JPS6153249B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention provides a vehicle that increases the driver's level of consciousness by requesting a response from the driver when driving in an environment where the driver's level of consciousness may decrease. related to a warning device for use.

[Conventional technology]

Conventional vehicle warning systems require a response from the driver when the amount or frequency of the driver's driving operation reaches a certain level, or every certain amount of driving time, or every certain distance traveled, and there is no response. In some cases, the system determines that the driver's level of consciousness has declined and issues a warning or applies the brakes.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, according to this conventional warning device, the amount or frequency of the driver's driving operation is constant, or the driver's driving operation is constant, such as every certain driving time or every certain mileage. For example, if the driver's level of consciousness has not decreased due to frequent driving operations, the driver may feel annoyed and may be unable to concentrate on driving. Ta.

[Means and actions for solving problems]

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
When the driver's level of consciousness decreases and the driving environment becomes monotonous, the system does not issue a warning to the driver uniformly, but only when the driver's level of consciousness decreases, so there is a risk that the driver's level of consciousness may decline. The frequency of vehicle speed fluctuations while driving in a certain monotonous environment is detected, and the driver's response (steering To provide a vehicle warning device which determines that the driver's level of consciousness has decreased and activates the warning device only when there is no response (including a response by wheel operation).

〔Example〕

The vehicle warning device according to the present invention will be explained in detail below.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention, which includes a vehicle speed sensor 1 that emits a constant vehicle speed signal 1a when the vehicle speed falls within a certain range, for example, within a range of 80 to 110 km/h;
A timer 3 that issues a vehicle speed monotone signal 3a when the constant vehicle speed signal 1a continuously exceeds a predetermined time T _A , and a steering angle sensor 2 that issues a steering pulse 2a when the steering angle exceeds a certain value. , is set by the steering pulse 2a, and the steering pulse 2a
A monotone environment judgment circuit 6 is constituted by a timer 4 that issues a steering monotone signal 4a if the vehicle speed monotone signal 3a and the steering monotone signal 4a are not entered for a predetermined time T _B , and an AND circuit 5 that inputs the vehicle speed monotone signal 3a and the steering monotone signal 4a. A response requesting device 7 which requests a response from the driver is activated when the monotonous environmental signal 5a is issued from the circuit 5, and a response requesting device 7 which starts timing after the monotonous environmental signal 5a is inputted and receives a signal from the steering pulse 2a or the driver's response switch 8. a timer 10 which emits an alarm signal 10a when the time until it is reset by the operation signal 9a from the OR circuit ₉ which inputs the response signal 8a of The alarm device 11 is activated.

In the above configuration, the operation will be explained using the time chart shown in FIG. 2 as follows.
If the constant vehicle speed signal 1a continues for a predetermined time T _A (set to at least 1 minute or more to wait for the mind to calm down from frequent operations), the vehicle speed monotone signal 3a
is output, and the steering pulse 2a is output for a predetermined time T _B
If the output is not higher than that, the steering monotone signal 4a is output. This time T _B varies depending on the set steering angle, but as an example, let's take a look at the relatively monotonous Atsugi Expressway.
Drive between IC and Oi Matsuda IC, and between Oi Matsuda IC and Ashigara SA, where left and right curves are continuous, and set the angle
Figure 3 shows the no-operation time at 10°.

In the curved part, the non-operation time is distributed over a short period of time, whereas in the monotonous part, the distribution is distorted. Furthermore, if the set angle is set larger to 20° or 30°, there will be no difference between the monotonic part and the curved part, and no clear distribution will be obtained. This is because on expressways, safety is taken into account when designing the road, and consideration is given to not require large amounts of steering.This is because steering is performed due to artificial causes such as changing lanes, and the non-operating time T _B is the primary reason for this. It becomes difficult to determine the When the set angle is 10 degrees, the non-operation time T _B is approximately 5 to 10 seconds. When the constant vehicle speed signal 1a and the monotone steering signal 4a described above are output, the AND circuit 5 outputs the monotone environment signal 5a. When the response requesting device 7 inputs the signal 5a, it requests a response from the driver using a lamp, buzzer, etc.
In order to determine whether the timer 10 inputs the signal 5a and the response is delayed, it measures a predetermined time _TC , and within this time _TC the response switch 8 or steering angle sensor 2 operated by the driver is activated. from signal 8a
Alternatively, when the signal 2a is output (as the OR circuit signal 9a), the timer 10 does not output the alarm signal 10a. On the other hand, when the output of the OR circuit signal 9a is delayed from the time T _C , the timer 10 outputs the alarm signal 10a.
is output and the alarm device 11 is activated. Research on human response time has been progressing for a long time, and under normal conditions, a simple response is within 0.5 seconds from the presentation of a stimulus, and even a complex response in which a response is selected from multiple stimuli is within 1 second. Figure 4 shows the relationship between our level of consciousness and response; the broken line is the response to the buzzer, and the solid line is the response to the lamp. The response to the buzzer does not lag much even when consciousness declines, but the response to the lamp is delayed. This is thought to be because the buzzer has an arousing effect that increases the level of consciousness, and lamp stimulation is better for getting people to respond and checking their level of consciousness, and buzzer stimulation is better for so-called warnings that call for attention. It shows.

The response delay time T _C is determined by the brightness of the lamp,
Although it varies depending on the position, it takes about 1 to 2 seconds if it is around the normal driver's seat.

In the present invention, when a response is made by the response switch 8, all the circuits are reset and the monotonous environment judgment is performed again from the beginning. This is to do so. In addition to the vehicle speed sensor, an accelerator opening sensor also has a similar function in order to detect vehicle speed fluctuations. Furthermore, for vehicles equipped with a constant vehicle speed maintenance device, the operating switch thereof can be used, and in this case there is an advantage that a comparison circuit for determining the vehicle speed signal can be omitted.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the counter 1 is used instead of the timer 4 in the embodiment of FIG.
3 is connected to a clock pulse oscillator 12 which outputs a pulse every time T _B which is a unit measurement interval. Except for this configuration, the rest has the same configuration as in FIG. 1, so redundant explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 6 is a time chart of FIG. 5, and when the counter 13 does not input the steering pulse 2a in the unit measurement interval T _B , it outputs the steering monotone signal 13a, and an AND condition is established between it and the constant vehicle speed signal 3a. When the monotone environment signal 5a is output. Other details are the same as the time chart in Figure 2, so
Duplicate explanations will be omitted. In the above embodiment, the steering pulse is checked at regular intervals, but it may be checked at regular intervals.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, the vehicle warning device according to the present invention detects the frequency of vehicle speed fluctuations while driving in a monotonous environment where the driver's level of consciousness may decrease, and detects the frequency of vehicle speed fluctuations and On the condition that both steering frequencies become monotonous at the same time, it is determined that the driver's level of consciousness has decreased only when there is no response from the driver (including responses from steering wheel operation). Since the warning device is activated, if the driver's level of consciousness decreases and the driving environment becomes monotonous, a warning is not issued uniformly to the driver, but only when the driver's level of consciousness decreases.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is the time chart of Figure 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing non-operation time. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the driver's response time. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a time chart of Figure 5. Explanation of symbols 1...Vehicle speed sensor, 2...Steering angle sensor, 3...Timer, 4...Timer, 6...Monotonic environment judgment circuit, 7...Response request device, 8...Response switch, 1
0...Timer, 11...Alarm device, 12...Clock pulse oscillator, 13...Counter.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A vehicle speed sensor that outputs a constant vehicle speed signal when vehicle speed fluctuation is less than a predetermined value; and a vehicle that outputs the constant vehicle speed signal when a predetermined time has elapsed after inputting the constant vehicle speed signal. a steering angle sensor that outputs a steering pulse signal when the steering angle changes by more than a predetermined angle; and a unit measurement interval that is a predetermined time during which the steering pulse signal is not output. a circuit that outputs a monotone steering signal when the vehicle speed exceeds the monotone signal, and a monotone environmental signal that identifies that the vehicle is in a monotone state when the monotone steering signal is output while the vehicle speed monotone signal is being output. a response requesting device for requesting a response, and when the driver responds within a predetermined time, cancels the monotonous environmental signal, and when the driver does not respond,
A vehicle warning device characterized by comprising a warning device that arouses a driver's alertness. 2. A patent claim, wherein the circuit that outputs the monotonous steering signal starts timing every time the steering pulse signal is input, and compares the measured time with a set time that is the predetermined unit measurement interval. The vehicle alarm device according to item 1. 3. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the circuit for outputting the monotonous steering signal includes a counter that counts the steering pulse signal output within a set time that is the predetermined unit measurement interval. Alarm device.