Systems and methods for advanced resting time suggestion

• US 9,778,654 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2016
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America Incorporated (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ochiai, Yuichi, Nagata, Katsumi, Sasaki, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Black, Thomas G
• Assistant Examiner(s): HUYNH, LUAT T
• Application Number:
  US15/052,802
• Publication Number:
  US 20170242433A1
• Time in Patent Office: 587 Days
• Field of Search: 701 24, 3404255, 340540
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0827 due to sleepiness
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3484 Personalized, e.g. from learned user behaviour or user-defined profiles
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3617 using user history, behaviour, conditions or preferences, e.g. predicted or inferred from previous use or current movement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0055 with safety arrangements

Abstract

A system includes a first sensor for detecting vehicle data and a second sensor for detecting driver data. The system also includes a memory for storing preferred stops and a GPS unit for detecting a location. The system also includes an electrical control unit (ECU) that can determine a tired value of the driver based on the vehicle performance data and the driver condition data. The ECU can also determine that the driver is getting tired when the tired value is equal to or greater than a first tired threshold. The ECU can also determine a desired destination of the driver based on the preferred stops that the vehicle can reach before the tired value reaches or exceeds a second tired threshold. The system also includes an output device for outputting navigation instructions providing directions to the desired destination from the current location of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A system for directing a tired driver of a vehicle to an intermediate destination comprising:

a first sensor configured to detect vehicle performance data;

a second sensor configured to detect driver condition data;

a memory configured to store a list of preferred stops of a driver;

a GPS unit configured to detect a current location of the vehicle;

an electrical control unit (ECU) coupled to the first sensor, the second sensor, the memory and the GPS unit and configured to;

determine a tired value of the driver corresponding to how tired the driver is based on the vehicle performance data and the driver condition data,

determine that the driver is getting tired when the tired value is equal to or greater than a first tired threshold,

determine a desired destination based on the list of preferred stops that the vehicle can reach before the tired value reaches or exceeds a second tired threshold; and

an output device configured to output navigation instructions providing directions to the desired destination from the current location of the vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the vehicle performance data includes at least one of vehicle speed data, acceleration data, braking data, steering data or lane departure data and wherein driver condition data corresponds to at least one of facial expressions of the driver, body positioning of the driver, eye movement of the driver or speech patterns of the driver.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein:

the vehicle performance data includes a first type of data and a second type of data;

the driver condition data includes a third type of data and a fourth type of data;

each of the first type of data, the second type of data, the third type of data and the fourth type of data is assigned a weighted value; and

the tired value is equal to a sum of the weighted value of the first type of data, the second type of data, the third type of data and the fourth type of data.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to store previously detected vehicle performance data and previously detected driver condition data and wherein the ECU is configured to learn a rate of change of the tired value based on the previously detected vehicle performance data and the previously detected driver condition data.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the memory is further configured to store previous destinations of the vehicle, the list of preferred stops include previous destinations, previously-visited chains and previously-visited categories, and the ECU is further configured to assign a priority to each preferred stop in the list of preferred stops such that more frequent previous destinations have a higher priority than less frequent previous destinations, previously-visited chains have a higher priority than less frequent previously-visited chains and previously-visited categories have a higher priority than less frequent previously-visited categories.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the ECU is further configured to determine the desired destination by selecting a preferred category that has the highest priority, then selecting a preferred chain within the preferred category that has the highest priority and selecting a specific location of the preferred chain that the vehicle can reach before the tired value reaches or exceeds the second tired threshold.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising an input device configured to receive a selection of a destination, wherein the output device is further configured to output a list of at least two potential destinations that the vehicle can reach before the tired value reaches or exceeds the second tired threshold when the ECU determines that the driver is getting tired, and wherein the ECU is further configured to determine that the desired destination is the destination selected using the input device.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the ECU is further configured to determine the desired destination based on a day of the week or a time of day.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the system is implemented in an autonomous vehicle and wherein the ECU is further configured to control the autonomous vehicle to drive to the desired destination when the tired value of the driver reaches or exceeds the second tired threshold.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the system is implemented in an autonomous vehicle and wherein the ECU is further configured to control the vehicle to park when the vehicle reaches the desired destination if the tired value of the driver is at or above a parking tired threshold.

11. The system of claim 1 further comprising a third sensor configured to detect road condition data or an input/output port or a network access device configured to receive the road condition data, the road condition data corresponding to at least one of weather, traffic, a speed limit or a road surface and wherein the ECU is further configured to determine a rate at which the tired value of the driver is increasing based on the road condition data.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising a network access device or an input/output port and wherein:

the vehicle is an autonomous vehicle,

the ECU is further configured to determine that the driver is unconscious based on at least one of the vehicle performance data or the driver condition data, and

the ECU is further configured to control the vehicle to park and to control the network access device or the input/output port to transmit a signal to be received by authorities when the ECU determines that the driver is unconscious.

13. A method for directing a tired driver of a vehicle to an intermediate destination comprising:

detecting, by a first sensor, vehicle performance data;

detecting, by a second sensor, driver condition data;

determining, by an electrical control unit (ECU), a tired value of a driver corresponding to how tired the driver is based on the vehicle performance data and the driver condition data;

determining, by the ECU, that the driver is getting tired when the tired value is equal to or greater than a first tired threshold;

storing, in a memory, a list of preferred stops of the driver;

detecting, by a GPS unit, a current location of the vehicle;

determining, by the ECU, a desired destination based on the list of preferred stops that the vehicle can reach before the tired value reaches or exceeds a second tired threshold; and

outputting, by an output device, navigation instructions providing directions to the desired destination from the current location of the vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the vehicle performance data includes at least one of vehicle speed data, acceleration data, braking data, steering data or lane departure data and wherein driver condition data corresponds to at least one of facial expressions of the driver, body positioning of the driver, eye movement of the driver or speech patterns of the driver.

15. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

storing, in the memory, previously detected vehicle performance data and previously detected driver condition data; and

determining, by the ECU, a rate of change of the tired value based on the previously detected vehicle performance data and the previously detected driver condition data.

16. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

determining, by the ECU, that the tired value is greater than the second tired threshold; and

outputting, by the output device, a warning to the driver requesting the driver to park the vehicle.

17. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving, by an input device, input data indicating that the driver does not want to stop at the desired destination;

determining, by the ECU, a second desired destination in response to receiving the input data; and

outputting, by the output device, output data indicating a distance to the second desired destination.

18. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving, by an input device, a request to view the tired value; and

outputting, by the output device, the tired value.

19. A method for directing a tired driver of a vehicle to an intermediate destination comprising:

detecting, by a first sensor, vehicle performance data;

detecting, by a second sensor, driver condition data;

determining, by an electrical control unit (ECU), a tired value of a driver corresponding to how tired the driver is based on the vehicle performance data and the driver condition data;

determining, by the ECU, a maximum amount of time that the vehicle can travel before the tired value of the driver reaches a tired threshold value;

storing, in a memory, a list of previous destinations of the vehicle;

detecting, by a GPS unit, a current location of the vehicle;

determining, by the ECU, a desired destination that the vehicle can reach within the maximum amount of time based on the list of previous destinations; and

outputting, by an output device, navigation instructions providing directions to the desired destination from the current location of the vehicle.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein determining the desired destination includes determining a chain or a category associated with the previous destinations and determining a location corresponding to the chain or the category that the vehicle can reach within the maximum amount of time.