WO2013190754A1

WO2013190754A1 - Information provision apparatus for vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2013190754A1
Application number: PCT/JP2013/002330
Authority: WO
Inventors: 近藤　崇之
Original assignee: 日産自動車株式会社
Priority date: 2012-06-20
Filing date: 2013-04-03
Publication date: 2013-12-27
Also published as: JPWO2013190754A1; JP5854135B2

Abstract

The purpose of the present invention is to attenuate the sense of unease of a driver towards the provision of presented information corresponding to driving state. A driving-state estimation unit (23) estimates driving state related to a driver on the basis of operational information related to driving operations performed by the driver, and obtains a driving-state estimate, and an information presentation unit (24) provides presented information corresponding to the driving-state estimate. Furthermore, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an estimate-settings modification unit (22) modifies, in accordance with driving conditions, settings of the presented information or the driving-state estimate obtained by the driving-status estimation unit (23).

Description

Vehicle information providing device

The present invention relates to an apparatus for estimating and providing information on a driving state of a driver.

For example, there is an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 as an apparatus for estimating and presenting the driving state of the driver. In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, if the vehicle speed is within a preset vehicle speed range, for example, a steering angle is acquired as the driving operation amount of the driver, and the distribution characteristics of the steering angle are based on the acquired steering angle history. The amount (difference amount) is obtained. And the apparatus of patent document 1 determines a driver | operator's degree of disorder of driving operation from the feature-value, and provides a driver | operator's attention by providing information according to the degree of disorder of driving operation. Arouse.

JP 2009-9495 A

In the above prior art, if the vehicle speed is within a preset vehicle speed range, the feature amount is calculated using information on the steering angle acquired during that time. However, depending on the traveling state of the vehicle, for example, the steering angle may be changed regardless of the steering input by the driver, for example, by traveling on an uneven road surface. In this case, in the above prior art, the estimation accuracy of the driving state may be temporarily lowered, and the driving state recognized by the driver deviates from the provided information, and the driver feels uncomfortable. There is a risk of giving.
The present invention has been made paying attention to the above points, and has an object to reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling with respect to the provision of information presented corresponding to the driving state.

In order to solve the above-described object, according to one aspect of the present invention, the driving state estimation unit calculates the driving state estimation amount by estimating the driving state of the driver based on the operation information of the driving operator operated by the driver, The information presentation unit provides presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount. Further, according to one aspect of the present invention, the estimated amount setting changing unit changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation information obtained by the driving state estimating unit according to the driving situation.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the estimated amount setting changing unit changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level obtained by the driving state estimating unit according to the driving state. As a result, in the case of a driving situation in which the estimation accuracy by the driving state estimator is low, if the estimated amount setting change unit sets an estimated driving condition according to the current driving situation, it is presented corresponding to the driving condition It is possible to reduce a driver's uncomfortable feeling about providing information.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example which provides a presentation level with a level gauge. It is a figure which shows the structure of a driving | operation information provision process part. It is a figure which shows the example of an event which concerns on embodiment based on this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the setting change of a presentation level. It is a figure which shows the relationship between a presentation level and a difference amount. It is a figure explaining the structure of a driving | running state estimation part. It is a figure explaining the process of the driving | operation information provision process part based on this invention.

First, a first embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
(Constitution)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle equipped with a vehicle information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle according to the present embodiment includes a steering wheel 1 as a steering indicator, an accelerator pedal opening sensor 2, a brake pedal operation amount sensor 3, a steering angle sensor 4, a wheel speed sensor 5, and a winker detection sensor. 6, meter display 7, navigation device 8, shift sensor 9, G sensor 10, yaw rate sensor 11, light operation detection unit 12, audio operation detection unit 13, operation detection flag 14 of VDC (vehicle dynamics control), LDP (lane departure) (Prevention: Lane departure prevention support system) operation detection flag 14 and controller 100.

The accelerator pedal opening sensor 2 detects the opening amount (acceleration instruction amount) of the accelerator pedal. The detected opening amount is output to the controller 100. The brake pedal operation amount sensor 3 detects an operation amount (braking instruction amount) of the brake pedal as a braking instruction amount. The detected operation amount is output to the controller 100.
The steering angle sensor 4 is an angle sensor attached to the steering column, the steering wheel 1 or the like, for example, and detects the steering angle by the driver's steering from the rotation of the steering shaft. The detected steering angle is output to the controller 100.

The wheel speed sensor 5 detects the vehicle speed, for example, by detecting the rotation speed of the wheel. The detected vehicle speed is output to the controller 100. The wheel speed sensor 5 may detect the vehicle speed based on a signal to the meter display 7. The turn signal detection sensor 6 detects the turn signal state of the turn signal lever. The detected blinker state is output to the controller 100. The shift sensor 9 is provided in a shift lever or a transmission and detects shift position information (shift information). The detected shift position information is output to the controller 100.

The information presentation device outputs an alarm or other presentation by voice or image according to a control signal from the controller 100. The information presentation device includes, for example, a speaker that provides information to the driver by a buzzer sound or voice, and a display unit that provides information by displaying an image or text. For example, the display unit of the navigation device 8 may be used as the display unit.

The navigation device 8 includes a GPS receiver, a map database, a display monitor, and the like, and is a system that performs route search and route guidance. The navigation device 8 can acquire information such as the type of road on which the host vehicle is traveling and the road width based on the current position of the host vehicle obtained from the GPS receiver and the road information stored in the map database.

G sensor 10 detects longitudinal acceleration and lateral acceleration generated in the vehicle. The detected acceleration is output to the controller 100. The yaw rate sensor 11 detects the yaw rate generated by the vehicle and outputs the detected yaw rate to the controller 100. The light operation detection unit 12 detects the operation operation of lighting the light and outputs the information to the controller 100. The audio operation detection unit 13 detects an audio operation and outputs the information to the controller 100. The detection flag 14 of the VDC operation is a flag that is turned on by the operation of the VDC. The LDP operation detection flag 15 is a flag that is turned ON by the operation of the LDP.

The controller 100 is an electronic control unit composed of a CPU, a storage unit such as a ROM and a RAM, and other CPU peripheral components, and executes a preset process by operating a program stored in the storage unit. To do.
The controller 100 includes an operation information provision processing unit 100A. The driving information provision processing unit 100A estimates the driving state of the driver from the steering angle information detected by the steering angle sensor 4. The driving information provision processing unit 100A analyzes the driving characteristics of the driver based on signals detected by the accelerator pedal opening sensor 2, the brake pedal operation amount sensor 3, the steering angle sensor 4, and the like, Determining the degree of driving instability such as operational clutter. Then, a warning or other information is presented to the driver in accordance with the degree of driving instability, and processing for alerting the driver is performed.

The vehicle information providing apparatus of the present embodiment includes the driving information providing processing unit 100A. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle information providing apparatus according to the present embodiment estimates a driving state based on information from the steering angle sensor 4 and the like, and presents the estimation results via

information presenting apparatuses

7, 8, and 16. FIG. 2 illustrates a visual information presentation device and an auditory information presentation device as information presentation devices. The visual information presentation device is a display unit of the meter display 7 or the navigation device 8, for example. The auditory information presentation device is, for example, a speaker 16.

In the information presentation according to the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the level gauge presents the information at a plurality of levels and presents auditory information corresponding to each presentation level.
In this example, the higher the degree of driving instability as the driving state, the higher the level gauge presentation level. That is, FIG. 2 shows a state where the display level on the left side is higher (the state where the driving instability is higher). In the present embodiment, it is assumed that there are eight presentation levels. And the storage part for the data preservation | save for the presentation level, and this embodiment for 8 levels is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the driving information provision processing unit 100A includes a driving operation information acquisition unit 20, a driving state estimation unit 23, an information presentation unit 24, a traveling state determination unit 21, an estimated amount setting change unit 22, and an information presentation unit. 24.
The driving operation information acquisition unit 20 acquires operation information of driving operators that can be operated by the driver. This operation information is information for determining driving characteristics. Here, the driving information provision processing unit 100A of the present embodiment estimates the driving state from the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver. In the present embodiment, the operable driver is the steering wheel 1 as a steering operator, and the steering angle information corresponds to the operation information.

Here, as the operation information used for estimating the driving state in the present invention, in addition to the steering angle information, information on the operator itself such as acceleration / deceleration information based on the operation of the accelerator pedal and the brake pedal, and the operation of the driver The information generated by can be exemplified. Note that the calculation of the operating state distribution and the amount of difference between the distributions using these operation information is well-known as described in, for example, International Publication No. WO2009 / 013815 (Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-524342). It may be calculated by a method.

The driving state estimation unit 23 estimates the driving state of the driver from the operation information acquired by the driving operation information acquisition unit 20, and obtains a driving state estimation amount. The driving state estimation unit 23 of the present embodiment calculates a difference amount (feature amount) as the driving state estimation amount as described later. This difference amount is an amount indicating the degree of driving instability such as the messiness of the driving operation of the driver. A specific configuration of the operation state estimation unit 23 will be described later. Moreover, the driving state estimation part 23 interrupts the update process of a driving state estimated amount, when the driving state determination part 21 determines with a specific driving state. The updating process is interrupted by, for example, stopping the calculation of the difference amount.

The driving state determination unit 21 determines whether the current driving state is based on at least one of the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the vehicle state information, and the information around the vehicle. It is determined whether or not it is a specific traveling state that is estimated to deteriorate the reliability of the operation information to be used.

The driving state determination unit 21 of the present embodiment is an event as shown in FIG. 4 based on at least one of the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the information on the vehicle state, and the information around the vehicle. The generated traveling state is determined as the specific traveling state. Here, the specific running state is a running state that is estimated to affect the driving state estimation. Specifically, the specific driving state is estimated to affect the driving operation by an input unrelated to the driving operation of the driver, that is, the driving operation information of the driver is estimated to be disturbed. It is a running state. Since this embodiment is directed to a steering operation, it refers to a traveling state caused by an event that affects the steering input regardless of the driver's steering operation.

Here, in this embodiment, it is set as a specific driving state until the preset time passes after each event generate | occur | produces. Therefore, when a new event occurs before the set time elapses, it is determined that the specific traveling state continues. The set time may be different for each event.
Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the types of the above event examples include a first event that requests some operation from the driver, a second event that generates a sprung behavior of the vehicle, and an unsprung behavior of the vehicle. It is classified into a third event to be requested and a fourth event in which a specific vehicle behavior occurs.

Examples of the first event include running on a curved road, changing lanes (eg, turning left and right), accelerating / decelerating operation (eg, braking operation), shifting operation, operation of switch / lever, and tunnel entrance / exit.
Examples of the second event are road swell and acceleration / deceleration.
An example of the third event is a joint passage on the road surface.
Examples of the fourth event are occurrence of side slip, VDC control operation, and LDP control operation.
The traveling on the curved road can be detected by, for example, the steering angle or the lateral G. In the present embodiment, a curved road having a predetermined curvature or more is detected as the event. Here, since the driving state is estimated based on the steering angle information, it is preferable to detect the event using information other than the steering angle.

The lane change is detected by detecting a turn signal operation, for example.
The acceleration / deceleration operation can be detected by detecting an operation of an accelerator pedal or a brake pedal, for example. In the present embodiment, for example, a case where the pedal operation speed is equal to or higher than a preset speed is detected as an event.
The shift operation is detected, for example, by detecting a shift lever operation or shift information.
The operation of the operation switch / lever is detected by detecting the operation of switches that can be operated by the driver, such as a wiper operation signal, a light operation signal, and an audio state change operation.
The entrance and exit of the tunnel are detected by detecting a light operation (ON to OFF or OFF to ON), for example.

The undulation of the road surface is detected by the size of the lateral G detected by the G sensor 10. For example, it is determined that an event has occurred when the preset lateral G is equal to or greater than that.
The occurrence of the acceleration / deceleration is detected by the size of the front and rear G detected by the G sensor 10. For example, it is determined that an event has occurred when the value is equal to or greater than the previously set front and rear G.
The joint passage on the road surface is detected based on a change in wheel speed based on the wheel speed sensor 5. An event occurrence is detected when the change in wheel speed per unit time is equal to or greater than a preset threshold value.

The occurrence of the side slip is detected as an event when a yaw rate equal to or higher than a preset threshold value is generated based on the detection value of the yaw rate sensor 11.
The operation of the VDC control is detected as an event occurrence when a VDC operation flag indicating that the VDC control is operating is ON. The operation of the LDP control is detected as an event occurrence when an LPD operation flag indicating that the LPD control is operating is ON.

In the above description, the event is detected from information generated in the vehicle. However, the event may be detected based on information outside the vehicle. Each event may be detected by acquiring travel environment information based on a combination of map information and GPS information, or an image obtained by capturing the surroundings of the vehicle with a front camera (not shown). For example, a white line may be detected by image processing to detect the curvature of the road, or the position and traveling direction of the vehicle may be detected by a combination of map information and GPS information.

Further, the estimated amount setting change unit 22 changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level according to the estimated driving state when the traveling state determination unit 21 determines that the traveling state is a specific traveling state. In the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 of the present embodiment, the presentation level is changed. It should be noted that the presentation level may be updated by changing the setting of the driving state estimation amount. In addition, the estimation of the driving situation includes at least one of operation information of a driving operator that can be operated by the driver, vehicle state information, vehicle surrounding information, and a driving state estimation amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit 23. Implement based on information.

In the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 of the present embodiment, the setting of the presentation level is changed every time a preset time elapses when the driving situation in which the specific running state is continued. However, the estimated amount setting change unit 22 prohibits the setting change when it is equal to or lower than a preset presentation level.
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the setting level is changed step by step in the direction in which the presentation level is lowered (the direction in which the degree of instability is reduced) until a preset first time elapses. The presentation level is set to the same value until the second time longer than the first time elapses after the first time elapses, and the presentation level becomes higher after the second time elapses. Processing is performed so that the setting is changed step by step in the direction of increasing instability.

Here, in the present embodiment, the specific traveling state is regarded as a specific driving situation and is processed. In addition to the driving state determined by the driving state determination unit 21, the driving situation may be estimated based on operation information and the like. For example, in a specific traveling state such as a curve traveling, the driving situation may be estimated based on a difference from the current steering angle, that is, a change speed of the steering angle with reference to a past steering angle.

The information presentation unit 24 provides the presentation level presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount. However, in the information presentation unit 24 of the present embodiment, when the traveling state determination unit 21 determines that the specific traveling state is present, the presentation information is based on the presentation level even if the estimated driving state amount does not correspond to the presentation level. To provide.
Here, the difference amount (driving state estimation amount) and the multi-level presentation level for presenting information have a relationship as shown in FIG. 6, for example, and the magnitude of the difference amount is divided into a plurality of steps (eight steps in this embodiment). The presentation level is associated with each division.

Next, the operation state estimation unit 23 will be further described.
As shown in FIG. 7, the driving state estimation unit 23 includes a driving state data update unit 23A, a first driving state distribution calculation unit 23B, a second driving state distribution calculation unit 23C, a driving state determination unit 23D, a distribution storage unit 23E, A distribution restoration unit 23F is provided.
The driving state data update unit 23A updates the stored driving state data in order to calculate each driving state distribution (frequency distribution or the like) every time the driving operation information acquisition unit 20 acquires the operation information.

The first driving state distribution calculating unit 23B refers to the driving state data sequentially updated by the driving state data updating unit 23A, and based on the operation information acquired in the first time range set in advance, the first driving state distribution Calculate the distribution.
The second driving state distribution calculation unit 23C refers to the driving state data sequentially updated by the driving state data update unit 23A, and based on the operation information acquired in the second time range set in advance, the second driving state distribution Calculate the distribution.

Here, the first time range is different from the second time range, and the second time range is shorter than the first time range. The relatively long first time range is a time range in which normal driving characteristics for the target driver can be acquired, and is set to a value of, for example, 30 minutes or more. The second time range is a time range in which the current driving characteristic (the latest driving characteristic) can be determined. For example, the second time range is a time range from about 3 minutes before the current time. Each time range described above is merely an example, and may be set based on experiments, theory, or the like based on a steering angle information acquisition cycle. In this embodiment, steering is performed at a preset sampling interval (100 msec). Get corner information.

The driving state determination unit 23D determines the amount of difference (relative) between the first driving state distribution calculated by the first driving state distribution calculating unit and the second driving state distribution calculated by the second driving state distribution calculating unit. Entropy) is calculated, and the calculated difference amount is set as the estimated operating state.
When the distribution storage unit 23E detects that the presentation level corresponding to the driving state estimation amount calculated by the driving state determination unit 23D has been changed, the driving state data at the time of detection is stored in the storage unit as corresponding presentation level information. To do.

When the distribution restoration unit 23F determines that the estimated amount setting change unit 22 has changed (updated) the presentation level, the data is stored by the distribution storage unit 23E corresponding to the presentation level after the setting change. Replace state data. Note that the data amount stored by the distribution storage unit 23E may be only the data corresponding to the second temporal range. In this case, only the operation state data corresponding to the second time range may be replaced to reflect the stored data.

Next, the processing of the driving information provision processing unit 100A will be described with reference to FIG. The processing of the driving information provision processing unit 100A is performed at a preset control cycle (for example, every 100 msec).
In step S110, the driving information provision processing unit 100A acquires traffic environment information. That is, in step S110, information on the traffic environment in which the host vehicle travels, such as road surface information, road surface input, tunnels, branching / merging, curves, toll gates, road surface inclination, and the like is acquired. In the present embodiment, traffic environment information required to detect the event is acquired.

In step S120, the driving information provision processing unit 100A acquires vehicle information. In step S120, operation information of the driver's driving operator and vehicle behavior information are acquired. In the present embodiment, the steering angle information for estimating the driving state and the vehicle information required to detect the event are acquired.
Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, information for event detection can be detected from information that the vehicle has. That is, in steps S110 and S120, as described above, information on the operation of the accelerator pedal / brake pedal, the blinker operation, the shift operation, the navigation / audio operation, and the like are acquired as the operation information of the driver's driving operator. Moreover, information, such as a vehicle speed, front-rear G, lateral G, and wheel speed, is acquired as vehicle data system information indicating the vehicle state.

The driving information provision processing unit 100A obtains, for example, information on toll gates, tunnels, merging / merging, curves, road surface inclination, and the like from the navigation device 8 as traffic environment information or other road environment information which is information around the vehicle, for example. May be used. Such information can be acquired by using the map database information of the navigation device 8.
Next, in step S130, operation information for estimating the driving state is acquired. In the present embodiment, the driving operation information acquisition unit 20 acquires the steering angle information.

Next, in step S140, the traveling state determination unit 21 determines a traveling state, and determines whether or not the current traveling state is a specific traveling state. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the above-described event has occurred and the vehicle is in a specific traveling state.
In step S140, when it is not determined that the vehicle is in the specific traveling state, that is, when the estimation result of the driving state estimation unit 23 is used, the process proceeds to step S150. On the other hand, when it determines with a specific driving state, it transfers to step S170.
In step S150, the driving state estimation unit 23 obtains the first driving state distribution obtained from the steering angle information acquired in the first relatively long time range set in advance, and the temporal range from the first driving state distribution. Is calculated with the second driving state distribution obtained from the steering angle information acquired in the second temporal range with a short time.

Specifically, in step S150, based on the steering angle signal when the driver performs the steering operation, how the driver's current driving operation differs from the normal driving operation, that is, the normal driving operation and A difference amount for determining whether or not the state is unstable is calculated. That is, in step S150, relative entropy (feature amount, instability) is calculated as a value representing the unsmoothness of the driving operation. In general, in a state where the driver's attention is not concentrated on driving, the time during which steering is not performed becomes longer than in normal driving where the driving is concentrated, and a large steering angle error is accumulated. Therefore, the corrected steering amount when the driver's attention returns to driving increases. In this embodiment, relative entropy is calculated using this characteristic. Specifically, the steering error distribution (driving state distribution) accumulated for a long time before the past or the present and the current driver's steering error distribution (driving state distribution) acquired for a short time, that is, the temporal range. A plurality of operating state distributions having different values are calculated. Then, the relative entropy is calculated from the long-time steering error distribution and the current short-time operation error distribution, using the long-term steering error distribution as much as the normal driving characteristic as a reference.

Here, the relative entropy is a physical quantity representing a difference amount (distance) between two steering error distributions (driving state distributions), and the degree of difference between the two steering error distributions, that is, how far the two steering error distributions are separated. Represents. Based on the calculated value of relative entropy, it is possible to evaluate the stability of the most recent driving state with respect to the past long-time driving state (normal driving characteristics).
The first driving state distribution (steering error distribution) accumulated for a relatively long time, the second driving state distribution of the current driver (steering error distribution) acquired for a relatively short time, and the distribution using the first driving state distribution (steering error distribution). For the calculation of the difference amount (relative entropy), a known method for obtaining relative entropy, such as a processing method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-9495, may be employed.

Further, in step S150, the driving state estimation unit 23 uses the steering entropy method to differentiate between the first driving state distribution and the second driving state distribution (the second driving state distribution after replacement if replaced). The amount (relative entropy) is calculated and used as the estimated operating state. Note that the difference amount itself is not necessarily used as the driving state estimation amount. The difference amount may be converted into a digital value corresponding to the information presentation, and the converted value may be used as the driving state estimation amount.

Next, in step S160, when the driving state estimation unit 23 determines that the presentation level corresponding to the driving state estimation amount calculated in step S150 has changed, the current state is stored in the storage unit corresponding to the corresponding presentation level. Save operating state data. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S180.
On the other hand, in step S170, if the estimated amount setting change unit 22 determines that the preset setting change state has been satisfied, the presentation level is changed. In the present embodiment, the presentation level is updated to a smaller value by one step each time the time to be changed elapses until a preset time elapses after entering the specific running state.

In step S170, when the estimated amount setting change unit 22 changes the setting of the presentation level, the driving state estimation unit 23 uses the driving state data stored corresponding to the presentation level after the setting change (update). The driving state estimation unit 23 replaces the driving state data used for estimation.
In step S180, the information presentation unit 24 provides the presentation level presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount. However, in the information presentation unit 24 of the present embodiment, when the traveling state determination unit 21 determines that the specific traveling state is present, the presentation information is based on the presentation level even if the estimated driving state amount does not correspond to the presentation level. To provide.

(Operation other)
When it can be considered that the normal driving characteristics of the driver can be acquired based on the travel time from the start of data collection, the driving state is estimated using the steering entropy method.
At this time, the driving state estimation unit 23 calculates a difference amount between the first driving state distribution representing the driving characteristics of the driver at the normal time and the second driving state distribution representing the latest driving characteristics. The magnitude of the difference amount (operation state estimation amount) is a result of estimating the operation state, and the difference amount is proportional to the degree of the unstable operation state. Then, the information presentation unit 24 presents information to the driver with a level gauge at a presentation level corresponding to the current difference amount (see FIG. 2).

This makes it possible to accurately detect an unstable traveling state regardless of the traffic environment. That is, it is possible to detect an unstable state with high accuracy by adapting to an individual's usual characteristics regardless of differences in traffic environment.
At this time, it is desired to detect only the steering angle information (driving state data) for evaluating the instability of the driver due to the driver's operation, but it is caused by the driving state such as the intentional steering of the driver or the road environment. The steering operation may be disturbed due to the influence of the steering input. If the driving state distribution using the steering angle information including this disturbance is used, the detection accuracy of driving instability may be deteriorated. In particular, since the second operating state distribution has a short time range, it is easily affected by the above.

From such an idea, in the present embodiment, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is in a specific traveling state generated by an event that is estimated to disturb the steering operation by the driver.
In the case of the specific traveling state, if information is provided at a presentation level corresponding to the difference amount estimated by the driving state estimation unit 23, there is a divergence between the actual driving situation and the presented level (level gauge display). Arise.

Measures against this are to use the amount of difference immediately before entering the specific running state, that is, hold the presentation level. In this case, if the driver is driving aside, that is, the driving situation is estimated to be disturbed, the vehicle enters the curve road and shifts to a specific driving state. Information is fixed with information at the presentation level in the driving estimation state. In this case, the information is presented in a state where the presentation level is high because the driving instability is high.

In this case, when the curved road continues, even if the driver is not actually looking aside while driving on the curve, the high presentation level (level display with high driving instability) at the time of entering the curve continues. This gives the driver a sense of incongruity.
On the other hand, in this embodiment, when the specific running state is continued, the process of lowering the presentation level stepwise is performed to reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling with respect to the provided information presentation.

Normally, when the vehicle shifts to a specific traveling state where the estimation accuracy of the driving state estimating unit 23 is lowered, the driver's concentration degree tends to be relatively high and the driving instability degree tends to be low. Therefore, it is presumed that by presenting the presentation level in a stepwise manner when the specific traveling state continues as described above, information presentation similar to the actual driving situation by the driver is obtained.
Here, even if the specific travel state continues, if the presentation level at the time of transition to the specific travel state is equal to or lower than a preset level, the above setting change is prohibited. This prevents the presentation level from being updated further when the driving instability is low when shifting to the specific running state.

Furthermore, when the specific traveling state continues for a long time, it is estimated that the driver is fatigued and the driving instability is increased. When the specific running state continues for the second time or more because of a child, the driver's discomfort with respect to the provided information presentation is reduced by gradually increasing the presentation level from that point.
In addition, when the estimated amount setting change unit 22 changes the setting of the presentation level as described above, a case where a deviation from the presentation level corresponding to the amount of difference actually obtained by the driving state estimation unit 23 is assumed. . For this reason, when the specific travel state is terminated and information is presented at the presentation level corresponding to the difference amount calculated by the driving state estimation unit 23, the display of the presentation level may change greatly.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, when the driving state estimation unit 23 is calculating the difference amount, the distribution storage unit 23E sequentially stores the driving state data corresponding to each presentation level. When the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 changes the presentation level, the driving information data used by the driving state estimating unit 23 is changed with the saved data corresponding to the changed presentation level.
As a result, even if the information is presented with the difference amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit 23 after the specific driving state is finished, a large change in the display of the presentation level is suppressed as long as the driving situation of the driver does not change significantly. The driver's uncomfortable feeling with respect to the information presentation can be suppressed.

(Modification)
(1) The estimated amount setting change unit 22 of the above embodiment is exemplified in the case where the presentation level is set and changed step by step as time elapses after the specific running state is reached by the timer. The condition for changing the setting of the presentation level is not limited to this.
The estimated amount setting changing unit 22 may change the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level when it is determined that the driving state is the same driving state continuously for a preset time in the specific traveling state. .

For example, with reference to past operation information as an index, if the current operation state is the same operation state, it can be determined that the driving state is the same.
For example, when the event which generate | occur | produces a specific driving state is the same, it determines with the same driving condition continuing. For example, when a curve road continues, it determines with the same driving condition.
Further, for example, referring to past operation information as an index, if the current operation state is the same, it can be determined that the driving state is the same.

In addition, even if the events are different, it may be determined that the same driving situation continues in the case of a specific traveling state generated by the same type of event. In this case, for example, when the specific traveling state by the event of the acceleration / deceleration operation and the specific traveling state by the speed change operation are continued, it is determined that the same driving state is continued.

(2) Further, for example, when the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 detects a predetermined specific operation that is estimated to be an intentional operation by the driver, the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level. May be.
The “intentional operation by the driver” is an operation that is assumed to relatively increase the driver's attention.

As examples of the “intentional operation by the driver”, the following two can be exemplified.
1) Operations according to events that need to be engaged in driving.
For example, a steering operation associated with a curve run. In addition, an operation to enter the service area or an operation to stop corresponds to this operation.
2) An operation that is assumed to cause a relative increase in attention due to the driver's intention.
For example, an audio or air conditioner operation.
Here, the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 constitutes a presentation level setting changing unit.

(Effect of this embodiment)
This embodiment has the following effects.
(1) The driving state estimation unit 23 estimates a driving state of the driver from operation information of a driving operator that can be operated by the driver, and obtains a driving state estimation amount. The information presentation unit 24 provides presentation level presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit 23. The estimated amount setting changing unit 22 is at least one piece of information on operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, information on the vehicle state, information on the surroundings of the vehicle, and the driving state estimated amount obtained by the driving state estimating unit 23. The driving state is estimated based on the driving state, and the driving state estimation amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit 23 or the presentation level is set and changed according to the estimated driving state.

According to this configuration, the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level obtained by the driving state estimating unit 23 according to the driving state. As a result, in the driving situation where the estimation accuracy by the driving state estimation unit 23 is low, if the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 sets the driving state estimation amount according to the current driving state, it corresponds to the driving state. It is possible to reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling regarding the information provided.

(2) The driving state determination unit 21 estimates the driving state based on at least one of the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the vehicle state information, and the information around the vehicle. It is determined whether or not the specific traveling state is estimated to deteriorate the reliability of the operation information used by the unit 23. The estimated amount setting change unit 22 performs a setting change process according to the driving situation when the running state determination unit 21 determines that the running state is a specific running state.
According to this configuration, it is possible to change the setting of the state estimation amount when the estimation accuracy by the driving state estimation unit 23 deteriorates.

(3) The estimated amount setting changing unit 22 estimates the driving situation with reference to at least one of the operation information, the vehicle state information, and the driving state estimated amount acquired in the past and stored in the storage unit. .
According to this configuration, a change in the driving situation can be estimated.
(4) The estimated amount setting changing unit 22 changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level every time a preset set time elapses.
According to this configuration, the presentation level can be updated step by step.

(5) When the estimated amount setting change unit 22 determines that the driving state is the same driving state continuously for a preset time, the estimated amount setting amount or the presentation level is changed.
According to this configuration, it is possible to update the presentation level in a scene where the presentation level is kept constant.
(6) The estimated amount setting changing unit 22 changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level when detecting a predetermined specific operation estimated to be an intentional operation by the driver.
According to this configuration, it is possible to update the presentation level when the driving situation of the driver is assumed to change.

(7) The driving state estimation unit 23 includes a second driving state distribution in a second time range set in advance based on driving state data including a history of operation information of driving operators that can be operated by the driver, The first operating state distribution in the first temporal range that is longer than the temporal range of 2 is calculated, and the operating state feature amount is calculated based on the calculated first operating state distribution and second operating state distribution. And the driving state estimation amount is obtained based on the calculated feature amount. The information presentation unit 24 provides the presentation information at a multi-level presentation level according to the driving state estimation amount. For each presentation level, the distribution restoration unit 23F stores the driving state data corresponding to the driving state estimation amount when the driving state estimation unit 23 obtains the driving state estimation amount corresponding to each of the presentation levels. When the estimated level setting changing unit 22 changes the setting to update the presentation level, the distribution restoring unit 23F uses the operating state data to store the data stored by the distribution storing unit 23E corresponding to the updated presentation level. To reflect.

According to this configuration, even if the estimation by the driving state estimation unit 23 and the presentation information in the information presentation unit 24 deviate, the driving state data is updated with data corresponding to the presentation information in the information presentation unit 24. Even if the information presentation based on the estimation by the driving state estimation unit 23 is performed after the estimation by the driving state estimation unit 23 and the presentation information by the information presentation unit 24 deviate, a sudden change in the presentation information is suppressed. As a result, it is possible to reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling with respect to the provision of information presented corresponding to the driving state.

(8) The driving operation information acquisition unit 20 acquires operation information of driving operators that can be operated by the driver. The driving state estimation unit 23 estimates the driving state of the driver based on the operation information acquired by the driving operation information acquisition unit 20 and obtains a driving state estimation amount. The information presentation unit 24 provides presentation level presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount. The driving state determination unit 21 determines whether the current driving state is based on at least one of the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the vehicle state information, and the information around the vehicle. It is determined whether or not it is a specific traveling state that is estimated to deteriorate the reliability of the operation information to be used. The presenting level setting changing unit is configured such that when the driving state determination unit 21 determines that the driving state is the specific driving state, operation information of a driving operator that can be operated by the driver, vehicle state information, vehicle surrounding information, and the above driving Based on at least one piece of information on the estimated driving state obtained by the state estimating unit 23, the presenting level provided by the information presenting unit 24 is changed.

According to this configuration, the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 changes the setting of the presentation level corresponding to the driving state estimated amount obtained by the driving state estimating unit 23 in the traveling state where the estimation accuracy in the driving state estimating unit 23 is poor. . As a result, in the driving situation where the estimation accuracy by the driving state estimation unit 23 is low, if the estimated amount setting changing unit 22 sets the driving state estimation amount according to the current driving state, it corresponds to the driving state. It is possible to reduce the driver's uncomfortable feeling regarding the information provided.

As described above, the entire contents of the Japanese Patent Application 2012-138809 (filed on June 20, 2012), to which the present application claims priority, form part of the present disclosure by reference.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to a limited number of embodiments, the scope of rights is not limited thereto, and modifications of each embodiment based on the above disclosure are obvious to those skilled in the art.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1

Steering wheel

7, 8, 16 Information presentation apparatus 20 Driving operation information acquisition part 21 Running state determination part 22 Estimated amount setting change part 23 Driving state estimation part 23A Driving state data update part 23B 1st driving state distribution calculation part 23C 2nd Driving state distribution calculation unit 23D Driving state determination unit 23E Distribution storage unit 23F Distribution restoration unit 24 Information presentation unit 100 Controller 100A Driving information provision processing unit

Claims

A driving state estimation unit that estimates a driving state of the driver from operation information of a driving operator that can be operated by the driver and obtains a driving state estimation amount;
An information presentation unit providing presentation level presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit;
Estimating the driving situation based on the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the information on the vehicle state, the information around the vehicle, and the driving state estimation amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit, According to the estimated driving situation, the driving state estimation amount obtained by the driving state estimation unit or the estimated amount setting changing unit for changing the setting of the presentation level;
A vehicle information providing apparatus comprising:
Further, based on at least one of the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the information on the vehicle state, and the information around the vehicle, the reliability of the operation information that the current driving state uses by the driving state estimation unit. A traveling state determination unit that determines whether or not the specific traveling state is estimated to be worse,
2. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the estimated amount setting change unit performs a setting change process according to the driving situation when the driving state determination unit determines that the driving state is a specific driving state. Information provision device.
The estimated amount setting change unit estimates a driving situation with reference to at least one information of operation information, vehicle state information, and driving state estimation amount acquired in the past and stored in a storage unit than the present. The vehicle information providing device according to claim 1 or 2.
The estimated amount setting change unit changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level every time a preset set time elapses. The vehicle information providing apparatus described.
The estimated amount setting change unit changes the setting of the driving state estimation amount or the presentation level when it is determined that the driving state is the same driving state continuously for a preset time. Item 5. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to any one of Item 4 above.
The estimated amount setting changing unit changes the setting of the driving state estimated amount or the presentation level when detecting a predetermined specific operation estimated to be an intentional operation by the driver. 6. The vehicle information providing apparatus according to any one of items 1 to 5.
The driving state estimation unit includes a second driving state distribution in a second time range set in advance based on driving state data including a history of operation information of driving operators that can be operated by the driver, and a second time. The first operating state distribution in the first temporal range having a temporal range longer than the target range is calculated, and the feature amount of the operating state is calculated based on the calculated first operating state distribution and second operating state distribution. To obtain a driving state estimation amount based on the calculated feature amount,
The information presentation unit provides the presentation information at a multi-level presentation level according to the driving state estimation amount,
Further, for each presentation level, when the driving state estimation unit obtains the driving state estimation amount corresponding to each of the presentation levels, a distribution storage unit that stores the driving state data corresponding to the driving state estimation amount;
When the presentation level is updated by the setting change by the estimated amount setting change unit, a distribution restoration unit that reflects the data stored by the distribution storage unit corresponding to the updated presentation level in the operation state data,
The vehicle information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:
A driving operation information acquisition unit for acquiring operation information of a driving operator operable by the driver;
A driving state estimation unit that estimates the driving state of the driver based on the operation information acquired by the driving operation information acquisition unit and obtains a driving state estimation amount;
An information presentation unit that provides presentation level presentation information corresponding to the driving state estimation amount;
Based on at least one of the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the information on the vehicle state, and the information around the vehicle, the reliability of the operation information that the current driving state uses by the driving state estimation unit is determined. A traveling state determination unit that determines whether or not the specific traveling state is estimated to be worse,
When the driving state determination unit determines that the driving state is the specific driving state, the operation information of the driving operator that can be operated by the driver, the vehicle state information, the vehicle surrounding information, and the driving obtained by the driving state estimation unit Based on at least one piece of information on the state estimation amount, a presentation level setting change unit for changing the setting of the presentation level provided by the information presentation unit;
A vehicle information providing apparatus comprising: