Alarm device

• US 10,632,912 B2
• Filed: 04/04/2019
• Issued: 04/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 04/04/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (Aisin Corp.)
• Inventors: Tsukao, Kosuke, Tsukazaki, Hironobu
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Point, Rufus C
• Application Number:
  US16/375,183
• Publication Number:
  US 20190308554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 390 Days
• 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: B60Q 9/008 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/013 Eye tracking input arrangements G06F3/015 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/58 Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestrians; Recognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/18 Eye characteristics, e.g. of the iris
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

An alarm device includes: a host vehicle information acquisition unit; a vehicle external information acquisition unit; a visual attention target calculation unit calculating a target to which attention of a driver is required based on host vehicle information and vehicle external information; a sight line information acquisition unit acquiring sight line information about the driver; an eyeball position information acquisition unit acquiring eyeball position information about the driver; a visual attention point calculation unit calculating a point to which the driver pays attention, based on the sight line information and the eyeball position information; a determination unit determining whether the driver pays attention to the target, based on the target and the point; and a notification unit notifying the driver of a determination result when determined that the driver does not pay attention to the target.

Claims

1. An alarm device comprising:

a host vehicle information acquisition unit that acquires host vehicle information indicating a state of a host vehicle;

a vehicle external information acquisition unit that acquires vehicle external information indicating a vehicle external status of the host vehicle;

a visual attention target calculation unit that calculates a visual attention required target to which visual attention of a driver of the host vehicle is required based on the host vehicle information and the vehicle external information;

a sight line information acquisition unit that acquires sight line information indicating a sight line direction of the driver;

an eyeball position information acquisition unit that acquires eyeball position information indicating an eyeball position of the driver on a three-dimensional coordinate;

a visual attention point calculation unit that calculates a visual attention point to which the driver pays visual attention, based on the sight line information and the eyeball position information;

a determination unit that determines whether or not the driver pays visual attention to the visual attention required target, based on the visual attention required target and the visual attention point; and

a notification unit that notifies the driver of a determination result in a case where it is determined that the driver does not pay visual attention to the visual attention required target.

2. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the visual attention point calculation unit calculates the visual attention point outside the host vehicle.

3. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the determination unit sets a visual attention region on a virtual plane including the visual attention required target outside the host vehicle, and determines that the driver pays visual attention to the visual attention required target in a case where the visual attention point is included in the visual attention region.

4. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein in a case where it is presumed that the host vehicle smoothly travels on a road based on the host vehicle information, the visual attention target calculation unit calculates a traffic signal or a road sign, as the visual attention required target to which visual attention of the driver is required.

5. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein in a case where the host vehicle starts to travel when the traffic signal is changed from a red light to a green light, the visual attention target calculation unit calculates at least one of a person passing around the host vehicle, a bicycle passing around the host vehicle, and the other vehicle passing around the host vehicle, as the visual attention required target.

6. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the notification unit notifies the driver that the driver does not pay visual attention to the visual attention required target.

7. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the notification unit notifies the driver so as to prompt the driver to pay visual attention to the visual attention required target.

8. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the notification unit notifies the driver of information indicating what the visual attention required target is.

9. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the notification unit issues an alarm if the vehicle starts to move forward in a case where the determination result indicates that the visual attention point of the driver is not located forward of the host vehicle.

10. The alarm device according to claim 9,

wherein the notification unit stops forward movement of the host vehicle.

11. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein the determination unit determines whether or not the visual attention point of the driver is on the visual attention required target located forward of the host vehicle, and

in a case where the determination result indicates that the visual attention point of the driver is not on the visual attention required target located forward of the host vehicle, the notification unit notifies the driver of a guidance that causes the sight line direction of the driver to be changed from a current direction to a direction of the visual attention required target located forward of the host vehicle.

12. The alarm device according to claim 11,

wherein the notification unit displays an arrow so as to guide the sight line of the driver.

13. The alarm device according to claim 1,

wherein in a case where the driver wants to know what a target located in a visual attention destination of the driver is, the notification unit notifies the driver of information relating to the target located in the visual attention destination of the driver.