Method for outputting a drowsiness warning and control unit

• US 9,984,298 B2
• Filed: 11/11/2016
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Boos, Ronald
• Primary Examiner(s): Alizada, Omeed
• Application Number:
  US15/349,798
• Publication Number:
  US 20170177959A1
• Time in Patent Office: 564 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/597 Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

A method for outputting a drowsiness warning. In this method, a degree of drowsiness of a driver of a vehicle is initially read in. A display signal is subsequently generated as a function of the degree of drowsiness. The display signal includes a sequence of images as the drowsiness warning displayable via a display device of the vehicle and including at least one eye area of the driver.

Claims

1. A method for outputting a drowsiness warning, the method comprising:

reading in a degree of drowsiness of a driver of a vehicle; and

generating a display signal using the degree of drowsiness, the display signal including a sequence of images as the drowsiness warning displayable via a display device, the sequence of images including a sequence of images of at least one eye area of the driver;

wherein in the generating step, the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver is selected, as a function of the degree of drowsiness of the driver, from an image sequence detected by a driver observation camera; and

displaying the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver on a display device in the vehicle using the display signal;

wherein the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver is a video sequence of the eye area of the driver.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein in the reading in step, at least one of:

i) a signal provided using at least one of a driver observation camera of the vehicle and a lane-keeping assistant of the vehicle, and ii) a steering angle of the vehicle, is read in as the degree of drowsiness.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

evaluating the degree of drowsiness,

wherein in the step of generating, the display signal is generated as a function of a result of the evaluation.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

providing at least one of;

i) a visual warning signal, ii) an acoustic warning signal, and iii) a haptic warning signal, for warning the driver of the drowsiness as a function of the degree of drowsiness.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, in which the generating step is carried out subsequent to the providing step.

6. A control unit designed to:

read in a degree of drowsiness of a driver of a vehicle; and

generate a display signal using the degree of drowsiness, the display signal including a sequence of images as the drowsiness warning displayable via a display device, the sequence of images including a sequence of images of at least one eye area of the driver;

wherein the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver are selected, as a function of the degree of drowsiness of the driver, from an image sequence detected by a driver observation camera; and

wherein the control unit is designed to display the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver on a display device in the vehicle using the display signal;

wherein the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver is a video sequence of the eye area of the driver.

7. A non-transitory machine-readable memory medium on which is stored a computer program for outputting a drowsiness warning, the computer program, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to perform:

reading in a degree of drowsiness of a driver of a vehicle; and

generating a display signal using the degree of drowsiness, the display signal including a sequence of images as the drowsiness warning displayable via a display device, the sequence of images including a sequence of images of at least one eye area of the driver;

wherein in the generating step, the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver is selected, as a function of the degree of drowsiness of the driver, from an image sequence detected by a driver observation camera; and

displaying the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver on a display device in the vehicle using the display signal;

wherein the sequence of images of the eye area of the driver is a video sequence of the eye area of the driver.