INATTENTION DETERMINING APPARATUS

• US 20120002027A1
• Filed: 06/28/2011
• Published: 01/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Takahashi, Akio, Ueda, Shinsuke, Yamamoto, Seiichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,767,061 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/77
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/066 actuating a signalling device B60K28/063 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

An inattention determination device includes a sight direction detecting unit that detects a sight direction of a driver, and an inattention determining unit that measures an inattention continuation time from a time point when the sight direction is a predetermined inattention direction to a time point when the sight direction deviates from the predetermined inattention direction and becomes a direction other than the inattention direction and determines that the driver is inattentive when the intention continuation time is equal to or more than a predetermined time. The inattention determining unit maintains measurement of the inattention continuation time when the sight direction is changed at a speed higher than a predetermined movement speed from the predetermined inattention direction to a direction other than the inattention direction or when the sight direction is momentarily a direction other than the inattention direction.

Claims

1. An inattention determining apparatus comprising:

an image capturing device that captures a face image of a driver who occupies a driver'"'"'s seat and outputting the face image;

a sight direction detecting device that detects a sight direction of the driver from the face image output from the image capturing device and outputting a detection result; and

an inattention determining device that measures a continuation time from a time point when the sight direction of the detection result output from the sight direction detecting device is a predetermined inattention direction to a time point when the sight direction deviates from the predetermined inattention direction and becomes a direction other than the inattention direction, and determining that the driver is inattentive when the continuation time is equal to or more than a predetermined time,

wherein the inattention determining device maintains measurement of the continuation time when the sight direction of the detection result output from the sight direction detecting device is changed at a speed higher than a predetermined movement speed from the predetermined inattention direction to a direction other than the inattention direction or when the sight direction is momentarily a direction other than the inattention direction.

2. The inattention determining apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined movement speed is a speed corresponding to a movement limit angle per unit time based on a saccade.

3. The inattention determining apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a face direction detecting device that detects a face direction of the driver from the face image output from the image capturing device and outputting the detection result,

wherein the inattention determining device maintains measurement of the continuation time when an angle between the sight direction of the detection result output from the sight direction detecting device and the face direction of the detection result output from the face direction detecting device is equal to or more than a predetermined angle.

4. The inattention determining apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a face direction detecting device that detects a face direction of the driver from the face image output from the image capturing device and outputting the detection result,

wherein the inattention determining device maintains measurement of the continuation time when an angle between the sight direction of the detection result output from the sight direction detecting device and the face direction of the detection result output from the face direction detecting device is equal to or more than a predetermined angle.