Alarm system, alarm control apparatus and alarm control program

• US 7,218,213 B2
• Filed: 05/24/2005
• Issued: 05/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/16/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ito, Hisao, Katagiri, Taku, Tafuku, Akiyoshi, Tohno, Masatoshi, Baba, Kozo, Takashima, Tomonobu, Omi, Tadao, Ueno, Daisuke
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass; Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Labbees; Edny
• Application Number:
  US11/135,431
• Publication Number:
  US 20050219058A1
• Time in Patent Office: 721 Days
• Field of Search: 340/466, 340/575, 340/576, 340/436, 340/439, 340/903, 701/45
• US Class Current: 340/466
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/04 responsive to presence or absence of the driver, e.g. to weight or lack thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B60K 28/06 responsive to incapacity of driver
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2040/0827 due to sleepiness
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2050/143 Alarm means
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/10 Longitudinal speed
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/105 Longitudinal acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2520/125 Lateral acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2530/18 Distance travelled
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 40/09 Driving style or behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/06 indicating a condition of sleep, e.g. anti-dozing alarms

Abstract

An alarm system includes a miniature camera (10), a loudspeaker (20), a vehicle speed sensor (30), a longitudinal G sensor (40), a lateral G sensor (50) and an on-vehicle unit (60). A CPU (60a) of the on-vehicle unit (60) executes respective programs (61)–(64) in a ROM (60h), thereby outputting, if a traveling distance during a period for which a driver D continues to take an abnormal behavior exceeds a predetermined value when a traveling state of an automobile is kept stable, an alarm corresponding to a magnitude of the excess over the predetermined value from the loudspeaker (20). The alarm system is thus configured and is therefore capable of exactly outputting the alarm when a danger actually rises.

Claims

1. An alarm system comprising:

a behavior detecting module for detecting an abnormal behavior from behaviors of an operator sitting on an operation seat of a vehicle;

a distance measuring module for measuring a moving distance of said vehicle while the abnormal behavior of the operator continues to be detected by said behavior detecting module;

a hazard state judging module for judging that a state is a hazard state when the moving distance measured by said distance measuring module exceeds a threshold value; and

an alarm output module for outputting an alarm when said hazard state judging module judges that the state is the hazard state.

2. An alarm system according to claim 1, further comprising a time measuring module for measuring an elapse time while the abnormal behavior of the operator continues to be detected by said behavior detecting module,

wherein said hazard state judging module judges that the state is the hazard state in any one of a case where the elapse time measured by said time measuring module exceeds a threshold value and a case where the moving distance measured by said distance measuring module exceeds a threshold value.

3. An alarm system according to claim 2, wherein said distance measuring module includes a speed sensor for measuring a moving speed of the vehicle, and

the moving distance is calculated based on the moving speed measured by said speed sensor and on the elapse time measured by said time measuring module.

4. An alarm system according to claim 1, wherein said hazard state judging module has a multiplicity of threshold values different in their magnitude from each other with respect to the moving distance and, when judging that the state is the hazard state, specifies, from within a multiplicity of hazard levels, a hazard level corresponding to the magnitude of the threshold value exceeded by the moving distance, and

said alarm output module changes an output level of the alarm in accordance with the hazard level specified by said hazard state judging module.

5. An alarm system according to claim 2, wherein said hazard state judging module has a multiplicity of threshold values different in their magnitude from each other with respect to the moving distance and also a multiplicity of threshold values different in their magnitude from each other with respect to the elapse time and, when judging that the state is the hazard state, specifies, from within a multiplicity of hazard levels, a hazard level corresponding to the magnitude of the threshold value exceeded by the moving distance and specifies, from within a multiplicity of hazard levels, a hazard level corresponding to the magnitude of the threshold value exceeded by the elapse time, and further specifies the higher of the specified two hazard levels, and

said alarm output module changes an output level of the alarm in accordance with the hazard level specified by said hazard state judging module.

6. An alarm system according to claim 4 or 5, wherein said alarm output module counts the number, per unit time, of respective hazard levels specified by said hazard state judging module, and changes the output level of the alarm in accordance with the counted number.

7. An alarm system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a moving state detecting module for detecting values of at least three moving state elements of the vehicle; and

a vehicle state judging module for judging, based on the values of the respective moving state elements that are detected by said moving state detecting module, whether a state of the vehicle is a stable state or not,

wherein said hazard state judging module judges whether the state is the hazard state or not only when said vehicle state judging module judges that the state of the vehicle is the stable state.

8. An alarm system according to claim 7, wherein said moving state detecting module includes a speed sensor for measuring a moving speed of the vehicle, a longitudinal acceleration sensor for measuring a longitudinal directional component of acceleration of the vehicle, and a lateral acceleration sensor for measuring a lateral directional component of acceleration of the vehicle.

9. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle state judging module sets a case in which such a state that the moving speed is equal to or higher than a fixed value continues for a predetermined period of time, as one of conditions for judging that the state of the vehicle is the stable state.

10. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle state judging module sets a case in which such a state that the longitudinal directional component of the acceleration is equal to or lower than a fixed value continues for a predetermined period of time, as one of conditions for judging that the state of the vehicle is the stable state.

11. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle state judging module sets a case in which such a state that the lateral directional component of the acceleration is equal to or lower than a fixed value continues for a predetermined period of time, as one of conditions for judging that the state of the vehicle is the stable state.

12. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle state judging module sets a case in which such a state that the moving speed is within a range of a fixed value continues for a predetermined period of time, as a condition for judging that the state of the vehicle is not the stable state.

13. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle state judging module sets a case in which such a state that the longitudinal directional component of the acceleration is larger than a fixed value continues for a predetermined period of time, as a condition for judging that the state of the vehicle is not the stable state.

14. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said vehicle state judging module sets a case in which such a state that the lateral directional component of the acceleration is larger than a fixed value continues for a predetermined period of time, as a condition for judging that the state of the vehicle is not the stable state.

15. An alarm system according to claim 8, wherein said distance measuring module calculates a moving distance on the basis of a moving speed measured by said speed sensor of said moving state detecting module.

16. An alarm system according to claim 1, wherein said behavior detecting module, when detecting the abnormal behavior, specifies a type of the detected abnormal behavior, and

said hazard state judging module has a multiplicity of different threshold values corresponding to types of the abnormal behaviors, and, when judging the hazard state, adopts, from the multiplicity of threshold values, a threshold value corresponding to the abnormal behavior type specified by said behavior detecting module.

17. An alarm system according to claim 2, wherein said behavior detecting module, when detecting the abnormal behavior, specifies a type of the detected abnormal behavior, and

said hazard state judging module has a multiplicity of different threshold values corresponding to types of the abnormal behaviors with respect to the moving distance and also a multiplicity of different threshold values corresponding to types of the abnormal behaviors with respect to the elapse time, and, when judging the hazard state, adopts, from the multiplicity of threshold values, threshold values corresponding to the abnormal behavior type specified by said behavior detecting module with respect to the moving distance and the elapse time.

18. An alarm system according to claim 1, wherein said behavior detecting module has an imaging device for acquiring an image of the face of the operator as image data, and detects the behavior abnormality of the operator for every frame of the image data acquired from said imaging device.

19. An alarm control apparatus incorporated into a vehicle having an operation seat on which an operator sits when operating, and connected to a speed sensor for measuring a moving speed of the vehicle, an imaging device for imaging the operator and an output device, said alarm control apparatus comprising:

a behavior detecting module for detecting an abnormal behavior of the operator from image data acquired from said imaging device;

a distance measuring module for measuring a moving distance of the vehicle while the abnormal behavior of the operator continues to be detected by said behavior detecting module on the basis of the moving speed acquired from said speed sensor;

a hazard state judging module for judging that a state is a hazard state when the moving distance measured by said distance measuring module exceeds a threshold value; and

an alarm output module for outputting an alarm to said output device when said hazard state judging module judges that the state is the hazard state.

20. A readable-by-computer medium stored with an alarm control program for making a computer incorporated into a vehicle having an operation seat on which an operator sits when operating, and connected to a speed sensor for measuring a moving speed of the vehicle, an imaging device for imaging the operator and an output device, execute:

a behavior detecting step of detecting an abnormal behavior of the operator from image data acquired from said imaging device;

a distance measuring step of measuring a moving distance of the vehicle while the abnormal behavior of the operator continues to be detected on the basis of the moving speed acquired from said speed sensor;

a hazard state judging step of judging that a state is a hazard state when the moving distance obtained by the measurement exceeds a threshold value; and

an alarm outputting step of outputting an alarm to said output device only when judging that the state is the hazard state.