Sound reproduction system and method based on physical and mental states of a drive

• US 7,526,333 B2
• Filed: 08/28/2003
• Issued: 04/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Yasushi, Mitsuo, Yanagidaira, Masatoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno; Carl H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bertram; Eric D
• Application Number:
  US10/649,644
• Publication Number:
  US 20040044291A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,070 Days
• Field of Search: 340575-576, 600508-509, 600/513
• US Class Current: 600/519
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/18 for vehicle drivers or machine operators

Abstract

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide an system which can detects degradation in a driving mental state of a driver, that is, sleepiness, fatigue, fret, and so on during driving of a vehicle and notifies the driver of the degradation to encourage safe driving and can reproduce sound such as music matching the taste of the user such as a driver while maintaining awakening of the driver of a mobile unit.

The reproduction controlling system for a mobile unit, is provided with a system controlling reproducing device for reproducing a piece of sound data stored in a database during traveling of the mobile unit, a driving information acquiring device for acquiring driving information indicating a driving state of the mobile unit, the driving information including at least heartbeat variation information, an audio component information acquiring device for analyzing an audio component included in the sound data and acquiring audio component information, a judging device for judging mental and physical states of the driver based on the acquired driving information, a selecting device for selecting the sound data to be reproduced; and a control device for controlling the reproducing device to reproduce the selected sound data.

Claims

1. A reproduction controlling method for a mobile unit comprising:

a controlling reproducing process of reproducing a piece of sound data from a plurality of pieces of sound data stored in a database during traveling of the mobile unit,

a driving information acquiring process of acquiring driving information indicating a driving state of the mobile unit, the driving information including at least heartbeat variation information indicating a variation in heartbeat of a driver who drives the mobile unit,

a music data acquiring process of acquiring a first music data from a plurality of music data stored in a data base;

an audio component information acquiring process of analyzing the acquired first music data and acquiring audio component information indicating an audio component of the analyzed first music data,

a control process of judging mental and physical states of the driver based on the acquired driving information, and

selecting whether the acquired first music data is reproduced or not based on the acquired audio component information and the judged mental and physical states of the driver; and

a reproduction process of reproducing the first music data based on the selection of the control device;

wherein the reproducing of the first music data is stopped if the first music data has an audio component that maintain or develops the mental and physical states of sleepiness, tension, or fatigue of the driver.

2. The reproduction controlling method for the mobile unit according to claim 1, wherein in the driving information acquiring process, mobile unit information is acquired as the driving information together with the heartbeat variation information, the mobile unit information indicating a traveling state of the mobile unit.

3. The reproduction controlling method for the mobile unit according to claim 1, wherein in the driving information acquiring process, at least one of heart rate data indicating data of a heart rate of the driver and heartbeat fluctuation data indicating data of a fluctuation in heartbeat is acquired as the heartbeat variation information.

4. A reproduction control system for a mobile unit, comprising:

a database that stores a plurality of pieces of sound data; and

a control circuit,

wherein the control circuit reproduces a piece of sound data from the plurality of pieces of sound data while the mobile unit is traveling and acquires driving information indicating a driving state of the mobile unit,

wherein the driving information includes at least heartbeat variation information indicating a variation in heartbeat of a driver who drives the mobile unit,

wherein the control circuit analyzes an audio component included in the sound data and acquires audio component information indicating the audio component of the analyzed sound data and that determines mental and physical states of the driver based on the driving information, and

wherein the control circuit determines whether or not the audio component information has components that bring in or enhance the mental and physical states of the driver and that selects the sound data to be reproduced when the audio component information does not have components that bring in or enhance the mental and physical states of the driver.

5. A reproduction controlling system for a mobile unit, comprising:

a system controlling reproducing device for reproducing a piece of sound data from a plurality of pieces of sound data stored in a database during traveling of the mobile unit,

a driving information acquiring device for acquiring driving information indicating a driving state of the mobile unit, the driving information including at least heartbeat variation information indicating a variation in heartbeat of a driver who drives the mobile unit,

a music data acquiring device for acquiring a first music data from a plurality of music data stored in a data base;

an audio component information acquiring device for analyzing the acquired first music data and acquiring audio component information indicating an audio component of the analyzed first music data,

a control device for judging mental and physical states of a driver based on the acquired driving information and

selecting whether the acquired first music data is reproduced or not based on the acquired audio component information and the judged mental and physical states of the driver; and

a reproduction device for reproducing the first music data based on the selection of the control device,

wherein the control device stops the reproduction of the first music data if the first music data has an audio component that maintains or develops the mental and physical states of sleepiness, tension, or fatigue of the driver.

6. The reproduction controlling system for the mobile unit according to claim 5, wherein the driving information acquiring device acquires traveling information as the driving information together with the heartbeat variation information, the traveling information indicating a traveling state of the mobile unit.

7. The reproduction controlling system for the mobile unit according to claim 6, wherein the driving information acquiring device acquires at least one of a speed of the mobile unit, a traveling road where the mobile unit travels, and a turning angle indicating a direction of the mobile unit relative to a traveling direction of the mobile unit, as mobile unit information.

8. The reproduction controlling system for the mobile unit according to claim 5, wherein the driving information acquiring device acquires at least one of heart rate data indicating data of a heart rate of the driver and heartbeat fluctuation data indicating data of a fluctuation in heartbeat, as the heartbeat variation information.

9. The reproduction controlling system for the mobile unit according to claim 5, wherein the audio component information acquiring device analyzes at least one of sound components of a rhythm pattern, a tempo, a beat, sound image localization, a sound pressure level, and a fundamental note of the sound as sound component information of the sound data, and acquires the analyzed sound component.

10. The reproduction controlling system according to claim 5, wherein the control device selects the first music data so as not to maintain or develop the mental and physical states of sleepiness, tension, or fatigue of the driver.

11. The reproduction controlling system according to claim 5, wherein the control device changes the first music data to a second music data which is selected from the plurality of music data and does not have the audio component that maintains or develops the mental and physical states of sleepiness, tension, or fatigue of the driver.

12. The reproduction controlling system according to claim 11, wherein the control device changes the first music data to the second music data, if the first music data has an audio component that maintains or develops the mental and physical states of sleepiness, tension, or fatigue of the driver.