Driving assist device

• US 9,855,956 B2
• Filed: 02/05/2015
• Issued: 01/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/12/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Original Assignee: DENSO Corporation
• Inventors: Omi, Takuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): MARC-COLEMAN, MARTHE Y
• Application Number:
  US15/117,885
• Publication Number:
  US 20160355190A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,062 Days
• Field of Search: 701 27, 701 70, 340576, 340575, 340439, 340428, 340438, 340457, 340937, 180272
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/0071 Controller overrides driver automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2400/00 Indexing codes relating to detected, measured or calculated conditions or factors
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/22 Psychological state; Stress level or workload
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/221 Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/225 Direction of gaze
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/229 Attention level, e.g. attentive to driving, reading or sleeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2540/26 Incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/00 Input parameters relating to data
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/12 Lane keeping
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/16 Control of distance between vehicles, e.g. keeping a distance to preceding vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/08 related to drivers or passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/0098 Details of control systems ensuring comfort, safety or stability not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/14 Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0055 only part of driving tasks shifted to occupants
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/0059 Estimation of the risk associated with autonomous or manual driving, e.g. situation too complex, sensor failure or driver incapacity
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/08 using communication transmission lines G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/16 Anti-collision systems road vehicle drive control systems for predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision otherwise than by control of a particular sub-unit B60W30/08

Abstract

A driving assist device includes a driver state detection unit for detecting an inattentive state as a driver state, an alerting unit for altering the driver upon detection of the inattentive state of the driver, a driving operation unit for being operated by the driver for driving operations; and a driving state switching unit that switches at least one of the driving operations in an automated driving state to a manual driving state when the driver'"'"'s operation of the driving operation unit is detected during the automated driving state of the vehicle. When at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state is switched to the manual driving state by the driving state switching unit, the driver state detection unit detects whether the state of the driver is an excited state. When the excited state of the driver is detected, the alerting unit alerts the driver.

Claims

1. A driving assist device mounted in a vehicle to assist a driver in driving the vehicle through detecting a state of the driver, the vehicle being switchable between a manual driving state in which driving operations for acceleration, braking and steering are manually performed by the driver and an automated driving state in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically,

the driving assist device comprising:

a processor comprising circuitry,

a memory storing a computer program;

a driver state detection unit by having the processor executes the computer program is configured to detect whether the state of the driver is an inattentive state;

an alerting unit by having the processor executes the computer program, when the inattentive state of the driver or the excited state of the driver is detected, alerts the driver;

a driving operation unit comprising a steering wheel that is operated by the driver to perform the driving operations; and

a driving state switching unit by having the processor executes the computer program, when the driver'"'"'s operation of the driving operation unit is detected during the automated driving state of the vehicle, switches at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state to the manual driving state,

wherein;

when at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state is switched to the manual driving state by the driving state switching unit, the driver state detection unit detects whether the state of the driver is an excited state; and

when the excited state of the driver is detected, the alerting unit alerts the driver.

2. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein

when at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state is switched to the manual driving state by the driving state switching unit, the driver state detection unit detects, over a predetermined period of time, whether the driver is in the excited state.

3. The driving assist device according to claim 1, wherein:

when the excited state of the driver is detected, the alerting unit alerts the driver in a different manner than when the inattentive state of the driver is detected.

4. The driving assist device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a driving area detection unit that detects whether an automated driving-prohibited area where the vehicle is not permitted to be driven in the automated driving state exists in a forward traveling direction of the vehicle,

wherein;

in cases where the automated driving-prohibited area is detected, even when at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state is switched to the manual driving state by the driving state switching unit, the driver state detection unit detects not whether the driver is in the excited state but whether the driver is in the inattentive state.

5. A driving assist method to be applied to a vehicle to assist a driver in driving the vehicle through detecting a state of the driver, the vehicle being switchable between a manual driving state in which driving operations for acceleration, braking and steering are manually performed by the driver and an automated driving state in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically,

the driving assist method performed by a processor executing a computer program stored in a memory comprising:

a driver state detection process performed by the processor that detects whether the state of the driver is an inattentive state;

an alerting process that alerts the driver when the inattentive state of the driver is detected; and

a driving state switching process that, when the driver'"'"'s operation of the driving operation unit is detected during the automated driving state of the vehicle, switches at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state to the manual driving state,

wherein;

when at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state is switched to the manual driving state in the driving state switching process, it is detected in the driver state detection process whether the state of the driver is an excited state; and

in the alert process, the driver is alerted when the excited state of the driver is detected.

6. A driving assist device mounted in a vehicle to assist a driver in driving the vehicle through detecting a state of the driver, the vehicle being switchable between a manual driving state in which driving operations for acceleration, braking and steering are manually performed by the driver and an automated driving state in which at least one of the driving operations is performed automatically,

the driving assist device comprising:

a processor comprising circuitry,

a memory storing a computer program;

a driver state detection unit by having the processor executes the computer program is configured to detect whether the state of the driver is an inattentive state or an excited state;

an alerting unit by having the processor executes the computer program, when the inattentive state of the driver or the excited state of the driver is detected, alerts the driver;

a driving operation unit comprising a steering wheel that is operated by the driver to perform the driving operations; and

a driving state switching unit by having the processor executes the computer program, when the driver'"'"'s operation of the driving operation unit is detected during the automated driving state of the vehicle, switches at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state to the manual driving state,

wherein;

the driving state detection unit by having the processor executes the computer program detects the inattentive state of the driver both in the manual driving state and in the automated driving state, and

when at least one of the driving operations in the automated driving state is switched to the manual driving state by the driving state switching unit, the driver state detection unit detects that the state of the driver is the excited state and not the inattentive state; and

when the excited state of the driver is detected, the alerting unit alerts the driver.