JP5003402B2 - Driving assistance device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving support device that supports driving of a vehicle when a driver is not in a state suitable for driving.

Conventionally, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-62911, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-62911, a driver who performs driving support when the driver is not in a state suitable for driving is used. In order to wake up the driver, a technique for imparting vibration to the driver is known.
JP 2005-62911 A

  Here, based on the technique as described above, the vibration generated when the vehicle travels on an uneven portion (for example, a rumble strip) provided along the end in the width direction of the lane is given to the driver. On the other hand, it is conceivable to give the driver that he / she is not in a state suitable for driving by giving it in a pseudo manner and to suppress driving in that state. However, in such a case, the driver who is asleep or drunk is suddenly given a vibration, which makes it illusion that he has actually run on the rumble strips, and he is surprised to steer. Therefore, there is a possibility that sufficient safety cannot be secured.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a driving support device capable of ensuring sufficient safety when a pseudo vibration is applied to a driver. For the purpose.

  The driving support device according to the present invention is determined by the driving state determination unit that determines whether or not the driver is in a state suitable for driving, and the driving state determination unit determines that the driver is not in a state suitable for driving. A vibration imparting means for artificially imparting vibration generated when the host vehicle travels on an uneven portion provided along an end in the width direction of the lane to the driver, and a vibration imparting means. And a reaction force applying means for applying a reaction force to the driver's steering when the driver steers the steering by applying the vibration.

  In this driving support device, vibration generated when the vehicle travels on an uneven portion (for example, rumble strips) provided along an end in the width direction of the lane is artificially given to the driver. Even if the driver who is given vibration is surprised to steer the steering wheel, the driving state of the host vehicle is maintained by the reaction force by the reaction force applying means, and the lane is Deviations and wobbling can be prevented. Thus, sufficient safety can be ensured when pseudo vibration is applied to the driver.

  In the driving support device according to the present invention, it is preferable that the reaction force applying means applies a reaction force to the driver's steering when the angular velocity of the driver's steering is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If the driver's steering angular velocity is below a predetermined threshold, it can be considered that there is no risk of lane departure or wobbling due to a sudden change of direction of the vehicle. Can do.

  The driving support apparatus according to the present invention includes safety direction determination means for determining which of the right side and the left side of the own vehicle is safe based on the surrounding information of the own vehicle, and the vibration applying means is safe by the safety direction determination means. It is preferable to apply the vibration generated when the host vehicle travels on the uneven portion provided on the side determined to be not. In order to drive the driver so that he / she does not go to the side recognized as having stepped on the uneven part by giving vibration generated when traveling on the uneven part provided on the side judged to be unsafe, It is possible to prevent the host vehicle from deviating from the lane in a direction determined to be unsafe.

  According to the present invention, sufficient safety can be ensured when pseudo vibration is applied to the driver.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a driving assistance apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the structure of the driving assistance apparatus 1 which concerns on embodiment of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a driving support apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the driving support device 1 includes an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) 2, a drinking level detection unit 3, a wakefulness detection unit 4, a vehicle surrounding information acquisition unit 6, a vibration applying unit (vibration applying unit) 7, A steering 8, a rudder angular velocity detection unit 9, and a reaction force application unit (reaction force application unit) 11 are provided.

  The drinking level detection unit 3 has a function of detecting a driver's drinking level. For example, a semiconductor type, electrochemical type, chemical reaction type, optical type or the like alcohol concentration detection sensor arranged near the driver's seat is used. It is done. The drinking level detection unit 3 has a function of measuring the alcohol concentration of the driver's breath and outputting it to the ECU 2.

  The arousal level detection unit 4 has a function of detecting the driver's level of arousal. For example, a camera that acquires an image for determining the open / closed state of the driver's eyes, the driver's biological information (heart rate, Various sensors for acquiring the respiratory rate, blood pressure, etc. are used. The arousal level detection unit 4 has a function of outputting the acquired eye image and biological information to the ECU 2.

  The vehicle surrounding information acquisition unit 6 has a function of acquiring surrounding information of the host vehicle such as an oncoming vehicle, a pedestrian, a utility pole, or the width of a sidewalk adjacent to the host lane, which is present in front of the host vehicle. A camera that acquires an image in front of the vehicle is used. The vehicle surrounding information acquisition unit 6 has a function of outputting to the ECU 2 when an image ahead of the vehicle is acquired.

  When the driving state determining unit 21 (details will be described later) determines that the driver is not in a state suitable for driving, the vibration applying unit 7 is directed to the driver along the end of the lane in the width direction. It has a function of artificially imparting vibration generated when the host vehicle travels on the provided uneven portion. In addition, as an uneven | corrugated | grooved part provided along the edge part of the width direction of a lane, a rumble strip, a chatter bar, a road stud etc. are mentioned, for example. The vibration applying unit 7 is configured by, for example, a motor embedded in the driver's seat, and operates by receiving a control signal from the EUC 2, and has a function of executing generation of vibration according to the control signal.

  The steering 8 has a function of changing the traveling direction of the host vehicle by the driver's steering, and includes a steering wheel, a steering shaft, and a gear box connected to the left and right front wheels via tie rods. Specifically, when the driver steers the steering wheel, the steering 8 transmits the rotational force to the left and right front wheels via the steering shaft and the gear box.

  The rudder angular velocity detection unit 9 has a function of detecting a steering direction and an angular velocity when the driver steers the steering 8, and detects the angular velocity based on the steering amount and the steering time of the steering 8, for example. The steering angular velocity detection unit 9 has a function of outputting to the ECU 2 when the steering direction and the angular velocity are detected.

  The reaction force applying unit 11 has a function of applying a reaction force to the driver's steering when the driver steers the steering 8 by applying vibration from the vibration applying unit 7. It is comprised from the motor etc. which were connected with 8 steering shafts. The reaction force application unit 11 operates in response to a reaction force application command signal from the ECU 2 and has a function of executing reaction force application to the rotation of the steering shaft according to the signal.

  The ECU 2 is an electronic control unit that controls the entire apparatus. The ECU 2 is mainly composed of a CPU, for example, and includes a ROM, a RAM, an input signal circuit, an output signal circuit, a power supply circuit, and the like. The ECU 2 includes a driving state determination unit (driving state determination unit) 21, a safety direction determination unit (safety direction determination unit) 24, an applied vibration control unit 25, a steering determination unit 26, and a steering control unit 27.

  The driving state determination unit 21 includes a drinking state determination unit 22 and an arousal level determination unit 23, and has a function of determining whether or not the driver is in a state suitable for driving. When the driving state determination unit 21 determines that the driver is in a drinking state by the drinking level determination unit 22 or when the driving level determination unit 23 determines that the driver is in a dozing state, the driving state determination unit 21 It is determined that the condition is not suitable for driving. The driving state determination unit 21 has a function of outputting the determination result to the applied vibration control unit 25.

  The drinking level determination unit 22 has a function of determining whether or not the driver is in a drinking state. Specifically, the drinking level determination unit 22 is input from a threshold set in advance by an experiment or the like and the drinking level detection unit 3. Compared to the alcohol concentration of the driver's breath, if the alcohol concentration of the breath is equal to or higher than the threshold, it is determined that the driver is in a drinking state, and if it is below the threshold, it is determined that the driver is not in a drinking state To do.

  The arousal level determination unit 23 has a function of determining whether or not the driver is in a dozing state. For example, the arousal level determination unit 23 is a constant value obtained by analyzing an image of an eye part input from the arousal level detection unit 4. When the degree of arousal is calculated based on the open / closed state of the driver's eyes within the time, and the degree of arousal is below a preset threshold, the driver is determined to be dozing, and is above the threshold Determines that the driver is not asleep. Or it determines based on the biometric information input from the arousal level detection part 4. FIG.

  The safety direction determination unit 24 has a function of determining which one of the right side and the left side of the host vehicle is safe based on the image ahead of the host vehicle input from the vehicle surrounding information acquisition unit 6. If an oncoming vehicle is approaching from the front in the lane, or if there is a large sidewalk space on the left side of the lane, it is determined that the right side is not safe compared to the left side, and the pedestrian is on the left sidewalk. Alternatively, when there is a utility pole or when the opposite lane does not exist in the right opposite lane, it is determined that the left side is not safe compared to the right side. The safety direction determination unit 24 has a function of outputting the determination result to the applied vibration control unit 25.

  The imparted vibration control unit 25 has a function of controlling the vibration imparting unit 7. Specifically, when the determination result that the driver is not suitable for driving is input from the driving state determination unit 21, The vibration applying unit 7 is provided with vibrations generated when the host vehicle travels on an uneven part such as a rumble strip provided on the side determined to be unsafe by the safe direction determining unit 24. It has a function of outputting a control signal.

  The steering determination unit 26 has a function of determining whether or not the driver has steered the steering wheel 8 when vibration is applied from the vibration applying unit 7. Specifically, the steering determination unit 26 is input from the rudder angular velocity detection unit 9. If the angular velocity is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value, it is determined that the driver has steered the steering wheel 8, and if the angular velocity is below the threshold value, it is determined that the driver has not steered the steering wheel 8. The steering determination unit 26 has a function of outputting the determination result to the steering control unit 27.

  The steering control unit 27 has a function of controlling the reaction force applying unit 11. Specifically, when the determination result indicating that the steering is performed from the steering determination unit 26, the steering control unit 27 inputs from the steering angular velocity detection unit 9. It has a function of outputting a control signal to the reaction force applying unit 11 so as to apply a reaction force in a direction opposite to the steering direction.

  Next, the operation of the driving support apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a driving support process in the driving support apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. This process is repeatedly executed in the ECU 2 at a predetermined timing.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the driving support device 1 starts the process from the driving state determination process (S10). The process of S10 is a process executed by the driving state determination unit 21 to determine whether or not the driver is in a state suitable for driving. When the driver is in a drunk state or when the driver is in a dozing state, it is determined that the driver is not in a state suitable for driving. In the process of S10, when it is determined that the driver is in a state suitable for driving, the process of FIG. 2 ends and the process returns to S10 again.

  On the other hand, in the process of S10, when it is determined that the driver is not in a state suitable for driving, the process proceeds to a safe direction determination process (S12). The process of S12 is executed by the safety direction determination unit 24, and determines which of the right side and the left side of the host vehicle is safe. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a traveling state of the host vehicle. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the oncoming vehicle FM exists in the oncoming lane FL on the right side of the own lane L, and the left sidewalk WL is sufficiently wide. And there is no pedestrian, it is determined that the right side is not safe. When the process of S12 ends, the process proceeds to a vibration applying process (S14).

  The process of S14 is executed by the applied vibration control unit 25, and when it is determined in the process of S10 that the driver is not in a suitable state for driving, the driver follows the end in the width direction of the lane. The vibration applying unit 7 is controlled so as to artificially apply the vibration generated when the host vehicle travels on an uneven part such as a rumble strip provided. In the situation shown in FIG. 3A, since the right side is determined to be unsafe in S14, control is performed so as to give the driver vibration generated when the vehicle travels on the uneven portion provided on the right side. To do. When the process of S14 ends, the process proceeds to a steering determination process (S16).

  The process of S16 is executed by the steering determination unit 26, and is a process of determining whether or not the driver has steered the steering wheel 8 by applying vibration in S16. When the driver in the dozing state or the drinking state is suddenly given a vibration by the process of S14, the driver has an illusion that he / she has actually run on the rumble strips, as shown in FIG. As described above, there is a possibility that the vehicle will deviate from the own lane L or may fluctuate by steering the vehicle to the left side in order to restore the posture of the own vehicle.

  At this time, if the driver does not steer at a predetermined angular velocity or higher, there is no possibility of departing from the own lane L. Therefore, if the steering angular velocity of the steering wheel 8 by the driver is lower than the predetermined threshold value in the process of S16, it is determined that the driver has not steered the steering wheel 8, the process of FIG. Return to the process.

  On the other hand, in the process of S16, when it is determined that the steering angular velocity is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value and the driver has steered the steering 8, the process proceeds to the reaction force applying process (S18). The process of S18 is executed by the steering control unit 27, and is a process of controlling the reaction force applying unit 11 so as to apply a reaction force to the driver's steering. When the process of S18 ends, the process of FIG. 2 ends, and the process returns to S10 again.

  As described above, according to the driving assistance apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, when the host vehicle travels on the uneven portion (for example, rumble strips) provided along the end portion in the width direction of the lane. When the generated vibration is applied to the driver in a pseudo manner, even if the driver to which the vibration is applied is surprised to steer the steering, the running state of the host vehicle is caused by the reaction force by the reaction force applying unit 11. Lane departure and staggered driving due to a sudden turn of the vehicle can be prevented. Thus, sufficient safety can be ensured when pseudo vibration is applied to the driver.

  Further, according to the driving support device 1 according to the present embodiment, when the driver's steering angular velocity is below a predetermined threshold, there is no risk of lane departure or wobbling due to a sudden turn of the vehicle. Since it can be considered, useless reaction force provision can be omitted.

  In addition, according to the driving support device 1 according to the present embodiment, the driver steps on the uneven portion by applying vibration generated when traveling on the uneven portion provided on the side determined to be unsafe. Since the vehicle is driven so as not to go to the recognized side, it is possible to prevent the host vehicle from deviating from the lane in the direction determined to be unsafe.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above.

  For example, the vibration applying unit is not limited to a motor embedded in the driver's seat, but may be a motor that directly vibrates a wheel, a motor that vibrates a body or a frame, or the like.

  In addition, the reaction force applying unit applies a reaction force to the driver's steering when the driver's steering angular velocity is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, but the driver's steering angular acceleration or steering When the amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, a reaction force may be applied to the driver's steering.

It is the figure which showed the block configuration of the driving assistance device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the driving assistance process in the driving assistance device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the driving | running | working state of the own vehicle, (a) shows the state which judges a safe direction, (b), when the reaction force was not provided to a steering, the driver | operator to which the vibration was given steered Indicates the state of the case.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Driving assistance device, 7 ... Vibration provision part (vibration provision means), 8 ... Steering, 11 ... Reaction force provision part (reaction force provision means), 21 ... Driving state determination part (driving state determination means), 24 ... Safety Direction determination unit (safety direction determination means).

Claims (2)

Driving state determination means for determining whether or not the driver is in a state suitable for driving;
When it is determined by the driving state determination means that the driver is not in a state suitable for driving, the host vehicle moves over the uneven portion provided along the end in the width direction of the lane with respect to the driver. Vibration applying means for artificially applying vibration generated when the vehicle travels,
A reaction force applying means for applying a reaction force to the driver's steering when the driver steers the steering by applying the vibration from the vibration applying means;
Safety that determines whether the right side or the left side of the host vehicle is safe based on the surrounding information of the host vehicle when the driving state determination unit determines that the driver is not in a state suitable for driving. Direction determination means,
The driving support device, wherein the vibration applying unit applies vibration generated when the host vehicle travels on an uneven portion provided on the side determined to be unsafe by the safety direction determining unit.   The driving support device according to claim 1, wherein the reaction force applying means applies a reaction force to the driver's steering when an angular velocity of the driver's steering is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. .

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