METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANIPULATING DRIVER CORE TEMPERATURE TO ENHANCE DRIVER ALERTNESS

• US 20080180235A1
• Filed: 01/22/2008
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Chang, Hsuan
• Granted Patent: US 9,024,764 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/449
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/01 Measuring temperature of body parts ; Diagnostic temperature sensing, e.g. for malignant or inflamed tissue clinical contact thermometers G01K13/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators

Abstract

The present invention provides a system, method and apparatus for reducing a vehicle driver'"'"'s core temperature to offset drowsiness. In one embodiment, a temperature sensor records data describing a vehicle driver core temperature and communicates the data describing the vehicle driver core temperature to a temperature regulator. The temperature regulator determines whether the vehicle driver core temperature is similar to one or more circadian temperatures associated with wakefulness. If the vehicle driver core temperature is similar to a circadian temperature associated with sleep, the temperature regulator reduces the vehicle driver core temperature. In an embodiment the temperature regulator cools a material physically contacting the venous plexuses or arteriovenous anastomoses to cool the portions of the vehicle driver'"'"'s anatomy which most efficiently cool the vehicle driver.

Claims

1. A vehicle-based system for reducing a core temperature of a vehicle driver comprising:

a temperature sensor capturing data describing a vehicle driver temperature;

a temperature regulator adapted to communicate with the temperature sensor, the temperature regulator comparing the data describing the vehicle driver temperature to a circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep and reducing the vehicle driver temperature by directly cooling either a venous plexus of the vehicle driver or an arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver responsive to the data describing the vehicle driver temperature equaling or exceeding the circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep.

2. The vehicle-based system of claim 1, further comprising:

a secondary drowsiness monitor adapted to communicate with the temperature regulator, the secondary drowsiness monitor capturing data describing one or more vehicle driver actions.

3. The vehicle-based system of claim 2, wherein the one or more vehicle driver actions comprise a head movement, a blink rate, a blink duration, a gaze stability or a steering device movement.

4. The vehicle-based system of claim 2, wherein the temperature regulator determines whether the captured data describing one or more vehicle driver actions indicates drowsiness and reduces the vehicle driver temperature by directly cooling either the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver responsive to the captured data describing a vehicle driver action indicating drowsiness.

5. The vehicle-based system of claim 1, wherein directly cooling either the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver comprises cooling a thermally conductive material which contacts the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver to a temperature below an average vehicle driver temperature.

6. The vehicle-based system of claim 1, further comprising:

a storage device adapted to communicate with the temperature regulator, the storage device storing the circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep.

7. The vehicle-based system of claim 1, further comprising:

a timing device adapted to communicate with the temperature regulator, the timing device capturing data describing a vehicle operation time.

8. The vehicle-based system of claim 7, wherein the temperature regulator compares the data describing the vehicle operation time to a threshold operation time and reducing the vehicle driver temperature by directly cooling either the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver responsive to the data describing the vehicle operation time equaling or exceeding the threshold operation time.

9. The vehicle-based system of claim 3, wherein the temperature regulator compares the data describing the steering device movement to stored navigation data and responsive to the data describing the steering device movement differing from the stored navigation data by a specified threshold, reducing the vehicle driver temperature by directly cooling either the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver.

10. A computer-implemented method for reducing a core temperature of a vehicle driver comprising:

determining the core temperature of the vehicle driver;

determining whether the core temperature of the vehicle driver equals or exceeds a circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep; and

responsive to determining the core temperature of the vehicle driver equals or exceeds the circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep, reducing the core temperature of the vehicle driver temperature by directly cooling either a venous plexus of the vehicle driver or an arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein reducing the core temperature of the vehicle driver comprises:

reducing a surface temperature of a thermally conductive material in contact with the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver to a temperature less than the core temperature of the vehicle driver.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, further comprising:

reducing a pressure of an area adjacent to the thermally conductive material to a value less than an ambient air pressure.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein determining whether the core temperature of the vehicle driver is associated with sleep comprises:

receiving data describing one or more driver actions;

determining whether the one or more driver actions are associated with drowsiness; and

determining whether the core temperature of the vehicle driver equals or exceeds the circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the one or more driver actions comprise a head movement, a blink rate, a blink duration, a gaze stability or a steering device movement.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, further comprising:

determining a cooled vehicle driver core temperature;

comparing the cooled vehicle driver core temperature to a circadian rhythm temperature associated with wakefulness; and

responsive to the cooled vehicle driver core temperature not exceeding the vehicle driver temperature associated with wakefulness, stopping reducing the core temperature of the vehicle driver.

16. A computer-implemented method for reducing a core temperature of a vehicle driver comprising:

determining a vehicle start time;

determining a time interval from the vehicle start time to a current vehicle operation time;

comparing the time interval to a threshold time interval; and

responsive to determining the time interval equals or exceeds the threshold time interval, reducing a core temperature of the vehicle driver by directly cooling either a venous plexus of the vehicle driver or an arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein reducing the core temperature of the vehicle driver comprises:

reducing a surface temperature of a thermally conductive material in contact with the venous plexus of the vehicle driver or the arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver to a temperature less than the core temperature of the vehicle driver.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, further comprising:

determining a cooled vehicle driver core temperature;

comparing the cooled vehicle driver core temperature to stored data describing a circadian rhythm associated with wakefulness; and

responsive to the cooled vehicle driver core temperature not exceeding the circadian rhythm temperature associated with wakefulness, stopping reducing the core temperature of the vehicle driver.

19. An apparatus for reducing a core temperature of a vehicle driver comprising:

a cooling module including a thermally conductive surface, the thermally conductive surface having a first side physically contacting a venous plexus of the vehicle driver or an arteriovenous anastomoses of the vehicle driver;

a drowsiness identification module adapted to communicate with the cooling module, the drowsiness identification module receiving data describing the core temperature of the vehicle driver, comparing the data describing the core temperature of the vehicle driver with data describing one or more circadian rhythm temperatures associated with sleep and, responsive to the data describing the core temperature of the vehicle driver equaling or exceeding a circadian rhythm temperature associated with sleep, transmitting a cooling signal to the cooling module, causing the cooling module to reduce a temperature of the thermally conductive surface.