State monitoring device
First Claim
1. A state monitoring device mounted in a vehicle, comprising:
- a light emitter that emits light to irradiate an area predetermined as an area where a vehicle driver'"'"'s face is positioned;
an imaging unit that generates images of an imaging area including the predetermined area;
a state monitoring unit that monitors awakeness of the driver based on a result of image processing on an image generated by the imaging unit;
a state determination unit that determines whether the driver is ready to drive the vehicle or unready to drive the vehicle; and
a light emission control unit that(a) when the state determination unit determines that the driver is unready to drive the vehicle, executes specific processing to lower a light emitting function of the light emitter, and(b) when the state determination unit determines that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle, makes the light emitter emit the light without lowering the light emitting function of the light emitter,wherein;
when the state determination unit determines that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle but becomes unready to drive the vehicle while the state monitoring unit monitors the awakeness of the driver, the light emission control unit lowers the light emitting function of the light emitter and stops image generation by the imaging unit;
when a shift lever position is not a drive position, the state determination unit determines that the driver is unready to drive the vehicle; and
when the state determination unit determines that the shift lever position changes from the drive position to a position other than the drive position while the state monitoring unit monitors the awakeness of the driver, the light emission control unit lowers the light emitting function of the light emitter and stops image generation by the imaging unit.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A state monitoring device mounted in a vehicle includes: a light emitter to emit light to irradiate a predetermined area; an imaging unit to image an imaging area including the predetermined area; a state monitoring unit to monitor a state of the driver based on an image generated by the imaging unit; a state determination unit to determine whether the driver is ready to drive the vehicle or unready to drive the vehicle; and a light emission control unit to execute specific processing to lower a light emitting function of the light emitter when the state determination unit determines that the driver is unready to drive the vehicle, specific processing to lower a light emitting function of the light emitter and not to lower the light emitting function of the light emitter when the state determination unit determines that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle.
5 Citations
8 Claims
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1. A state monitoring device mounted in a vehicle, comprising:
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a light emitter that emits light to irradiate an area predetermined as an area where a vehicle driver'"'"'s face is positioned; an imaging unit that generates images of an imaging area including the predetermined area; a state monitoring unit that monitors awakeness of the driver based on a result of image processing on an image generated by the imaging unit; a state determination unit that determines whether the driver is ready to drive the vehicle or unready to drive the vehicle; and a light emission control unit that (a) when the state determination unit determines that the driver is unready to drive the vehicle, executes specific processing to lower a light emitting function of the light emitter, and (b) when the state determination unit determines that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle, makes the light emitter emit the light without lowering the light emitting function of the light emitter, wherein; when the state determination unit determines that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle but becomes unready to drive the vehicle while the state monitoring unit monitors the awakeness of the driver, the light emission control unit lowers the light emitting function of the light emitter and stops image generation by the imaging unit; when a shift lever position is not a drive position, the state determination unit determines that the driver is unready to drive the vehicle; and when the state determination unit determines that the shift lever position changes from the drive position to a position other than the drive position while the state monitoring unit monitors the awakeness of the driver, the light emission control unit lowers the light emitting function of the light emitter and stops image generation by the imaging unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for monitoring a state of a driver of a vehicle, comprising:
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emitting light to irradiate an area predetermined as an area where the driver'"'"'s face is positioned; generating images of an imaging area including the predetermined area; monitoring awakeness of the driver based on a result of image processing on a generated image; determining whether the driver is ready to drive the vehicle or unready to drive the vehicle; executing specific processing to lower a light emitting function of the light emitter, when determining that the driver is unready to drive the vehicle, and emitting the light without lowering the light emitting function of the light emitter, when the state determination unit determines that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle, wherein; when determining that the driver is ready to drive the vehicle but becomes unready to drive the vehicle while monitoring the awakeness of the driver, the emitting of the light is lowered and the generating of the images is stopped; when a shift lever position is not a drive position, the driver is determined to be unready to drive the vehicle; and when determining that the shift lever position changes from the drive position to a position other than the drive position while monitoring the awakeness of the driver, the emitting of the light is lowered and the generating of the images is stopped.
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Specification