Warning system for inattentive driving

Abstract

To not issue an inattentive driving warning when there is no need to issue a warning about inattentive driving.SOLUTION: A detection device (9) capable of detecting a visual direction of a driver (40) of a vehicle (1) is provided. For each point that the vehicle (1) travels, visual inspection information including a visual inspection necessary area (AA) of the driver (40) when the driver (40) of the vehicle (1) is conducting a required visual inspection confirmation due to inattentive driving, and a visual inspection necessary time is stored in a data storage unit. The visual inspection information stored in the data storage unit is acquired from the data storage unit, and a warning generation unit (22) will stop issuing an inattentive driving warning when the visual direction of the driver (40) of the vehicle (1) is directed toward the visual inspection necessary area (AA) in the present position of the vehicle (1) within a period not exceeding a visual inspection necessary time in the present position of the vehicle (1).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a blind spot warning system.

Background Art

[0002] When a driver of a vehicle makes a blind spot driving during vehicle travel, a blind spot warning system that issues a blind spot warning is adopted. In this case, for safety confirmation or the like, it may be necessary to make blind spot driving for a certain period of time or more. Therefore, even if blind spot driving is being performed, it can be said that it is preferable that a blind spot warning is issued only when the blind spot driving time exceeds the necessary blind spot driving time required for safety confirmation or the like. In this case, this necessary blind spot driving time varies depending on the geographical situation around the vehicle driving position and the surrounding vehicle situation. For example, when the vehicle approaches an intersection, the necessary blind spot driving time inevitably becomes longer in order to confirm the left and right situations. Therefore, a driving support device is known that sets a necessary blind spot driving time uniformly for each type of road form such as intersections, merging lanes onto highways, exit lanes from highways, and curved roads, and issues a blind spot warning when the blind spot driving time exceeds the necessary blind spot driving time set uniformly for each type of road form when the vehicle travels through intersections, merging lanes onto highways, exit lanes from highways, curved roads, etc. (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] However, in reality, even if the types of road forms are the same, the necessary time for a side glance varies from place to place. Therefore, if the necessary time for a side glance is uniformly set for each type of road form such as a curved road as in the above-described driving support device, there will be a problem that a side glance warning is issued when it is not necessary, or a side glance warning is not issued when it is necessary.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0005] In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, there is provided a side glance warning system including a detection device capable of detecting the visual direction of a driver of a vehicle, a warning generation unit that issues a side glance warning to the driver of the vehicle, and a processor. For each point where the vehicle travels, visual information including the necessary visual confirmation area and the necessary visual time of the driver when the driver of the vehicle makes a necessary visual confirmation by a side glance is stored in a data storage unit. This processor acquires the visual information stored in the data storage unit from the data storage unit. When the visual direction of the driver of the vehicle is directed to the necessary visual confirmation area at the current position of the vehicle within a range not exceeding the necessary visual time at the current position of the vehicle, the warning generation unit stops issuing a side glance warning.

Effect of the Invention

[0006] A side glance warning is issued when it is necessary, and a side glance warning is not issued when it is not necessary, so it is possible to suppress the driver from feeling annoyance.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0007]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0008] FIG. 1 schematically shows the vehicle 1 when viewed from above, and FIG. 2 shows the functional configuration of the vehicle 1 shown in FIG. 1. Note that this vehicle 1 can perform both manual driving and autonomous driving. Referring to FIG. 2, 10 is a vehicle drive unit for applying driving force to the drive wheels of the vehicle 1, 11 is a braking device for braking the vehicle 1, 12 is a steering device for steering the vehicle 1, and 13 is an electronic control unit mounted in the vehicle 1, respectively. As shown in FIG. 2, the electronic control unit 13 consists of a digital computer and includes a CPU (processor) 15, a memory 16 composed of a ROM and a RAM, and an input / output port 17, which are connected to each other by a bidirectional bus 14.

[0009] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, various sensors 18 necessary for the vehicle 1 to perform autonomous driving are installed in the vehicle 1. These sensors 18 include sensors for detecting the state of the vehicle 1 and sensors for detecting the surroundings of the vehicle 1. In this case, as sensors for detecting the state of the vehicle 1, an acceleration sensor, a speed sensor, an azimuth angle sensor, and a geomagnetic sensor are used, and as sensors for detecting the surroundings of the vehicle 1, cameras for photographing the front, side, and rear of the vehicle 1, and lidar (LIDAR), radar, clearance sonar, etc. for detecting the front, side, and rear of the vehicle 1 are used.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows an example of sensors installed in vehicle 1. In the example shown in FIG. 1, vehicle 1 is equipped with front cameras 3a and 3b that capture the front of vehicle 1, a rear camera 4 that captures the rear of vehicle 1, a long-range millimeter-wave radar 5 that emits millimeter waves toward the front of vehicle 1, mid-range millimeter-wave radars 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d that emit millimeter waves toward the sides of vehicle 1, lidars 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d that irradiate laser light toward the sides of vehicle 1, and a clearance sonar 8 that emits ultrasonic waves toward the rear of vehicle 1. Also, inside the vehicle cabin, a detection device 9 for detecting the direction of the driver's line of sight and the direction in which the driver's face is facing (hereinafter referred to as the face direction) is installed.

[0011] This detection device 9 has, for example, an infrared LED that irradiates the driver's face with infrared light and an infrared camera that detects the reflected light from the face and the reflected light of infrared light on the cornea of the eyeball. By using this detection device 9, on the one hand, the direction of the driver's line of sight can be detected from the reflected light of infrared light on the cornea, and on the other hand, the face direction of the driver can be detected from the infrared image of the face. Note that this detection device 9 is shown as an example, and other detection devices can also be used instead of this detection device 9.

[0012] Returning to FIG. 2 again, the vehicle 1 is provided with a GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver 19, a map data storage device 20, a navigation device 21, and a warning generation unit 22 that issues a side glance warning to the driver of the vehicle 1. The GNSS receiver 19 can detect the current position of the vehicle 1 (for example, the latitude and longitude of the vehicle 1) based on information obtained from a plurality of artificial satellites. Therefore, the current position of the vehicle 1 can be acquired by this GNSS receiver 19. As this GNSS receiver 19, for example, a GPS receiver is used. Also, the map data storage device 20 stores map data and the like necessary for the running of the vehicle 1. This map data also includes information about roads. These various sensors 18, GNSS receiver 19, map data storage device 20, navigation device 21, and warning generation unit 22 are connected to the electronic control unit 13. Further, the vehicle 1 is equipped with a communication device 23 connected to the electronic control unit 13, and the electronic control unit 13 can communicate with the server 30 via this communication device 23. Although not shown in the figure, this server 30 incorporates a CPU (processor) connected to each other by a bidirectional bus and a memory composed of a ROM and a RAM.

[0013] In the example shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle 1 can be manually driven, and when there is a request for driving control by automatic driving for the vehicle 1, it is possible to cause the vehicle 1 to perform driving control by automatic driving. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle drive unit 10 of the vehicle 1 is composed of an electric motor driven by a secondary battery or an electric motor driven by a fuel cell, and the drive wheels are driven and controlled by these electric motors according to the output signal of the electronic control unit 13. Also, in the example shown in FIG. 2, when there is a request for driving control by automatic driving for the vehicle 1, the braking control of the vehicle 1 is performed by the braking device 11 according to the output signal of the electronic control unit 13, and the steering control of the vehicle 1 is also performed by the steering device 12 according to the output signal of the electronic control unit 13.

[0014] Now, during the operation of vehicle 1, the driver of vehicle 1 often visually checks other vehicles by side glances for a certain period of time or more to confirm the presence and movement of other vehicles, visually checks moving objects such as pedestrians by side glances for a certain period of time or more to confirm the presence and movement of moving objects such as pedestrians, and visually checks stationary objects such as signals and signs by side glances for a certain period of time or more to confirm the presence and content of stationary objects such as signals and signs. Such visual checks of various objects by side glances for a certain period of time or more are visual checks necessary for safety confirmation and the like, and the time spent visually checking these various objects is the visual time necessary for safety confirmation and the like. That is, if the visual time of these various objects is within the visual time necessary for safety confirmation and the like, it is preferably stopped from issuing a side glance warning, and it can be said that it is preferably to issue a side glance warning only when the visual time of these various objects exceeds the visual time necessary for safety confirmation and the like.

[0015] This will be described with reference to FIGS. 3, 4A, and 4B. First, regarding FIG. 3, FIG. 3 shows a view from the interior of vehicle 1 looking forward. In FIG. 3, 40 represents the driver, 41 represents the driver's seat, and 42 represents the front window. Also, in FIG. 3, AA shows an example of an area in the scenery in front of the vehicle where the line of sight of the driver 40 is directed by a side glance. In the example shown in FIG. 3, area AA shows a visual necessary area where the line of sight of the driver 40 is directed by a side glance when it is necessary to visually check for safety confirmation and the like.

[0016] On the one hand, in FIG. 3, AB shows an example of an area in the scenery in front of the vehicle where the face of the driver 40 is turned by a side glance. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the area AB shows the face orientation required area where the face of the driver 40 is turned when the line of sight of the driver 40 is directed to the area AA that needs to be visually checked by a side glance for safety confirmation or the like. Although the direction of the line of sight of the driver 40 and the face orientation direction of the driver 40 do not completely coincide, it is known that there is a correlation between the direction of the line of sight of the driver 40 and the face orientation direction of the driver 40. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the area where the line of sight of the driver 40 is directed is the area AA that needs to be visually checked, as shown in FIG. 3, the face orientation required area AB where the face of the driver 40 is turned is an area wider than the area AA that needs to be visually checked including the area AA that needs to be visually checked. When the line of sight of the driver 40 is directed to the area AA that needs to be visually checked, the face of the driver 40 is highly likely to be directed to the face orientation required area AB.

[0017] On the other hand, FIGS. 4A and 4B show an image G of the scenery in front of the vehicle taken by the front cameras 3a and 3b. Note that FIGS. 4A and 4B show simplified images for explanation purposes instead of actual images, and only the white lines of the road are shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Note that FIGS. 4A show an example of a visual position P where the line of sight of the driver 40 is directed within the scenery in front of the vehicle and an example of a face orientation position Q where the face of the driver 40 is directed within the scenery in front of the vehicle. In this case, the visual position P is obtained based on the direction of the line of sight of the driver detected by the detection device 9 and the image data taken by the front cameras 3a and 3b, and the face orientation position Q is obtained based on the face orientation direction of the driver detected by the detection device 9 and the image data taken by the front cameras 3a and 3b.

[0018] Now, as described above, during the operation of the vehicle 1, there may be a case where it is necessary to perform a side glance operation for a certain period of time or more for safety confirmation or the like. Therefore, it can be said that it is preferable that a side glance warning is issued only when the side glance operation time exceeds the necessary side glance operation time required for safety confirmation or the like. In this case, the location where the side glance operation necessary for safety confirmation or the like is performed, the necessary visual area in the scenery in front of the vehicle, and the necessary visual time are common to any vehicle. Therefore, for each location on the road, when information on the visual position and information on the visual time regarding the side glance operation actually required by a large number of vehicles are accumulated, from this accumulation result, each vehicle can acquire the necessary visual area by side glance and the necessary visual time by side glance at each location on the road. As a result, when it is necessary to perform a side glance operation, it becomes possible to issue a side glance warning only when the side glance operation time exceeds the necessary side glance operation time required for safety confirmation or the like.

[0019] In addition, at each location on the road, it is more accurate to determine whether the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 is looking at the necessary visual area AA based on the direction of the driver 40's line of sight than to determine whether the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 is looking at the necessary visual area AA based on the facing direction of the driver 40. However, for example, when the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 is wearing infrared cut glasses, the detection device 9 cannot detect the direction of the driver 40's line of sight. In this case, it is inevitable to determine whether the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 is looking at the necessary visual area AA based on the facing direction of the driver 40.

[0020] Therefore, in the embodiment according to the present invention, when the direction of the driver 40's line of sight can be detected by the detection device 9, based on the direction of the driver 40's line of sight, it is determined whether the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 is visually observing the visually necessary area AA. When the direction of the driver 40's line of sight cannot be detected by the detection device 9, based on the face orientation direction of the driver 40, it is determined whether the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 is visually observing the visually necessary area AA. Hereinafter, an embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7.

[0021] FIG. 5 shows a transmission routine that is repeatedly executed in the electronic control unit 13 of the vehicle 1 in order to transmit information obtained regarding the position of the vehicle 1, the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, the visual position P in the scenery in front of the vehicle, the visual time, the face orientation position Q in the scenery in front of the vehicle, etc. from the vehicle 1 to the server 30. Note that FIG. 5 shows a case where, as an example, information regarding the visual position P of the driver 40 and information regarding the face orientation position Q of the driver 40 are alternately transmitted to the server 30.

[0022] Referring to FIG. 5, first, in step 50, it is determined whether it is the order in which information regarding the direction of the driver 40's line of sight should be transmitted. When it is determined that it is the order in which information regarding the direction of the driver 40's line of sight should be transmitted, the process proceeds to step 51, and the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is detected by the detection device 9. Next, in step 52, it is determined whether the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, whether the driver is not looking sideways. When the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is not looking sideways, the processing cycle ends. Note that the processing cycle also ends when the direction of the driver 40's line of sight cannot be detected by the detection device 9.

[0023] On the other hand, in step 52, when it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is not in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is looking sideways, the process proceeds to step 53, and the traveling information of the vehicle 1 including the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is acquired. In this case, Based on the received signal of the GNSS receiver 19 and the map data stored in the map data storage device 20, information regarding the current position of the vehicle 1 is acquired, and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 obtained from the change in the position of the vehicle 1 is acquired. Next, in step 54, the operation of integrating the elapsed time is started. Next, in step 55, it is determined whether or not the direction of the driver 40's line of sight has changed. When the direction of the driver 40's line of sight does not change, the process returns to step 54, and the operation of integrating the elapsed time continues.

[0024] On the other hand, when it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight has changed, the process proceeds to step 56. In step 56, the visual position P is obtained based on the direction of the driver 40's line of sight before the change and the image data captured by the front cameras 3a and 3b, and data regarding the image G including the visual position P as shown in FIG. 4A is transmitted to the server 30 together with the integrated value of the elapsed time and the traveling information of the vehicle 1 acquired in step 53.

[0025] On the other hand, in step 50, when it is determined that it is not the order to transmit information regarding the direction of the driver 40's line of sight, that is, when it is determined that it is the order to transmit information regarding the face direction of the driver 40, the process proceeds to step 57, and the face direction of the driver 40 is detected by the detection device 9. Next, in step 58, it is determined whether or not the face direction of the driver 40 is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, whether or not the driver is not looking sideways. When the face direction of the driver 40 is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is not looking sideways, the processing cycle ends.

[0026] On the other hand, in step 58, when it is determined that the facing direction of the driver 40 is not in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is looking aside, the process proceeds to step 59, and vehicle information including the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is acquired based on the received signal of the GNSS receiver 19 and the map data stored in the map data storage device 20. Next, in step 60, the operation of accumulating the elapsed time is started. Next, in step 61, it is determined whether or not the facing direction of the driver 40 has changed. When the facing direction of the driver 40 has not changed, the process returns to step 60 and the operation of accumulating the elapsed time is continued.

[0027] On the contrary, when it is determined that the facing direction of the driver 40 has changed, the process proceeds to step 62. In step 62, the facing position Q is obtained based on the facing direction of the driver 40 before the change and the image data captured by the front cameras 3a and 3b, and data regarding the image G including the facing position Q as shown in FIG. 4A is transmitted to the server 30 together with the integrated value of the elapsed time and the vehicle information of the vehicle 1 acquired in step 59.

[0028] Note that the operation of transmitting information to the server 30 shown in FIG. 5 is performed from a number of vehicles, and the information transmitted from the number of vehicles is managed in the server 30. FIG. 6 shows an information management routine executed by a processor in the server 30 in the server 30.

[0029] Referring to FIG. 6, first, at step 70, it is determined whether data on an image G including a visual position P as shown in FIG. 4A, an integrated value of the elapsed time, and running information of the vehicle 1 are received from the vehicle, or whether data on an image G including a face orientation position Q as shown in FIG. 4A, an integrated value of the elapsed time, and running information of the vehicle 1 are received from the vehicle. When it is determined at step 70 that data on an image G including the visual position P, an integrated value of the elapsed time, and running information of the vehicle 1 are received from the vehicle, the process proceeds to step 71, and in the memory for the visual required area in the server 30, for each running direction of the vehicle 1 and the current position of the vehicle 1 based on the received running information, data on the image G including the received visual position P and the integrated value of the elapsed time are stored. On the other hand, when it is determined at step 70 that data on an image G including the face orientation position Q, an integrated value of the elapsed time, and running information of the vehicle 1 are received from the vehicle, the process proceeds to step 71, and in the memory for the face orientation required area in the server 30, for each running direction of the vehicle 1 and the current position of the vehicle 1 based on the received running information, data on the image G including the received face orientation position Q and the integrated value of the elapsed time are stored.

[0030] Next, at step 72, based on the information stored in the memory for the visual required area and the information stored in the memory for the face orientation required area, for each running direction of the vehicle 1 and the current position of the vehicle 1, a visual required area AA and a face orientation required area AB as shown in FIG. 3 are determined. In this case, in the embodiment according to the present invention, for each running direction of the vehicle 1 and the current position of the vehicle 1, a visual required area AA and a face orientation required area AB on the image G as shown in FIG. 4B are determined and stored.

[0031] For example, for each traveling direction and current position of the vehicle 1, a reference image G is determined from among the images G, and a visual position P on an image G other than the determined reference image G is corrected to the visual position P on the reference image G. A region where the density of the corrected visual position P on the reference image G is equal to or higher than a certain density is defined as a visually necessary area AA. Also, at this time, among the integrated values of the visual elapsed times of the visual positions P stored in the visually necessary area memory, the average value of the integrated values of the visual elapsed times of the visual positions P belonging to this visually necessary area AA is defined as the visually necessary time.

[0032] Similarly, for example, for each traveling direction and current position of the vehicle 1, a reference image G is determined from among the images G, and a face orientation position Q on an image G other than the determined reference image G is corrected to the face orientation position Q on the reference image G. A region where the density of the corrected face orientation position Q on the reference image G is equal to or higher than a certain density is defined as a face orientation necessary area AB. Also, at this time, among the integrated values of the visual elapsed times of the face orientation positions Q stored in the face orientation necessary area memory, the average value of the integrated values of the visual elapsed times of the face orientation positions Q belonging to this face orientation necessary area AB is defined as the face orientation necessary time.

[0033] FIG. 7 shows a routine for executing a side glance warning process for the driver 40 of the vehicle 1. This routine is executed by an interrupt at regular intervals in the electronic control unit 13 of the vehicle 1.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 7, first, in step 80, it is determined whether the direction of the driver 40's line of sight can be detected by the detection device 9. When it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight can be detected, the process proceeds to step 81, and the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is detected by the detection device 9. Next, in step 82, it is determined whether the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, whether the driver is not making a side glance. When the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is not making a side glance, the processing cycle ends.

[0035] On the other hand, in step 82, when it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is not in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is looking sideways, the process proceeds to step 83, and the travel information of the vehicle 1 including the current position and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is acquired. In this case, Based on the received signal of the GNSS receiver 19 and the map data stored in the map data storage device 20, information regarding the current position of the vehicle 1 is acquired, and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 obtained from the position change of the vehicle 1 is acquired. Next, in step 84, access is made to the server 30, and data regarding the image G including the visually necessary area AA stored in the server 30 is acquired from the data regarding the image G including the visually necessary area AA at the current position of the vehicle 1.

[0036] Next, in step 85, it is determined whether or not the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is directed toward the acquired visually necessary area AA. That is, the visual position P is obtained based on the detected direction of the driver 40's line of sight and the image data captured by the front cameras 3a and 3b, and it is determined whether or not this visual position P belongs within the visually necessary area AA on the image G shown in FIG. 4B.

[0037] In step 85, when it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is directed toward the acquired visually necessary area AA, the process proceeds to step 86. In step 86, access is made to the server 30 again, and the visually necessary time at the current position of the vehicle 1 is acquired from the visually necessary times stored in the server 30. Next, in step 87, the calculation of the elapsed time is started. Next, in step 88, it is determined whether or not the elapsed time is less than or equal to the acquired visually necessary time. When it is determined that the elapsed time is less than or equal to the acquired visually necessary time, the processing cycle is terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the elapsed time is not less than or equal to the acquired visually necessary time, the process proceeds to step 89, and a side glance warning is issued to the driver of the vehicle 1 by the warning generation unit 22. This side glance warning is performed, for example, by displaying a screen message such as "Please face forward" or by voice.

[0038] On the other hand, in step 85, when it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is not directed towards the acquired visually necessary area AA, the process proceeds to step 95, and the calculation of the elapsed time is started. Next, in step 96, it is determined whether the elapsed time is less than or equal to the set side glance time. This set side glance time is preset to be a short time within the range allowing side glance driving, and this set side glance time is shorter than the acquired visually necessary time. In this way, when the direction of the driver 40's line of sight is directed towards the acquired visually necessary area AA, the side glance warning is stopped from being issued until the elapsed time exceeds the acquired visually necessary time, so it is possible to suppress the driver from feeling annoyance.

[0039] On the other hand, in step 80, when it is determined that the direction of the driver 40's line of sight cannot be detected, the process proceeds to step 90, and the face direction of the driver 40 is detected by the detection device 9. Next, in step 91, it is determined whether the face direction of the driver 40 is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, whether the driver is not making a side glance. When the face direction of the driver 40 is in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is not making a side glance, the processing cycle is terminated.

[0040] On the other hand, in step 91, when it is determined that the face direction of the driver 40 is not in front of the traveling direction of the vehicle 1, that is, when it is determined that the driver is making a side glance, the process proceeds to step 92, and the traveling information of the vehicle 1 including the current position and traveling direction of the vehicle 1 is acquired. In this case, Based on the received signal of the GNSS receiver 19 and the map data stored in the map data storage device 20, information regarding the current position of the vehicle 1 is acquired, and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 obtained from the position change of the vehicle 1 is acquired. Next, in step 93, access is made to the server 30, and data regarding the image G including the face-required area AB at the current position of the vehicle 1 is acquired from the data regarding the image G including the face-required area AB stored in the server 30.

[0041] Next, in step 94, it is determined whether the face direction of the driver 40 is directed toward the acquired necessary face area AB. That is, based on the detected face direction of the driver 40 and the image data captured by the front cameras 3a and 3b, the face position Q is obtained, and it is determined whether this face position Q belongs within the necessary face area AB on the image G shown in FIG. 4B.

[0042] In step 94, when it is determined that the face direction of the driver 40 is directed toward the acquired necessary face area AB, the process proceeds to step 86. In step 86, access is made to the server 30 again, and from the necessary face times updated at the server 30, the necessary face time at the current position of the vehicle 1 is acquired. Next, in step 87, the calculation of the elapsed time is started. Then, in step 88, it is determined whether the elapsed time is less than or equal to the acquired necessary face time. When it is determined that the elapsed time is less than or equal to the acquired necessary face time, the processing cycle ends. On the other hand, when it is determined that the elapsed time is not less than or equal to the acquired necessary face time, the process proceeds to step 89, and a side glance warning is issued to the driver of the vehicle 1 by the warning generation unit 22.

[0043] On the other hand, in step 94, when it is determined that the face direction of the driver 40 is not directed toward the acquired necessary face area AB, the process proceeds to step 95, and the calculation of the elapsed time is started. Next, in step 96, it is determined whether the elapsed time is less than or equal to the set side glance time. This set side glance time is set to be shorter than the acquired necessary face time. In this way, when the face direction of the driver 40 is directed toward the acquired necessary face area AB, the issuance of the side glance warning is stopped until the elapsed time exceeds the acquired necessary face time, so it is possible to suppress the driver from feeling annoyance.

[0044] As described above, in the present invention, the side glance warning system includes a detection device 9 capable of detecting the visual direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle 1, a warning generation unit 22 that issues a side glance warning to the driver 40 of the vehicle 1, and a processor 15. For each point where the vehicle 1 travels, visual information including the visual required area AA and the visual required time of the driver 40 when the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 makes a necessary visual confirmation by side glance is stored in the data storage unit. Further, the processor 15 acquires the visual information stored in the data storage unit from the data storage unit, and when the visual direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle is directed to the visual required area AA at the current position of the vehicle 1 within a range not exceeding the visual required time at the current position of the vehicle 1, the warning generation unit 22 stops issuing a side glance warning.

[0045] In this case, in this embodiment, when the visual direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 exceeds the visual required time at the current position of the vehicle 1 and is directed to the visual required area AA of the driver 40 at the current position of the vehicle 1, the processor 15 causes the warning generation unit 22 to issue a side glance warning. Further, in this embodiment, the above-described data storage unit consists of the server 30, visual information transmitted from a plurality of different vehicles to the server 30 is stored in the server 30, and based on the visual information stored in the server 30, the visual required area AA and the visual required time are determined.

[0046] Also, in the embodiment according to the present invention, the detection device 9 can detect the face direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 in addition to the line-of-sight direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle 1. Visual information including the visual required area AA and the visual required time of the driver 40 when the necessary visual confirmation is performed, and visual information including the face direction required area AB and the face direction required time of the driver 40 when the necessary visual confirmation is performed are stored in the data storage unit. When the detection device 9 can detect the line-of-sight direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle 1, when the line-of-sight direction of the driver 40 is directed to the visual required area AA of the driver 40 at the current position of the vehicle 1 within a range not exceeding the visual required time at the current position of the vehicle 1, the warning generation unit 22 stops issuing a side glance warning. On the other hand, when the line-of-sight direction of the driver 40 of the vehicle 1 cannot be detected, when the face direction of the driver 40 is directed to the face direction required area AB of the driver at the current position of the vehicle 1 within a range not exceeding the face direction required time at the current position of the vehicle 1, the warning generation unit 22 stops issuing a side glance warning.

[0047] In this case, in this embodiment, the above-mentioned data storage unit consists of the server 30, visual information transmitted from a plurality of different vehicles to the server 30 is stored in the server 30, and based on the visual information stored in the server 30, the visual required area AA, the visual required time, the face direction required area AB, and the face direction required time are determined.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0048] 1 Vehicle 9 Detection Device 15 Processor 22 Warning Generation Unit 30 Server 40 Driver AA Visual Required Area AB Face Direction Required Area

Claims

1. A system for preventing side glance warnings, comprising a detection device capable of detecting the visual direction of a vehicle driver, a warning generation unit for issuing a side glance warning to the vehicle driver, and a processor. Visual information including a visually necessary area and a visually necessary time of the driver when a necessary visual confirmation by side glance is performed by the vehicle driver is stored in a data storage unit for each point where the vehicle travels. The processor acquires the visual information stored in the data storage unit from the data storage unit. When the visual direction of the vehicle driver is directed to the visually necessary area at the current position of the vehicle within a range not exceeding the visually necessary time at the current position of the vehicle, the warning generation unit stops issuing a side glance warning.

2. The system for preventing side glance warnings according to claim 1, wherein when the visual direction of the vehicle driver exceeds the visually necessary time at the current position of the vehicle and is directed to the visually necessary area of the driver at the current position of the vehicle, the processor causes the warning generation unit to issue a side glance warning.

3. The system for preventing side glance warnings according to claim 1, wherein the data storage unit is a server, visual information transmitted from a plurality of different vehicles to the server is stored in the server, and the visually necessary area and the visually necessary time are determined based on the visual information stored in the server.

4. The detection device can detect the face orientation direction of the driver of the vehicle in addition to the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle, and visual information including the visual required area and visual required time of the driver when the necessary visual confirmation is performed, and visual information including the face orientation required area and face orientation required time of the driver when the necessary visual confirmation is performed are stored in the data storage unit. When the detection device can detect the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle, when the line-of-sight direction of the driver is directed to the visual required area of the driver at the current position of the vehicle within a range not exceeding the visual required time at the current position of the vehicle, the warning generation unit stops issuing a side glance warning. When the detection device cannot detect the line-of-sight direction of the driver of the vehicle, when the face orientation direction of the driver is directed to the face orientation required area of the driver at the current position of the vehicle within a range not exceeding the face orientation required time at the current position of the vehicle, the warning generation unit stops issuing a side glance warning. The side glance warning system according to claim 1.

5. The data storage unit consists of a server, visual information transmitted from a plurality of different vehicles to the server is stored in the server, and based on the visual information stored in the server, the visual required area, visual required time, face orientation required area, and face orientation required time are determined. The side glance warning system according to claim 4.

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