WO2019069516A1

WO2019069516A1 - State detection device, state detection system, and state detection program

Info

Publication number: WO2019069516A1
Application number: PCT/JP2018/025031
Authority: WO
Inventors: 真紀子杉浦
Original assignee: 株式会社デンソー
Priority date: 2017-10-04
Filing date: 2018-07-02
Publication date: 2019-04-11
Also published as: JP2019064539A; JP6766791B2

Abstract

In a vehicle provided with an automatic driving function that is capable of performing a driving operation in place of a driver, this state detection device for detecting the driver's state is provided with: an information acquisition unit (31) that acquires detection information obtained by detecting the driver's leg position; and a state determination unit (32) that determines whether the driver can accept a driving change based on a change request from the automatic driving function on the basis of the driver's leg state indicated by the detection information. This state detection system includes: the state detection device; and position detection sensors (12, 212, 412t, and 412b) that output, to the information acquisition unit, detection signals obtained by detecting the leg position.

Description

Condition detection apparatus, condition detection system, and condition detection program

Cross-reference to related applications

This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-194618 filed on October 4, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The disclosure of this specification relates to a state detection device, a state detection system, and a state detection program for detecting a driver's state in a vehicle provided with an autonomous driving function.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle control device capable of performing a driving operation on behalf of a driver. The vehicle control device performs a driving change from the state of automatic driving to the manual driving by the driver as the handover. Further, the vehicle control device detects whether or not the driver can return to the manual driving, for example, by a driver monitor camera provided on the top surface of the steering column, a touch sensor provided on the steering hole, or the like.

JP, 2017-30555, A

Now, even when the posture of the leg is inappropriate for the driver's operation, the driver has difficulty in dealing with the driving change due to the handover. However, in the vehicle control device of Patent Document 1, it is mainly determined based on the state of the upper body of the driver whether the driver can cope with the driving change. Therefore, it was difficult for the vehicle control device to determine that the driver can not respond to the shift request even if the posture of the leg is inappropriate for the driving operation.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a state detection device, a state detection system, and a state detection program that can determine that the driver can not respond to the shift request when the posture of the leg is inappropriate for driving operation. Do.

A state detection device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a state detection device that detects a state of a driver in a vehicle having an automatic driving function capable of performing a driving operation on behalf of the driver, and includes: Based on the information acquisition unit that acquires detection information at which the position is detected, and the driver's leg state indicated by the detection information, it is determined whether the driver can cope with the drive change based on the change request from the automatic drive function. And a state determination unit.

A state detection program according to another aspect of the present disclosure is a state detection program for detecting a state of a driver in a vehicle having an automatic driving function capable of performing a driving operation on behalf of the driver, at least one processing unit The driver can respond to driving change based on the request for change from the automatic driving function based on the information acquisition unit that acquires the detection information that detects the position of the driver's leg, and the state of the driver's leg indicated by the detection information And a command to function as a state determination unit that determines whether or not to

A state detection system according to another aspect of the present disclosure includes the above-described state detection device, and a position detection sensor that outputs a detection signal that detects the position of a leg toward an information acquisition unit, and the position detection sensor It has a transmission part which transmits a detection wave to the direction, and a detection part which detects a detection wave reflected by an object located in a detection space.

According to the state detection device, the state detection system, and the state detection program, the position of the driver's leg is acquired as detection information. Then, whether the driver can cope with the driving change based on the change request is determined based on the state of the driver's leg. According to the above, it is possible to determine that it is not possible to respond to the shift request from the automatic driving function when the posture of the leg that is inappropriate for the driving operation is taken.

The above object and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent from the following detailed description with reference to the attached drawings. The drawing is
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overview of a configuration related to automatic driving mounted on a vehicle, FIG. 2 is a time chart showing the process of handover in time series; FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg as viewed from the right side of the vehicle; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg as viewed from the ceiling side of the vehicle; FIG. 5 is a view showing a list of features of “driving posture”, “appropriate posture” and “inappropriate posture” determined by the state determination unit, FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the concept of actuation in an automatic operation mode implemented by the coordination of the HCU and the presentation device, FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the details of the state detection process performed in the automatic operation mode, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg according to the second embodiment, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor of the second embodiment and the position detection of the leg; FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the state detection system of the third embodiment, FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg according to the third embodiment; FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg according to the third embodiment, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg according to the fourth embodiment, FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor of the fifth embodiment and the position detection of the leg; FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the details of the arrangement of the leg sensor and the position detection of the leg according to the fifth embodiment, FIG. 16 is a view showing a list of contents sorted based on the state of the hip joint and the knee joint of the right leg with regard to the division of the “appropriate posture” and the “inappropriate posture”.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present disclosure will be described based on the drawings. In addition, the overlapping description may be abbreviate | omitted by attaching the same code | symbol to the corresponding component in each embodiment. When only a part of the configuration is described in each embodiment, the configuration of the other embodiments described above can be applied to other parts of the configuration. Further, not only the combination of the configurations explicitly described in the description of the respective embodiments but also the configurations of the plurality of embodiments can be partially combined with each other even if the combination is not specified unless any trouble occurs in the combination. And the combination which has not been specified between the configurations described in a plurality of embodiments and modifications is also disclosed by the following description.

First Embodiment
The function of the state detection device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is realized by an HCU (Human Machine Interface) control unit (HCU) 30 shown in FIG. The HCU 30 is mounted on the vehicle A together with electronic control units such as a vehicle control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 80 and an automatic driving ECU 50. The HCU 30, the vehicle control ECU 80, and the autonomous driving ECU 50 are directly or indirectly electrically connected to each other, and can communicate with each other. The vehicle A has an automatic driving function by the operation of the vehicle control ECU 80 and the automatic driving ECU 50.

The vehicle control ECU 80 is electrically connected directly or indirectly to the on-vehicle actuator group 91 mounted on the vehicle A. The vehicle control ECU 80 integrally controls the operation of the in-vehicle actuator group 91 to control the behavior of the vehicle A. The on-vehicle actuator group 91 includes, for example, a throttle actuator of an electronically controlled throttle, an injector, a brake actuator, and a motor generator for driving and regeneration.

The vehicle control ECU 80 mainly includes a computer having a processing unit, a RAM, a memory device, an input / output interface, and the like. The vehicle control ECU 80 constructs an actuator control unit 81 as a functional block related to vehicle control by causing the processing unit to execute a vehicle control program stored in the memory device. The actuator control unit 81 generates a control signal output toward the on-vehicle actuator group 91 based on at least one of the operation information based on the driver's driving operation and the autonomous traveling information acquired from the automatic driving ECU 50.

The autonomous driving ECU 50 is electrically connected directly or indirectly to the GNSS receiver 71, the map database 72, the autonomous sensor group 73, and the like as a configuration for acquiring information necessary for autonomous traveling.

A GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 71 can receive positioning signals transmitted from a plurality of satellites. The GNSS receiver 71 sequentially outputs the received positioning signal toward the autonomous driving ECU 50 as information for specifying the current position of the vehicle A.

The map database 72 is a storage device storing a large number of map data. The map data includes structural information such as curvature, slope, and section length of each road, and non-temporary traffic control information such as speed limit and one-way traffic. The map database 72 provides map data of the vicinity of the current position of the vehicle A and the traveling direction to the autonomous driving ECU 50 based on the request from the autonomous driving ECU 50.

The autonomous sensor group 73 detects moving objects such as pedestrians and other vehicles, and stationary objects such as falling objects on the road, traffic signals, guard rails, curbs, road signs, road markings, and division lines. The autonomous sensor group 73 includes, for example, a camera unit, a rider, a millimeter wave radar, and the like. The autonomous sensor group 73 sequentially outputs, to the autonomous driving ECU 50, object information on the detected moving object and stationary object respectively.

The autonomous driving ECU 50 mainly includes a computer having a processing unit 61, a RAM 62, a memory device 63, and an input / output interface. The processing unit 61 includes at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The processing unit 61 may be provided with a dedicated processor specialized for learning and inference of artificial intelligence (AI).

The autonomous driving ECU 50 performs the acceleration / deceleration control and the steering control of the vehicle A in cooperation with the vehicle control ECU 80, thereby exhibiting an autonomous driving function capable of performing the driving operation of the vehicle A on behalf of the driver. The autonomous driving ECU 50 switches a plurality of control modes in which the location of control of the driving operation is different. The plurality of control modes include an automatic driving mode in which the vehicle A is autonomously traveled by the automatic driving function, and a manual driving mode in which the vehicle A travels by driving operation of the driver (see FIG. 2). Further, the control mode includes a change request mode that is executed at the time of transition from the automatic driving mode to the manual driving mode, and a minimum risk maneuver (MRM) mode for automatically evacuating the vehicle A.

The autonomous driving ECU 50 can execute the autonomous driving program stored in the memory device 63 by the processing unit 61. The autonomous driving program includes a program for causing the vehicle A to travel autonomously, a program for controlling driving shift, and the like. Based on the automatic driving program, a self-vehicle position specifying unit 51, an environment recognition unit 52, a plan generation unit 53, an autonomous traveling control unit 54, and the like are constructed in the automatic driving ECU 50.

The vehicle position specifying unit 51 specifies the current position of the vehicle A based on the positioning signal received by the GNSS receiver 71. The vehicle position specifying unit 51 can identify the detailed current position of the vehicle A by collating the image of the front area acquired from the camera unit of the autonomous sensor group 73 with the detailed map data acquired from the map database 72 is there.

The environment recognition unit 52 combines the position information identified by the vehicle position identification unit 51, the map data acquired from the map database 72, the object information acquired from the autonomous sensor group 73, etc. Recognize the driving environment. The environment recognition unit 52 recognizes the shape and movement state of an object around the vehicle A based on the integration result of each object information, particularly within the detection range of each autonomous sensor. The environment recognition unit 52 generates a virtual space in which the actual traveling environment is reproduced in three dimensions by combining the information of the recognized surrounding objects with the position information and the map data.

Based on the traveling environment recognized by the environment recognition unit 52, the plan generation unit 53 generates a traveling plan for causing the vehicle A to autonomously travel by the automatic driving function. As a travel plan, a long medium-term travel plan and a short-term travel plan are generated. In the long-mid-term travel plan, a route for directing the vehicle A to a destination set by the driver is defined. In the short-term travel plan, using the virtual space around the vehicle A generated by the environment recognition unit 52, a planned travel path for realizing travel according to the long-mid-term travel plan is defined. Specifically, executions such as lane tracking and steering for lane change, acceleration / deceleration for speed adjustment, and sudden braking for collision avoidance are determined based on a short-term travel plan.

Here, for the driving change from the automatic driving function to the driver, the system side acquires the control right at its own discretion in the handover where the control side is deliberately handed over the control to the driver, and in a highly urgent situation There is an override that exists. The plan generation unit 53 predicts the occurrence of a situation in which the autonomous traveling can not be continued in the automatic driving mode based on map data in the traveling direction, information acquired from the autonomous sensor group 73, and the like. The plan generation unit 53 formulates a handover schedule (hereinafter, “transfer of authority plan”) when it is difficult to formulate a travel plan and it is impossible to continue the automatic driving.

In the authority transfer plan, the off timing of the automatic operation (time t3 in FIG. 2) is defined. Then, the execution timing (FIG. 2, time t1 in FIG. 2) of a shift request (hereinafter referred to as “TOR: Take Over Request”) is set, which is reversely calculated from the off timing and requests the driving shift from the automatic driving function to the driver. The execution timing of TOR is set to a time earlier by a predetermined allowance time Ta (for example, 4 seconds, see FIG. 2) with respect to the off timing of the automatic operation, and notified to the HCU 30. As described above, the plan generation unit 53 controls the handover process in the shift request mode in cooperation with the HCU 30 based on the formulated authority transfer plan.

The autonomous traveling control unit 54 generates autonomous traveling information that instructs acceleration / deceleration and steering of contents based on the planned traveling route formulated by the plan generation unit 53 in the automatic driving mode. The autonomous traveling control unit 54 sequentially outputs the generated autonomous traveling information to the vehicle control ECU 80. The autonomous traveling control unit 54 cooperates with the actuator control unit 81 to cause the vehicle A to autonomously travel along the planned traveling route.

The HCU 30 is an electronic control unit provided with a function to control information presentation to the driver in an integrated manner and a function to detect the driver's state. The HCU 30 is electrically connected directly or indirectly to the presentation device 20, the DSM (Driver Status Monitor) 11, the leg sensor 12, and the like.

The presentation device 20 presents various information related to the vehicle A to the occupants of the vehicle A including the driver based on the presentation control signal output by the HCU 30. The presentation device 20 includes, for example, a display device that presents information by display, a speaker 21 that presents information by a notification sound and a message voice, and a tactile stimulation device 22 that presents information by vibration. The tactile stimulation device 22 is provided, for example, on the seat surface 111 (see FIG. 3) or the backrest of the driver's seat 110.

The DSM 11 is configured of a near infrared light source and a near infrared camera, a control unit that controls these, and the like. The DSM 11 is disposed, for example, on the top surface of the steering column in a posture in which the near infrared camera is directed to the driver's seat side. The DSM 11 captures the head of the driver who has been irradiated with near-infrared light by the near-infrared light source with a near-infrared camera, and monitors the driver's condition by analyzing the captured face image. The DSM 11 sequentially outputs the detection information of the driver obtained by the analysis of the face image to the HCU 30.

The leg sensor 12 shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 is, for example, an optical sensor, and is an active type object detection sensor that detects an object by light irradiation. The leg sensor 12 is installed on the driver's side of the center console 117. The leg sensor 12 is installed at a height position lower than the seating surface 111 and closer to the seating surface 111 of the driver's seat 110 than the floor surface 113 in the vehicle A. The leg sensor 12 can individually detect both legs of the driver in the detection space 120. The detection space 120 is predefined below the steering wheel 115 and in front of the driver's seat 110. In addition, the shape and the material of the structure such as the door that divides the detection space 120 in the vehicle compartment are different for each vehicle type. Therefore, it is preferable to define the detection space 120 for each vehicle type in consideration of the shape and the material of the surrounding structure.

The leg sensor 12 has a light emitting unit 13 and a light receiving unit 14. The light projection unit 13 is a light source that emits near infrared light. The light projecting unit 13 transmits pulsed near infrared rays as detection waves toward the detection space 120 based on the control of the HCU 30. The near infrared rays are spot-irradiated from the light emitting unit 13 along the lateral direction of the vehicle A, for example. The light projecting unit 13 repeats irradiation of near infrared rays at predetermined time intervals. The directivity (irradiation angle) of the near infrared light is set so as to exceed the thickness of the leg and to have a width such that each pedal or the like is not erroneously detected.

The light receiving unit 14 is a light receiving element that converts an optical signal into an electrical signal. The light receiving unit 14 detects near infrared light reflected by an object located in the detection space 120. When the driver's legs are in the detection space 120, the near infrared light reflected by the left leg Ll near the center console 117 and the near infrared light reflected by the right leg Lr far from the center console 117 The light receiving unit 14 receives light in order. The light receiving unit 14 converts the received light into an electrical signal, and sequentially transmits the signal to the HCU 30 as a detection signal in which the position of the leg is detected.

The HCU 30 mainly includes a computer having a processing unit 41, a RAM 42, a memory device 43, and an input / output interface. The processing unit 41 is configured to include at least one of a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), and a field-programmable gate array (FPGA). The processing unit 41 may be provided with a dedicated processor specialized for learning and inference of artificial intelligence (AI).

The HCU 30 constitutes a state detection system 10 together with the DSM 11 and the leg sensor 12 and the like. The state detection system 10 controls the information presentation by the presentation device 20 in the automatic driving mode, and maintains the driver's posture in an appropriate state. The HCU 30 causes the processing unit 41 to execute the state detection program stored in the memory device 43, and constructs a plurality of functional blocks related to the state detection and attitude maintenance of the driver. Specifically, in the HCU 30, an information acquisition unit 31, a state determination unit 32, a notification control unit 33, and the like are constructed.

The information acquisition unit 31 acquires detection information of the driver detected in the DSM 11. In addition, the information acquisition unit 31 controls the operation of the leg sensor 12 and acquires detection information obtained by detecting the positions of the left and right legs of the driver. Specifically, based on the detection signal of the leg sensor 12, the information acquisition unit 31 measures the difference from the time when the near infrared light is irradiated to the time when the reflected near infrared light is received. Then, the information acquisition unit 31 calculates the positions of the left and right legs from the difference in time, and acquires it as detection information indicating the positions of both legs of the driver.

Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 31 acquires status information indicating the control mode and the like of the automatic driving ECU 50. For example, when the plan transfer unit 53 formulates an authority transfer plan based on the prediction of occurrence of the system limit of the automatic operation, the information acquisition unit 31 acquires a command instructing execution of TOR from the HCU 30.

The state determination unit 32 determines whether the driver can cope with the driving change within the allowance time Ta (see FIG. 2) based on the TOR based on the state of the driver's upper body and legs indicated by the detection information. . If there is no problem with the posture of the upper body, the state determination unit 32 classifies the driver's posture into one of "driving posture", "appropriate posture" and "inappropriate posture" based on the state of the driver's legs. (See FIG. 5).

The “driving posture” is the posture of the driver in the state of manual driving. If a portion of the right leg Lr beyond the ankle (hereinafter, “right toe”) touches the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal, the state determination unit 32 determines that the “driving posture” is set. .

Further, the "appropriate attitude" is an attitude that can be returned to the driving attitude within the allowance time Ta (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, the “inappropriate attitude” is an attitude that can not return to the driving attitude within the allowance time Ta. In other words, when the driver's posture is classified as "appropriate posture", the state determination unit 32 determines that the driver can not cope with the driving change within the allowance time Ta, and is classified as "inappropriate posture". In this case, it is determined that the driver can not cope with the driving change within the allowance time Ta.

The state determination unit 32 determines the “appropriate posture” and the “inappropriate posture” mainly based on the estimated position of the driver's right foot tip. When the driver's right toe is detected from below the seat surface 111 and the right toe is near the pedal, the state determination unit 32 determines that the driver is in the “appropriate posture”. Even if the portion of the driver's left leg Ll beyond the ankle (hereinafter referred to as the "left toe") is not detected from below the seat surface 111, the condition is still present if the right foot is below the seat surface 111. The determination unit 32 determines that the “appropriate posture” capable of coping with the driving change. On the other hand, if the left foot tip of the driver is detected from below the seat surface 111 but the right foot tip is not detected from below the seat surface 111, the state determination unit 32 It is determined that In addition, when the toes of both legs are not detected, the state determination unit 32 naturally determines that the “inappropriate posture” is set.

The notification control unit 33 generates a presentation control signal to be output to the presentation device 20 based on the information acquired by the information acquisition unit 31. The notification control unit 33 controls the information presentation by display, sound, vibration, and the like by the output of the presentation control signal directed to the presentation device 20. When the information acquisition unit 31 acquires a command instructing the implementation of TOR, the notification control unit 33 instructs the driver to take over the driving operation at time t1 (see FIG. 2) set in the authority transfer plan. The requested information presentation is performed using the presentation device 20.

From the above, the driver who has noticed the notification of TOR starts driving operation while correcting the posture after confirming the surrounding situation. At this time, the state determination unit 32 determines that the state determination unit 32 is in the “driving posture” based on the detection information of the DSM 11 and the leg sensor 12. The automatic driving ECU 50 that has acquired the determination result of the state determining unit 32 determines that the driving operation is possible at time t2 (see FIG. 2), and switches the control mode from the shift request mode to the manual driving mode.

On the other hand, if the allowance time Ta (see FIG. 2) elapses without the driver taking the “driving posture” after notification of TOR, the automatic driving ECU 50 changes the control mode at time t3 (see FIG. 2) Switch from request mode to MRM mode. As a result, the vehicle A stops at the searched evacuation area by evacuation traveling.

In order to prevent the transition to the MRM mode, the notification control unit 33 returns the driver's state to the “appropriate attitude” when the state determination unit 32 determines that the “improper attitude” is in the automatic driving mode. Is continuously performed using the presentation device 20 (see FIG. 6). The notification control unit 33 guides the user to the “appropriate posture” state by information presentation using the speaker 21 and the tactile sense stimulation device 22 when, for example, the driver is performing a sitting position or a sitting position. In addition, when the right foot tip of the driver is placed at a position where the user is caught in the deployment of the airbag, the notification control unit 33 displays “inappropriate posture by information presentation using the speaker 21 and the tactile stimulation device 22. To warn that it is "," prompting a return to "appropriate attitude". In this way, the driver's condition prior to TOR is maintained so that a drive change may occur.

As described above, the details of the state detection processing performed by the HCU 30 in order to cause the driver to maintain an appropriate posture will be described based on FIG. 7 with reference to FIG. The state detection process shown in FIG. 7 is started by the HCU 30 based on switching from the manual operation mode to the automatic operation mode.

In S101, the detection information by the DSM 11 and the leg sensor 12 is acquired, and the process proceeds to S102. In S102, it is determined whether or not the driver's state is "appropriate attitude" based on the detection information acquired in the immediately preceding S101. If it is determined at S101 that the driver's state is "appropriate posture", the process proceeds to S106. On the other hand, when it is determined in S102 that the driver's state is the "inappropriate posture", the process proceeds to S103.

In S103, based on the state of the driver detected in S102, the guidance or warning for prompting the return to the "appropriate posture" is performed, and the process proceeds to S104 and S105. In S104 and S105, as in S101 and S102, it is determined based on the detection information whether the driver has returned to the "appropriate posture". If it is determined in S105 that the "appropriate posture" is restored, the process returns to S101 and the state detection process is continued. On the other hand, when the driver's posture does not return to the “appropriate posture”, the information presentation to prompt the correction of the sitting posture is continued by repeating the processing of S103 to S105.

On the other hand, in S106 when it is determined in S102 that the “appropriate posture” is set, it is determined whether a notification instruction of TOR based on the limit prediction of the system is acquired from the autonomous driving ECU 50 or not. If it is determined in S106 that the start of TOR has been instructed, the process proceeds to a process for implementing TOR. On the other hand, when it is determined that the automatic driving mode is to be continued, the process returns to S101, and the state detection process is continued.

Even when the limit prediction of the system occurs with the “inappropriate posture”, the HCU 30 notifies TOR. In this case, after the notification of TOR, the HCU 30 provides the automatic driving ECU 50 with a determination result indicating that return to the “driving posture” is not possible. Based on the determination result, the autonomous driving ECU 50 starts transitioning to the MRM mode before the elapse of the margin time Ta (see FIG. 2).

In the first embodiment described so far, the position of the driver's leg is acquired as detection information. And it is judged based on the state of a driver's leg whether a driver can cope with the driving change based on TOR. According to the above, it is possible to determine that the TOR can not be handled when the leg posture is inappropriate for driving operation.

In addition, in the first embodiment, when the right toe is detected from below the seat surface 111, the state determination unit 32 determines that the “appropriate posture” is set. If at least the right toe is below the seating surface 111, the driver can start the operation of the accelerator pedal or the brake pedal within the allowance time Ta after the occurrence of TOR. Therefore, if it is determined that it is possible to cope with TOR based on the position of the right toe, execution of driving alternation for a driver who can not cope with TOR can be avoided while reducing the calculation load of attitude determination.

Further, in the first embodiment, even if there is no left foot tip below the seat surface 111, if the right foot tip is below the seat surface 111, it is determined as "appropriate posture". In general, pedaling is performed by the right toe. Therefore, it is not necessary to immediately determine "inappropriate posture" based on the absence of the left toe around each pedal. According to the above, in spite of the fact that the driver can start the manual driving, the situation where the transition to the MRM mode occurs is avoided.

On the other hand, even if the left foot tip is below the seat surface 111, if the right foot tip is not below the seat surface 111, it is determined as "inappropriate posture". As described above, when the right toe is not in the vicinity of the pedal, it is difficult to start driving quickly corresponding to TOR. Therefore, when the right toe is not below the seat surface 111, it is desirable to determine that it is not possible to cope with driving change regardless of the position of the left toe.

Furthermore, the leg sensor 12 of the first embodiment detects the driver's leg in a detection space 120 defined below the steering wheel 115 and in front of the driver's seat 110. As described above, even if the detection space 120 of the leg sensor 12 is limited, the state determination unit 32 can determine whether the state of the driver's leg can handle TOR. Therefore, complication of the configuration of the leg sensor 12 can be avoided while securing the accuracy of the state determination of the driver.

In addition, the detection space 120 described above is a very dark space because ambient light is blocked by an instrument panel, a steering column, and the like. Therefore, if the active type optical sensor that emits near infrared light is used as the leg sensor 12, the information acquisition unit 31 can acquire the detection information without being affected by the brightness around the vehicle A.

Furthermore, in the state detection system 10 of the first embodiment, no camera is used to detect the state of the leg. Therefore, by matching the pattern of the posture taken by the driver with the image data captured at that time, the number of development steps for creating a determiner for determining the driver's posture becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, by not using a camera for detecting the state of the leg, a highly marketable state detection system 10 can be realized in consideration of the driver's privacy problem.

The leg sensor 12 of the first embodiment is installed at a height position closer to the seating surface 111 than the floor surface 113. For example, the positions of the legs are positions farther from the knees, and the portions closer to the floor surface 113 are more likely to be scattered along the floor surface 113 in the front, rear, left, and right. On the other hand, if the height of the seating surface 111 is close, the position of the leg (knee) does not change significantly. Therefore, if the leg sensor 12 is disposed at a height close to the seat surface 111, even if the irradiation range (directivity) of the near infrared light (detection wave) is narrowed, detection leakage hardly occurs. Therefore, the leg sensor 12 can be simplified while securing the detection accuracy of the position of the leg.

In the first embodiment, the leg sensor 12 corresponds to a "position detection sensor", the light emitting unit 13 corresponds to a "transmission unit", the light receiving unit 14 corresponds to a "detection unit", and the HCU 30 is in a "state". Corresponds to “detection device”.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is a modification of the first embodiment. The leg sensor 212 of the second embodiment is an optical sensor as in the first embodiment, and is installed at a position different from that of the first embodiment. The leg sensor 212 is housed in front of the seat portion of the driver's seat 110 and at a height position closer to the seat 111 than the floor surface 113. The light emitting unit 213 of the leg sensor 212 emits near infrared light toward the detection space 120 defined in the front. In addition, the light projection unit 213 can scan the light irradiation direction at least in the horizontal direction. The light projection unit 213 repeats the irradiation of the near-infrared light at predetermined time intervals while turning the light irradiation direction in the horizontal direction. The directivity (irradiation angle) of the near infrared light is narrowed to about the thickness of the leg. For example, when the near infrared light is emitted in the left direction, the near infrared light reflected by the left leg L1 is detected by the light receiving unit 214. Similarly, when the near infrared light is emitted in the right direction, the near infrared light reflected by the right leg Lr is detected by the light receiving unit 214.

The information acquisition unit 31 (see FIG. 1) individually detects the positions of the driver's legs in the detection space 120 based on the detection signal received from the leg sensor 212. Specifically, the information acquisition unit 31 estimates the positions of both legs based on the irradiation direction of the near infrared light by the light projection unit 213 and the difference time from the irradiation time to the light reception time.

In addition, the reflected light detected after progress of predetermined time ts from the irradiation time of near infrared rays is filtered as light reflected by the structure of the vehicle A out of the area | region of the detection space 120. FIG. That is, the information acquisition unit 31 detects the presence and the position of each of the legs Ll and Lr based on the reflected light received until the predetermined time ts elapses from the irradiation time. However, not limited to such a method, the structure of the vehicle A represented by the door is defined in shape and material for each vehicle type. Therefore, the light reception time and the light reception intensity of the reflected light are previously known values. From such a thing, light reception time and light reception intensity according to a structure around detection space 120 may be set up beforehand, and distinction with a leg and a structure may be carried out.

Also in the second embodiment described so far, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and it can be determined that TOR can not be handled when the posture of the leg unsuitable for driving operation is taken. In addition, if near infrared light is irradiated from the rear of the detection space 120, the information acquisition unit 31 determines whether the two legs are aligned in the front-rear direction of the vehicle A, based on the detection signal, You can know the position of both legs. In the second embodiment, the leg sensor 212 corresponds to a “position detection sensor”, the light emitting unit 213 corresponds to a “transmission unit”, and the light receiving unit 214 corresponds to a “detection unit”.

Third Embodiment
The third embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 is another modification of the first embodiment. The state detection system 310 of the third embodiment includes the HCU 30 and the DSM 11 substantially the same as the first embodiment. In addition, the state detection system 310 has the leg sensor 12 substantially the same as the first embodiment and the leg sensor 212 substantially the same as the second embodiment as a configuration for detecting the driver's legs.

The state detection system 310 detects the driver's legs in the detection space 120 from different directions using the two

leg sensors

12 and 212. The two

leg sensors

12 and 212 are both provided at a height closer to the seating surface 111 than the floor surface 113. The leg sensor 12 disposed on the center console 117 is installed at a position slightly higher than the leg sensor 212 disposed on the driver's seat 110 in the height direction of the vehicle A (see FIG. 11). The information acquisition unit 31 integrates detection signals output from the two

leg sensors

12 and 212, and estimates the positions of the legs Ll and Lr in the detection space 120.

Also in the third embodiment described so far, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained, and it can be determined that TOR can not be handled when the posture of the leg unsuitable for driving operation is taken. In addition, in the third embodiment, by using the detection information of the two

leg sensors

12, 212, the HCU 30 can more accurately acquire the state of the driver's two legs and appropriately determine whether or not the driving alternation is possible. It can be carried out. In the third embodiment, both of the

leg sensors

12 and 212 correspond to the "position detection sensor".

Fourth Embodiment
The fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 13 is still another modification of the first embodiment. In the fourth embodiment, two

leg sensors

412t and 412b are provided on the center console 117. Each of the

leg sensors

412t and 412b has substantially the same configuration as the leg sensor 12 (see FIG. 1) of the first embodiment. The leg sensor 412t is provided at a position higher than the leg sensor 412b in the height direction of the vehicle. The leg sensor 412t is disposed rearward of the leg sensor 412b in the front-rear direction of the vehicle.

With the above configuration, the information acquisition unit 31 (see FIG. 1) can detect, for example, a state where the legs are assembled on the knee, from detection signals of the two

leg sensors

412t and 412b. Specifically, in the state of being assembled on the knee, the upper leg sensor 412t outputs a detection signal in which both the right leg Lr and the left leg Ll are detected. On the other hand, the lower leg sensor 412b outputs a detection signal in which only the right leg Lr is detected. The information acquisition unit 31 can estimate the state of the driver's leg set from the combination of these two detection signals.

Also in the fourth embodiment described so far, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and it can be determined that it can not cope with TOR when the posture of the leg unsuitable for driving operation is taken. In addition, in the fourth embodiment, by using the detection information of the upper and lower two

leg sensors

412t and 412b, the HCU 30 appropriately grasps the state of the leg that is difficult to return to the driving posture, and to the driver who can not cope with TOR. It is possible to avoid the implementation of driving changes. In the fourth embodiment, both of the

leg sensors

412t and 412b correspond to the "position detection sensor".

(Fifth embodiment)
The fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 14 and 15 is still another modification of the first embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, a floor sensor 15 is provided instead of the leg sensor 12 (see FIG. 1) of the first embodiment. The floor sensor 15 is a sensor that detects both legs Ll and Lr of the driver from the detection space 120 below the steering wheel 115 and in front of the driver's seat 110, similarly to the leg sensor 12. The floor sensor 15 is formed in a sheet shape and is provided on the back side of the floor surface 113. The floor sensor 15 is formed to have the same size as the bottom surface of the detection space 120 so as to indirectly reach the entire bottom surface of the detection space 120. The floor sensor 15 has a plurality of pressure detection units arranged in a two-dimensional manner.

The pressure detection unit is provided, for example, one by one in each of the areas (see the dashed-dotted line in FIG. 15) in which the floor sensor 15 is partitioned in a grid shape. Each pressure detection unit detects a load due to the foot sole being placed on the floor surface 113. The floor sensor 15 sequentially outputs the pressure acting on each area as a detection signal to the HCU 30 (see FIG. 1).

The information acquisition unit 31 (see FIG. 1) detects the pressure (load) acting on each area of the floor sensor 15. Based on such detection information, the state determination unit 32 (see FIG. 1) detects the footprints of both legs Ll and Lr from the detection space 120, for example, a pressure equal to or greater than a threshold acts on at least two regions. Is determined to be an "appropriate attitude". On the other hand, if only one area is affected by pressure above the threshold, etc., and only one foot footprint can be detected, and if pressure above the threshold is not applied to any area and even one foot footprint can not be detected, The state determination unit 32 determines that the “inappropriate posture” is set.

As in the fifth embodiment described so far, even in the configuration in which the leg is detected using the floor sensor 15, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained, and the posture of the leg unsuitable for driving operation can be obtained. If it is, it can be determined that it can not cope with TOR.

Sixth Embodiment
The sixth embodiment of the present disclosure is a modification of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. In the autonomous driving ECU 50 of the sixth embodiment, the allowance time Ta set in the authority transfer plan is variable. For example, when the traveling environment of the vehicle A is good (such as fine weather) and the detection distance of the autonomous sensor group 73 is sufficiently long, the autonomous driving ECU 50 grasps the distant situation and hasten the off timing of the autonomous driving. You can perform TOR at the timing. Specifically, it becomes possible to formulate an authority transfer plan that secures an allowance time Ta of about 10 seconds. On the other hand, when the traveling environment of the vehicle A is not good (such as bad weather or dark place) and the detection distance of the autonomous sensor group 73 becomes short, the autonomous driving ECU 50 has difficulty in grasping the distant situation. Therefore, the allowance time Ta set in the authority transfer plan is shorter than that in the case of a good traveling environment, for example, about 4 seconds.

Depending on the state of the autonomous driving ECU 50 and the autonomous sensor group 73 as described above, the state determination unit 32 sets allowance criteria (see FIG. 5) for dividing “appropriate attitude” and “inappropriate attitude” into the allowance time Ta. Vary according to the length of That is, if the margin time Ta becomes long, the tolerance standard is relaxed. On the contrary, if the margin time Ta becomes short, the tolerance standard becomes stricter.

Specifically, the driver's posture such as a seat on the seat or a seat on the seat, and a leg set on the knee is determined as "appropriate posture" in a traveling environment where a sufficient allowance time Ta can be secured (approximately 10 seconds). In the traveling environment where the allowance time Ta is short (about 4 seconds), it is determined as "inappropriate posture". On the other hand, the posture in which the right foot tip is hooked on the steering wheel 115 (see FIG. 3), the door on the driver's seat side, etc. is determined to be "inappropriate posture" regardless of the allowance time Ta.

In addition, when it is possible to secure a long spare time Ta, the state determination unit 32 makes the tolerance standard stricter as the remaining time until the off timing of the automatic operation becomes shorter after the TOR. For example, at the timing when the remaining time until the off timing of the automatic driving is about 4 seconds, the state determination unit 32 sets “appropriate postures such as a sitting position on the seat and a leg on the knee. It is determined that the "inappropriate posture" is not "posture".

Also in the sixth embodiment described so far, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained, and when the posture of the leg unsuitable for driving operation is taken, it is possible to obtain the determination result that it can not cope with TOR. . In addition, as in the sixth embodiment, the allowance criteria for separating the "appropriate posture" and the "inappropriate posture" may be changed in accordance with the length of the margin time Ta that can be secured in the shift request mode. According to such control, since the driver's permitted posture is increased in the automatic driving mode, unnecessary guidance for posture correction is reduced. According to the above, it is possible to provide an automatic driving function that is useful for a user such as a driver.

Furthermore, as in the sixth embodiment, if the determination criterion of the "suitable posture" after TOR is raised as the off timing of the automatic driving approaches, information presentation prompting return to the correct driving posture by the off timing of the automatic driving is presented. Can be implemented.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although a plurality of embodiments of this indication were described, this indication is not interpreted by limiting to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it is applied to various embodiments and combination within the range which does not deviate from the gist of this indication. can do.

In the first modification of the sixth embodiment, the margin time set in the authority transfer plan is longer than the first embodiment and the like and is set to a fixed length (for example, 10 seconds). Therefore, in the first modification, the change of the acceptance criteria in the automatic operation mode is not performed. For example, if the detection distance and accuracy of the autonomous sensor group are sufficient, such setting is possible. Therefore, in the automatic driving mode, postures such as a black seat, a straight seat, and a leg set on the knee are allowed.

On the other hand, similarly to the sixth embodiment, the state determination unit makes the tolerance standard stricter as the remaining time until the automatic driving off timing becomes shorter after TOR. Specifically, at the timing when the remaining time until the off timing of the automatic driving becomes less than a predetermined threshold (for example, 4 seconds), the state determination unit determines the posture such as the leg set on the palm, the straight seat, and the knee. , Not the "appropriate attitude" but the "inappropriate attitude". As a result, the driver who takes the above attitude is warned at an appropriate timing.

As described above in the first modification, even if the margin time is not variable, the state determination unit may change the tolerance reference at an appropriate timing such as after TOR. Furthermore, the specific value of the spare time may be changed as appropriate according to the laws and guidelines of the area where the vehicle is used, the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle travels, and the like.

In the above-described embodiment, an optical sensor, a floor sensor, and the like are employed as the configuration for detecting the position of the leg. However, instead of the light sensor, a line sensor, an ultrasonic sensor or the like can be employed. In the ultrasonic sensor, a vibrating unit that oscillates an ultrasonic wave as a detection wave corresponds to a "transmission unit", and a receiving unit that receives an ultrasonic wave reflected by a leg corresponds to a "detection unit". Furthermore, not limited to these sensors, various active and passive object detection sensors can be employed as sensors for detecting the position of the leg. Further, the above-described method of distinguishing between a leg and a structure is also applicable to a form using an ultrasonic sensor or the like.

More specifically, it is desirable that the sensor provided in the state detection system can detect the attitude of the dot range shown in FIG. In FIG. 16, the posture of the driver's right leg directly linked to the pedal operation is defined by the hip joint angle θh and the knee joint angle θb, and the driver's posture when the joint angles θh and θb are changed. Is shown in the list. And, the range of the dot is a range of posture in which the change of the body axis is unnecessary until it is returned to the correct driving posture.

For example, the leg set under the knee is classified into the “appropriate posture” because it is not necessary to change the body axis to return to the driving posture. On the other hand, by stretching the right leg, if it is hung on the right door or window or the steering wheel 115, it is necessary to change the body axis to return to the driving posture. Similarly, if the leg is set on the knee, it is necessary to change the body axis. Therefore, these postures are divided into "inappropriate postures".

In the above embodiment, in order to perform the above determination with a simple configuration, the “appropriate posture” and the “inappropriate posture” are determined from the state of the right leg based on the detection of the leg sensor. However, if the detection information of the in-vehicle camera provided in front of and above the driver is combined with the detection information of the leg sensor, for example, the posture as described above in which the right leg is thrown forward can be specified. Therefore, with the state detection system that detects the driver's state by combining the detection results of the upper body and the leg, it is possible to implement a highly accurate alerting.

In addition, the range of the detection space by the position detection sensor may be changed as appropriate. For example, the condition of the driver's hip located on the seat may be detected. The position of the position detection sensor can also be changed in accordance with the setting range of the detection space. For example, the position detection sensor may be installed on the side surface of the center cluster, the lower surface of the steering column, and in the vicinity of the pedal.

Furthermore, the configuration for monitoring the driver's upper body is not limited to the DSM. The state detection system may include, for example, an electrostatic sensor or a pressure sensor that detects the grip of the steering wheel 115 (see FIG. 3), or the above-described in-vehicle camera or the like, together with or in place of the DSM. Furthermore, configurations such as DSM may be omitted from the state detection system.

The automatic driving ECU according to the above-described embodiment enables so-called automatic driving of eye-off, which takes charge of monitoring of the traveling environment on behalf of the driver. The driver's state detection method according to the present disclosure is suitable for the driver's attitude detection in a period in which the level 3 automatic driving is performed. In addition, the state detection method according to the present disclosure is also applicable to level 2 automatic driving in which monitoring of the driving environment is performed by the driver.

And the function of a state detection apparatus may be implement | achieved by the hardware constitutions and software constitutions different from said HCU. For example, the processing unit of the electronic control unit in which the autonomous driving ECU and the HCU are integrally configured may implement the state detection method described above. Alternatively, a plurality of electronic control devices including the HCU, the autonomous driving ECU, and the vehicle control ECU may process the state detection program according to the present disclosure in a distributed manner.

Furthermore, various non-transitory tangible storage media such as flash memories and hard disks can be employed in a memory device such as an HCU as a configuration for storing a state detection program. In addition, the storage medium for storing the state detection program is not limited to the storage medium provided in the on-vehicle electronic control unit, and may be an optical disc as a copy source to the storage medium, a hard disk drive of a general purpose computer May be

The flowchart described in the present disclosure or the process of the flowchart is composed of a plurality of units (also referred to as steps), and each unit is expressed as S101, for example. Furthermore, each part can be divided into a plurality of sub-parts, while a plurality of parts can be combined into one part. Furthermore, each part configured in this way can be referred to as a circuit, a device, a module, or a means.

Moreover, those combined each or a set of a plurality of parts described above, (i) hardware unit (e.g., computer) not only software parts in combination with, (ii) hardware (e.g., an integrated circuit, As part of hardwired logic, it may be implemented with or without the functionality of the associated device. Furthermore, the hardware part can also be configured inside the microcomputer.

Although the present disclosure has been described based on the examples, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the examples and structures. The present disclosure also includes various modifications and variations within the equivalent range. In addition, various combinations and forms, and further, other combinations and forms including only one element, or more or less than these elements are also within the scope and the scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

A vehicle (A) having an automatic driving function capable of performing a driving operation on behalf of a driver, wherein the state detection device detects the driver's state,
An information acquisition unit (31) for acquiring detection information obtained by detecting the position of the driver's leg;
And a state determination unit (32) that determines whether the driver can cope with the driving change based on the change request from the automatic driving function based on the state of the driver's leg indicated by the detection information. Condition detection device.
The state determination unit is capable of handling the driver's alternation when at least the toes of the driver's right leg are detected from below the seat surface (111) of the driver's seat (110) The state detection device according to claim 1, wherein the state detection device determines that there is.
The state determination unit according to claim 2, wherein the driver determines that the driver can handle the driving change even if the toes of the driver's left leg are not detected from below the seat surface. Condition detection device.
The state determination unit does not detect the toe of the driver's right leg from below the seat even if the toe of the driver's left leg is detected from below the seat. The state detection device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein in the case, it is determined that the driver can not cope with driving change.
The state determination unit relaxes an allowance criterion for determining that the driver can handle the drive change as the extra time (Ta) from the start of the change request to the stop of the automatic drive becomes longer. The state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.
The state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the state determination unit tightens an allowance standard for determining that the driver can cope with the drive change after the change request.
The information acquisition unit acquires the detection information in which the position of the leg is detected in a detection space (120) located below the steering wheel (115) and in front of the driver's seat (110). The state detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
A state detection device (30) according to claim 7;
A position detection sensor (12, 212, 412t, 412b) for outputting a detection signal obtained by detecting the position of the leg toward the information acquisition unit, the state detection system comprising:
The position detection sensor includes a transmission unit (13) that transmits a detection wave toward the detection space, and a detection unit (14) that detects the detection wave reflected by an object located in the detection space. Detection system.
The state detection system according to claim 8, wherein the position detection sensor is installed at a height position closer to a seat surface (111) of a driver's seat (110) than a floor surface (113) in the vehicle.
In a vehicle (A) having an automatic driving function capable of performing a driving operation on behalf of a driver, the program is a state detection program for detecting the state of the driver,
At least one processing unit (41),
An information acquisition unit (31) for acquiring detection information obtained by detecting the position of the driver's leg;
Function as a state determination unit (32) that determines whether the driver can cope with the driving change based on the change request from the automatic driving function based on the state of the driver's leg indicated by the detection information Condition detection program.