DEVICE AND METHOD FOR DETERMINING DROWSINESS AND NON-TRANSITORY STORAGE MEDIUM

• US 20170021836A1
• Filed: 06/16/2016
• Published: 01/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: MOCHIZUKI, MAKOTO, ARAI, YUKO
• Granted Patent: US 9,821,814 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/1114 Tracking parts of the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators
• CPC Class Codes: B60C 9/00 Reinforcements or ply arrangement of pneumatic tyres inserts having reinforcing means B60C5/08; bead structure, e.g. turnup or overlap construction, B60C15/00
• 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 2040/0827 due to sleepiness
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/00 Input parameters relating to overall vehicle dynamics
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/14 Yaw
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/16 Pitch
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/18 Roll
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/183 Single detectors using dual technologies G08B13/1672, G08B13/2448, G08B13/2494 take precedence

Abstract

A drowsiness determination device includes an input unit that receives vehicle information indicating the amount of variation in an attitude of a vehicle with respect to a road surface and head information indicating the amount of movement of a head of an occupant with respect to a predetermined position and a determination unit that determines whether the occupant is drowsy, on the basis of the vehicle information and the head information. The determination unit determines that the occupant is drowsy, on the conditions that when the vehicle attitude varies, the occupant head moves in the same direction as the direction in which the vehicle attitude has varied and that a delay time between the timing when the vehicle attitude has varied and the timing when the occupant head has moved is longer than a predetermined time.

Claims

1. A drowsiness determination device comprising:

a receiver, which in operation, receives vehicle information indicating the amount of variation in an attitude of a vehicle with respect to a road surface and head information indicating the amount of movement of a head of an occupant with respect to a predetermined position; and

a determiner, which in operation, determines whether the occupant is drowsy, on the basis of the vehicle information and the head information, wherein

the determiner determines that the occupant is drowsy, on the conditions that when the vehicle attitude varies, the occupant head moves in the same direction as the direction in which the vehicle attitude has varied and that a delay time between the timing when the vehicle attitude has varied and the timing when the occupant head has moved is longer than a predetermined time, wherein at least one of the receiver and the determiner is included in a processor.

2. The drowsiness determination device of claim 1, wherein the determiner determines whether the occupant is drowsy, using a plurality of drowsiness levels corresponding to ranges of the delay time.

3. The drowsiness determination device of claim 1, wherein if the determiner determines that the occupant is drowsy, the determination unit gives, to the occupant, an alarm for awaking the occupant.

4. The drowsiness determination device of claim 1, wherein the delay time is a time corresponding to a time difference between the timing when the amount of variation in the vehicle attitude has reached a peak and the timing when the amount of movement of the occupant head has reached a peak.

5. The drowsiness determination device of claim 1, wherein the determiner determines whether the occupant is drowsy, on the condition that operation input to a vehicle-mounted device has not been detected within a second predetermined time from the timing when the vehicle attitude has varied.

6. A method for determining drowsiness, comprising:

receiving vehicle information indicating the amount of variation in an attitude of a vehicle with respect to a road surface and head information indicating the amount of movement of a head of an occupant with respect to a predetermined position;

determining whether the occupant is drowsy, on the basis of the vehicle information and the head information; and

determining that the occupant is drowsy, on the conditions that when the vehicle attitude varies, the occupant head moves in the same direction as the direction in which the vehicle attitude has varied and that a delay time between the timing when the vehicle attitude has varied and the timing when the occupant head has moved is longer than a predetermined time.

7. A computer-readable non-transitory storage medium storing a drowsiness determination program executed by a computer of a drowsiness determination device in a drowsiness determination system, the drowsiness determination device comprising an input unit that receives vehicle information indicating the amount of variation in an attitude of a vehicle with respect to a road surface and head information indicating the amount of movement of a head of an occupant with respect to a predetermined position and a determination unit that determines whether the occupant is drowsy, on the basis of the vehicle information and the head information, the program causing the computer of the drowsiness determination device to perform

a process of determining that the occupant is drowsy, on the conditions that when the vehicle attitude varies, the occupant head moves in the same direction as the direction in which the vehicle attitude has varied and that a delay time between the timing when the vehicle attitude has varied and the timing when the occupant head has moved is longer than a predetermined time.