JP2008241309A - Service presentation device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a service presentation device for a vehicle capable of presenting a service without blocking the driver's attention power even when the driving load of a driver is large. <P>SOLUTION: A processing section estimates the scene where an occupant is placed and the requirement in the scene, determines the driver load level based on the sensing information, and, when the driver load level is high, suspends information without presenting it. When the driver load is low or when the driver load reduces in a suspended state of the information, the information is presented by an appropriate presenting device and presenting method according to the level of the driver load. Thus, the information can be presented without blocking the driver's attention power. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicular service presentation device that presents a useful service to a driver.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, it has been proposed to mediate the presentation of information or change the presentation content according to the driving load of the driver. For example, Patent Document 1 describes that when the driving load of the driver is smaller than a predetermined value, the presentation form is standard presentation, and when the driving load is larger than the predetermined value, the presentation form is simply presented. ing. Patent Document 2 describes that the display content is changed according to the driving load of the driver.
JP 2003-322528 A JP 2004-125572 A

  However, in Patent Documents 1 and 2, since the information presentation is only arbitrated or the presentation content is changed according to the driving load of the driver, the information is displayed when the driving load of the driver is large. May be presented. For this reason, there is a possibility that the driver's attention with a heavy driving load and concentrated on driving may be hindered by the presentation of information.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle service capable of presenting a service without disturbing the driver's attention even when the driver's driving load is large. It is to provide a presentation device.

  According to the first aspect of the invention, since the service is not presented to the driver when the driving load on the driver is high, the driver's attention is not hindered. In addition, when the driving load on the driver is reduced, the suspended service is presented, so that the service can be reliably presented to the driver.

According to the invention of claim 2, it is possible to present an appropriate service according to the scene where the occupant is placed or the occupant's desire in that scene.
According to the invention of claim 3, since the driving load state of the driver is determined by any one of the vehicle surrounding service, the driver's biological service, the operation service by the driver, or a combination thereof, Judgment accuracy can be increased.

  According to the invention of claim 4, even if a service for which the expiration date of the service has passed is presented, the service is meaningless to the driver. Presenting meaningless services to the driver can be avoided.

  According to the invention of claim 5, for the service with high importance or urgency, an alternative is presented when the expiration date has passed, so the service with high importance or urgency is surely provided to the driver. can do.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall configuration. In FIG. 1, the steering sensor 1 notifies the processing unit (corresponding to estimation means) 2 of the steering angle. The vehicle speed sensor 3 notifies the processing unit 2 of the vehicle speed. The brake pedal 4 notifies the processing unit 2 of the pedal depression amount. The accelerator pedal 5 notifies the processing unit 2 of the pedal depression amount. The fuel sensor 6 notifies the processing unit 2 of the remaining amount of fuel in the fuel tank. The navigation device 7 notifies the processing unit 2 of the current time, own vehicle position, peripheral facility information, road attributes, road shape, and the like.

The line-of-sight monitoring camera 8 notifies the processing unit of line-of-sight information indicating the line of sight by detecting the driver's line-of-sight direction.
The personal identification device 9 includes personal information for identifying the driver, for example, an identification code for the seat position memory, an IC chip built-in license storing personal information, a person identification by a camera, a wireless key having personal identification information, etc. The processing unit 2 is notified of the personal information acquired from the above.

The surroundings monitoring sensor 10 notifies the processing unit 2 of surrounding information indicating other vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles, pedestrians, and the like detected by a surrounding monitoring camera, corner sonar, millimeter wave radar, and the like.
The information terminal 11 acquires the traffic congestion information in the traveling direction, the vehicle surrounding information, and the like transmitted from the information providing device 12 such as an information center, a roadside machine, or another vehicle, and notifies the processing unit 2 of the information.

  The service selection / operation switch 13 includes a steering switch, a remote operation switch provided on the center console, a touch switch on the display unit provided on the instrument panel, a remote control switch, and the like. Notify the processing unit 2.

A presentation device (corresponding to presentation means) 14 includes a display and a speaker. The presentation device 14 receives and displays a video signal from the processing unit 2 and switch operation / edit screen information, and provides voice guidance.
In-vehicle devices include an air conditioner, a power window, and the like, and the air conditioner ECU 15, the power window ECU 16, and the door lock ECU 17 control the air conditioner, the power window, and the door lock, respectively, according to a control signal from the processing unit 2.

The information presentation method database 18 stores an information presentation method definition table corresponding to the driving load in relation to the present invention as will be described later.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the presentation process by the processing unit 2. In FIG. 2, the processing unit 2 takes in the sensing information (A1), estimates the current scene (A2), and determines whether there is a service that can be presented (A3). The sensing information in this case is information for estimating the scene where the occupant (driver) is placed, and is information based on information that the in-vehicle device has, or information provided from the outside Or The service that can be presented is the desire of the passenger (driver) in the scene, information on nearby stores or facilities, weather in the direction of travel, traffic jam information, construction information, quiz information, music provision information, information from the operator And various services are targeted. When there is a service that can be presented (A3: YES), the in-vehicle device to be activated and its operating conditions are determined (A4).

  Next, after taking in the sensing information (A5), the driving load level is determined (A6), whether the driving load is high (A7), and whether the service is within the expiration date (A9). The sensing information in this case is various information necessary for determining the driving load of the driver. If the driving load is high (A7: YES), the information presentation is suspended (A8), and the process proceeds to step A5.

  On the other hand, when the driving load of the driver is low, or when the driving load is reduced in the information presentation on-hold state (A7: NO), when the service is within the expiration date (A9: YES), the driving load depends on the driving load. A service is proposed to the driver by the information presentation method (A10).

  With the above operation, information presentation is suspended when the driver's driving load is high, and the service is proposed to the driver on the condition that it is within the service expiration date when the driving load is reduced. Become. Therefore, since information is not presented in a state where the driving load is high, the service can be presented without disturbing the driver's attention.

As a specific example of presenting such a service, a scene in which refueling at a gas station (GS) immediately after a left turn at an intersection is guided when the fuel of the vehicle is low will be described.
FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are flowcharts assuming a scene of guiding refueling at a gas station, and constitute a part of a program executed by the processing unit 2. In these FIG.3 and FIG.4, the scene where the sensing information including the fuel remaining amount is taken in (B1), the scene is estimated (B2), and the fueling guidance is presented in a state where the fuel remaining amount is less than the regulation. Judgment is made (B3). In other words, as shown in FIG. 5, it can be seen that the gas station is located immediately after the left turn in the traveling direction based on the vehicle position from the navigation device 7 and the surrounding facility information. It can be judged that it was a scene to encourage refueling at the gas station (B3: YES).

  Next, sensing information is fetched (B4). The sensing information in this case includes the distance from the other vehicle and the two-wheeled vehicle by the periphery monitoring sensor 10 and the direction of the driver's line of sight by the line-of-sight monitoring camera 8. Based on the distance between the other vehicle and the two-wheeled vehicle, it is determined whether the degree of approach with the other vehicle is equal to or higher than a specified value (B5) or whether the degree of approach with the two-wheeled vehicle is equal to or higher than a specified value (B6). If the degree of approach with another vehicle is greater than or equal to the specified value (B5: YES) or the degree of proximity of the motorcycle is greater than the specified value (B6: YES), pay attention to the other vehicle or motorcycle based on the driver's line of sight (B7: YES), it is determined that the driver's driving load is high (B9), the information presentation is suspended (B10), and the process goes to step B4. Transition. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, in a scene where the driver makes a left turn while paying attention to the distance to the preceding vehicle and the left rear motorcycle, the driver's consciousness is in the preceding other vehicle or the following motorcycle. In such a case, it can be determined that guiding the gas station disturbs the driver's attention, and the information presentation is suspended for this reason.

On the other hand, if the degree of approach with another vehicle or motorcycle is less than the prescribed value (B6: NO) or the degree of approach with another vehicle or motorcycle is greater than the prescribed value, the driver pays attention to them. If not (B7: NO), a warning is given of the approach of another vehicle or motorcycle (B8). The term of validity of this service is the term of validity of the service presented to the driver. When this term expires, it means that the service is meaningless. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that refueling guidance is encouraged at a gas station, and an information presentation area in which information to the driver is valid is set before the gas station as an expiration date. Has been. This information presentation area is set in consideration of the time required for "recognition / judgment / action" from the time the driver receives the information until the driver enters the gas station, and it does not pass through the target gas station. In both cases, when the information presentation area is passed, the information expires. As shown in FIG. 6, this expiration date is an area when the information is assumed to be refueled at a gas station, but time may be set depending on the type of information.
If the service period is within the expiration date (B11: YES), the processing unit 2 presents the service to the driver based on the information presentation method definition table corresponding to the driving load stored in the information providing method database (B17). ).

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the information presentation method definition table. This FIG. 9 is defined for a specific individual. As sensing information, steering steering angle, vehicle speed, brake pedal depression amount, accelerator pedal depression amount, time, own vehicle position, neighboring facility information, road attributes, road shape The driving load level is determined based on a combination of determination conditions such as the other vehicle approach degree, the pedestrian approach degree, the two-wheeler approach degree, the traffic jam situation, and the driver's line of sight. The method of determining that the driver's driving load is high is to detect the distance relationship (approach) between the other vehicle, the two-wheeled vehicle and the own vehicle and the driver's line of sight (whether attention is paid to the object) Estimate the driver's condition. Moreover, in order to determine whether the other vehicle or the two-wheeled vehicle has been confirmed, it is determined whether the line of sight has been fixed at an arbitrary position for a certain period of time. That is, in general, when recognizing an object, the line of sight tends to be fixed by about 200 m.

The driving load level is determined to be “low”, “medium”, or “high”, and the presentation device and the presentation method are determined according to the determination result. That is, information is not presented when the load level is high as described above. In addition, as the driving load increases, the amount of information presented to the driver is limited so that an extra load other than driving is not given to the driver.
Therefore, within the validity period of the information, the information is presented to the driver by an appropriate presentation method according to the driver's load, so the information can be presented without disturbing the driver's attention. it can.

  By the way, at the time of gas station guidance, since refueling is highly urgent and important, it is important to present refueling even when the service expiration date has passed. Therefore, the processing unit 2 measures the remaining amount of fuel as shown in FIG. 4 (B12) and estimates the possible travel distance when the service expiration date has passed in the case of guidance at a gas station (B12). B13), search for a gas station within the travelable distance (B14). If there is a gas station (B15: YES), the process is terminated. If there is no gas station (B15: NO), refueling at the gas station that has passed by showing a detour route as shown in FIG. Prompt (B16). As described above, even if the service expiration date has passed, it is extremely effective to present an alternative for information with high urgency and importance.

  According to such an embodiment, when information is proposed to the driver, when the driver's driving load is high, the information presentation is suspended, so that the information is presented regardless of the driver's driving load. Compared with the conventional example, the driver's attention can be prevented from being hindered. Further, when the driving load on the driver is reduced, the held information is presented, so that the information can be reliably presented to the driver.

Further, since the driving load state of the driver is determined by combining a plurality of sensing information, the determination accuracy of the driving load of the driver can be improved.
In addition, when the expiration date of the service to be presented has passed, information is not presented, so that it is possible to avoid presenting meaningless information.
In addition, even if the expiration date has passed, when the urgency or importance of the information to be presented is high, an alternative is presented so that the information with high urgency or importance is surely given to the driver. Can be provided.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows.
You may make it judge a driver | operator's tension | tensile_strength from a driver | operator's respiration frequency, a heart rate, the amount of sweating of a hand, etc.
When presenting entertainment information as a service, for example, for items that require a quiz to be answered within a predetermined time, if the expiration date has passed, the information may be presented again. .

The block diagram which shows schematically the whole structure in one Example of this invention Flow chart showing the operation of the processing unit Figure corresponding to Fig. 2 assuming the scene of guiding a gas station (part 1) Figure 2 equivalent figure assuming the scene of guiding a gas station (part 2) Plan view of the road assuming a scene to guide the gas station Diagram for explaining the information presentation area FIG. 6 equivalent view showing a state where the own vehicle is located in the information presentation area FIG. 6 equivalent diagram showing a service proposal when the service expiration date has passed The figure which shows the correspondence of combination of sensing information and driver load level judgment

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawing, 2 is a processing unit (estimating means), 14 is a presentation device (presenting means), and 18 is an information presentation method database.

Claims (5)

Presenting means for presenting services to the driver;
An estimation means for estimating the driving load of the driver,
The presenting means suspends the presentation of the service when the driving load of the driver estimated by the estimating means at a timing of presenting the service to the driver is high, and presents the service when the driving load of the driver decreases. A service presentation device for a vehicle.   2. The vehicle service presentation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the presenting means determines a service to be presented to the driver by estimating a scene where the occupant is placed or a desire of the occupant in the scene.   The said estimation means judges the driving | running | working load state of a driver | operator by either the surrounding information of a vehicle, a driver | operator's biometric information, the operation information by a driver | operator, or a combination. Vehicle service presentation device.   4. The vehicular service presentation device according to claim 1, wherein the presentation unit does not present the service when an expiration date of the service has elapsed.   5. The vehicle service presentation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the presenting means presents an alternative when the expiration date has passed in the case of a service having a high degree of urgency or importance.

Images