interaction with the vehicle and according to performed measurements a basis is formed to calculate and decide what type of driver assistance (ABS, traction control, etc) the car and driver have use for, but which can also warn the driver against lack of engagement and communication (interaction) with the vehicle, and/or between vehicle/road.
• ABS driver assistance
• traction control etc
• a technique is disclosed registering the lack of interaction between driver and vehicle and thereby, in a first stage make the information from the vehicle clear in such a way that the comfort is decreased, e.g. by letting the throttle pedal have an increasing resistance against being pressed down, i.e. the driver will to some extend in an unconscious way strive to achieve a high comfort, which will cause him or her to instinctively put a bigger intensity and engagement in the drive of the vehicle to thereby get a "reward" in an increased comfort.
• Another object of the present invention is to detect is to detect an existing incompatibility between driver and vehicle, i.e. when the driver and the vehicle do not "speak the same language".
• increased risks for defective behaviours from the driver are quickly detected, i.e. already prior to they necessarily has come into existence.
• the object will then be to try to reshape a compatibility between the driver and the vehicle by intensify the response of a steering deflection, i.e. the resulting lateral inertia forces as far as possible, e.g. with sound and/or light signals.
• a type of micro communication between driver and vehicle will take place within the frequency range 0, 3 to 10 Hz and mean that a driver's execution of a force onto the steering wheel is timely displaced and proportional to the lateral forces of the vehicle.
• the proportional constant is decided by the dynamic of the steering system and of the speed of the vehicle.
• the micro communication will take place in a subconscious way and the effect the driver will exert onto the steering wheel is usually less than ⁇ 0,1 % of a full steering deflection.
• a movement of the vehicle can be initiated by the fact that nerve impulses of the brain are transformed in the muscles to a force acting on the steering wheel. This force is transmitted to the steering connecting rods by the steering system of the vehicle and with a time delay this force is transformed into a lateral force acting on the vehicle.
• the force executed onto the steering wheel is the derivative of the steering angle.
• the steering angle and the lateral force is not proportional.
• micro communication is regarded as a flow of nonverbal control inquires and responses between the driver and the vehicle.
• the driver also reacts on the movements of the vehicle. .
• the driver asks and the vehicle responds after a certain time delay. This response is also a new inquire to the driver who reacts and respond after his or hers reaction time.
• the relationship between the force influence on the steering device and the lateral forces is described in such a way that a movement of the vehicle to the right is attained by applying a force to the right onto the steering device resulting in a lateral force to the left, but a compensation of a movement to the right (with lateral force to the left) is obtained with a force to the left on the steering device.
• an influence from the steering device can generate a sound signal being dependent on the applied force or moment (at a steering wheel).
• coupling grade seen as the difference between the lateral force of the vehicle and the force exerted on the steering device with a compensation for either the reaction time of the driver or of the vehicle, and within a certain time interval.
• the coupling grade can be compared to electric conductance and is related to the experience (the skilfulness) of the driver;
• reaction time being seen as a momentary type value or an average value during a certain time
• reaction spectrum which can be seen as the relationship between the presence of different reaction times classified in at least two categories
• Fig. 1 is a flow scheme of the signal reading
• Fig. 2a, 2b are graphs of the force applied on the steering device and of the lateral acceleration
• Fig. 3 is also a graph of the force applied on the steering device and of the lateral acceleration
• Fig. 4 illustrate the coupling grade between the driver and the vehicle with regard to the reactions of the driver
• Fig. 5 is reaction spectra
• Fig. 6 is a well-arranged block scheme of the control system driver/vehicle
• fig. 1 is a flow scheme of the signal reading and how parameters are extracted from the signals from the sensor for the force acting on the steering device 1 and the sensor for the lateral acceleration 2.
• the signal from each sensor will pass a phase corrected band pass filter 3 with break frequencies in the magnitude of 0,3 to 5 Hz where also the amplitude is normalised to make the signals comparable.
• the signal for the lateral acceleration 2 will be delayed in a delay link 6 either with a fixed time corresponding to the median value of the reaction time of the driver, see fig. 4 (17), or with the instantaneous reaction time of the driver.
• the coupling grade 9 of the reactions of the driver on the movements of the vehicle is calculated 5 as the absolute value of the difference between the absolute values of the integrated signals over a certain time, see fig.
• the variation of the amplitude 10 is calculated 5 as the difference between the top value and the bottom value of a running average value of the absolute amount of the signal amplitude during a certain time, e.g. 10-sec.
• a certain time e.g. 10-sec.
• the reaction times 11 are calculated 5 as the time - fig. 2 (15a) and fig.
• the reaction times are divided 8 in at least two categories (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) where the number of different reaction times is summed up during a certain time. These are brought together to reaction spectra - fig. 5.
• the inquire frequency 13a is calculated 5 as the accumulated number of flanks on each signal during a certain time.
• the fault frequency 13b is calculated 5 as the difference between the accumulated number of positive and negative flanks of the signals.
• the diagrams according to fig. 2a and 2b show the force exerted on the steering device 1 in relation to the lateral acceleration 2.
• the X-axis represents time and the diagrams cover 18 sec.
• the Y-axis represents normalised amplitude. It is clear how the driver's manoeuvring of the steering device is directly connected to the lateral acceleration of the vehicle. Further to a timely displacement 15a, which can be seen as the time between two on each other following flanks 14a, the deviation can also be seen in the shape of the curve. These deviations appear because of the condition of the road and the environment and are dependent of the driver's ability to understand and perceive the movements of the vehicle.
• the diagram according to fig. 3 shows the applied force on the steering device 1 in relationship to the lateral acceleration 2.
• the X-axis represents time and the shown diagrams cover 18 sec.
• the Y-axis represents normalised amplitude.
• the microcommunication takes place in two directions, thus the same signal contains both inquires and responses.
• To illustrate the driver's response on the movements of the vehicle signal 1 is in this case inverted in relationship to fig. 2. This is possible thanks to that the direction of that on the steering wheel applied force will go to the opposite direction when the driver initiates a wanted movement and when compensating for a not wanted movement.
• the reaction time 15a of the driver can be seen in the same way as in fig. 2 - with the difference that the flank on the lateral acceleration 14b is initiating.
• Fig. 4 discloses the coupling grade between the driver and the vehicle with regard to the reactions of the driver.
• the X-axis represents time and the shown diagrams cover 18 sec.
• the Y-axis represents normalised amplitude.
• the signal for the lateral acceleration 2 is delayed in relation to the signal 1.
• the time for the delay is either set as a fixed time corresponding to the median value of the reaction time of the driver, or of the instantaneous reaction time - fig. 3 (15b) of the driver.
• Fig. 5 is a reaction spectra or more precisely a diagram where the number of different reaction times are summed up over an estimated time and are grouped into four categories of time 12a, b, c, and d.
• the X-axis is the categories and the Y-axis is relative amplitude where the sum of the number of reactions over the estimated time is 100 %.
• the category grouping may be done with the interval 0,3s - 0,5s (12a); 0,5s - 0,8s (12b); 0,8s - 1,5s (12c); 1,5s - 2,5s (12d), or in some other way suitable for the application.
• An increasing fatigue of a certain driver will be seen as a displacement of the reaction times towards longer times 17.
• the experience of the driver will in the first place influence the longest reaction times 18 where an experienced driver will use proportionately few long reaction times.
• Fig. 6 is a well-arranged block scheme of the control system, which involves the driver 33 and the vehicle 34.
• the electric nerve impulses of the brain 19 will be transformed in the muscle motors of the arms and will be transmitted to the steering device 21 by the hands 20.
• the steering system 22 of the vehicle will transmit the power, maybe over a steer servo 23 to the steering wheel/tires 24.
• the seat 25 transfers the movements of the vehicle and the driver is sensible of the movement by the tactile sense 26 and the sense of balance and equilibrium 31.
• the driver registers the movement 28 of the vehicle by the eyesight 29.
• the tactile and balance 27 feed back will be in the frequency register 0,3 to 4 Hz.
• the eyesight 30 feed back will be in the frequency register 0 - 1 Hz.
• the signal for the driver's influence on the steering system 1 will be a read off by a power sensor, e.g. strain-gauge sensor on the steering column.
• a sensor for inertia forces e.g. arranged low and forward in the vehicle reads the signal for lateral acceleration 2.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Automation & Control Theory (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Social Psychology (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Psychiatry (AREA)
• Hospice & Palliative Care (AREA)
• Biophysics (AREA)
• Pathology (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)
• Surgery (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Psychology (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Educational Technology (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Developmental Disabilities (AREA)
• Child & Adolescent Psychology (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Human Computer Interaction (AREA)
• Mathematical Physics (AREA)
• Steering Control In Accordance With Driving Conditions (AREA)
• Control Of Driving Devices And Active Controlling Of Vehicle (AREA)
• Auxiliary Drives, Propulsion Controls, And Safety Devices (AREA)
• Measurement Of The Respiration, Hearing Ability, Form, And Blood Characteristics Of Living Organisms (AREA)

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Citations (4)

• 2003
  • 2003-02-04 WO PCT/SE2003/000189 patent/WO2003070504A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2003-02-04 JP JP2003569435A patent/JP2005517582A/ja not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-02-04 KR KR10-2004-7011930A patent/KR20040083496A/ko not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 2003-02-04 EP EP03703605A patent/EP1480846A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2003-02-04 AU AU2003206315A patent/AU2003206315A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2003-02-04 CN CNA038031116A patent/CN1625494A/zh active Pending

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