JP7062909B2 - Alarm device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an alarm device, and more particularly to an alarm device for a vehicle used by being mounted on a vehicle.

Various techniques have been proposed for monitoring the driver while driving the vehicle and detecting that the driver has become inoperable due to a sudden illness or the like. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that when the driver's head detected by the head detecting means is out of a predetermined range of an image, the driver is detected to be inoperable. Has been done.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-027452

Various alarm devices such as the above devices are very useful when the state to be alarmed can be appropriately detected. However, when the alarm device operates based on the false positive, the alarm may be annoying depending on the driver.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for reducing an alarm based on a false detection of a driver's driving state.

One aspect of the present invention is an alarm device mounted on a vehicle. This alarm device includes a monitoring unit that detects the driving state of the driver of the vehicle, an operation detection unit that detects whether or not the equipment included in the vehicle is being operated, and the driving state of the driver by the monitoring unit. A notification unit that notifies an alarm when is determined to be unsuitable, and a notification unit that suppresses an alarm by the notification unit when the operation of the device is detected, even if the driver's operating state is inappropriate. It is equipped with an alarm control unit.

The alarm device monitors when the operating state of the driver is unsuitable, the operation of the device is detected, and the moving direction of the driver is different from the existing position of the operated device. A sensor determination unit for determining the presence or absence of an abnormality in the sensors constituting the unit may be further provided.

When the sensor determination unit determines that the sensor is abnormal, the alarm control unit may suspend the operation of the notification unit until the sensor becomes normal.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce an alarm based on a false detection of a driver's driving state.

It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the outline of the alarm device which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the functional structure of the alarm device which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the data structure of the position information database which stores the position information of the apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the flow of the alarm suppression processing executed by the alarm apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

<Outline of the embodiment>
An outline of the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an outline of the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the alarm device 1 is mounted on the vehicle V driven by the driver D. The vehicle V also includes a monitoring unit 2 as a part of the alarm device 1. Further, the vehicle V is provided with various devices 3 for assisting the driving of the driver D, such as a car navigation system, an air conditioner, and an ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) device.

The monitoring unit 2 is installed in the room of the vehicle V, monitors the driver D of the vehicle V, and detects the driving state. Here, the "driving state" is a state indicating whether or not the driver D is suitable for driving the vehicle V. For example, when the driver D faces the front in the traveling direction of the vehicle V and the eyes of the driver D are open, it can be said that the driving state of the driver D is an appropriate state. On the contrary, when the driver D faces the side of the vehicle V, the eyes of the driver D are closed, or the driver D is outside the detection range of the monitoring unit 2, the driver D is outside the detection range of the monitoring unit 2. It can be said that the driving state of the driver D is an unsuitable state.

Although detailed description is omitted because it is a known technique, the monitoring unit 2 is realized by an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) or a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and a calculation unit that executes image processing. ing. The monitoring unit 2 detects the driving state of the driver D by analyzing the image obtained by imaging the driver D of the vehicle V using a known image processing technique.

In addition to the image sensor, the monitoring unit 2 also outputs various sensors such as a weight sensor provided in the driver's seat, a contact sensor provided in the steering wheel, and a sensor for measuring the amount of expansion and contraction of the seat belt. The operating state may be used for detection.

In general, when the driver D operates the device 3, the driver D may collapse from the normal driving posture and become unsuitable for driving. When the driver D intentionally operates the device 3, the driver D is also aware that he / she will be in an unsuitable state for a short period of time, and notifying the alarm rather disturbs the concentration of the driver D. It could be. That is, determining the operating state of the driver D who operates the monitoring unit 2 as "inappropriate" can be considered as a kind of erroneous detection of the monitoring unit 2.

The alarm device 1 according to the embodiment basically notifies the driver D by an alarm when the monitoring unit 2 detects that the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate. On the other hand, in the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment, even if the monitoring unit 2 detects that the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate, the device 3 mounted on the vehicle V is operated. When, the alarm about the operating condition is suppressed. Thereby, the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment can reduce the alarm based on the erroneous detection of the operating state of the driver D.

<Functional configuration of alarm device 1>
Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment will be described in more detail.
FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a functional configuration of the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The alarm device 1 according to the embodiment includes a monitoring unit 2, a storage unit 4, and a control unit 5.

The storage unit 4 includes a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) or SSD (Solid State Drive), and a temporary storage unit such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). The non-volatile storage device functions as a storage unit for various programs and a database for realizing the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The temporary storage unit functions as a working memory of the control unit 5.

The control unit 5 is a processor such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) of the vehicle V. The control unit 5 functions as an operation detection unit 50, a notification unit 51, an alarm control unit 52, and a sensor determination unit 53 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 4.

The operation detection unit 50 detects whether or not the device 3 included in the vehicle V is being operated. Although not shown, the operation detection unit 50 is connected to the device 3 via CAN (Controller Area Network), and detects a signal output by the device 3 when an operation is performed on the device 3. As a result, the operation detection unit 50 can detect whether or not the device 3 included in the vehicle V is being operated.

The notification unit 51 notifies an alarm when the monitoring unit 2 determines that the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate. The notification unit 51 notifies the driver D by voice, for example, by outputting an alarm sound from a speaker (not shown) to indicate that the operating condition is unsuitable, or an alarm message is sent to a display unit (not shown) installed in the dashboard. Is displayed and the driver D is notified by an image. Alternatively, the notification unit 51 may notify the driver D by tactile sensation that the driving state is unsuitable by vibrating a vibrator (not shown) built in the steering wheel that the driver D is touching. ..

When the operation of the device 3 is detected, the alarm control unit 52 suppresses the alarm by the notification unit 51 even if the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate. This is because the operation of the monitoring unit 2 is intentionally performed by the driver D, and even if the driving posture is disturbed by this operation, it is considered to be a kind of erroneous detection to determine "inappropriate". Thereby, the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment can reduce the alarm based on the erroneous detection of the operating state of the driver D.

Here, the monitoring unit 2 can track the moving direction of the driver D by monitoring the driver D who is driving the vehicle V. If the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate, the operation of the device 3 is detected, and the moving direction of the driver D matches the existence position of the operated device 3, the driver D operates the device 3. There is a high probability that they have moved to do so. When the moving direction of the driver D coincides with the existing position of the operated device 3, the alarm control unit 52 suppresses the notification of the alarm by the notification unit 51. As a result, the accuracy of alarm suppression based on the false detection of the operating state of the driver D can be further improved.

On the other hand, when the operating state of the driver D is unsuitable, the operation of the device 3 is detected, and the moving direction of the driver D is different from the existing position of the operated device 3, the operation by the monitoring unit 2 is performed. Person D's tracking may have been incorrect. Therefore, in the sensor determination unit 53, when the operating state of the driver D is unsuitable, the operation of the device 3 is detected, and the moving direction of the driver D is in a direction different from the existing position of the operated device 3. In addition, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a data structure of a position information database for storing position information of the device 3 according to the embodiment. The position information database is stored in the storage unit 4 and is managed by the sensor determination unit 53.

As shown in FIG. 3, the position information database stores the position coordinates of the device 3 in association with each type of the device 3 mounted on the vehicle V. The position coordinates of the device 3 are defined as, for example, the position coordinates in the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system of the right-handed system set in the vehicle V. The origin of the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system may be set to an arbitrary place, but as an example, any vertex of a virtual rectangular parallelepiped circumscribing the vehicle V may be set as the origin.

In the example of the position information database shown in FIG. 3, when the driver D sits on the driver's seat of the vehicle V and faces the front, the estimated coordinates of the center of the face of the driver D are also stored. In the three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system, assuming that the vertical direction (forward direction of the vehicle V) is the X axis, the horizontal direction (the width direction of the vehicle V) is the Y axis, and the height direction is the Z axis, the center C of the driver D's face C. The estimated coordinate C of is C (xxx, yyy, zzz). Similarly, the position coordinates N of the car navigation are N (aaa, bbb, ccc).

Therefore, if the driver D driving the vehicle V moves, for example, to operate the car navigation system, the vector component indicating the moving direction is abbreviated as (aaa-xxx, bbb-yy, ccc-zz). It is considered to be parallel. The same applies to the other device 3. By referring to the position information database read from the storage unit 4, the sensor determination unit 53 can determine whether or not the moving direction of the driver D is different from the existing position of the operated device 3.

More specifically, the sensor determination unit 53 calculates the angle formed by the vector p indicating the moving direction of the driver D and the vector q indicating the direction of the device 3 in which the operation is detected by using the cosine theorem. When the calculated angle is less than a predetermined angle, the sensor determination unit 53 determines that the direction of the vector p and the direction of the vector q match.

Here, the "predetermined angle" is a "direction determination standard" referred to by the sensor determination unit 53 for determining a match / mismatch between the movement direction of the driver D and the direction in which the device 3 whose operation is detected exists. Angle ". The specific value of the direction determination reference angle may be determined experimentally in consideration of the accuracy of the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2, but is, for example, 10 degrees.

As described above, the monitoring unit 2 detects the driving state and the moving direction of the driver D by analyzing the captured image. Therefore, for example, when the driver D is exposed to direct sunlight, the image sensor constituting the monitoring unit 2 may cause saturation, and a defect may occur in the image to be analyzed. If a defect occurs in the image to be analyzed, it is highly probable that the analysis result of the monitoring unit 2 will also be an erroneous result. When the moving direction of the driver D is different from the existing position of the operated device 3, it can be said that the abnormality of the sensor is one of the factors to be considered.

The sensor determination unit 53 according to the embodiment determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the sensor constituting the monitoring unit 2 when the moving direction of the driver D is different from the existing position of the operated device 3. , Sensor abnormality can be detected quickly.

When the sensor determination unit 53 determines that the sensor is abnormal, the alarm control unit 52 suspends the operation of the notification unit 51 until the sensor becomes normal. As a result, even if the monitoring unit 2 erroneously detects the operating state of the driver D based on the defective image, the notification unit 51 does not notify the alarm. As a result, the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment can reduce the alarm based on the erroneous detection of the operating state of the driver D.

<Process flow of alarm suppression processing executed by the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment>
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the flow of the alarm suppression process executed by the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment. The process in this flowchart starts, for example, when the engine of the vehicle V starts.

When the engine of the vehicle V is started, the sensor determination unit 53 determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2 (S2). When there is an abnormality in the sensor constituting the monitoring unit 2 (Yes in S4), the sensor determination unit 53 waits for a predetermined time (S6). The "predetermined time" is an alarm standby reference time set for the sensor determination unit 53 to suspend the operation of the notification unit 51 until the sensor abnormality is resolved. The predetermined time may be set by an experiment in consideration of the performance of the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2, and is, for example, 5 seconds.

When the sensor determination unit 53 waits for a predetermined time, the sensor determination unit 53 redetermines whether or not there is an abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2 (S2). The above process is repeated until there is no abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2 (No in S4). In this sense, the loop process (process surrounded by a broken line rectangle in FIG. 4) composed of steps S2, S4, and S6 can be said to be a "sensor confirmation flow" for confirming the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2. .. In particular, the sensor confirmation flow performed after the engine of the vehicle V is started can be said to be the initialization flow of the monitoring unit 2.

When there is no abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2 (No in S4), the monitoring unit 2 detects the operating state of the driver D. When the operating state of the driver D is unsuitable (Yes in S8) and the operation of the device 3 is not detected (No in S10), the notification unit 51 is unsuitable in the operating state of the driver D. This is notified to the driver D by an alarm (S12). When the operating state of the driver D is appropriate (No in S8), the alarm device 1 does not execute the process of step S12, and the notification unit 51 does not notify the alarm.

While the engine of the vehicle V is operating, that is, while the detection of the driving state of the driver D is not completed (No in S14), the alarm device 1 returns to step S8 and returns to step S8, step S10, and step S12. Repeat the process. A loop process composed of steps S8, step S10, step S12, and step S14 (one-dot chain line in FIG. 4) in the sense that the notification unit 51 notifies an alarm when the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate. The process of surrounding with a rectangle) can be said to be a “steady alarm flow” in the alarm device 1.

When the operating state of the driver D is unsuitable (Yes in S8) and the operation of the device 3 is detected (Yes in S10), the sensor determination unit 53 operates the moving direction of the driver D. It is determined whether or not it matches the existence position of the existing device 3. When the moving direction of the driver D matches the existing position of the operated device 3 (Yes in S16), the alarm control unit 52 gives an alarm by the notification unit 51 even if the operating state of the driver D is inappropriate. The alarm device 1 proceeds to the process of step S14 and returns to the steady alarm flow.

When the moving direction of the driver D does not match the existence position of the operated device 3 (No in S16), the sensor determination unit 53 determines whether or not there is an abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2 (S18). If there is no abnormality in the sensor (No in S20), the alarm device 1 proceeds to the process of step S14 and returns to the steady alarm flow.

If there is an abnormality in the sensor (Yes in S20), the alarm device 1 proceeds to the process of step S6, and the sensor determination unit 53 waits for a predetermined time. As a result, the processing flow of the alarm device 1 shifts to the sensor confirmation flow.

In this way, when the operation of the device 3 is detected, the notification unit 51 shifts to the processing flow of either the steady-state alarm flow or the sensor confirmation flow without notifying the alarm. In this sense, the branching process (process surrounded by a two-dot chain line rectangle in FIG. 4) including steps S16, S18, and S20 can be said to be an "alarm suppression flow" in the alarm device 1.

Since the alarm suppression flow includes the abnormality determination process (step S18) of the sensor constituting the monitoring unit 2, the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment will execute the sensor confirmation other than the initialization process. As a result, the alarm device 1 can detect the sensor abnormality at an early stage.

When the detection of the driving state of the driver D is terminated, such as when the engine of the vehicle V is stopped (Yes in S14), the processing in this flowchart is terminated.

<Effects of the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment>
As described above, according to the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment, it is possible to reduce the alarm based on the false detection of the operating state of the driver D.

In particular, when the operation of the device 3 included in the vehicle V is detected, the alarm of the notification unit 51 is suppressed even when the driving state of the driver D is determined to be unsuitable. As a result, it is possible to prevent the driver D from being notified of an alarm for a temporary collapse of the driving posture due to the intentional operation of the device 3, so that the alarm device 1 uses the alarm to notify the driver D. It is possible to suppress giving a feeling of complexity.

Further, in the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment, what is the existence position of the device 3 in which the operating state of the driver D is unsuitable, the operation of the device 3 is detected, and the moving direction of the driver D is operated. When the directions are different, it is determined whether or not there is an abnormality in the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2. As a result, the alarm device 1 according to the embodiment will determine the abnormality of the sensor even at a timing other than the initialization of the sensor, such as when the vehicle V is started. Therefore, the abnormality of the sensor should be detected as soon as possible. Can be done. As a result, it is possible to reduce the alarm based on the false detection of the driving state of the driver D due to the sensor abnormality.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist. be. For example, the specific embodiment of the distribution / integration of the device is not limited to the above embodiment, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed / integrated in any unit. Can be done. Also included in the embodiments of the present invention are new embodiments resulting from any combination of the plurality of embodiments. The effect of the new embodiment produced by the combination has the effect of the original embodiment together.

In the above, it is determined that the operating state of the driver D is unsuitable, the operation of the device 3 is detected, the moving direction of the driver D is different from the existing position of the device 3 being operated, and the monitoring unit 2 is configured. The case where the notification unit 51 returns to the steady alarm flow without notifying the alarm when there is no abnormality in the sensor has been described.

In such a case, if there is a person in the passenger seat, the device 3 may have been operated by the person in the passenger seat. On the other hand, when there is no person in the passenger seat, even if the sensor determination unit 53 determines that there is no abnormality in the sensor, shifting to the sensor confirmation flow just in case leads to a reduction in alarms based on false positives.

Therefore, if the sensor determination unit 53 determines in step S20 in FIG. 4 that there is no abnormality in the sensor, it may be determined whether or not there is a person in the passenger seat. This can be realized, for example, by providing a weight sensor in the passenger seat of the vehicle V and determining the presence or absence of a person based on the output of the weight sensor by the passenger seat determination unit (not shown).

When it is determined by the passenger seat determination unit that there is a person in the passenger seat, the process proceeds to step S14 during the steady alarm flow. If it is determined that there is no person in the passenger seat, the process proceeds to step S6 in the sensor confirmation flow. As a result, the alarm device 1 can reduce alarms based on false positives and more closely determine the abnormality of the sensors constituting the monitoring unit 2.

1 ... Alarm device 2 ... Monitoring unit 3 ... Equipment 4 ... Storage unit 5 ... Control unit 50 ... Operation detection unit 51 ... Notification unit 52 ... Alarm control unit 53・ ・ ・ Sensor judgment unit V ・ ・ ・ Vehicle

Claims (2)

An alarm device installed in a vehicle
A monitoring unit that detects the driving state of the driver of the vehicle, and
An operation detection unit that detects whether or not the equipment provided in the vehicle is being operated,
A notification unit that notifies an alarm when the monitoring unit determines that the driver's operating condition is inappropriate.
When the operation of the device is detected, the alarm control unit that suppresses the alarm by the notification unit even if the driver's operating state is inappropriate, and the alarm control unit.
When the operating state of the driver is inappropriate, the operation of the device is detected, and the moving direction of the driver is different from the existing position of the operated device, the sensor constituting the monitoring unit. A sensor judgment unit that determines the presence or absence of abnormalities in
An alarm device equipped with. When the sensor determination unit determines that the sensor is abnormal, the alarm control unit suspends the operation of the notification unit until the sensor becomes normal.
The alarm device according to claim 1 .

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