Safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability

• US 10,147,319 B1
• Filed: 12/22/2017
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pin-Hua Chen
• Original Assignee: Pin-Hua Chen
• Inventors: Chen, Pin-Hua
• Primary Examiner(s): La, Anh V
• Application Number:
  US15/852,243
• Time in Patent Office: 347 Days
• Field of Search: 340902, 340903, 340438, 340439, 340435, 340436, 340457
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/02405 Determining heart rate variability
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6893 Cars
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/066 actuating a signalling device B60K28/063 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 9/00 Arrangement or adaptation of signal devices not provided for in one of main groups B60Q1/00 - B60Q7/00 , e.g. haptic signalling
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/45 External transmission of data to or from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0453 worn on the body to detect health condition by physiological monitoring, e.g. electrocardiogram, temperature, breathing detecting, measuring or recording for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/12 Manually actuated calamity alarm transmitting arrangements emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm, activators, e.g. details of alarm push buttons mounted on an infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/017 identifying vehicles G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/052 with provision for determining speed or overspeed speed measuring in general G01P
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/09626 where the origin of the information is within the own vehicle, e.g. a local storage device, digital map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

A safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability is disclosed. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability mainly includes a detection display unit and a main control host. The detection display unit includes: a HRV detecting module, a display interface module, a first internal wireless communication module, a control button, a first processor, a power module and a voice management module comprising a microphone and an amplifier. The main control host includes: a mobile communication module, a satellite navigation system module, a second internal wireless communication module, a records preserving module, a second processor, a vehicle power module, a secondary power module, a power management module and an alarm module. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability is able to prevent the vehicle'"'"'s driver from traffic accidents jeopardizing traffic safety due to drinking, taking drug, fatigue or an emergency occurred while driving.

Claims

1. A safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability, comprising:

a detection display unit, comprising;

a Heart Rate Variability (HRV) detecting module, for detecting and outputting a HRV value of a vehicle driver, and when the detected HRV value fallen into a predetermined abnormal value range, sending out a corresponding warning message;

a display interface module, for displaying the warning message or a light or a text corresponding to the warning message;

a first internal wireless communication module, for sending and receiving wireless signals;

a control button, touched to control the display interface module and sending out an emergency message;

a first processor, connected to the HRV detecting module, the display interface module, the first internal wireless communication module and the control button, for operating said connected modules and button, and sending out the warning message, the emergency message and records of HRV values via the first internal wireless communication module; and

a power module, for providing power required for operation to the HRV detecting module, the display interface module, the first internal wireless communication module, the control button, and the first processor; and

a main control host, comprising;

a mobile communication module, installed with a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), for sending and receiving messages through a mobile network;

a satellite navigation system module, for receiving satellite signals to calculate location and speed information of the main control host;

a second internal wireless communication module, paired with and wirelessly connected to the first internal wireless communication module, for sending and receiving wireless signals;

a storing module, for storing HRV values patterns of a vehicle owner and a plurality of users authorized by the vehicle owner to use the vehicle, at least one mobile phone number, a vehicle identification number of the vehicle, and a plurality of newest recorded HRV values from the first internal wireless communication module; and

a second processor, connected to the mobile communication module, the satellite navigation system module, the second internal wireless communication module and the storing module, for operating said connected modules, judging if a data is stored in the storing module, and sending out the warning message, the emergency message, the location and speed information and the vehicle identification number from the first internal wireless communication module to a specific external receiver via the mobile communication module.

2. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, wherein the detection display unit further comprises:

a voice management module, connected to the first processor, for sending out and receiving voice messages, comprising;

a microphone, for converting voice into digital data, and sending out the digital data externally via the first processor, the first internal wireless communication module, the second internal wireless communication module, the second processor and the mobile communication module; and

an amplifier, for converting digital data sent from the mobile communication module, through the second processor, the second internal wireless communication module, the first internal wireless communication module and the first processor into voice and amplifying the voice.

3. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 2, wherein the detection display unit is able to make or answer a phone call through the mobile communication module of the main control host, and input and receive voice through the voice management module.

4. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 2, wherein the first processor utilizes the HRV value of the vehicle driver detected by the HRV detecting module to judge if the driver is suitable for driving or not, and inform the driver about the result of judgment through the amplifier of the voice management module.

5. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined abnormal value range is a range of HRV values measured from human experiments under fatigue, lack of sleep, taking drug, drinking or acute illness resulting in inability to drive the vehicle properly.

6. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, wherein the first internal wireless communication module and the second internal wireless communication module are Bluetooth modules or Near Field Communication (NFC) modules.

7. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, wherein the warning message, the emergency message, the location of the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number are sent to the police or fire department reporting system, a specific transceiver of patrol police officers, a mobile device of the vehicle owner, or a mobile device installed with an APP interpreting the warning message, the emergency message and the vehicle identification number.

8. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 5, wherein the main control host further comprises an alarm module capable of making alarming sounds.

9. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 8, after the vehicle engine is started, the second processor further judges if the second internal wireless communication module and the first internal wireless communication module are paired and connected;

when the second processor judges the second internal wireless communication module and the first internal wireless communication module are not paired and connected, the alarm module makes alarming sounds for 30 seconds and the second internal wireless communication module keeps detecting and tries to pair and connect to the first internal wireless communication module in other detection display unit;

if paring and connecting are not finished within 30 seconds, the second processor sends out an alert message to the vehicle owner or the police via the mobile communication module;

if paring and connecting are finished within 30 seconds, the HRV detecting module waits for 15 seconds for the driver to process HRV detecting.

10. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 9, if the driver processes HRV detecting within 15 seconds, the first processor judges whether the HRV value falls into the predetermined abnormal value range, and the second processor judges if the pattern of the HRV values is different from that of the vehicle owner and a plurality of users authorized by the vehicle owner in the storing module;

if the driver doesn'"'"'t processes HRV detecting within 15 seconds, the first processor further initiates a 5-minutes countdown.

11. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 10, after detection of the HRV detecting module, if the HRV value doesn'"'"'t fall into the predetermined abnormal value range, the display interface module displays a normal detection message, and the HRV detecting module processes another HRV detecting within 30 minutes to the driver to judge if the HRV value falls into the predetermined abnormal value range for ensuring that the driver is physically and mentally fit while driving.

12. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 10, if the HRV value falls into the predetermined abnormal value range, a reason that the HRV value fallen into the predetermined abnormal value range is caused by drinking, fatigue or taking drug is judged by the first processor through the HRV detecting module.

13. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 12, if the HRV value fallen into the predetermined abnormal value range is caused by drinking, the HRV detecting module sends out a drunk driving warning message to display on the display interface module to warn the driver to stop by the roadside and shut down the engine, the alarm module makes alarming sounds every 5 minutes, and the drunk driving warning message is passed to the second internal wireless communication module via the first internal wireless communication module, further sent to the police reporting system, a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle, or a mobile device installed with an APP interpreting the drunk driving warning message and the vehicle identification number, along with the location of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number through the second processor and the mobile communication module.

14. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 12, if the HRV value fallen into the predetermined abnormal value range is caused by taking drug, the HRV detecting module sends out an drug taking warning message to display on the display interface module to warn the driver to stop by the roadside and shut down the engine, the alarm module makes alarming sounds every 5 minutes, and the drug taking warning message is passed to the second internal wireless communication module via the first internal wireless communication module, further sent to the police reporting system, a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle, or a mobile device installed with an APP interpreting the drug taking warning message and the vehicle identification number, along with the location of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number through the second processor and the mobile communication module.

15. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 12, if the HRV value fallen into the predetermined abnormal value range is caused by fatigue, the HRV detecting module sends out an fatigue driving warning message to display on the display interface module to warn the driver to stop by the roadside and shut down the engine, the alarm module makes alarming sounds every 5 minutes, and the fatigue driving warning message is passed to the second internal wireless communication module via the first internal wireless communication module, further sent to the police reporting system, a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle, or a mobile device installed with an APP interpreting the fatigue driving warning message and the vehicle identification number, along with the location of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number through the second processor and the mobile communication module.

16. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 12, if the pattern of the HRV values is different from that in the storing module, the HRV detecting module sends out an unauthorized driving warning message to display on the display interface module, and the unauthorized driving warning message is passed to the second internal wireless communication module via the first internal wireless communication module, further sent to a mobile device of the vehicle owner, a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle, a mobile device installed with an APP interpreting the unauthorized driving warning message, or a plurality of mobile devices owned by users authorized by the vehicle owner, along with the location of the vehicle through the second processor and the mobile communication module.

17. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 10, if any one HRV value is detected by the HRV detecting module within the 5-minutes countdown, the first processor stops the 5-minutes countdown, and the HRV detecting module judges if the HRV value falls into the predetermined abnormal value range or not.

18. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 10, if no HRV value is detected by the HRV detecting module within the 5-minutes countdown, the HRV detecting module sends out a no-HRV-detected driving warning message to display on the display interface module to warn the driver to stop by the roadside and shut down the engine, the alarm module makes alarming sounds every 1 minute, the no-HRV-detected driving warning message is passed to the second internal wireless communication module via the first internal wireless communication module, further sent to the police reporting system or a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle along with the location of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number through the second processor and the mobile communication module.

19. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, if the control button is pressed over 8 seconds, the first processor sends out the emergency message, and the emergency message is passed to the second internal wireless communication module via the first internal wireless communication module, further sent to the fire department reporting system, a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle, or a mobile device installed with an APP interpreting the emergency message and the vehicle identification number along with the location of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number through the second processor and the mobile communication module.

20. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, wherein the second processor utilizes location information received by the satellite navigation system module to calculate the speed of the vehicle after the engine of the vehicle is initiated.

21. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 20, if the second processor finds that the speed of the vehicle is higher than a maximum speed limit of a road where the vehicle runs to a certain percentage and the speed of the vehicle keeps for more than 20 seconds, the second processor sends out an speeding violation message, the location of the vehicle, the speed of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number to the police reporting system or a specific transceiver of patrol police officers within 5 meters around the vehicle via the mobile communication module, and stores details of speeding in the storing module.

22. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 8, wherein the main control host further comprises:

a vehicle power module, connected to a power supply of the vehicle;

a secondary power module, for storing and supplying power; and

a power management module, connected to the mobile communication module, the satellite navigation system module, the second internal wireless communication module, the storing module, the second processor, the vehicle power module, the secondary power module and the alarm module, for controlling the power from the vehicle power module for the operation of each module in the main control host, and providing the power from the secondary power module to maintain the operation of the main control host when an abnormal power failure occurs between the vehicle power module and the power supply of the vehicle.

23. The safe driving system having function of detecting heart rate variability according to claim 1, wherein the detection display unit further comprises:

the power module, for providing the power for the operation of the HRV detecting module, the display interface module, the first internal wireless communication module, the control button, the first processor and a voice management module.