Method of mitigating driver distraction

• US 20060287779A1
• Filed: 07/11/2006
• Published: 12/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG
• Original Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc. (BorgWarner Incorporated)
• Inventors: Zhang, Harry, Smith, Matthew R., Witt, Gerald
• Granted Patent: US 7,835,834 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2503/22 Motor vehicles operators, e.g. drivers, pilots, captains
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1103 Detecting eye twinkling
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6821 Eye
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/02 responsive to conditions relating to the driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/066 actuating a signalling device B60K28/063 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 40/19 Sensors therefor

Abstract

A driver alert for mitigating driver distraction is issued based on a proportion of off-road gaze time and the duration of a current off-road gaze. The driver alert is ordinarily issued when the proportion of off-road gaze exceeds a threshold, but is not issued if the driver'"'"'s gaze has been off-road for at least a reference time. In vehicles equipped with forward-looking object detection, the driver alert is also not issued if the closing speed of an in-path object exceeds a calibrated closing rate.

Claims

1. A method of mitigating distraction of a driver of a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

imaging an ocular profile of the driver and characterizing the ocular profile as off-road when detected ocular features of the ocular profile are directed outside a forward view of the vehicle;

determining a measure of driver distraction based on the ocular profile characterization;

timing a current distraction interval during which the ocular profile is continuously characterized as off-road; and

issuing a driver alert to mitigate driver distraction if the measure of driver distraction exceeds a threshold and the current distraction interval is less than a reference time.

2. The method of claim 1, including the step of:

resetting the timed current distraction interval to zero when the ocular profile is not characterized as off-road.

3. The method of claim 1, where the measure of driver distraction is determined according to a proportion of a specified interval for which the ocular profile is characterized as off-road.

4. The method of claim 1, including the steps of:

determining a closing speed between the vehicle and an in-path object if the measure of driver distraction exceeds said threshold and the current distraction interval is less than said reference time; and

issuing said driver alert to mitigate driver distraction if the determined closing speed is greater than a reference speed.

5. The method of claim 1, including the step of:

determining a deceleration of an in-path object if the measure of driver distraction exceeds said threshold and the current distraction interval is less than a reference time; and

issuing said driver alert to mitigate driver distraction if the determined deceleration is greater than said reference deceleration.

6. The method of claim 1, where said reference time is approximately two seconds.