Driver assistance control device, driver assistance method, and computer program

Abstract

This prevents unintentional overrides from causing the driver abnormality response driver assistance system to be discontinued even when the driver is in an abnormal state. [Solution] The driver assistance control device 6 of the vehicle 100 is configured to provide driver assistance to address the driver's abnormality in response to a determination that the driver is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult for the driver to continue driving. If a predetermined termination condition is met during the driver assistance, the driver assistance is terminated. If it is estimated that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the device is configured to make it less likely that the termination condition will be met compared to when it is estimated that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a driving support control device, a driving support method, and a computer program.

Background Art

[0002] In Patent Document 1, as a conventional vehicle travel control device, it is configured to determine whether a driver is in an abnormal state, and when the driver is in an abnormal state, perform deceleration stop control to decelerate the host vehicle and hold the host vehicle in a stopped state.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The above-described conventional vehicle travel control device determines that the driver is in a non-driving operation state where no driving operation is being performed when none of the accelerator pedal operation amount, brake pedal operation amount, and steering torque are changing, and determines that the driver is in an abnormal state when the duration of the non-driving operation state exceeds a predetermined time. Then, when any of the accelerator pedal operation amount, brake pedal operation amount, and steering torque changes during the deceleration stop control, it is determined that a driving operation intervention by the driver (hereinafter referred to as "override") has occurred, and the deceleration stop control is configured to be aborted.

[0005] However, it is possible that a driver may experience an abnormal condition, such as a sudden change in physical condition, that makes it difficult for them to continue driving the vehicle while still holding the steering wheel. If a driver experiences an abnormal condition while holding the steering wheel, steering torque may be generated during deceleration and stopping control, for example, if the driver falls to the side while still holding the steering wheel. As a result, in the case of the conventional vehicle driving control system mentioned above, it may be determined that an override has occurred, and the deceleration and stopping control may be terminated. In other words, due to an unintentional override, the deceleration and stopping control may be terminated even though the driver is in an abnormal condition.

[0006] This invention addresses these problems and aims to prevent unintentional overrides that could cause driver assistance systems designed to respond to driver abnormalities to be discontinued even when the driver is in an abnormal state. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, a vehicle driving assistance control device according to one aspect of the present invention provides driving assistance to address driver abnormalities in response to a determination that the vehicle driver is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, and stops the driving assistance if a predetermined termination condition is met during the driving assistance, and is configured such that the termination condition is less likely to be met when it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

[0008] Furthermore, a driving assistance method according to a certain aspect of the present invention is implemented by a vehicle control device and, in response to the determination that the vehicle driver is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, provides driving assistance to address the driver's abnormality, stops the driving assistance if a predetermined termination condition is met during the driving assistance, and, if it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the termination condition is less likely to be met compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

[0009] Furthermore, a computer program according to one aspect of the present invention provides driving assistance to address driver abnormalities in response to a determination that the vehicle driver is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle. The program also terminates the driving assistance if a predetermined termination condition is met during the driving assistance, and, if it is presumed that the driver is holding the steering wheel, it causes the computer to execute a process that makes it less likely for the termination condition to be met compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not holding the steering wheel. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to these aspects of the present invention, it is possible to prevent unintentional overrides from causing the discontinuation of driver assistance systems designed to address driver abnormalities, even when the driver is in an abnormal state. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a flowchart illustrating the process for terminating driver abnormality response driving support according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a flowchart illustrating the process for terminating driver abnormality response driving support according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, similar components will be given the same reference numerals.

[0013] (First Embodiment) Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a vehicle 100 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Vehicle 100 includes a peripheral sensor 1, a vehicle sensor 2, a driver sensor 3, an HMI (Human Machine Interface) 4, an actuator 5, and a control device 6. The peripheral sensor 1, vehicle sensor 2, driver sensor 3, HMI 4, actuator 5, and control device 6 are each connected to communicate via an in-vehicle network 9 that conforms to standards such as a controller area network.

[0015] The surrounding sensor 1 is a sensor for generating surrounding data that represents the conditions around the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 is equipped with one or more external cameras 11 as the surrounding sensor 1 for capturing images of the area around the vehicle 100. The external cameras 11 capture images of the area around the vehicle 100 at a predetermined frame rate (for example, 10 Hz to 40 Hz) and generate surrounding images of the area around the vehicle 100. Each time the external cameras 11 generate surrounding images, they transmit the generated surrounding images to the control device 6 as surrounding data.

[0016] In addition to the external camera 11, the vehicle 100 may also be equipped with a distance measuring sensor as a surrounding sensor 1 to measure the distance to targets and features in its vicinity. Examples of distance measuring sensors include LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), which measures distance based on the reflected light emitted by radar, and millimeter-wave radar sensors, which measure distance based on the reflected waves emitted by radio waves.

[0017] Vehicle sensor 2 is a sensor for acquiring vehicle data representing the state of vehicle 100. Vehicle 100 according to this embodiment includes, as vehicle sensor 2, a speed sensor 21 that acquires speed data indicating the vehicle's speed, a positioning sensor 22 that acquires current position data indicating the vehicle's current position such as latitude and longitude, a steering sensor 23 that acquires data related to steering operations such as steering grip, steering torque, and steering angle, an accelerator sensor 24 that acquires data related to accelerator operations such as the amount the accelerator pedal is depressed, and a brake sensor 25 that acquires data related to brake operations such as the detection of brake pedal input. However, vehicle sensor 2 is not limited to these sensors. The data acquired by each of the sensors 21 to 25 is transmitted to the control device 6 as vehicle data.

[0018] The driver sensor 3 is a sensor for generating driver data that represents the driver's state. In this embodiment, the vehicle 100 includes a driver monitor camera 31 as the driver sensor 3 for capturing the driver's appearance, including the driver's face. The driver monitor camera 31 captures the driver's appearance at a predetermined frame rate (for example, 10 Hz to 40 Hz) and generates an appearance image showing the driver's appearance. Each time the driver monitor camera 31 generates an appearance image of the driver, it transmits the generated appearance image to the control device 6 as driver data.

[0019] HMI4 is a user interface for exchanging information between the vehicle 100 and its occupants. HMI4 includes output devices 41 for notifying the vehicle occupants through their bodily senses (e.g., sight, hearing, and touch) and input devices 42 for the vehicle occupants to perform input and response operations. Output devices 41 include, for example, displays (e.g., meter displays, center displays, head-up displays, etc.) and speakers. Input devices 42 include, for example, touch panels and microphones.

[0020] The HMI 4 notifies the vehicle occupants of information corresponding to the output signal received from the control device 6 via the output device 41, and transmits the data input by the vehicle occupants via the input device 42 to the control device 6.

[0021] The HMI 4 may be pre-mounted in the vehicle 100, or may be a terminal such as a smartphone owned by the vehicle occupants (driver and passengers). In the latter case, for example, information exchange may be performed by communicating via short-range wireless between the vehicle 100 and the vehicle occupants' terminal, or communication may be performed between the vehicle occupants' terminal and an external server (not shown), and information exchange may be performed indirectly via the server.

[0022] The actuator 5 is a device used for the driving control of the vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 according to the present embodiment includes, as the actuator 5, an acceleration actuator 51 that performs acceleration control of the vehicle 100 (for example, at least one of an engine and a motor), a brake actuator 52 that performs brake control of the vehicle 100 (for example, a hydraulic actuator), and a steering actuator 53 that performs steering control of the vehicle 100 (for example, a steering motor).

[0023] The control device 6 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) including a communication unit 61, a storage unit 62, and a processing unit 63.

[0024] The communication unit 61 includes an interface circuit for connecting the control device 6 to the in-vehicle network 9. The communication unit 61 supplies various data received from the outside to the processing unit 63. The communication unit 61 also outputs various signals output from the processing unit 63 to the outside.

[0025] The storage unit 62 has a storage medium such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive), an SSD (Solid Disk Drive), or a semiconductor memory, and stores various computer programs and data used in the processing by the processing unit 63.

[0026] The processing unit 63 has one or more CPUs (Central Processing Units) and their peripheral circuits, and executes various computer programs stored in the memory unit 62. The processing unit 63 is, for example, a processor. The processing unit 63 may further have other arithmetic circuits such as a logical operation unit, a numerical operation unit, or a graphics processing unit. By executing processing according to the computer program, the processing unit 63 functions as an abnormal state determination unit 71, a recognition unit 72, and a driving support unit 73, and operates as a functional unit (module) that realizes a predetermined function. In the following description, when describing the processing with each functional unit 71 to 73 as the subject, it means that the processing unit 63 is executing the program that realizes each functional unit 71 to 73.

[0027] The following describes the specific processes performed by the control device 6. Specifically, it describes the contents of each functional unit 71 to 73, which are realized by the processing unit 63 executing processes according to the computer program.

[0028] The abnormal state determination unit 71 determines whether the driver is in an abnormal state (hereinafter simply referred to as "abnormal state") that makes it difficult to continue driving, for example, due to a sudden change in physical condition. In this embodiment, the abnormal state determination unit 71 determines that the driver is in an abnormal state if a predetermined abnormal estimated state continues for a predetermined determination time T1[s].

[0029] An abnormal state is a condition in which the driver can be considered to be in an abnormal state. Examples of abnormal states include the driver having their eyes closed, the driver having poor posture, and, unless a hands-free driving assistance system is in place, the driver not operating the steering wheel. Poor posture in the driver may include, for example, a state in which the driver is slumped over, looking down, leaning backward, or has their head or upper body tilted or fallen to the side due to muscle relaxation caused by loss of consciousness, or a state in which the driver is arching their back due to rigidity caused by epilepsy, etc.

[0030] Whether the driver has their eyes closed, their posture is poor, or the steering wheel is not being operated can be determined, for example, from the driver's appearance based on the image from the driver monitoring camera 31. Furthermore, whether the steering wheel is not being operated can be determined, for example, based on at least one of the following pieces of information: steering touch sensor, steering torque, and steering angle, if these are available; or based on at least one of these pieces of information and the image from the driver monitoring camera 31.

[0031] The recognition unit 72 recognizes objects and features around the vehicle 100. For example, the recognition unit 72 sequentially inputs the surrounding image received from the external camera 11 into a classifier to recognize objects such as other vehicles, motorcycles, and pedestrians, as well as features such as curbs, fences, and other similar structures (hereinafter referred to as "boundary structures") and road markings (e.g., lane markings defining driving lanes) within the surrounding image. The classifier can be, for example, a convolutional neural network (CNN) having multiple convolutional layers connected in series from the input side to the output side. The recognition unit 72 also calculates the distance from the vehicle 100 to the objects and features and calculates the position of the objects and features by using, for example, the standard size of the objects and features stored in the memory unit 62 for each type of object and feature, and the size of the objects and features recognized in the surrounding image. Note that the method of recognizing objects and features is not limited to this method, and various known methods may be used for recognition.

[0032] The driver assistance unit 73 controls the actuators 5 based on the targets and features recognized by the recognition unit 72, and provides driver assistance that includes vehicle driving control of the vehicle 100. In this embodiment, the driver assistance unit 73 can provide driver assistance that includes vehicle driving control of the vehicle 100 at a driving control level of Level 3 as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), that is, at a driving control level that does not require the driver to operate each actuator 51 to 53 or monitor the surroundings. The driver assistance unit 73 can also provide driver assistance that includes vehicle driving control of the vehicle 100 at a driving control level in which the driver is involved in driving the vehicle 100, for example, at a driving control level of Level 1 or Level 2 as defined by the SAE.

[0033] The driver assistance unit 73, as one of the driver assistance functions that involves driving control of the vehicle 100, performs driver abnormality response driving assistance to respond to the driver abnormality when it is determined that the driver is in an abnormal state. Specifically, when the driver assistance unit 73 determines that the driver is in an abnormal state, it first performs notification control, such as a control warning (alarm), to notify the driver via the HMI 4. Then, after a predetermined time T2[s] has elapsed since the notification started, it performs deceleration stop control to decelerate the vehicle 100 and keep the vehicle 100 in a stopped state. In other words, driver abnormality response driving assistance includes notification control and deceleration stop control consisting of deceleration control and stop hold control.

[0034] The method by which vehicle 100 is decelerated and stopped is not particularly limited, as long as the risk of contact with road users outside the vehicle during deceleration and stopping control is taken into consideration. For example, if the vehicle can recognize the lane markings of its own driving lane, it can decelerate and maintain a stopped state along the lane markings of its own driving lane. If the vehicle cannot recognize the lane markings of its own driving lane, it can decelerate and maintain a stopped state along the trajectory of the vehicle in front. If neither the lane markings of its own driving lane nor the vehicle in front can be recognized, it can decelerate and maintain a stopped state while driving straight. In addition, for example, considering the safety of driver rescue and passenger disembarkation, the vehicle may change lanes and move to a lane on the road side or to the shoulder.

[0035] Incidentally, if the driver intervenes in driving operations such as steering, accelerating, or braking while driver abnormality response driving assistance is in place, i.e., overrides the system, it is desirable to discontinue the driving assistance in question, as it can be determined that the driver's condition is normal and capable of continuing to drive.

[0036] However, it is possible that the driver may enter an abnormal state while still holding the steering wheel. If the driver enters an abnormal state while holding the steering wheel, there is a risk that steering torque may be generated unintentionally due to the driver falling to the side or some other event. In such a case, during driver abnormality response driving assistance, there is a risk that the driving assistance will be terminated due to an unintentional override, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0037] Therefore, in this embodiment, when driver abnormality response driving assistance is in operation, if it is estimated that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the driver abnormality response driving assistance is less likely to be discontinued compared to when it is estimated that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

[0038] Figure 2 is a flowchart illustrating the process for terminating driver abnormality response driving support according to this embodiment, which is performed by the driving support unit 73 and, consequently, the control device 6. The control device 6 repeatedly executes this routine at a predetermined calculation cycle.

[0039] In step S1, the control device 6 determines whether or not driver abnormality response driving support is in operation. If driver abnormality response driving support is in operation, the control device 6 proceeds to the process in step S2. On the other hand, if driver abnormality response driving support is not in operation, the control device 6 terminates the current process.

[0040] In step S2, the control device 6 determines from the appearance of the driver whether it can determine that the driver has returned to a normal state in which it can continue to operate. Specifically, the control device 6 determines from the appearance of the driver whether it can determine that the driver has returned to a normal state based on the image from the driver monitor camera 31. If the control device 6 cannot determine from the appearance of the driver whether it has returned to a normal state, it proceeds to the process in step S3.

[0041] On the other hand, if the control device 6 can determine from the driver's appearance that the driver has returned to a normal state, that is, if the driver is no longer in an eye-closed state or the driver's posture has returned to normal, and the control device 6 can determine from the driver's appearance that the driver's state is no longer in an abnormal state, then there is a possibility that the control device 6 has mistakenly determined that the driver is in an abnormal state when it is actually in a normal state and has started driver abnormality response driving support, so the control device proceeds to step S9.

[0042] In step S3, the control device 6 estimates whether the driver is gripping the steering wheel. If the control device 6 estimates that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, it proceeds to step S4. On the other hand, if the control device 6 estimates that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel, it proceeds to step S5.

[0043] There are no particular limitations on the method for estimating whether the driver is gripping the steering wheel. For example, if direct data regarding steering operation is obtained from the steering sensor 23, as in this embodiment, the estimation can be made based on that information. If direct data regarding steering operation is not obtained, the estimation can be made from the driver's appearance based on the image from the driver monitor camera 31. Furthermore, regardless of whether direct data regarding steering operation is obtained or not, for example, if the driver is determined to be in an abnormal state based on the image from the driver monitor camera 31, such as because the driver's eyes are closed or the driver's posture is compromised, and driver abnormality response driving assistance is started, the system may assume that the driver is gripping the steering wheel without performing an estimation of whether the driver is gripping the steering wheel.

[0044] In step S4, the control device 6 determines that there is a possibility that the driver is in an abnormal state while still holding the steering wheel, and therefore there is a possibility that an unintentional steering operation may occur by chance. Therefore, it sets the driver abnormality response driving assistance termination condition to a second termination condition, which is less likely to be met than the normal first termination condition, which is set when it is estimated that the driver is not holding the steering wheel.

[0045] In this embodiment, it is determined that a cancellation operation has been performed once each time a steering operation, accelerator operation, or brake operation is performed. The first cancellation condition is that a predetermined first number of cancellation operations N1 (e.g., 1 time) is detected, and the second cancellation condition is that a predetermined second number of cancellation operations N2 (e.g., 2 times) greater than the first number N1 is detected.

[0046] In other words, in this embodiment, if it is estimated that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the number of cancellation operations required to discontinue driver abnormality response driving assistance will increase compared to the case where it is estimated that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

[0047] As a result, during driver abnormality response driving assistance, if it is presumed that the driver is holding the steering wheel, the driving assistance will not be stopped unless a predetermined cancellation operation is detected at least twice. Therefore, even if the driver, who has entered an abnormal state while holding the steering wheel, performs an unintentional steering operation once, the driving assistance will not be stopped. Thus, it is possible to prevent the driver abnormality response driving assistance from being stopped due to an unintentional override by the driver, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0048] In this embodiment, whether or not steering, accelerator, and brake operations have been performed may be determined when the amount of change in the operation of each operation exceeds a predetermined amount, or it may be determined simply when the operation input for each operation is detected.

[0049] In step S5, the control device 6 sets the conditions for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance to the normal first discontinuation conditions.

[0050] In step S6, the control device 6 determines whether the conditions for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance have been met. If the conditions for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance have been met, the control device 6 proceeds to the process in step S7. On the other hand, if the conditions for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance have not been met, the control device 6 proceeds to the process in step S8.

[0051] In step S7, the control device 6 discontinues the driver abnormality response driving assistance.

[0052] In step S8, the control device 6 continues to provide driver abnormality response driving support.

[0053] In step S9, the control device 6 sets the condition for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance to the normal first discontinuation condition. If the system proceeds to step S9, as mentioned above, there is a possibility that the driver abnormality response driving assistance has been started because the system mistakenly determined that the driver was in an abnormal state, even though the driver was in a normal state. In this case, if the discontinuation condition is set to the second discontinuation condition simply because the driver is holding the steering wheel, it becomes more difficult than usual for a normal driver to meet the discontinuation condition and discontinue the driver abnormality response driving assistance.

[0054] Therefore, if there is a possibility that the driver abnormality response driving assistance system has been activated due to a misjudgment that the driver is in an abnormal state when he is actually in a normal state, the conditions for discontinuing the driver abnormality response driving assistance system can be set to the normal first discontinuation condition. This allows the system to revert to the first discontinuation condition even if it has been changed to the second discontinuation condition once, thus preventing it from becoming unnecessarily difficult for a normal driver to discontinue the driver abnormality response driving assistance system.

[0055] In this embodiment, as described above, the first termination condition was defined as the cancellation operation being detected a predetermined first number of times N1, and the second termination condition was defined as the cancellation operation being detected a predetermined second number of times N2 (for example, 2 times) which is greater than the first number of times N1.

[0056] However, the first and second cancellation conditions are not limited to these conditions. For example, in a modified version of this embodiment, the first cancellation condition may be the detection of one of the following operations: steering, accelerator, or brake, and the second cancellation condition may be the detection of at least one of the accelerator or brake pedal operations. In other words, if it is presumed that the driver is holding the steering wheel, a pedal operation can be made a mandatory cancellation operation.

[0057] As a result, when driver abnormality response driving assistance is in operation, if it is presumed that the driver is holding the steering wheel, detection of pedal operation in vehicle 100 becomes an essential condition for discontinuing the driving assistance. Therefore, even if the driver who has fallen into an abnormal state makes an unintentional steering operation while holding the steering wheel, the driver abnormality response driving assistance will not be discontinued unless a pedal operation is performed. Thus, it is possible to prevent the driver abnormality response driving assistance from being discontinued due to an unintentional steering operation by the driver, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0058] The control device 6 (driving support control device) of the vehicle 100 according to this embodiment, as described above, is configured to respond to driver abnormality response driving support in response to a determination that the driver of the vehicle 100 is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle 100. If a predetermined termination condition is met during driver abnormality response driving support, the driving support is terminated. If it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the configuration is such that the termination condition is less likely to be met compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

[0059] This makes it less likely that the conditions for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance will be met if the driver enters an abnormal state while still holding the steering wheel. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the driving assistance from being discontinued due to unintentional override by the driver, even when the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0060] In this embodiment, the content of the termination condition is modified to make it less likely for the termination condition to be met.

[0061] Specifically, in this embodiment, the control device 6 is configured to stop the driver assistance when a predetermined cancellation operation is detected a predetermined number of times during driver abnormality response driving assistance, and to increase the predetermined number of times when it is estimated that the steering wheel is being held compared to when it is estimated that the steering wheel is not being held.

[0062] As a result, during driver abnormality response driving assistance, if it is presumed that the driver is holding the steering wheel, the driving assistance will not be stopped unless a predetermined cancellation operation is detected at least twice. Therefore, even if the driver, who has entered an abnormal state while holding the steering wheel, performs an unintentional steering operation once, the driving assistance will not be stopped. Thus, it is possible to prevent the driver abnormality response driving assistance from being stopped due to an unintentional override by the driver, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0063] Furthermore, in a modified version of this embodiment, the control device 6 is configured to stop the driver assistance when a predetermined cancellation operation is detected a predetermined number of times during driver abnormality response driving assistance, and if it is presumed that the steering wheel is not being held, the operation of the vehicle's pedals is not made a mandatory cancellation operation, while if it is presumed that the steering wheel is being held, the operation of the vehicle's pedals is made a mandatory cancellation operation.

[0064] As a result, when driver abnormality response driving assistance is in operation, if it is presumed that the driver is holding the steering wheel, detection of pedal operation in vehicle 100 becomes an essential condition for discontinuing the driving assistance. Therefore, even if the driver who has fallen into an abnormal state makes an unintentional steering operation while holding the steering wheel, the driver abnormality response driving assistance will not be discontinued unless a pedal operation is performed. Thus, it is possible to prevent the driver abnormality response driving assistance from being discontinued due to an unintentional steering operation by the driver, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0065] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the control device 6 has modified the content of the termination conditions for driver abnormality response driving assistance to make it less likely for the termination conditions to be met, and it is determined that the driver is not in an abnormal state, the control device 6 is configured to revert the content of the termination conditions to their original state.

[0066] This allows the driver abnormality response driver assistance system to revert to the normal first termination condition if it is possible that the system mistakenly detected an abnormal condition in the driver when the driver was actually in a normal state and activated the driver abnormality response driver assistance system. This prevents it from becoming unnecessarily difficult for a normal driver to terminate the driver abnormality response driver assistance system.

[0067] (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, when it is estimated that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the steering operation is less likely to be detected as a cancellation operation compared to when it is estimated that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel, thereby making it less likely that the driver abnormality response driving assistance will be discontinued. The differences will be explained below in detail.

[0068] Figure 3 is a flowchart illustrating the process for terminating driver abnormality response driving support according to this embodiment, which is performed by the driving support unit 73 and, consequently, the control device 6. The control device 6 repeatedly executes this routine at a predetermined calculation cycle. Note that the content of the processes in steps S1 to S3, S7, and S8 is the same as in the first embodiment, so the explanation is omitted here.

[0069] In step S21, the control device 6 assumes that the driver may be in an abnormal state while still holding the steering wheel, and therefore an unintentional steering operation may occur by chance. Therefore, it makes it less likely for the control device 6 to detect a steering operation as a cancellation operation compared to the case where it is assumed that the driver is not holding the steering wheel.

[0070] Specifically, with respect to steering operations, the control device 6 determines that an operation has been performed when the amount of change in the steering operation (e.g., steering torque or steering angle) exceeds a predetermined determination threshold. If it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel, it sets the determination threshold for determining whether or not a steering operation has been performed to a first determination threshold. If it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, it sets the determination threshold to a predetermined second determination threshold that is greater than the first determination threshold. Therefore, in step S21, the control device 6 sets the determination threshold for determining whether or not a steering operation has been performed to a second determination threshold.

[0071] This allows the system to determine whether steering input was performed by setting a threshold higher when it is estimated that the driver is holding the steering wheel, compared to when it is estimated that the driver is not holding the steering wheel. Therefore, even if an unintentional steering input is performed by a driver who is in an abnormal state while holding the steering wheel, it is possible to suppress the detection of that steering input as a cancellation operation. This prevents the driver abnormality response driving assistance from being terminated due to an unintentional steering input by the driver, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0072] In step S22, the control device 6 sets a first determination threshold to determine whether or not a steering operation has been performed.

[0073] In step S23, the control device 6 determines whether the conditions for discontinuing the driver abnormality response driving assistance have been met. In this embodiment, the control device 6 determines that a cancellation operation has been performed once each time a steering operation, accelerator operation, or brake operation is performed, and determines that the discontinuation conditions have been met when any of the steering operation, accelerator operation, or brake operation is detected a predetermined third number N3. In this embodiment, the third number N3 is 1, but it is not limited to this and can be any number of 1 or more. The discontinuation conditions may be the same as those of the first embodiment or its modified form described above.

[0074] In step S24, the control device 6 sets a first determination threshold to determine whether or not a steering operation has been performed.

[0075] The control device 6 according to this embodiment, as described above, is configured to stop the driving assistance when a predetermined number of predetermined cancellation operations, including steering wheel operations, are detected during driver abnormality response driving assistance. Furthermore, when it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the steering operations are less likely to be detected as cancellation operations compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel, thereby making it less likely that the stop condition will be met.

[0076] Specifically, in this embodiment, the control device 6 determines that a steering operation has been performed when the amount of change in steering operation exceeds a predetermined determination threshold, and is configured to make the determination threshold larger when it is estimated that the driver is gripping the steering wheel compared to when it is estimated that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel.

[0077] This allows the system to determine whether steering input was performed by setting a threshold higher when it is estimated that the driver is holding the steering wheel, compared to when it is estimated that the driver is not holding the steering wheel. Therefore, even if an unintentional steering input is performed by a driver who is in an abnormal state while holding the steering wheel, it is possible to suppress the detection of that steering input as a cancellation operation. As a result, it is possible to prevent the driver abnormality response driving assistance from being terminated due to an unintentional steering input by the driver, even though the driver is in an abnormal state.

[0078] Furthermore, in this embodiment, if the control device 6 has made it difficult to detect steering operations as cancellation operations so that the conditions for discontinuing driver abnormality response driving assistance are less likely to be met, when it is determined that the driver is not in an abnormal state, it is configured to restore the ease with which steering operations are detected as cancellation operations. As a result, similar to the first embodiment, if the driver is in a normal state but the system mistakenly determines that the driver is in an abnormal state and activates driver abnormality response driving assistance, the ease with which steering operations are detected as cancellation operations can be restored to its original state. This prevents a normal driver from having to unnecessarily stop driver abnormality response driving assistance.

[0079] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments only represent a part of the application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

[0080] For example, a combination of the termination conditions described in each of the above embodiments may be used as the termination condition. Furthermore, each of the above embodiments can be combined as appropriate.

[0081] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, for example, the computer program executed in the control device 6 may be provided in the form of a computer-readable portable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium, or it may be provided as a computer program product. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0082] 6. Control Device (Driving Assistance Control Device) 100 vehicles

Claims

1. A vehicle driver assistance control device, In response to the determination that the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, the system provides driving assistance to address the driver's abnormality. If the predetermined termination conditions are met during the aforementioned driving assistance, the aforementioned driving assistance will be terminated. When it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the system is configured such that the termination condition is less likely to be met compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel. Driver assistance control system.

2. The system is configured such that the termination condition is less likely to be met by changing the content of the termination condition depending on whether the driver is presumed to be gripping the steering wheel or not. The driver assistance control device according to claim 1.

3. In response to the detection of a predetermined number of cancellation operations during the aforementioned driving assistance, the driving assistance is stopped. If it is presumed that the steering wheel is being gripped, the predetermined number of times is configured to be greater than when it is presumed that the steering wheel is not being gripped. The driver assistance control device according to claim 2.

4. In response to the detection of a predetermined number of cancellation operations during the aforementioned driving assistance, the driving assistance is stopped. If it is presumed that the steering wheel is not being held, the operation of the vehicle's pedals will not be considered a mandatory cancellation operation. If it is presumed that the steering wheel is being held, the system is configured to require a pedal operation of the vehicle as a cancellation operation. The driver assistance control device according to claim 2.

5. If the content of the termination condition has been changed to make it less likely for the termination condition to be met, and the driver is determined not to be in the abnormal state, the driver is configured to revert the content of the termination condition to its original state. The driver assistance control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4.

6. The cancellation operation includes steering the steering wheel and operating the vehicle's pedals. The driver assistance control device according to claim 3 or claim 4.

7. During the aforementioned driving assistance, if a predetermined number of cancellation operations, including at least steering operations of the steering wheel, are detected, the driving assistance is discontinued. If it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the system is configured such that the steering operation is less likely to be detected as the cancellation operation compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel, thereby making it less likely that the cancellation condition will be met. The driver assistance control device according to claim 1.

8. When the amount of change in the steering operation exceeds a predetermined threshold, it is determined that the steering operation has been performed. If it is estimated that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the determination threshold is configured to be larger than when it is estimated that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel. The driver assistance control device according to claim 7.

9. If the steering operation is made difficult to detect as a cancellation operation so that the aforementioned cancellation conditions are less likely to be met, and the driver is determined not to be in the abnormal state, the system is configured to restore the ease with which the steering operation is detected as a cancellation operation. The driver assistance control device according to claim 7 or claim 8.

10. The aforementioned driver assistance is Notification control, which is initiated in response to the determination that the driver is in an abnormal state, and which notifies the driver, A deceleration stop control is initiated after a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the notification, which decelerates the vehicle and keeps it in a stopped state. including, The driver assistance control device according to claim 1, claim 2, claim 3, claim 4, claim 7, or claim 8.

11. A method for assisting the driving of a vehicle, In response to the determination that the driver of the vehicle is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, the system provides driving assistance to address the driver's abnormality. If the predetermined termination conditions are met during the aforementioned driving assistance, the aforementioned driving assistance will be terminated. If it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the termination condition will be less likely to be met compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel. Driving assistance methods.

12. In response to a determination that the vehicle's driver is in an abnormal state that makes it difficult to continue driving the vehicle, the system provides driving assistance to address the driver's abnormality. If the predetermined termination conditions are met during the aforementioned driving assistance, the aforementioned driving assistance will be terminated. If it is presumed that the driver is gripping the steering wheel, the termination condition will be less likely to be met compared to when it is presumed that the driver is not gripping the steering wheel. A computer program that instructs a computer to perform a process.

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