Vehicle Control Systems

Abstract

To control a vehicle according to a driving skill of a driver.SOLUTION: A vehicle control system 100 includes: event detection parts 1, 12, 13, 2, 21, 22, 4 and 41 which are provided on a vehicle 10, and detect a travel event relating to a driving skill of a driver generated when the driver drives the vehicle 10; an evaluation part 90 which is provided on at least one of the vehicle 10 or an external device 90 separately from the vehicle, and evaluates the driving skill of the driver on the basis of the travel event detected by the event detection parts 1, 12, 13, 2, 21, 22, 4 and 41; and function restriction parts 1 and 11 which are provided on the vehicle 10, and restrict the function of the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10 according to the evaluation result by the evaluation part 90.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a vehicle control system. [Background technology]

[0002] In the field of vehicles, various technologies have been proposed to support driving according to individual drivers. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system for controlling a vehicle based on biometric information such as the driver's heart rate. This system includes a pressure-sensing unit on the steering wheel for acquiring the driver's heart rate. Based on the driver's heart rate, the system classifies the driver's state into a normal state, a relaxed state, or a panicked state. When the driver is in an extremely relaxed state or a panicked state, the system increases the brake response and decreases the accelerator and steering responses. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-837 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Traffic accidents may occur due to the driver's driving skills. Therefore, it is believed that the risk of traffic accidents can be further reduced by controlling the vehicle while taking into account the driver's driving skills. However, the system of Patent Document 1 does not take into account the driver's driving skills when controlling the vehicle.

[0005] In consideration of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle control system that can control a vehicle in accordance with the driving skill of a driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A vehicle control system according to one aspect of the present invention includes an event detection unit provided in a vehicle and configured to detect driving events related to the driver's driving skill that occur when the driver drives the vehicle; an evaluation unit provided in at least one of the vehicle and an external device separate from the vehicle and configured to evaluate the driver's driving skill based on the driving events detected by the event detection unit; and a function restriction unit provided in the vehicle and configured to restrict functions of the vehicle when the driver drives the vehicle in accordance with the evaluation result by the evaluation unit. The external device has a storage device that associates and stores the driving events with the vehicle's positions, and a frequency calculation unit that calculates the occurrence frequency of the driving events at the positions where the driving events occurred based on the driving events and the vehicle's positions stored in the storage device, the frequency calculation unit calculates the occurrence frequency when the number of times the driving events occurred at the positions where the driving events occurred exceeds a predetermined first threshold, and the evaluation unit does not perform evaluation of the driver's driving skills when the occurrence frequency of the driving events calculated by the frequency calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold, and the evaluation unit scores the driver's driving skills by subtracting a deduction amount calculated from a base deduction amount previously assigned to each driving event and a coefficient set for the driver's information and the vehicle's characteristics from the score held by the driver. .

[0007] The driving event may include at least one of activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turning, or exceeding a speed limit.

[0009] The evaluation unit may be configured to: , calculated from a base addition amount determined based on a driving distance during a predetermined period during which no driving incident is detected and a coefficient set in the driver's information. A bonus point may be added.

[0011] The vehicle control system may include an imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver, and an attribute estimation unit provided in at least one of the vehicle or an external device for estimating personal attributes of the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit, and the evaluation unit may evaluate the driving skill of the driver based on the driving events and the personal attributes estimated by the attribute estimation unit.

[0012] The vehicle control system may include an imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver, an identification unit provided in at least one of the vehicle or an external device for identifying the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit, and an external device separate from the vehicle, and the external device may have a storage device for storing the driver's identification data and evaluation results in association with each other. Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the present invention, the vehicle can be controlled in accordance with the driving skill of the driver. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a vehicle control system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] 4 shows examples of driving events and base penalty amounts. [Diagram 3] Examples of information and coefficients used in calculating the amount of points deducted are shown below. [Figure 4] Examples of mileage and base points added are shown below. [Diagram 5] Examples of information and coefficients used in calculating the added points are shown below. [Figure 6] 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server in FIG. 1; [Figure 8] 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server in FIG. 1; [Figure 9] 4 shows examples of vehicle function restrictions. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific dimensions, materials, values, etc. shown in the embodiment are merely examples for easy understanding, and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise specified. In the specification and drawings, elements having substantially the same functions and configurations are given the same reference numerals to avoid repeated explanation. In addition, elements not directly related to the present invention are not shown.

[0021] Fig. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a vehicle control system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The vehicle control system 100 includes a plurality of vehicles 10 (for example, three vehicles in Fig. 1) and a server (external device) 90. Note that Fig. 1 shows the configuration of only one vehicle 10, but the other vehicles 10 may have a similar configuration.

[0022] When a driver drives the vehicle 10, various driving events may occur depending on the driving skill of the driver. For example, driving events that may occur when the driver's driving skill is low may include, for example, activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turning, and exceeding a speed limit. The above-mentioned driving events may increase the risk of a traffic accident. Therefore, the vehicle control system 100 is configured to detect the above-mentioned driving events, evaluate the driver's driving skill based on the detected driving events, and limit the functions of the vehicle 10 according to the evaluation result.

[0023] The vehicle 10 can be, for example, a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV), a gasoline vehicle, an electric vehicle, or a diesel vehicle. In the present embodiment, the vehicle 10 is described as a gasoline vehicle.

[0024] The vehicle 10 is equipped with various ECUs (Electronic Control Units), including ECUs 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 shown below, in order to execute various controls related to the vehicle 10. Each of these ECUs includes components such as a processor (such as a CPU) and a storage device (such as a ROM and a RAM) (not shown). The operation of each ECU shown below may be realized by executing a program stored in the storage device in the processor. Also, in this disclosure, when simply referred to as an "ECU of the vehicle 10" or an "ECU", this may mean one of the ECUs of the vehicle 10, or a combination of several of these.

[0025] The vehicle 10 includes an engine ECU 1. The engine ECU 1 controls the operation of the engine. The engine ECU 1 is communicatively connected to an electronically controlled throttle 11, an accelerator sensor 12, and a brake stroke sensor 13. The electronically controlled throttle 11, the accelerator sensor 12, and the brake stroke sensor 13 are connected to the engine ECU 1 independently of one another by wiring such as a wire harness.

[0026] While the driver is driving the vehicle, the electronically controlled throttle 11 controls the amount of air passing through the intake pipe based on a signal from the engine ECU 1, thereby controlling the output of the engine. Based on a signal from the engine ECU 1, the electronically controlled throttle 11 controls the output of the engine when each driver drives the vehicle 10 according to an evaluation (score) of the driving skill of each driver, which will be described later. Therefore, the engine ECU 1 and the electronically controlled throttle 11 function as a function limiting unit that limits the functions of the vehicle 10.

[0027] While the driver is driving the vehicle, the accelerator sensor 12 detects the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal and transmits the amount of depression to the engine ECU 1. The engine ECU 1 controls the opening degree of the electronically controlled throttle 11 based on the amount of depression detected by the accelerator sensor 12. The engine ECU 1 can also detect sudden acceleration based on the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator sensor 12 and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the accelerator sensor 12 and the engine ECU 1 function as an event detection unit that detects sudden acceleration (driving event).

[0028] The brake stroke sensor 13 detects the amount of depression of the brake pedal while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the detected amount of depression to the engine ECU 1. The engine ECU 1 can detect sudden braking based on the amount of depression of the brake pedal detected by the brake stroke sensor 13 and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by the vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the brake stroke sensor 13 and the engine ECU 1 function as an event detection unit that detects sudden braking (driving event).

[0029] The engine ECU 1 is communicatively connected to a central gateway (G / W) ECU 50 (described later) via, for example, CAN (Controller Area Network) communication. The engine ECU 1 transmits detected driving events to the central G / WECU 50. The engine ECU 1 may also transmit at least one of the depression amount of an accelerator pedal and the depression amount of a brake pedal to the central G / WECU 50.

[0030] The vehicle 10 includes a vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2. The vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 is communicatively connected to a first camera 21 and a millimeter wave radar 22. The first camera 21 and the millimeter wave radar 22 are connected to the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 independently of each other by wiring such as a wire harness.

[0031] The first camera 21 captures an image of the outside of the vehicle 10 (for example, at least one direction of the front, left, right, or rear of the vehicle 10) while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the image to the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2. In the present disclosure, the term "image" includes at least one of a still image and a video. The first camera 21 may be, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, and may be a color camera or a black-and-white camera. For example, the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 detects lane departure of the vehicle 10 from the above image using image processing. Therefore, the first camera 21 and the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 function as an event detection unit that detects lane departure (driving event). In addition, for example, the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 detects an obstacle outside the vehicle 10 from the above image using image processing. The vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 may use known image processing, such as image recognition, to detect lane departure and obstacles, etc.

[0032] The millimeter-wave radar 22 detects the distance to an object outside the vehicle 10 (e.g., at least one direction of the front, left, right, or rear of the vehicle 10) while the driver is driving the vehicle, and transmits the distance to the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2. For example, the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 can detect the distance to an obstacle outside the vehicle 10 (e.g., a pedestrian, another vehicle, a building, etc.) based on at least one of an image from the first camera 21 or a distance from the millimeter-wave radar 22. Thus, the first camera 21, the millimeter-wave radar 22, and the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 can detect excessive approach to an obstacle.

[0033] The vehicle 10 has a pre-crash safety system. Specifically, in the pre-crash safety system, when excessive approach to an obstacle is detected by at least one of the first camera 21 and the millimeter wave radar 22 and the brake stroke sensor 13 does not detect application of the brake, the ECU of the vehicle 10 displays a warning on the information display or applies the brakes. Therefore, the ECU of the vehicle 10 functions as an event detection unit that detects the operation of the pre-crash safety system (driving event).

[0034] The vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 is communicatively connected to the central G / WECU 50 via, for example, CAN communication. The vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 transmits a detected driving event to the central G / WECU 50. The vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 may also transmit at least one of an image captured by the first camera 21 or a distance detected by the millimeter wave radar 22 to the central G / WECU 50.

[0035] The vehicle 10 includes a driver monitoring ECU 3. The driver monitoring ECU 3 is communicatively connected to a second camera (imaging unit) 31 and a thermometer (biometric information detection unit) 32. The second camera 31 and the thermometer 32 are connected to the driver monitoring ECU 3 independently of each other by wiring such as a wire harness.

[0036] The second camera 31 captures an image of the interior of the vehicle 10 and transmits the image to the driver monitoring ECU 3. The second camera 31 may be, for example, a CCD camera or a CMOS camera, and may be a color camera or a black and white camera.

[0037] The second camera 31 captures an image of the inside of the vehicle 10, for example, after the start-stop button of the vehicle 10 is pressed to start the power source, until the start-stop button is pressed again to stop the power source. The driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the personal attributes of the occupants (for example, at least one of age and sex) from this image using image analysis. In the present disclosure, the "occupant" includes at least one of the driver and another occupant. Therefore, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an attribute estimation unit that estimates the personal attributes of the occupants. In addition, the driver monitoring ECU 3 identifies each of the occupants from the above image using image analysis. Therefore, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an identification unit that identifies the occupants. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may use, for example, known image processing such as image recognition to estimate the personal attributes and identify the occupants. The estimation of the personal attributes and the identification of the occupants may be performed only once, for example, within a predetermined period after the start-stop button is pressed to start the power source.

[0038] For example, the driver monitoring ECU 3 may assign a unique identification symbol (e.g., a number, a letter, a figure, or a combination of these) (identification data) to each identified driver. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may also store an image and an identification number of the identified driver in a storage device (not shown). The driver monitoring ECU 3 may compare an image newly captured by the second camera 31 with an image of the driver stored in the storage device, for example, using image processing such as face recognition, and may read out the identification symbol stored in the storage device if they match. In this case, the driver monitoring ECU 3 does not need to assign a new identification symbol to the driver identified from the newly captured image.

[0039] Further, the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the emotion of the occupant by using image analysis from the image captured by the second camera 31 while the driver is driving the vehicle. The emotion includes at least one of, for example, joy, anger, sadness, pleasure, or fear. Therefore, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as an emotion estimation unit that estimates the emotion of the occupant. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may use known image processing to identify the emotion of a person. For example, it is generally known that there is a correlation between a person's emotion and a facial feature amount (Facial Action Coding System). By utilizing this correlation, the driver monitoring ECU 3 may previously associate a plurality of emotions with the corresponding facial feature amount and store them. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may acquire facial feature amount from the image captured by the second camera 31, and compare the acquired facial feature amount with a plurality of facial feature amounts stored in advance. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may extract the facial feature amount most similar to the acquired facial feature amount from the plurality of facial feature amounts stored in advance. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may estimate the emotion associated with the extracted facial feature amount as the emotion of the occupant. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may compare image information of the occupant's face captured by the second camera 31 with a plurality of image information of the occupant's face associated with emotions and stored in advance using a method such as block matching. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may extract the image information most similar to the image information captured by the second camera 31 from the plurality of image information stored in advance. The driver monitoring ECU 3 may estimate the emotion associated with the extracted image information as the emotion of the occupant. For the estimation of the emotion, for example, a method described in JP 2013-216241 A may be used.

[0040] The thermometer 32 detects the body temperature (biological information) of the occupant and transmits the body temperature to the driver monitoring ECU 3. The thermometer 32 can be, for example, an infrared temperature measuring device. The body temperature detection may be performed only once within a predetermined period after the start-stop button is pressed to start the power source, for example.

[0041] The driver monitoring ECU3 estimates the physical condition of the driver based on the detected body temperature of the driver. For example, the driver monitoring ECU3 determines whether the measured body temperature of the driver is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 37.5°C). For example, when the measured body temperature of the driver is less than 37.5°C, the driver monitoring ECU3 estimates that the physical condition of the driver is normal, and when the measured body temperature of the driver is equal to or higher than 37.5°C, the driver monitoring ECU3 estimates that the physical condition of the driver is poor. Thus, the driver monitoring ECU3 functions as a physical condition estimation unit that estimates the physical condition of the driver based on the biological information. The driver monitoring ECU3 may, for example, gradually limit the functions of the vehicle 10 according to the estimated physical condition of the driver (for example, limit the engine output when the physical condition is somewhat poor, disable engine start when the physical condition is poor, etc.).

[0042] The driver monitoring ECU 3 is communicatively connected to the central G / WECU 50 via, for example, CAN communication. The driver monitoring ECU 3 transmits to the central G / WECU 50 at least one of the image captured by the second camera 31, the body temperature detected by the thermometer 32, the personal attributes of the driver obtained by the driver monitoring ECU 3, the identification symbol of the driver, and the physical condition of the driver.

[0043] The vehicle 10 includes a steering ECU 4. The steering ECU 4 controls the operation of an electric steering. The steering ECU 4 is communicatively connected to a steering angle sensor 41. The steering angle sensor 41 is connected to the steering ECU 4 by wiring such as a wire harness.

[0044] The steering angle sensor 41 detects, for example, a rotation angle of a steering shaft while the driver is driving the vehicle 10, and transmits the rotation angle to the steering ECU 4. For example, the steering ECU 4 can detect a sharp turn based on the rotation angle detected by the steering angle sensor 41 and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by a vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the steering angle sensor 41 and the steering ECU 4 function as an event detection unit that detects a sharp turn (driving event).

[0045] The steering ECU 4 is communicatively connected to the central G / WECU 50, for example, via CAN communication. The steering ECU 4 transmits a detected driving event to the central G / WECU 50. The steering ECU 4 may also transmit a rotation angle detected by a steering angle sensor 41 to the central G / WECU 50.

[0046] The vehicle 10 includes a central G / WECU 50. The central G / WECU 50 is communicatively connected to a plurality of ECUs of the vehicle 10, including the engine ECU 1, the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2, the driver monitoring ECU 3, the steering ECU 4, and a data communication ECU 6 described below, and relays these ECUs. The central G / WECU 50 is also communicatively connected to a car navigation system 5 described below, and relays the car navigation system 5 and the above ECUs. When the central G / WECU 50 receives a driving event from the above ECUs, it transmits it to the car navigation system 5.

[0047] The vehicle 10 includes a car navigation system (position detection unit) 5. The car navigation system 5 detects the current position of the vehicle 10 using, for example, a global positioning system (GPS), a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), an acceleration sensor, a gyro, and vehicle speed information. The car navigation system 5 also generates a route to the destination based on, for example, map information stored in a storage device and the current position of the vehicle 10.

[0048] For example, when the car navigation 5 receives a driving event from the central G / WECU 50 while the driver is driving the vehicle 10, the car navigation 5 detects the position of the vehicle 10 when the driving event was received, i.e., the approximate position of the vehicle 10 when the driving event was detected. The car navigation 5 associates the driving event with the position of the vehicle 10 when the driving event was detected, and transmits them to the central G / WECU 50.

[0049] The ECU of the vehicle 10 can determine whether the current speed of the vehicle 10 exceeds the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 10 is traveling, based on, for example, the current position of the vehicle 10 and the speed limit of each road obtained by a car navigation system, and the current speed of the vehicle 10 detected by a vehicle speed sensor. Therefore, the ECU of the vehicle 10 functions as an event detection unit that detects exceeding the speed limit (traveling event). The car navigation system 5 detects the position of the vehicle 10 when exceeding the speed limit is detected.

[0050] The car navigation 5 is communicatively connected to the central G / WECU 50, for example, via CAN communication. The car navigation 5 associates a detected traveling event with the position of the vehicle 10 when the traveling event was detected, and transmits these to the central G / WECU 50. The car navigation 5 may also transmit at least one of the current position of the vehicle 10 and a route to the destination to the central G / WECU 50, for example, at a predetermined interval (one to several seconds, 10 to several tens of seconds, one to several minutes, 10 to several tens of minutes).

[0051] The central G / WECU 50 transmits at least one of the above data received from the engine ECU 1 , the vehicle exterior monitoring ECU 2 , the driver monitoring ECU 3 , the steering ECU 4 , and the car navigation 5 to the data communication ECU 6 .

[0052] The data communication ECU (transmitting unit) 6 transmits at least one of the above data obtained by the vehicle 10 to the server 90. For example, when a driving event is detected, the data communication ECU 6 transmits to the server 90 the driving event, the location where the driving event occurred, and at least one of an image of the driver or an identification symbol of the driver. The data communication ECU 6 may also transmit to the server 90 at a predetermined interval (one to several seconds, 10 to several tens of seconds, one to several minutes, 10 to several tens of minutes), for example. The data communication ECU 6 also transmits to the server 90 at least one of the vehicle characteristics, such as the license plate number, engine displacement, vehicle class, maximum horsepower, or maximum torque of the vehicle 10. The data communication ECU 6 can use various wireless communication standards.

[0053] The server 90 is installed, for example, in a building outside the vehicle 10. The server 90 is capable of communicating with a plurality of vehicles 10 via wireless communication and receives data from the plurality of vehicles 10. The server 90 includes a storage device 91. The storage device 91 may include, for example, a HDD, a ROM, and a RAM. The server 90 also includes other components, such as a processor (CPU, etc.) (not shown). The operations of the server 90 described below may be realized by executing a program stored in the storage device 91 in the processor.

[0054] The storage device 91 stores data received from each vehicle 10. For example, the storage device 91 stores a driving event, a location where the driving event occurred, and at least one of an image of the driver or an identification symbol of the driver in association with the data. When the data from the vehicle 10 includes the identification symbol of the driver, the server 90 determines whether or not the corresponding identification symbol is already stored in the storage device 91. When the corresponding identification symbol is already stored in the storage device 91, the server 90 stores the received data in association with the identification symbol in the storage device 91. When the data from the vehicle 10 includes the image of the driver, the server 90 determines whether or not the image of the corresponding driver is already stored in the storage device 91, for example, by using an image process such as face recognition. When the image of the corresponding driver is already stored in the storage device 91, the server 90 stores the received data in association with the image of the driver in the storage device 91. Therefore, when each driver drives another vehicle 10, the vehicle control system 100 can use the data stored in the storage device 91. If neither the corresponding identification symbol nor the image of the driver is stored in the storage device 91, the server 90 stores the received data as data of a new driver in the storage device 91. The storage device 91 also stores an evaluation (score) of the driving skill of each driver, which will be described later, in association with the data of each driver described above.

[0055] The storage device 91 may also store at least one of the location of the vehicle 10 and the route to the destination received from each vehicle 10 at a predetermined interval. In this case, the server 90 can calculate the driving distance of each driver. In this case, the server 90 can also calculate the traffic volume on each road using the data of all drivers stored in the storage device 91.

[0056] When the server 90 receives a driving event from the vehicle 10, the server 90 calculates the occurrence frequency of the driving event at the location where the driving event occurred, for example, by using the data of all drivers stored in the storage device 91. For example, the occurrence frequency can be calculated by dividing the number of occurrences of the driving event at the location where the driving event occurred by the traffic volume at that location. Therefore, the server 90 functions as a frequency calculation unit that calculates the occurrence frequency of each driving event. Note that the server 90 does not need to calculate the occurrence frequency if the number of samples (occurrences) of the driving event at the location where the driving event occurred is smaller than a predetermined threshold (for example, 5 times).

[0057] The server 90 classifies a driving event as a traffic risk if the occurrence frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (e.g., 1%). In the present disclosure, "traffic risk" may refer to a driving event caused by many drivers in a specific location. If a driving event occurs frequently in a specific location, this can be considered as many drivers causing the driving event in that location, regardless of the driving skills of the individual drivers. In other words, it can be determined that the driving event does not depend on the driving skills of the individual drivers, but is common to many drivers. In this case, the server 90 does not evaluate the driving skills of the drivers.

[0058] If the driving event is not classified as a traffic risk, the server 90 evaluates the driving skill of each driver based on the received driving event. In this embodiment, the server 90 scores the driving skill of the driver by subtracting a demerit point amount previously assigned to each driving event from the score that each driver has. Therefore, the server 90 functions as an evaluation unit that evaluates the driving skill of the driver. For example, the server 90 gives an initial score (e.g., 100 points) to each driver when the driver is newly stored in the storage device 91. For a new driver, the storage device 91 stores this initial score as the score of the driver.

[0059] 2 shows an example of a driving event and a base penalty amount. As shown in FIG. 2, the storage device 91 stores a base penalty amount pre-assigned to each driving event. For example, the higher the risk of a traffic accident of a driving event, the higher the base penalty amount is set.

[0060] FIG. 3 shows an example of information and coefficients used in calculating the deduction amount. The server 90 may weight the deduction amount based on each driver information detected in the vehicle 10. Specifically, the storage device 91 stores coefficients 1 to 4 for the driver information detected in the vehicle 10. For example, coefficients 1 and 2 are set for the personal attributes (e.g., age and sex) of the driver detected in the vehicle 10. Furthermore, coefficient 3 is set for the emotion of the driver detected in the vehicle 10. Furthermore, coefficient 4 is set for the emotional divergence between the driver and other passengers. For example, these coefficients 1 to 4 are set higher when the driver in question has a higher statistical possibility of causing a traffic accident.

[0061] The server 90 may also weight the amount of deductions based on the characteristics of the vehicle 10. Specifically, the storage device 91 stores a coefficient of 5 for the engine displacement of the vehicle 10. For example, the coefficient of 5 is set higher when the vehicle 10 has a higher possibility of causing a more serious traffic accident.

[0062] The server 90 calculates the amount of deduction points by multiplying the base amount of deduction points shown in Fig. 2 by the sum of coefficients 1 to 5 shown in Fig. 3 (deduction point amount = base amount of deduction points x (coefficient 1 + coefficient 2 + coefficient 3 + coefficient 4 + coefficient 5)). The server 90 calculates the latest score of the driver by subtracting the calculated amount of deduction points from the current score of the driver stored in the storage device 91.

[0063] FIG. 4 shows an example of the mileage and the base added point amount. When a driving event is not detected within a predetermined period (for example, one to several weeks, one to several months, or one to several years) for a certain driver, the server 90 adds an added point amount to the current score of this driver. As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the server 90 may determine the base added point amount based on the mileage during this period. In general, it is considered that the longer the mileage of a driver, the higher the possibility of causing a driving event. Therefore, when a driving event is not detected within a predetermined period and the mileage is long, this driver can be considered to have a high driving skill that does not cause a driving event. Therefore, the longer the mileage, the higher the base added point amount is set. This allows the driving skill of the driver to be evaluated more appropriately.

[0064] 5 shows an example of information and coefficients used in calculating the added points. The server 90 may weight the added points based on the driver information detected in the vehicle 10. Specifically, the storage device 91 stores coefficients 6 and 7 for the driver information detected in the vehicle 10. For example, coefficients 6 and 7 are set for the personal attributes (e.g., age and gender) of the driver detected in the vehicle 10. For example, coefficients 6 and 7 are set higher when the driver in question has a statistically lower possibility of causing a traffic accident.

[0065] The server 90 is a base Points added 5 by the sum of coefficients 6 and 7 shown in Fig. 5 to calculate the added point amount (additional point amount = base added point amount x (coefficient 6 + coefficient 7)). The server 90 calculates the latest score of the driver by adding the determined addition point amount to the current score of the driver stored in the storage device 91.

[0066] Next, the operations of the vehicle 10 and the server 90 will be described.

[0067] Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the vehicle 10 in Fig. 1 when a driving event is detected. For example, the operation shown in Fig. 6 is repeated at a predetermined interval (for example, one to several seconds, 10 to several tens of seconds, one to several minutes, or 10 to several tens of minutes) after the start-stop button of the vehicle 10 is pressed to start the power source.

[0068] The ECU of the vehicle 10 determines whether or not a driving event has been detected (step S100). If it is determined in step S100 that a driving event has not been detected (NO), the operation ends.

[0069] In step S100, if it is determined that a driving event has been detected (YES), the ECU determines whether the driver's physical condition is normal or not (step S102). In step S102, if it is determined that the driver's physical condition is not normal (NO), the operation ends. In other words, even if a driving event is detected, if the driver's physical condition is not normal, the server 90 does not perform the evaluation of the driver's driving skill described later.

[0070] If it is determined in step S102 that the driver's physical condition is normal (YES), the ECU transmits data to the server 90 (step S104), and the operation ends. The data transmitted to the server 90 includes the detected driving event and the location where the driving event occurred. The data transmitted to the server 90 also includes at least one of an image of the driver or an identification symbol of the driver.

[0071] 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the server 90 in FIG 1 when a driving event is received from each vehicle 10. For example, the operation shown in FIG 7 is started when the server 90 receives data including a driving event from each vehicle 10.

[0072] The server 90 stores the data received from the vehicle 10 in the storage device 91 (step S200).

[0073] Next, the server 90 determines whether the number of samples of the received driving event at the location where the driving event occurred is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S202).

[0074] If it is determined in step S202 that the number of samples is equal to or greater than the threshold value (YES), the server 90 calculates the occurrence frequency of the received driving event at the location where the driving event occurred (step S204).

[0075] Next, the server 90 determines whether the calculated occurrence frequency is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S206). If it is determined in step S206 that the occurrence frequency is equal to or greater than the threshold (YES), the server 90 classifies the received driving event as a traffic risk (S208).

[0076] Next, the server 90 transmits the evaluation result to the vehicle 10 (step S210) and ends the operation. Specifically, the server 90 transmits to the vehicle 10 that transmitted the data including the traveling event, a message that the received traveling event has been classified as a traffic risk.

[0077] When the ECU of the vehicle 10 receives an evaluation result indicating that the driving event is classified as a traffic risk, the ECU issues a warning to the driver. For example, the ECU shows the warning on an information display. Alternatively or additionally, the ECU issues the warning audibly.

[0078] If it is determined in step S202 that the number of samples is less than the threshold (NO), and if it is determined in step S206 that the occurrence frequency is less than the threshold (NO), the server 90 determines a base deduction amount (step S212). With reference to Fig. 2, specifically, the server 90 determines a base deduction amount according to the received driving event.

[0079] 7, the server 90 then determines a coefficient for weighting the base demerit point amount (step S214). Specifically, with reference to FIG. 3, the server 90 determines coefficients 1 to 5 based on the driver information and vehicle characteristics received from the vehicle 10.

[0080] 7, the server 90 then calculates the amount of deduction points based on the base amount of deduction points and the coefficients 1 to 5 (step S216). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the amount of deduction points as follows: deduction point amount=base amount of deduction points×(coefficient 1+coefficient 2+coefficient 3+coefficient 4+coefficient 5).

[0081] Next, the server 90 scores the driving skill of the driver (step S218). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the latest score of the driver by subtracting the calculated deduction amount from the score of the driver stored in the storage device 91.

[0082] Next, the server 90 updates the driver's score stored in the storage device 91 to the latest score (step S220). Next, the server 90 transmits the evaluation result to the vehicle 10 (step S210) and ends the operation. Specifically, the server 90 transmits a message that the received driving event was not classified as a traffic risk and the latest score of the driver to the vehicle 10 that transmitted the data including the driving event.

[0083] When the ECU of the vehicle 10 receives the evaluation result including the driver's latest score, the ECU restricts the functions of the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10 thereafter according to the driver's score.

[0084] FIG. 9 shows an example of function restriction of the vehicle 10. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the ECU of the vehicle 10 classifies the received score into one of a plurality of classes (five classes in FIG. 9) according to the score. Thus, the ECU of the vehicle 10 functions as a classifier that classifies the evaluation result into one of a plurality of classes. The ECU restricts the functions of the vehicle 10 more severely the lower the driver's score is. For example, if the score is 50 points or more, the ECU does not restrict the functions of the vehicle 10.

[0085] For example, if the score is equal to or greater than 25 points and less than 50 points, the ECU limits the engine output by reducing the response of the electronically controlled throttle 11 to the amount of depression of the accelerator pedal detected by the accelerator sensor 12. In addition, if the vehicle 10 has multiple driving modes, the ECU limits the selection of a certain driving mode (e.g., a high-speed driving mode).

[0086] Furthermore, if the driver's score is lower, the ECU of the vehicle 10 cumulatively adds stricter restrictions shown in FIG. 9 in addition to the restrictions above.

[0087] Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation of server 90 in Fig. 1, and shows the operation when adding points to the driver's score. For example, the operation shown in Fig. 8 is executed for all driver's scores stored in storage device 91 at a predetermined interval (for example, one to several hours, one to several days).

[0088] The server 90 determines whether or not a driving event has been detected within a predetermined period for the target driver (step S300). If it is determined in step S300 that a driving event has been detected within the predetermined period (YES), the operation ends.

[0089] In step S300, when it is determined that the driving incident has not been detected within the predetermined period (YES), the server 90 determines the base point addition amount (step S302). With reference to Fig. 4, specifically, the server 90 determines the base point addition amount based on the driving distance of the target driver within the above-mentioned period.

[0090] 8, the server 90 then determines a coefficient for weighting the base added point amount (step S304). Referring to FIG. 5, specifically, the server 90 determines the coefficients 6 and 7 based on the driver information received from the vehicle 10.

[0091] 8, the server 90 then calculates the amount of added points based on the base amount of added points and the coefficients 6 and 7 (step S306). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the amount of added points as: added point amount=base amount of added points×(coefficient 6+coefficient 7).

[0092] Next, the server 90 scores the driver's driving skills (step S308). Specifically, the server 90 calculates the driver's latest score by adding the calculated additional point amount to the driver's score stored in the storage device 91. Note that if the driver's score stored in the storage device 91 is full score (initial score), the driver's score is maintained at full score. Therefore, the driver's score will not exceed the full score.

[0093] Next, the server 90 updates the driver's score stored in the storage device 91 to the latest score (step S310). Next, the server 90 transmits the latest score to the vehicle 10 (step S 312 ), and the operation ends.

[0094] When the ECU of the vehicle 10 receives the latest score, it limits the functions of the vehicle 10 according to the driver's latest score when the driver subsequently drives the vehicle 10. For example, if the driver's score increases and the driver is classified into a better class, the ECU removes the restrictions on the vehicle 10 that were included in the previous class.

[0095] The vehicle control system 100 as described above includes an event detection unit 1, 12, 13, 2, 21, 22, 4, 41 provided in the vehicle 10 and detecting a driving event related to the driver's driving skill that occurs when the driver drives the vehicle 10, a server 90 that evaluates the driver's driving skill based on the driving event detected in the vehicle 10, and a function restriction unit 1, 11 provided in the vehicle 10 and restricting the functions of the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10 according to the evaluation result by the server 90. According to the vehicle control system 100, a driving event related to the driver's driving skill is detected, and the driver's driving skill is evaluated based on the driving event. Then, the functions of the vehicle 10 are restricted according to the evaluation result. Therefore, the vehicle 10 can be controlled according to the driver's driving skill. Therefore, by feeding back the evaluation result of the driver's driving skill to the vehicle 10 in this way and controlling the vehicle 10, it is possible to prevent accidents from occurring and improve the driver's awareness of safe driving.

[0096] In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the driving events include activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sudden turning, and exceeding a speed limit. These driving events may increase the risk of a traffic accident. Therefore, by evaluating the driver's driving skills based on such driving events, the driver can be prompted not to cause such driving events. Thus, the risk of a traffic accident can be reduced.

[0097] In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the server 90 scores the driver's driving skills by subtracting the demerit points assigned in advance to each driving event from the driver's score. Therefore, a driver who does not cause the above-mentioned driving events, i.e., a safe driver, can have a higher score. Therefore, the driver can be encouraged not to cause driving events, and the risk of a traffic accident can be reduced.

[0098] In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the server 90 adds points to the driver's score if a driving event is not detected within a predetermined period. If a driving event is not detected within a predetermined period, the driver can be considered to be mindful of safe driving. Therefore, by adding points to the driver's score in such a case, the driver's driving skill can be appropriately scored.

[0099] The vehicle control system 100 also includes a car navigation system 5 provided in the vehicle 10 for detecting the position of the vehicle 10 when a driving event is detected, and a server 90. The server 90 also includes a storage device 91 for storing the driving event and the position of the vehicle 10 in association with each other. The server 90 also functions as a frequency calculation unit for calculating the occurrence frequency of the driving event at the position where the driving event occurred based on the driving event and the position of the vehicle 10 stored in the storage device 91. Furthermore, when the occurrence frequency of the driving event is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the server 90 does not perform an evaluation of the driver's driving skill. As described above, when a certain driving event frequently occurs at a specific location, this can be considered to mean that many drivers cause the driving event at that location, regardless of the driver's driving skill. Therefore, in such a case, the driver's driving skill can be properly evaluated by not performing an evaluation of the driver's driving skill.

[0100] The vehicle control system 100 also includes a second camera 31 provided in the vehicle 10 for capturing an image of the driver, and a driver monitoring ECU 3 provided in the vehicle 10 for estimating the personal attributes of the driver based on the image captured by the second camera 31. The server 90 evaluates the driving skill of the driver based on the driving events and the personal attributes estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3. For example, it is statistically known that drivers of a certain generation have a higher risk of causing a traffic accident. It is also statistically known that female drivers have a higher risk of causing a traffic accident than male drivers. Therefore, the driving skill of the driver can be more appropriately evaluated by considering personal attributes such as age and gender in addition to the driving events.

[0101] In the vehicle control system 100, the driver monitoring ECU 3 identifies the driver based on an image captured by the second camera 31. The storage device 91 of the server 90 stores the driver's identification data and the evaluation result in association with each other. Therefore, when the driver drives another vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can limit the functions by using the data stored in the storage device 91 of the server 90. Therefore, even when the driver drives another vehicle 10, the vehicle 10 can be controlled according to the driving skill of the driver.

[0102] In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the driver's emotions when the driver drives the vehicle 10 based on the image captured by the second camera 31. The server 90 evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events and the driver's emotions estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3. For example, it is generally known that a driver who is easily angered has a higher risk of causing a traffic accident. Therefore, the driver's driving skills can be more appropriately evaluated by considering the driver's emotions in addition to the driving events.

[0103] In addition, in the vehicle control system 100, the second camera 31 captures images of other passengers in the vehicle 10 when the driver drives the vehicle 10, and the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the emotions of the other passengers based on the images captured by the second camera 31. The server 90 evaluates the driver's driving skill based on the driving events and the emotions of the driver and other passengers estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3. For example, if the driver has a lower driving skill, the other passengers may feel uncomfortable. In such a case, the driver's emotions may deviate from the emotions of the other passengers. Therefore, the driver's driving skill can be more appropriately evaluated by considering the emotions of the other drivers in addition to the driver's emotions.

[0104] The vehicle control system 100 is also provided with a thermometer 32 that is provided in the vehicle 10 and detects the body temperature of the driver, and the driver monitoring ECU 3 estimates the physical condition of the driver based on the body temperature detected by the thermometer 32. As described above, when the physical condition of the driver estimated by the driver monitoring ECU 3 is not normal, the vehicle 10 does not transmit a driving event to the server 90. That is, when the physical condition of the driver is not normal, the server 90 does not execute evaluation of the driver's driving skill. When the physical condition of the driver is not normal, the driving skill of the driver may deteriorate. Therefore, in such a case, by not executing evaluation of the driver's driving skill, the driving skill of the driver may be more appropriately evaluated.

[0105] Furthermore, in the vehicle control system 100, the ECU of the vehicle 10 classifies the evaluation result into one of a plurality of predetermined classes, and restricts the functions of the vehicle 10 based on the classified class. This makes it possible to prevent an increase in the number of functional restrictions, and to avoid complex control.

[0106] The server 90 also evaluates the driver's driving skills based on the driving events and the displacement of the vehicle 10. For example, if the driver has a lower driving skill, the driver may not be able to safely drive a vehicle with a higher power output. Therefore, the driver's driving skills may be more appropriately evaluated by considering the characteristics of the vehicle, such as displacement, in addition to the driving events.

[0107] Although the embodiment has been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. It is clear that a person skilled in the art can think of various modifications or alterations within the scope of the claims, and it is understood that these also naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, the steps of the above embodiment do not have to be performed in the above order, and may be performed in a different order as long as there is no technical contradiction.

[0108] For example, in the above embodiment, the server 90 functions as the evaluator. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, at least one of the ECUs of the vehicle 10 may function as the evaluator.

[0109] In the above embodiment, the server 90 calculates a score (i.e., scores) for the driver's driving skill. In other embodiments, the server 90 may evaluate the driver's driving skill as excellent, average, or poor, for example, depending on the number of driving events that occur.

[0110] In the above embodiment, the driver monitoring ECU 3 functions as the attribute estimation unit, the classification unit, and the emotion estimation unit. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, the server 90 may function as at least one of the attribute estimation unit, the classification unit, and the emotion estimation unit based on images received from each vehicle.

[0111] In the above embodiment, the body temperature is detected as the biological information for estimating the physical condition of the driver. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, at least one of blood pressure, heart rate, exhalation rate, and alcohol concentration in the exhaled breath may be detected as the biological information.

[0112] In the above embodiment, the engine displacement is taken into consideration in the evaluation of the driver's driving skill as a feature of the vehicle 10. Alternatively or additionally, in other embodiments, for example, at least one of the vehicle size, the maximum horsepower, or the maximum torque may be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the driver's driving skill as a feature of the vehicle 10. [Explanation of symbols]

[0113] 1 Engine ECU (event detection section, function restriction section) 2. External monitoring ECU (event detection unit) 3 Driver monitoring ECU (event detection unit) 4 Steering ECU4 (event detection unit) 5. Car navigation (location detection section) 10 Vehicles 11 Electronically controlled throttle (function restriction section) 12 Accelerator sensor (event detection section) 13 Brake stroke sensor (event detection section) 21 First camera (event detection unit) 22 Millimeter wave radar (event detection section) 31 Second camera (imaging unit) 32 Thermometer (biometric information detector) 41 Steering angle sensor (event detection section) 90 Server (external device) 91 Storage device 100 Vehicle Control System

Claims

1. An event detection unit provided in the vehicle, which detects a driving event related to the driver's driving skill that occurs when the driver drives the vehicle; An evaluation unit provided in at least one of the vehicle or an external device separate from the vehicle, and configured to evaluate a driving skill of the driver based on the driving event detected by the event detection unit; A function limiting unit that is provided in the vehicle and limits a function of the vehicle when the driver drives the vehicle according to the evaluation result by the evaluation unit; a position detection unit provided in the vehicle and configured to detect a position of the vehicle when the driving event is detected; Equipped with The external device is A storage device that stores the driving event and the position of the vehicle in association with each other; a frequency calculation unit that calculates an occurrence frequency of the driving event at a location where the driving event occurs based on the driving event and the position of the vehicle stored in the storage device; having The frequency calculation unit calculates the occurrence frequency when the number of times the driving event has occurred at the location where the driving event has occurred exceeds a predetermined first threshold value; the evaluation unit does not evaluate the driving skill of the driver when the occurrence frequency of the driving event calculated by the frequency calculation unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined second threshold value; The evaluation unit scores the driving skill of the driver by subtracting a base deduction amount previously assigned to each driving event and a deduction amount calculated from a coefficient set for information on the driver and characteristics of the vehicle from the score held by the driver. Vehicle control system.

2. The vehicle control system of claim 1 , wherein the driving event includes at least one of activation of a pre-crash safety system, lane departure, sudden acceleration, sudden braking, sharp turning, or exceeding a speed limit.

3. 2. The vehicle control system of claim 1, wherein when the driving event is not detected within a predetermined period, the evaluation unit adds to the driver's score an additional point amount calculated from a base additional point amount determined based on a driving distance during the predetermined period during which the driving event is not detected and a coefficient set to information about the driver.

4. An imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver; an attribute estimation unit that is provided in at least one of the vehicle and the external device and that estimates a personal attribute of the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit; Equipped with The vehicle control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the evaluation unit evaluates the driving skill of the driver based on the driving event and the personal attributes estimated by the attribute estimation unit.

5. An imaging unit provided in the vehicle for capturing an image of the driver; an identification unit provided in at least one of the vehicle and the external device, and configured to identify the driver based on the image captured by the imaging unit; Equipped with 5. The vehicle control system according to claim 1, wherein the external device has a storage device that stores the driver's identification data and the evaluation result in association with each other.

Images