JP7680852B2 - Vehicle Control Systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle control system.

In the field of vehicles, various technologies have been proposed to support driving according to individual drivers. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for controlling a vehicle based on biometric information such as the driver's heart rate. This system includes a pressure-sensing unit on the steering wheel for acquiring the driver's heart rate. Based on the driver's heart rate, the system classifies the driver's state into a normal state, a relaxed state, or a panicked state. When the driver is in an extremely relaxed state or a panicked state, the system increases the brake response and decreases the accelerator and steering responses.

JP 2018-837 A

Traffic accidents can occur due to the driver's driving skills. Therefore, it is believed that the risk of traffic accidents can be further reduced by controlling the vehicle while taking into account the driver's driving skills. However, the system in Patent Document 1 does not take the driver's driving skills into account when controlling the vehicle.

In consideration of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a vehicle control system that can control a vehicle according to the driver's driving skill.

A vehicle control system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an event detection unit provided in a vehicle and configured to detect driving events related to the driver's driving skill that occur when the driver drives the vehicle; an evaluation unit provided in at least one of the vehicle or an external device separate from the vehicle and configured to evaluate the driver's driving skill based on the driving events detected by the event detection unit; a function restriction unit provided in the vehicle and configured to restrict functions of the vehicle when the driver drives the vehicle in accordance with a result of the evaluation by the evaluation unit; and a position detection unit provided in the vehicle and configured to detect the position of the vehicle when the driving event is detected, the external device storing the driving events in association with the position of the vehicle; and The device has a frequency calculation unit that calculates the occurrence frequency of a driving event at a location where the driving event occurred based on the driving events and the vehicle positions stored in the device, and the frequency calculation unit calculates the occurrence frequency when the number of times the driving event occurred at the location where the driving event occurred exceeds a predetermined first threshold, and the evaluation unit does not perform evaluation of the driver's driving skill when the occurrence frequency of the driving event calculated by the frequency calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, and the evaluation unit scores the driver's driving skill by subtracting a deduction amount calculated from a base deduction amount previously assigned to each driving event and coefficients set for the driver's information and the vehicle characteristics from the score held by the driver .

The driving event may include at least one of activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turning, or exceeding a speed limit.

If a driving event is not detected within a specified period of time, the evaluation unit may add to the driver's score an amount of bonus calculated from a base amount of bonus determined based on a distance traveled during a specified period during which no driving event is detected and a coefficient set in the driver's information .

The vehicle control system may include an imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver, and an attribute estimation unit provided in at least one of the vehicle and an external device for estimating personal attributes of the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit, and the evaluation unit may evaluate the driving skill of the driver based on the driving events and the personal attributes estimated by the attribute estimation unit.

The vehicle control system may include an imaging unit provided in the vehicle that captures an image of the driver, an identification unit provided in at least one of the vehicle or the external device that identifies the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit, and an external device separate from the vehicle, and the external device may have a storage device that stores the driver's identification data and the evaluation results in association with each other.

According to the present invention, the vehicle can be controlled according to the driver's driving skill.

1 is a schematic block diagram showing a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 4 shows examples of driving events and base penalty amounts. Examples of information and coefficients used in calculating the amount of points deducted are shown below. Examples of mileage and base points added are shown below. Examples of information and coefficients used in calculating the added points are shown below. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle in FIG. 1 . 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server in FIG. 1 . 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server in FIG. 1 . 4 shows examples of vehicle function restrictions.

The following describes in detail an embodiment of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. The specific dimensions, materials, values, etc. shown in the embodiment are merely examples for ease of understanding, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the specification and drawings, elements that have substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid duplicated explanations. Also, elements that are not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a vehicle control system 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle control system 100 includes a plurality of vehicles 10 (e.g., three in Figure 1) and a server (external device) 90. Note that while Figure 1 shows the configuration of only one vehicle 10, the other vehicles 10 may have a similar configuration.

When a driver drives the vehicle 10, various driving events may occur depending on the driver's driving skill. For example, driving events that may occur when the driver's driving skill is low may include, for example, activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turns, and exceeding the speed limit. Driving events such as those described above may increase the risk of traffic accidents. Therefore, the vehicle control system 100 is configured to detect driving events such as those described above, evaluate the driver's driving skill based on the detected driving events, and limit the functions of the vehicle 10 according to the evaluation results.

Vehicle 10 can be, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a gasoline-powered automobile, an electric automobile, or a diesel automobile. In this embodiment, vehicle 10 is described as a gasoline-powered automobile.

Vehicle 10 is equipped with various ECUs (Electronic Control Units), including ECUs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 shown below, in order to execute various controls related to vehicle 10. Each of these ECUs includes components such as a processor (CPU, etc.) and a storage device (ROM, RAM, etc.) (not shown). The operation of each ECU shown below may be realized by executing a program stored in the storage device in the processor. Also, in this disclosure, when simply referred to as "the ECU of vehicle 10" or "ECU", this may mean one of the ECUs of vehicle 10, or a combination of several of these.

The vehicle 10 is equipped with an engine ECU 1. The engine ECU 1 controls the operation of the engine. The engine ECU 1 is communicatively connected to an electronically controlled throttle 11, an accelerator sensor 12, and a brake stroke sensor 13. The electronically controlled throttle 11, the accelerator sensor 12, and the brake stroke sensor 13 are connected to the engine ECU 1 independently of one another by wiring such as a wire harness.

While the driver is driving the vehicle, the electronically controlled throttle 11 controls the amount of air passing through the intake pipe based on a signal from the engine ECU 1, thereby controlling the output of the engine. Based on a signal from the engine ECU 1, the electronically controlled throttle 11 controls the output of the engine when each driver drives the vehicle 10 according to an evaluation (score) of each driver's driving skill, which will be described later. Therefore, the engine ECU 1 and the electronically controlled throttle 11 function as a function limiting unit that limits the functions of the vehicle 10.

The accelerator sensor 12 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the amount of depression to the engine ECU 1. The engine ECU 1 controls the opening of the electronically controlled throttle 11 based on the amount of depression detected by the accelerator sensor 12. The engine ECU 1 can also detect sudden acceleration based on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator sensor 12 and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor. Thus, the accelerator sensor 12 and the engine ECU 1 function as an event detection unit that detects sudden acceleration (driving event).

The brake stroke sensor 13 detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the detected amount of depression to the engine ECU 1. The engine ECU 1 can detect sudden braking based on the amount of depression of the brake pedal detected by the brake stroke sensor 13 and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the brake stroke sensor 13 and the engine ECU 1 function as an event detection unit that detects sudden braking (driving event).

The engine ECU 1 is communicatively connected to a central gateway (G/W) ECU 50 (described later) via, for example, CAN (Controller Area Network) communication. The engine ECU 1 transmits detected driving events to the central G/W ECU 50. The engine ECU 1 may also transmit at least one of the accelerator pedal depression amount and the brake pedal depression amount to the central G/W ECU 50.

The vehicle 10 is equipped with an exterior monitoring ECU 2. The exterior monitoring ECU 2 is communicatively connected to a first camera 21 and a millimeter wave radar 22. The first camera 21 and the millimeter wave radar 22 are connected to the exterior monitoring ECU 2 independently of each other by wiring such as a wire harness.

The first camera 21 captures an image of the outside of the vehicle 10 (e.g., at least one direction of the front, left, right, or rear of the vehicle 10) while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the image to the exterior monitoring ECU 2. In this disclosure, "image" includes at least one of a still image and a video. The first camera 21 may be, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, and may be a color camera or a black-and-white camera. For example, the exterior monitoring ECU 2 detects lane departure of the vehicle 10 from the above image using image processing. Therefore, the first camera 21 and the exterior monitoring ECU 2 function as an event detection unit that detects lane departure (driving event). Also, for example, the exterior monitoring ECU 2 detects obstacles outside the vehicle 10 from the above image using image processing. The exterior monitoring ECU 2 may use known image processing, such as image recognition, to detect lane departure and obstacles, etc.

The millimeter-wave radar 22 detects the distance to an object outside the vehicle 10 (e.g., in at least one direction, in front, left, right, or rear of the vehicle 10) while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the distance to the exterior monitoring ECU 2. For example, the exterior monitoring ECU 2 can detect the distance to an obstacle outside the vehicle 10 (e.g., a pedestrian, another vehicle, a building, etc.) based on at least one of an image from the first camera 21 or the distance from the millimeter-wave radar 22. Thus, the first camera 21, the millimeter-wave radar 22, and the exterior monitoring ECU 2 can detect excessive proximity to an obstacle.

The vehicle 10 has a pre-crash safety system. Specifically, in the pre-crash safety system, when excessive approach to an obstacle is detected by at least one of the first camera 21 and the millimeter wave radar 22, and the brake stroke sensor 13 does not detect application of the brake, the ECU of the vehicle 10 displays a warning on the information display or applies the brakes. Therefore, the ECU of the vehicle 10 functions as an event detection unit that detects the operation of the pre-crash safety system (driving event).

The outside-vehicle monitoring ECU 2 is communicatively connected to the central G/W ECU 50, for example, via CAN communication. The outside-vehicle monitoring ECU 2 transmits detected driving events to the central G/W ECU 50. The outside-vehicle monitoring ECU 2 may also transmit at least one of an image captured by the first camera 21 or a distance detected by the millimeter-wave radar 22 to the central G/W ECU 50.

The vehicle 10 includes a driver monitoring ECU 3. The driver monitoring ECU 3 is communicatively connected to a second camera (imaging unit) 31 and a thermometer (biometric information detection unit) 32. The second camera 31 and the thermometer 32 are connected to the driver monitoring ECU 3 independently of each other by wiring such as a wire harness.

The second camera 31 captures an image of the interior of the vehicle 10 and transmits the image to the driver monitoring ECU 3. The second camera 31 may be, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, and may be a color camera or a black and white camera.

The second camera 31 captures an image of the inside of the vehicle 10, for example, after the start/stop button of the vehicle 10 is pressed to start the power source, until the start/stop button is pressed again to stop the power source. The driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the personal attributes of the occupants (for example, at least one of age and sex) from this image using image analysis. In this disclosure, the term "occupant" includes at least one of the driver and another occupant. Therefore, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an attribute estimation unit that estimates the personal attributes of the occupants. The driver monitoring ECU 3 also identifies each of the occupants from the above image using image analysis. Therefore, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an identification unit that identifies the occupants. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may use known image processing such as image recognition to estimate the personal attributes and identify the occupants. The estimation of the personal attributes and the identification of the occupants may be performed only once, for example, within a predetermined period after the start/stop button is pressed to start the power source.

For example, the driver monitoring ECU 3 may assign a unique identification symbol (e.g., numbers, letters, figures, or a combination of these) (identification data) to each identified driver. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may also store an image and identification number of the identified driver in a storage device (not shown). The driver monitoring ECU 3 may compare an image newly captured by the second camera 31 with an image of the driver stored in the storage device, for example, using image processing such as face recognition, and may read out the identification symbol stored in the storage device if they match. In this case, the driver monitoring ECU 3 does not need to assign a new identification symbol to the driver identified from the newly captured image.

The driver monitoring ECU 3 also uses image analysis to estimate the occupant's emotions from the image captured by the second camera 31 while the driver is driving the vehicle. The emotions include at least one of, for example, joy, anger, sadness, pleasure, or fear. Thus, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an emotion estimation unit that estimates the occupant's emotions. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may use known image processing to identify a person's emotions. For example, it is generally known that there is a correlation between a person's emotions and facial features (Facial Action Coding System). Using this correlation, the driver monitoring ECU 3 may previously associate and store a plurality of emotions with the corresponding facial features. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may acquire facial features from the image captured by the second camera 31, and compare the acquired facial features with a plurality of facial features stored in advance. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may extract the facial features most similar to the acquired facial features from the plurality of facial features stored in advance. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may estimate the emotion associated with the extracted facial feature amount as the emotion of the occupant. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may compare image information of the occupant's face captured by the second camera 31 with multiple image information of the occupant's face associated with emotions and stored in advance using a method such as block matching. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may extract the image information most similar to the image information captured by the second camera 31 from the multiple image information stored in advance. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may estimate the emotion associated with the extracted image information as the emotion of the occupant. For emotion estimation, for example, a method described in JP 2013-216241 A may be used.

The thermometer 32 detects the body temperature (biometric information) of the occupant and transmits the body temperature to the driver monitoring ECU 3. The thermometer 32 can be, for example, an infrared temperature measuring device. The body temperature detection may be performed only once within a predetermined period of time after the start-stop button is pressed to start the power source, for example.

The driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the physical condition of the driver based on the detected body temperature of the driver. For example, the driver monitoring ECU 3 determines whether the measured body temperature of the driver is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 37.5°C). For example, when the measured body temperature of the driver is less than 37.5°C, the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates that the physical condition of the driver is normal, and when the measured body temperature of the driver is 37.5°C or higher, the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates that the physical condition of the driver is poor. Thus, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as a physical condition estimation unit that estimates the physical condition of the driver based on biometric information. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may, for example, gradually limit the functions of the vehicle 10 according to the estimated physical condition of the driver (for example, limiting the engine output when the physical condition is somewhat poor, disabling engine start when the physical condition is poor, etc.).

The driver monitoring ECU 3 is communicatively connected to the central G/W ECU 50, for example, via CAN communication. The driver monitoring ECU 3 transmits to the central G/W ECU 50 at least one of the image captured by the second camera 31, the body temperature detected by the thermometer 32, the personal attributes of the driver obtained by the driver monitoring ECU 3, the driver's identification symbol, and the driver's physical condition.

The vehicle 10 is equipped with a steering ECU 4. The steering ECU 4 controls the operation of the electric steering. The steering ECU 4 is communicatively connected to a steering angle sensor 41. The steering angle sensor 41 is connected to the steering ECU 4 by wiring such as a wire harness.

The steering angle sensor 41 detects, for example, the rotation angle of the steering shaft while the driver is driving the vehicle 10, and transmits the rotation angle to the steering ECU 4. For example, the steering ECU 4 can detect a sharp turn based on the rotation angle detected by the steering angle sensor 41 and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the steering angle sensor 41 and the steering ECU 4 function as an event detection unit that detects a sharp turn (driving event).

The steering ECU 4 is communicatively connected to the central G/W ECU 50, for example, via CAN communication. The steering ECU 4 transmits detected driving events to the central G/W ECU 50. The steering ECU 4 may also transmit the rotation angle detected by the steering angle sensor 41 to the central G/W ECU 50.

The vehicle 10 is equipped with a central G/W ECU 50. The central G/W ECU 50 is communicatively connected to multiple ECUs of the vehicle 10, including the engine ECU 1, exterior monitoring ECU 2, driver monitoring ECU 3, steering ECU 4, and data communication ECU 6 described below, and relays these multiple ECUs. The central G/W ECU 50 is also communicatively connected to a car navigation system 5 described below, and relays the car navigation system 5 and the above ECUs. When the central G/W ECU 50 receives driving events from the above ECUs, it transmits them to the car navigation system 5.

The vehicle 10 is equipped with a car navigation system (position detection unit) 5. The car navigation system 5 detects the current position of the vehicle 10 using, for example, a Global Positioning System (GPS), a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), an acceleration sensor, a gyro, and vehicle speed information. The car navigation system 5 also generates a route to the destination based on, for example, map information stored in a storage device and the current position of the vehicle 10.

For example, when the car navigation 5 receives a driving event from the central G/W ECU 50 while the driver is driving the vehicle 10, the car navigation 5 detects the position of the vehicle 10 when the driving event was received, i.e., the position of the vehicle 10 approximately when the driving event was detected. The car navigation 5 associates the driving event with the position of the vehicle 10 when the driving event was detected, and transmits them to the central G/W ECU 50.

The ECU of the vehicle 10 can determine whether the current speed of the vehicle 10 exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 10 is traveling, based on, for example, the current position of the vehicle 10 and the speed limit of each road obtained by the car navigation system, and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the ECU of the vehicle 10 functions as an event detection unit that detects exceeding the speed limit (driving event). The car navigation system 5 detects the position of the vehicle 10 when exceeding the speed limit is detected.

The car navigation 5 is communicatively connected to the central G/W ECU 50, for example, via CAN communication. The car navigation 5 associates a detected driving event with the position of the vehicle 10 when the driving event was detected, and transmits these to the central G/W ECU 50. The car navigation 5 may also transmit at least one of the current position of the vehicle 10 and the route to the destination to the central G/W ECU 50, for example, at a predetermined interval (1 to several seconds, 10 to several tens of seconds, 1 to several minutes, 10 to several tens of minutes).

The central G/W ECU 50 transmits at least one of the above data received from the engine ECU 1, the exterior monitoring ECU 2, the driver monitoring ECU 3, the steering ECU 4, and the car navigation 5 to the data communication ECU 6.

The data communication ECU (transmitter) 6 transmits at least one of the above data obtained by the vehicle 10 to the server 90. For example, when a driving event is detected, the data communication ECU 6 transmits to the server 90 the driving event, the location where the driving event occurred, and at least one of an image of the driver or an identification symbol of the driver. The data communication ECU 6 may also transmit at least one of the current location of the vehicle 10 or the route to the destination to the server 90 at, for example, a predetermined interval (1 to several seconds, 10 to several tens of seconds, 1 to several minutes, 10 to several tens of minutes). The data communication ECU 6 also transmits to the server 90 at least one of the vehicle characteristics, such as the license plate number, engine displacement, vehicle size, maximum horsepower, or maximum torque of the vehicle 10. The data communication ECU 6 can use various wireless communication standards.

The server 90 is installed, for example, in a building outside the vehicle 10. The server 90 is capable of communicating with a plurality of vehicles 10 via wireless communication and receives data from the plurality of vehicles 10. The server 90 includes a storage device 91. The storage device 91 may include, for example, a HDD, a ROM, and a RAM. The server 90 also includes other components, such as a processor (CPU, etc.) (not shown). The operations of the server 90 described below may be realized by causing the processor to execute a program stored in the storage device 91.

The storage device 91 stores data received from each vehicle 10. For example, the storage device 91 stores a driving event, a location where the driving event occurred, and at least one of an image of the driver or an identification symbol of the driver in association with the driving event. If the data from the vehicle 10 includes the driver's identification symbol, the server 90 determines whether the corresponding identification symbol is already stored in the storage device 91. If the corresponding identification symbol is already stored in the storage device 91, the server 90 stores the received data in association with the identification symbol in the storage device 91. Also, if the data from the vehicle 10 includes an image of the driver, the server 90 determines whether the corresponding image of the driver is already stored in the storage device 91, for example, using image processing such as face recognition. If the corresponding image of the driver is already stored in the storage device 91, the server 90 stores the received data in association with the image of the driver in the storage device 91. Therefore, even when each driver drives another vehicle 10, the vehicle control system 100 can use the data stored in the storage device 91. If neither the corresponding identification symbol nor the image of the driver is stored in the storage device 91, the server 90 stores the received data in the storage device 91 as data of a new driver. The storage device 91 also stores an evaluation (score) of the driving skills of each driver, which will be described later, in association with the data of each driver described above.

The storage device 91 may also store at least one of the location of the vehicle 10 or the route to the destination received from each vehicle 10 at a predetermined interval. In this case, the server 90 can calculate the distance traveled by each driver. In this case, the server 90 can also calculate the traffic volume on each road using the data of all drivers stored in the storage device 91.

When the server 90 receives a driving event from the vehicle 10, it calculates the occurrence frequency of the driving event at the location where the driving event occurred, for example, by using the data of all drivers stored in the storage device 91. For example, the occurrence frequency can be calculated by dividing the number of times the driving event occurred at the location where the driving event occurred by the traffic volume at that location. Therefore, the server 90 functions as a frequency calculation unit that calculates the occurrence frequency of each driving event. Note that the server 90 does not need to calculate the occurrence frequency if the number of samples (occurrence number) of the driving event at the location where the driving event occurred is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, 5 times).

The server 90 classifies a driving event as a traffic risk if the occurrence frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 1%). In this disclosure, "traffic risk" may refer to a driving event caused by many drivers in a particular location. If a driving event occurs frequently in a particular location, this can be considered to mean that many drivers cause the driving event in that location, regardless of the driving skills of the individual drivers. In other words, it can be determined that the driving event does not depend on the driving skills of individual drivers, but is common to many drivers. In this case, the server 90 does not evaluate the driving skills of the drivers.

If the driving event is not classified as a traffic risk, the server 90 evaluates the driving skills of each driver based on the received driving event. In this embodiment, the server 90 scores the driving skills of the drivers by subtracting a penalty point previously assigned to each driving event from the score that each driver has. Thus, the server 90 functions as an evaluation unit that evaluates the driving skills of the drivers. For example, the server 90 gives each driver an initial score (e.g., 100 points) when the driver is newly stored in the storage device 91. For a new driver, the storage device 91 stores this initial score as the score of the driver.

Figure 2 shows an example of driving events and base penalty points. As shown in Figure 2, the storage device 91 stores a base penalty point that is pre-assigned to each driving event. For example, the higher the risk of a traffic accident that a driving event has, the higher the base penalty point is set.

Figure 3 shows an example of information and coefficients used to calculate the deduction amount. The server 90 may weight the deduction amount based on each driver information detected in the vehicle 10. Specifically, the storage device 91 stores coefficients 1 to 4 for the driver information detected in the vehicle 10. For example, coefficients 1 and 2 are set for the personal attributes (e.g., age and gender) of the driver detected in the vehicle 10. Furthermore, coefficient 3 is set for the driver's emotions detected in the vehicle 10. Furthermore, coefficient 4 is set for the emotional divergence between the driver and other passengers. For example, these coefficients 1 to 4 are set higher if the driver in question is statistically more likely to cause a traffic accident.

The server 90 may also weight the amount of points deducted based on the characteristics of the vehicle 10. Specifically, the storage device 91 stores a coefficient of 5 for the engine displacement of the vehicle 10. For example, the coefficient of 5 is set higher if the vehicle 10 has a higher possibility of causing a more serious traffic accident.

The server 90 calculates the amount of deduction by multiplying the base deduction amount shown in FIG. 2 by the sum of coefficients 1 to 5 shown in FIG. 3 (deduction amount = base deduction amount x (coefficient 1 + coefficient 2 + coefficient 3 + coefficient 4 + coefficient 5)). The server 90 calculates the driver's latest score by subtracting the calculated amount of deduction from the driver's current score stored in the storage device 91.

Figure 4 shows an example of mileage and base points. If a driving event is not detected within a predetermined period (e.g., one to several weeks, one to several months, or one to several years) for a certain driver, the server 90 adds a point to the current score of the driver. As shown in Figure 4, for example, the server 90 may determine the base points based on the mileage during this period. In general, the longer the mileage of a driver, the higher the possibility of causing a driving event. Therefore, if a driving event is not detected within a predetermined period and the mileage is long, the driver can be considered to have a high driving skill that does not cause a driving event. Therefore, the longer the mileage, the higher the base points are set. This allows the driver's driving skill to be more appropriately evaluated.

Figure 5 shows an example of information and coefficients used to calculate the added points. The server 90 may weight the added points based on the driver information detected in the vehicle 10. Specifically, the storage device 91 stores coefficients 6 and 7 for the driver information detected in the vehicle 10. For example, coefficients 6 and 7 are set for the personal attributes (e.g., age and gender) of the driver detected in the vehicle 10. For example, coefficients 6 and 7 are set higher when the driver in question has a statistically lower possibility of causing a traffic accident.

The server 90 calculates the amount of added points by multiplying the base amount of added points shown in Fig. 4 by the sum of the coefficients 6 and 7 shown in Fig. 5 (amount of added points = base amount of added points x (coefficient 6 + coefficient 7)). The server 90 calculates the latest score of the driver by adding the determined amount of added points to the current score of the driver stored in the storage device 91.

Next, the operation of the vehicle 10 and the server 90 will be described.

Figure 6 is a flow chart showing the operation of the vehicle 10 in Figure 1 when a driving event is detected. For example, the operation shown in Figure 6 is repeated at a predetermined interval (e.g., one to several seconds, ten to several tens of seconds, one to several minutes, or ten to several tens of minutes) after the start-stop button of the vehicle 10 is pressed to start the power source.

The ECU of the vehicle 10 determines whether a driving event has been detected (step S100). If it is determined in step S100 that a driving event has not been detected (NO), the operation ends.

If it is determined in step S100 that a driving event has been detected (YES), the ECU determines whether the driver's physical condition is normal or not (step S102). If it is determined in step S102 that the driver's physical condition is not normal (NO), the operation ends. In other words, even if a driving event is detected, if the driver's physical condition is not normal, the server 90 does not perform the evaluation of the driver's driving skills described below.

If it is determined in step S102 that the driver's physical condition is normal (YES), the ECU transmits data to the server 90 (step S104), and the operation ends. The data transmitted to the server 90 includes the detected driving event and the location where the driving event occurred. The data transmitted to the server 90 also includes at least one of an image of the driver or an identification symbol of the driver.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server 90 in Figure 1 when a driving event is received from each vehicle 10. For example, the operation shown in Figure 7 is initiated when the server 90 receives data including a driving event from each vehicle 10.

The server 90 stores the data received from the vehicle 10 in the storage device 91 (step S200).

Next, the server 90 determines whether the number of samples of the received driving event at the location where the driving event occurred is equal to or greater than a threshold value (step S202).

If it is determined in step S202 that the number of samples is equal to or greater than the threshold value (YES), the server 90 calculates the occurrence frequency of the received driving event at the location where the driving event occurred (step S204).

Next, the server 90 determines whether the calculated occurrence frequency is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S206). If it is determined in step S206 that the occurrence frequency is equal to or greater than the threshold (YES), the server 90 classifies the received driving event as a traffic risk (S208).

Then, the server 90 transmits the evaluation result to the vehicle 10 (step S210) and ends the operation. Specifically, the server 90 transmits to the vehicle 10 that transmitted the data including the driving event that the received driving event has been classified as a traffic risk.

When the ECU of the vehicle 10 receives an evaluation result indicating that the driving event has been classified as a traffic risk, it issues a warning to the driver. For example, the ECU may show the warning on an information display. Alternatively or additionally, the ECU may issue an audio warning.

If it is determined in step S202 that the number of samples is less than the threshold (NO), and if it is determined in step S206 that the occurrence frequency is less than the threshold (NO), the server 90 determines the base penalty amount (step S212). With reference to FIG. 2, specifically, the server 90 determines the base penalty amount according to the received driving event.

Referring to FIG. 7, the server 90 then determines a coefficient for weighting the base penalty points (step S214). Referring to FIG. 3, specifically, the server 90 determines coefficients 1 to 5 based on the driver information and vehicle characteristics received from the vehicle 10.

Referring to FIG. 7, the server 90 then calculates the amount of deduction points based on the base amount of deduction points and coefficients 1 to 5 (step S216). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the amount of deduction points as follows: deduction point amount = base amount of deduction points x (coefficient 1 + coefficient 2 + coefficient 3 + coefficient 4 + coefficient 5).

Next, the server 90 scores the driver's driving skills (step S218). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the driver's latest score by subtracting the calculated deduction amount from the driver's score stored in the storage device 91.

Then, the server 90 updates the driver's score stored in the storage device 91 to the latest score (step S220). The server 90 then transmits the evaluation result to the vehicle 10 (step S210) and ends the operation. Specifically, the server 90 transmits to the vehicle 10 that transmitted the data including the driving event, a message that the received driving event was not classified as a traffic risk, and the latest score of the driver.

When the ECU of the vehicle 10 receives the evaluation results including the driver's latest score, it limits the functions of the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10 thereafter according to the driver's score.

Figure 9 shows an example of functional restrictions of the vehicle 10. For example, as shown in Figure 9, the ECU of the vehicle 10 classifies the received score into one of a number of classes (five classes in Figure 9) depending on the score. Thus, the ECU of the vehicle 10 functions as a classifier that classifies the evaluation result into one of a number of classes. The ECU restricts the functions of the vehicle 10 more severely the lower the driver's score. For example, if the score is 50 points or more, the ECU does not restrict the functions of the vehicle 10.

For example, if the score is between 25 and 50 points, the ECU limits the engine output by reducing the response of the electronically controlled throttle 11 to the amount of accelerator pedal depression detected by the accelerator sensor 12. In addition, if the vehicle 10 has multiple driving modes, the ECU limits the selection of a specific driving mode (e.g., high-speed driving mode).

Furthermore, if the driver's score is lower, the ECU of the vehicle 10 cumulatively adds the more stringent restrictions shown in FIG. 9 in addition to the restrictions above.

Figure 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of the server 90 in Figure 1, and shows the operation when adding points to a driver's score. For example, the operation shown in Figure 8 is executed for all driver scores stored in the storage device 91 at a predetermined interval (e.g., one to several hours, one to several days).

The server 90 determines whether a driving event has been detected within a predetermined period for the target driver (step S300). If it is determined in step S300 that a driving event has been detected within the predetermined period (YES), the operation ends.

If it is determined in step S300 that no driving incident has been detected within the predetermined period (YES), the server 90 determines a base point addition amount (step S302). With reference to FIG. 4, specifically, the server 90 determines the base point addition amount based on the driving distance of the target driver within the above-mentioned period.

Referring to FIG. 8, the server 90 then determines a coefficient for weighting the base added point amount (step S304). Referring to FIG. 5, specifically, the server 90 determines coefficients 6 and 7 based on the driver information received from the vehicle 10.

Referring to FIG. 8, the server 90 then calculates the amount of added points based on the base amount of added points and the coefficients 6 and 7 (step S306). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the amount of added points as: Addition amount = Base amount of added points x (Coefficient 6 + Coefficient 7).

Then, the server 90 scores the driver's driving skills (step S308). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the driver's latest score by adding the calculated additional point amount to the driver's score stored in the storage device 91. Note that if the driver's score stored in the storage device 91 is full (initial), the driver's score is maintained at full. Therefore, the driver's score will never exceed full.

Next, the server 90 updates the driver's score stored in the storage device 91 to the latest score (step S310), and then transmits the latest score to the vehicle 10 (step S312 ), and ends the operation.

When the ECU of the vehicle 10 receives the latest score, it restricts the functions of the vehicle 10 according to the driver's latest score when the driver subsequently drives the vehicle 10. For example, if the driver's score increases and the driver is classified into a better class, the ECU removes the restrictions on the vehicle 10 that were included in the previous class.

The vehicle control system 100 as described above includes an event detection unit 1, 12, 13, 2, 21, 22, 4, 41 provided in the vehicle 10 and detecting driving events related to the driver's driving skills that occur when the driver drives the vehicle 10, a server 90 that evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events detected in the vehicle 10, and a function restriction unit 1, 11 provided in the vehicle 10 and restricting the functions of the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10 according to the evaluation result by the server 90. According to the vehicle control system 100, driving events related to the driver's driving skills are detected, and the driver's driving skills are evaluated based on the driving events. Then, the functions of the vehicle 10 are restricted according to the evaluation result. Therefore, the vehicle 10 can be controlled according to the driver's driving skills. Therefore, by feeding back the evaluation result of the driver's driving skills to the vehicle 10 and controlling the vehicle 10 in this manner, it is possible to prevent accidents from occurring and improve the driver's awareness of safe driving.

In the vehicle control system 100, driving events include activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turns, and exceeding speed limits. These driving events may increase the risk of traffic accidents. Therefore, by evaluating the driver's driving skills based on such driving events, the driver can be encouraged to avoid causing such driving events. Thus, the risk of traffic accidents can be reduced.

In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the server 90 scores the driver's driving skills by subtracting a penalty point assigned in advance to each driving event from the driver's score. Therefore, a driver who does not cause the above-mentioned driving events, i.e., a safe driver, can have a higher score. Therefore, the driver can be encouraged not to cause driving events, and the risk of a traffic accident can be reduced.

In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the server 90 adds points to the driver's score if a driving event is not detected within a specified period of time. If a driving event is not detected within a specified period of time, the driver can be considered to be mindful of safe driving. Therefore, by adding points to the driver's score in such cases, the driver's driving skills can be appropriately scored.

The vehicle control system 100 also includes a car navigation system 5 that is provided in the vehicle 10 and detects the position of the vehicle 10 when a driving event is detected, and a server 90. The server 90 also includes a storage device 91 that stores the driving event and the position of the vehicle 10 in association with each other. The server 90 also functions as a frequency calculation unit that calculates the occurrence frequency of the driving event at the position where the driving event occurred based on the driving event and the position of the vehicle 10 stored in the storage device 91. Furthermore, when the occurrence frequency of the driving event is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the server 90 does not perform an evaluation of the driver's driving skill. As described above, if a certain driving event occurs frequently at a specific location, this can be considered to mean that many drivers cause the driving event at that location, regardless of the driver's driving skill. Therefore, in such a case, the driver's driving skill can be properly evaluated by not performing an evaluation of the driver's driving skill.

The vehicle control system 100 also includes a second camera 31 provided in the vehicle 10 for capturing an image of the driver, and a driver monitoring ECU 3 provided in the vehicle 10 for estimating the personal attributes of the driver based on the image captured by the second camera 31. The server 90 evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events and the personal attributes estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3. For example, it is statistically known that drivers of a certain generation have a higher risk of causing a traffic accident. It is also statistically known that female drivers have a higher risk of causing a traffic accident than male drivers. Therefore, the driver's driving skills can be more appropriately evaluated by considering personal attributes such as age and gender in addition to the driving events.

In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the driver monitoring ECU 3 identifies the driver based on the image captured by the second camera 31. The storage device 91 of the server 90 stores the driver's identification data and the evaluation results in association with each other. Therefore, when the driver drives another vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can restrict functions using the data stored in the storage device 91 of the server 90. Therefore, even when the driver drives another vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can be controlled according to the driver's driving skill.

In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the driver's emotions when driving the vehicle 10 based on the images captured by the second camera 31. The server 90 evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events and the driver's emotions estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3. For example, it is generally known that drivers who get angry easily have a higher risk of causing a traffic accident. Therefore, by taking into account the driver's emotions in addition to the driving events, the driver's driving skills can be more appropriately evaluated.

In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the second camera 31 captures images of other occupants in the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10, and the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the emotions of the other occupants based on the images captured by the second camera 31. The server 90 evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events and the emotions of the driver and other occupants estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3. For example, if the driver has lower driving skills, the other occupants may feel uncomfortable. In such a case, the driver's emotions may diverge from the emotions of the other occupants. Therefore, by considering the emotions of the other drivers in addition to the driver's emotions, the driver's driving skills can be more appropriately evaluated.

The vehicle control system 100 is also provided with a thermometer 32 that is installed in the vehicle 10 and detects the body temperature of the driver, and the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the driver's physical condition based on the body temperature detected by the thermometer 32. As described above, when the driver's physical condition estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3 is not normal, the vehicle 10 does not transmit a driving event to the server 90. That is, when the driver's physical condition is not normal, the server 90 does not perform an evaluation of the driver's driving skills. When the driver's physical condition is not normal, the driver's driving skills may decline. Therefore, in such a case, by not performing an evaluation of the driver's driving skills, the driver's driving skills can be more appropriately evaluated.

Furthermore, in the vehicle control system 100, the ECU of the vehicle 10 classifies the evaluation results into one of a number of predetermined classes, and restricts the functions of the vehicle 10 based on the class into which the evaluation results are classified. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an increase in the number of functional restrictions, and to avoid complex control.

The server 90 also evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events and the engine displacement of the vehicle 10. For example, if the driver has lower driving skills, the driver may not be able to safely drive a vehicle with higher power. Therefore, by considering the vehicle characteristics such as engine displacement in addition to the driving events, the driver's driving skills may be more appropriately evaluated.

Although the embodiments have been described above with reference to the attached drawings, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can conceive of various modified or amended examples within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally fall within the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the steps of the above embodiments do not have to be performed in the above order, and may be performed in a different order as long as no technical contradiction occurs.

For example, in the above embodiment, the server 90 functions as the evaluation unit. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, at least one of the ECUs of the vehicle 10 may function as the evaluation unit.

In the above embodiment, the server 90 calculates a score (i.e., scores) for the driver's driving skills. In other embodiments, the server 90 may evaluate the driver's driving skills as excellent, average, or poor, for example, depending on the number of driving events that occur.

In the above embodiment, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an attribute estimation unit, a classification unit, and an emotion estimation unit. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, the server 90 may function as at least one of the attribute estimation unit, the classification unit, or the emotion estimation unit based on images received from each vehicle.

In the above embodiment, body temperature is detected as biometric information for estimating the driver's physical condition. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, at least one of blood pressure, heart rate, exhalation rate, or alcohol concentration in the exhaled breath may be detected as biometric information.

In the above embodiment, the engine displacement is taken into consideration as a feature of the vehicle 10 in evaluating the driver's driving skills. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, for example, at least one of the vehicle size, maximum horsepower, or maximum torque may be taken into consideration as a feature of the vehicle 10 in evaluating the driver's driving skills.

1. Engine ECU (event detection section, function restriction section)
2. Vehicle exterior monitoring ECU (event detection unit)
3 Driver monitoring ECU (event detection unit)
4 Steering ECU 4 (event detection unit)
5. Car navigation (location detection section)
10 Vehicle 11 Electronically controlled throttle (function restriction part)
12 Accelerator sensor (event detection unit)
13 Brake stroke sensor (event detection unit)
21 First camera (event detection unit)
22 Millimeter wave radar (event detection section)
31 Second camera (imaging unit)
32 Thermometer (biometric information detection unit)
41 Steering angle sensor (event detection unit)
90 Server (external device)
91 Storage device 100 Vehicle control system

Claims (5)

An event detection unit provided in the vehicle, which detects a driving event related to the driver's driving skill that occurs when the driver drives the vehicle;
An evaluation unit provided in at least one of the vehicle or an external device separate from the vehicle, and configured to evaluate a driving skill of the driver based on the driving event detected by the event detection unit;
A function limiting unit that is provided in the vehicle and limits a function of the vehicle when the driver drives the vehicle according to the evaluation result by the evaluation unit;
a position detection unit provided in the vehicle and configured to detect a position of the vehicle when the driving event is detected;
Equipped with
The external device is
A storage device that stores the driving event and the position of the vehicle in association with each other;
a frequency calculation unit that calculates an occurrence frequency of the driving event at a location where the driving event occurs based on the driving event and the position of the vehicle stored in the storage device;
having
The frequency calculation unit calculates the occurrence frequency when the number of times the driving event has occurred at the location where the driving event has occurred exceeds a predetermined first threshold value;
the evaluation unit does not evaluate the driving skill of the driver when the occurrence frequency of the driving event calculated by the frequency calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold value;
The evaluation unit scores the driving skill of the driver by subtracting a base deduction amount previously assigned to each driving event and a deduction amount calculated from a coefficient set for information on the driver and characteristics of the vehicle from the score held by the driver.
Vehicle control system. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein the driving event includes at least one of activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turning, or exceeding a speed limit. 2. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein when the driving event is not detected within a predetermined period, the evaluation unit adds to the driver's score an additional point amount calculated from a base additional point amount determined based on a driving distance during the predetermined period during which the driving event is not detected and a coefficient set to information about the driver . An imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver;
an attribute estimation unit that is provided in at least one of the vehicle and the external device and that estimates a personal attribute of the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit;
Equipped with
The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the driving skill of the driver based on the driving event and the personal attribute estimated by the attribute estimation unit. An imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver;
an identification unit provided in at least one of the vehicle and the external device, and configured to identify the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit;
Equipped with
5. The vehicle control system according to claim 1 , wherein the external device has a storage device that stores the driver's identification data and the evaluation result in association with each other.

Images