Mobile terminal, its control method, system, program, and storage medium

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of easily evaluating a driver's driving of a vehicle.SOLUTION: A program causing a computer to function as each means of a mobile terminal, the program supports safe driving of a vehicle, where the mobile terminal is associated with an individual driver. The mobile terminal includes: acquisition means for acquiring, as acceleration of the vehicle, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile terminal disposed in the vehicle or a sensor provided in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven; determination means for determining a ranking relating to risk of driving by the driver of the vehicle on the basis of the acceleration of the vehicle; and display control means causing a display to display indication according to the determined ranking.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a mobile terminal, a control method thereof, a system, a program, and a storage medium. [Background technology]

[0002] A safe driving evaluation system that improves a driver's awareness of refraining from sudden braking is known (Patent Document 1). The safe driving evaluation system according to Patent Document 1 measures the number of braking operations performed by the driver of a vehicle, and evaluates the driver's driving in accordance with the proportion of sudden braking among the braking operations and the appropriateness of the sudden braking (Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5057167 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology described in Patent Document 1, a navigation system built into a vehicle acquires information about braking operations and evaluates the driving based on the braking operations. In order to evaluate the driving of an individual driver using the navigation system built into a vehicle, the navigation system needs to identify who is driving. In other words, the navigation system needs to perform a process to identify the driver, such as requesting the driver to log in, every time the driver gets into the vehicle. It can be cumbersome for the driver to perform operations or actions to identify themselves every time they get into the vehicle, and ultimately, driving may occur without the individual driver being identified.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has as its object to realize a technology that can easily evaluate the driving of a vehicle by a driver. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to the present invention, A program that causes a computer to function as each means of a mobile terminal, the program being a program for supporting safe driving related to vehicle driving, the mobile terminal being associated with an individual driver, the mobile terminal comprising: an acquiring means for acquiring, as an acceleration of the vehicle, an acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; evaluation means for evaluating driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a display control means for displaying a display according to the determined order on a display; death, the determining means determines a ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level based on a comparison between an evaluation result of the driver's driving and evaluation results of the driving of the plurality of drivers based on past driving histories of the plurality of drivers; when the ranking of the driver regarding the risk level is lowered due to the detection of an event in which acceleration of a magnitude equal to or greater than a first predetermined value occurs, the evaluation means improves the ranking for each vehicle travel distance. A program characterized by the above is provided. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a technology that can easily evaluate the driving of a vehicle by a driver. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a mobile terminal according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a display of a driving evaluation using a mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of displaying the driving evaluation result according to the present embodiment. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in a driving evaluation process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 5] 1 is a flowchart showing a series of operations in a relief process according to the present embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the effect of a display example of a driving evaluation according to the present embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of displaying a driving evaluation using a mobile terminal according to the present embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of displaying the driving evaluation result according to the present embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Furthermore, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar components, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0010] <Mobile device configuration> Next, a configuration example of the mobile terminal 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. The configuration example shown in Fig. 1 shows a configuration example of a smartphone as an example of the mobile terminal 100 of this embodiment. Note that each of the functional blocks described may be integrated or separated, and the functions described may be realized by different blocks. Furthermore, what is described as hardware may be realized by software, and vice versa.

[0011] An application provided for safe driving assistance (also referred to as a safe driving assistance application) is installed in the mobile terminal 100 according to this embodiment. The mobile terminal 100 is associated with an individual driver in advance by an operation such as the driver logging in to the mobile terminal 100. Therefore, the safe driving assistance application can identify the individual driver. Note that the safe driving assistance application may accept the driver's login and associate the mobile terminal 100 with the individual driver. In this embodiment, the driver's driving is evaluated using the mobile terminal 100 associated with the driver in advance, so the driver does not need to perform an operation or action for identification, such as logging in to an in-vehicle navigation system, every time he or she gets into the vehicle. The mobile terminal 100 is placed in a position within the vehicle where the driver can view the screen. When the mobile terminal 100 is placed in the vehicle while the driver is driving with the safe driving assistance application running, the safe driving assistance application provides the driver with various information for safe driving assistance.

[0012] The communication unit 101 is a communication device including, for example, a communication circuit, and transmits and receives data to and from an external server or another mobile terminal via mobile communication such as LTE. The communication unit 101 may acquire various data indicating the state of the vehicle, such as acceleration, speed, steering angle, and position information measured by the vehicle, from the vehicle via a predetermined interface. The communication unit 101 may also transmit information generated for display on the mobile terminal 100 (described later) for display on the vehicle side. In this case, the communication unit 101 may acquire information on operations performed on the information displayed on the vehicle from the vehicle. The predetermined interface includes, for example, a short-range wireless communication interface such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth (registered trademark) or a wired communication interface such as USB. Of course, the predetermined interface is not limited to these examples, and the communication unit 101 can receive or transmit various information necessary for the driving evaluation processing (described later) to and from the vehicle.

[0013] The operation unit 103 includes buttons and a touch panel provided on the mobile terminal 100. The touch panel can accept operations on GUIs for various operations displayed on the display unit 105. The sensor unit 104 includes a GPS for identifying the current location, as well as an acceleration sensor and a gyro sensor for measuring the acceleration and rotation of the mobile terminal 100.

[0014] The display unit 105 includes a display panel such as an LCD or an organic EL panel, and displays display information on the display panel in response to instructions from a display control unit 116, which will be described later.

[0015] With reference to FIG. 2, an example of a graphical user interface (GUI) for safe driving assistance that is displayed on the display unit 105 of the mobile terminal 100 in a vehicle being driven will be described. Note that the following description will be given taking as an example a case where the mobile terminal 100 displays the GUI for safe driving assistance on the display unit 105. However, the display control by the mobile terminal 100 is not limited to this example. For example, the mobile terminal 100 may generate display data for the GUI for safe driving assistance and then transmit the generated display data to the vehicle side via the above-mentioned interface. In this case, the vehicle may acquire the display data and display the GUI on a display provided in the vehicle.

[0016] The GUI 201 is an example of a safe driving support GUI that is displayed on the display unit 105 while the vehicle is traveling. The GUI 201 includes, for example, an indicator area 202, a map area 205, and a driving evaluation area 207.

[0017] The indicator area 202 can display various indicators related to driving. For example, the indicator 203 can indicate the magnitude of the acceleration in the traveling direction of the vehicle. Furthermore, the indicator 204 can indicate the magnitude of the acceleration (also called lateral G) in the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction) of the vehicle. The indicators are not limited to these examples, and more or fewer indicators may be displayed. Note that, since the mobile terminal 100 is disposed inside the vehicle, the acceleration detected by a sensor provided in the mobile terminal 100 can be used as the acceleration of the vehicle. Therefore, the mobile terminal 100 can display various indications without acquiring the vehicle state from the vehicle by communication. Of course, the mobile terminal 100 may communicate with the vehicle to acquire various data representing the vehicle state (e.g., acceleration, speed, steering angle) and display it as an indicator.

[0018] The map area 205 can display a map used for navigation. The vehicle position 206 indicates the position and traveling direction of the vehicle. As will be described later, the mobile terminal 100 can display the self-position detected by a sensor provided in the mobile terminal 100 as the vehicle position in the map area 205. Of course, as described above, the mobile terminal 100 may communicate with the vehicle, acquire the vehicle position, and display it as the vehicle position.

[0019] The driving evaluation area 207 displays a relative change 208 in the ranking of the risk level of the driving by the driver of the vehicle (also simply referred to as the driver's ranking). The ranking of the risk level will be described later. The driving evaluation area 207 is displayed while the vehicle is moving. Therefore, the driving evaluation area 207 includes less information than the driving evaluation area 251 that is displayed when the vehicle is stopped. For example, the driving evaluation area 207 does not include detailed information about the driver's ranking. The driving evaluation area 207 includes an arrow that indicates the relative change in the driver's ranking. If the driver's ranking is lower than a predetermined ranking (e.g., 80th out of 100), the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 207 is displayed in a color indicating a high risk (e.g., a warm color such as red or orange). If the driver's ranking is higher than the predetermined ranking, the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 207 is displayed in a different manner (e.g., a different color or pattern) than when the driver's ranking is lower than the predetermined ranking. If the driver's ranking is equal to or higher than a predetermined ranking, the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 207 is displayed in a color (such as gray or blue) that indicates that the risk is not high.

[0020] GUI 250 is an example of a safe driving support GUI that is displayed when the vehicle is stopped. GUI 250 is displayed on display unit 105, and includes, for example, indicator area 202, map area 205, and driving evaluation area 251. Indicator area 202 and map area 205 in GUI 250 display the same display content as in GUI 201. For this reason, the same reference numerals are assigned and descriptions thereof are omitted.

[0021] The driving evaluation area 251 may be displayed in response to the driver touching the driving evaluation area 207 or touching a predetermined button when the vehicle is stopped, for example. When the vehicle is not stopped, the mobile terminal 100 does not display the driving evaluation area 251 even if the driver touches the driving evaluation area 207 or touches a predetermined button.

[0022] The driving evaluation area 251 includes a relative change in ranking 252, a driver's ranking 253, a graph 256, and a danger zone 257. The relative change in ranking 252 includes an arrow indicating the relative change in the driver's ranking, similar to 208 described above. When the driver's ranking is lower than a predetermined ranking, the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 251 is displayed in a color indicating a high risk (e.g., a warm color such as red or orange). When the driver's ranking is equal to or higher than a predetermined ranking, the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 251 is displayed in a different manner (e.g., a different color or pattern) than when the driver's ranking is lower than the predetermined ranking. When the driver's ranking is equal to or higher than a predetermined ranking, the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 251 is displayed in a color indicating a low risk (e.g., a color such as gray or blue). The danger zone 257 indicates a zone lower than a predetermined ranking. The background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 251 may be switched between a first mode (a mode indicating a good state) when the driver's ranking is equal to or higher than a first threshold, a second mode (a mode indicating a normal state) when the driver's ranking is lower than the first threshold and equal to or higher than a second threshold, and a third mode (a mode indicating a bad state) when the driver's ranking is lower than the second threshold, depending on the driver's ranking. FIG. 7 shows another example of the driving evaluation area 251 shown in FIG. 2. In FIG. 7, in addition to the example shown in FIG. 2, a good zone 258 is further displayed. The good zone 258 indicates a zone in which the driver's ranking is ranked from 1st place to a predetermined rank (e.g., 20th place). The good zone 258 is displayed in a different display mode (e.g., a different color or pattern) from the danger zone 257. When the danger zone 257 is displayed in a color indicating a high risk (e.g., a warm color such as red or orange), the good zone 258 may be displayed in a color indicating a high quality (e.g., blue).

[0023] Graph 256 shows the change in the driver's ranking over a predetermined period of time. By checking graph 256, the driver can understand that his / her ranking is close to escaping danger zone 257, that his / her ranking has already escaped danger zone 257, or that his / her ranking is improving.

[0024] In the above example, the mobile terminal 100 displays the driving evaluation area 207 and then the driving evaluation area 251. However, the display order of these driving evaluation areas is not limited to this example. For example, both the driving evaluation area 207 and the driving evaluation area 251 may not be displayed until the vehicle travels a predetermined distance (after the safe driving assistance application is used). The driving evaluation area 251 may be displayed only once in response to the vehicle stopping after the vehicle has traveled a predetermined distance. In this way, the driver can be made aware that the driving evaluation app is running. Next, the mobile terminal 100 may display the driving evaluation area 207, for example, in response to the vehicle starting to travel. Thereafter, as described above, the driving evaluation area 251 may be displayed in response to an operation by the driver while the vehicle is stopped.

[0025] FIG. 3 shows another example of a display screen 301 that displays a ranking of drivers in terms of risk level (driver ranking). In the example shown in FIG. 3, the drivers are, for example, people in their teens or twenties. The display screen 301 includes a distribution 302 of multiple drivers, a ranking 304 to which the drivers belong, a danger zone 303, and a driver ranking 305. The danger zone 303 indicates a zone that is ranked lower than a predetermined ranking. The distribution 302 of multiple drivers indicates the number of drivers with the same ranking based on the driving evaluation results of the multiple drivers. The ranking 304 to which the driver belongs is displayed in a color different from the other rankings. FIG. 8 shows another example of the display screen 301 shown in FIG. 3. In addition to the example shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 8 further displays a good zone 306. The good zone 306 indicates a zone in which the driver's ranking ranges from 1st to a predetermined ranking (e.g., 20th). The good zone 306 is displayed in a different display mode (e.g., a different color or pattern) from the danger zone 303. If the danger zone 303 is displayed in a color indicating high risk (e.g., warm colors such as red, orange, etc.), the good zone 306 may be displayed in a color indicating high goodness (e.g., blue).

[0026] Display screen 350 shown in FIG. 3 is a display screen displayed on the screen of the mobile terminal of the driver's parent, for example. The driver's parent may want to know whether their child's driving is safe or not, or may want information that will allow them to trust their child's driving. Mobile terminal 100 transmits information to be displayed on display screen 301 to the mobile terminal of the driver's parent, and the parent's mobile terminal displays display screen 350. This allows the driver's parent to understand the driving situation of their child by checking display screen 350. Display screen 350 displays the same information as 302 to 305 on display screen 301.

[0027] Referring again to FIG. 1, the configuration of mobile terminal 100 will be described.

[0028] The storage unit 106 includes a nonvolatile memory such as a semiconductor memory, and stores computer programs (including applications and OS) executed by the control unit 102, and the like.

[0029] The control unit 102 includes a CPU 110 and a RAM 111, and controls the operation of each functional block in the control unit 102 and each unit in the mobile terminal 100 by the CPU 110 executing a program stored in the storage unit 106, for example.

[0030] The information acquisition unit 112 acquires the position of the mobile terminal 100, the moving speed of the mobile terminal 100, the acceleration of the mobile terminal 100, etc. from the sensor unit 104. When the mobile terminal 100 is placed in a vehicle that is in motion, the information acquisition unit 112 can acquire the acceleration in each direction detected by the sensor unit 104 as the acceleration of the vehicle in each direction. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 112 can acquire the moving speed detected by the sensor unit 104 as the moving speed of the vehicle. Furthermore, the information acquisition unit 112 can acquire the position detected by the sensor unit 104 as the position of the vehicle.

[0031] The event detection unit 113 detects the occurrence of sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, and sudden turns during driving based on the vehicle acceleration. The event detection unit 113 detects, for example, sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration of 0.5 G or more, sudden turns of 0.5 G or more in the lateral direction, and sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration of less than the above. While this example illustrates an example of determining whether sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turns of 0.5 G or more have occurred, different thresholds may be used for each event. For example, the threshold for sudden acceleration may be 0.35 G, and the threshold for sudden deceleration and sudden turns may be 0.5 G. Regardless of which threshold is set, it is sufficient to be able to detect sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turns that rarely occur, as well as sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration of less magnitude than these. In the following description, these sudden accelerations, sudden decelerations, and sudden turns are collectively referred to as "events."

[0032] For example, 0.3G corresponds to 0.3×9.81×3600 / 1000=10.6 [km / h / s], which corresponds to a deceleration of 10.6 km / h per second. Deceleration equivalent to 0.3G is relatively common in everyday life. On the other hand, for example, 0.5G corresponds to a deceleration of 0.5×9.81×3600 / 1000=17.7 [km / h / s]. 0.5G corresponds to a sudden deceleration of 17.7×3=53 [km / h], which is enough to bring a vehicle traveling at 53 km / h to a stop in three seconds, but this does not occur frequently during normal driving.

[0033] If an event that generates 0.5G or more is detected and a driver is evaluated, the majority of drivers do not cause such an event, and therefore the system will not change anything for the majority of drivers (the ranking of most drivers will not be different). For this reason, in this embodiment, by taking into consideration sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration that generate 0.3G or more but less than 0.5G, and sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration and sharp turns that generate 0.5G or more, an appropriate ranking is assigned even to drivers who do not generate 0.5G or more.

[0034] The frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the frequency of each event from the number of times each event occurs. The frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the occurrence frequency based on the number of times each event occurred in the last 200 km of the vehicle. For example, when the vehicle has traveled 201 km, the frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the occurrence frequency of the event by dividing the number of times the event occurred between 1 km and 201 km by 200 [km] × 100. Note that, for a period from the start of travel to a predetermined distance, the number of times the event occurred may be divided by the cumulative travel distance [km] and multiplied by 100. In this way, the frequency calculation unit 114 can evaluate the driving by the driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle.

[0035] Furthermore, the frequency calculation unit 114 executes a relief process, which will be described later. For example, if a driver causes an event of 0.5 G or more, the relief process will cause the driver's ranking to fall below the bottom 20% due to a single event, and if the driver continues driving without causing 0.5 G thereafter, the ranking will be restored. Details of the relief process will be described later.

[0036] The ranking determination unit 115 determines the ranking of the driver's risk level based on the occurrence frequency of an event that generates 0.3 G or more but less than 0.5 G and two events that generate 0.5 G or more. The ranking determination unit 115 determines the ranking of the driver's risk level based on a comparison between the evaluation result of the driver's driving (occurrence frequency of the three events) and the evaluation results of the driving of multiple drivers based on the past driving histories of the multiple drivers (occurrence frequency of the three events).

[0037] The ranking determination unit 115 calculates the ranking of the driver's risk level every time the vehicle travels a predetermined distance (for example, 1 km). The ranking determination unit 115 also calculates the ranking of the driver's risk level when the vehicle stops. In this way, for example, when the driver suddenly brakes and the vehicle stops, the latest ranking that reflects the results of braking immediately before the vehicle stops can be displayed.

[0038] The display control unit 116 causes, for example, the display unit 105 to display a display according to the order determined by the order determination unit 115. The display control unit 116 controls, for example, the display of the driving evaluation area 207 and the driving evaluation area 251. The display control of these driving evaluation areas will be described later.

[0039] Next, a series of operations of the driving evaluation process according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The series of operations of the driving evaluation process is realized by the CPU 110 of the control unit 102 expanding a computer program stored in the storage unit 106 into the RAM 111 and executing it. The series of operations of the driving evaluation process is also executed when the safe driving assistance application is executed in the mobile terminal 100 and the vehicle in which the mobile terminal 100 is installed is traveling. As described above, the mobile terminal 100 is associated in advance with an individual driver by an operation such as the driver logging in to the mobile terminal 100. Therefore, the process described below is performed for each individual driver.

[0040] In S401, the information acquisition unit 112 acquires the acceleration detected by the sensor unit 104 of the mobile terminal 100 as the vehicle acceleration. In S402, the event detection unit 113 determines whether an event has occurred in which the acceleration is equal to or greater than a first predetermined value. The first predetermined value is, for example, 0.5 G, and an event in which the acceleration is equal to or greater than the first predetermined value is, for example, a sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn that generates an acceleration of 0.5 G. In other words, the event detection unit 113 determines whether a sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn that rarely occurs has occurred. If the event detection unit 113 determines that an event in which the acceleration magnitude is 0.5 G has occurred, the process proceeds to S403; otherwise, the process of S403 is omitted and the process proceeds to S404. In S403, the frequency calculation unit 114 counts up the number of occurrences of each event (sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn) in which an acceleration of 0.5 G occurs, and stores the count in the storage unit 106. Note that this processing example shows an example of determining whether a sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn of 0.5 G or more has occurred, but as described above, the threshold may be different depending on the content of the event. For example, the threshold for sudden acceleration may be 0.35 G, and the threshold for sudden deceleration and sudden turn may be 0.5 G. Regardless of which threshold is set, it is sufficient that S402 determines whether a sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn that rarely occurs has occurred. This also applies to the following explanation.

[0041] In S404, the event detection unit 113 determines whether an event has occurred in which the acceleration is greater than or equal to a second predetermined value. The second predetermined value is, for example, 0.3 G, and an event in which the acceleration is greater than or equal to the second predetermined value is, for example, a sudden acceleration or deceleration resulting in an acceleration of 0.3 G. That is, the event detection unit 113 determines whether a sudden acceleration or deceleration has occurred, which is relatively likely to occur even when a typical driver is driving. The reason for evaluating the occurrence of such sudden acceleration or deceleration is to facilitate determining the level of safety among drivers who do not experience an acceleration of 0.5 G. If the event detection unit 113 determines that an event in which the acceleration is 0.3 G has occurred, the process proceeds to S405. Otherwise, the process skips S405 and proceeds to S406. Note that, in the example of S404, sudden acceleration and deceleration resulting in an acceleration of 0.3 G or greater have been described as examples, but only sudden deceleration may be considered. In S405, the frequency calculation unit 114 counts up the number of occurrences of events (sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration) in which acceleration of 0.3 G occurs, and stores the count in the storage unit .

[0042] In S406, the frequency calculation unit 114 determines whether the vehicle has traveled a distance of 1 km. By making this determination, the frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the occurrence frequency of an event for each 1 km. If the frequency calculation unit 114 determines that the vehicle has traveled 1 km, it calculates the occurrence frequency of the event in S407. If not, the process returns to S401. The occurrence frequency of the event in S407 is, for example, the event occurrence frequency per predetermined distance (for example, per 100 km) in the past. The frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the occurrence frequency of events such as sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration that cause an acceleration of 0.5 G, a sharp turn that causes an acceleration of 0.5 G, and sudden acceleration and sudden deceleration that cause an acceleration of 0.3 G. In this way, the driving by the driver can be evaluated based on the occurrence frequency of several events.

[0043] In S408, the ranking determination unit 115 compares the frequency of occurrence of each event with the frequency of occurrence of each event for each driver based on the driving history of multiple drivers to determine a ranking of the risk level of the vehicle driver (driver ranking). By determining such a ranking, the mobile terminal 100 can provide the driver or the driver's parent with a guide to confirm whether the driver's driving is safe compared to many other drivers. The ranking determination unit 115 can determine the driver's ranking from 1 to 100 based on the frequency of occurrence of the event. At this time, it is assumed that the vehicle is traveling. In this case, the display control unit 116 displays only the relative change in the driver's ranking (corresponding to the relative change 208 in the driving evaluation area 207 described above) on the display unit 105.

[0044] In S409, the frequency calculation unit 114 determines whether the vehicle has stopped (for example, based on the speed acquired by the information acquisition unit 112). By making this determination, the frequency calculation unit 114 can calculate the occurrence frequency of an event each time the vehicle stops. That is, when the vehicle stops due to sudden braking by the driver, even if the vehicle has not yet reached the 1-kilometer milestone, the frequency calculation unit 114 can determine an updated ranking that takes into account the influence of the sudden braking, and provide the updated ranking to the driver. In S410, the frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the event occurrence frequency in the same way as in S407. Then, in S411, the ranking determination unit 115 and the display control unit 116 determine the ranking in the same way as in S408, and cause the display unit 105 to display the relative change in the ranking.

[0045] In S412, the control unit 102 determines whether an operation to display the detailed display (an operation to display the driving evaluation area 251) has been received from the driver. If the control unit 102 determines that the operation has been received, the process proceeds to S413; otherwise, the process proceeds to S414.

[0046] In S413, the display control unit 116 causes the display unit 105 to display the driver's ranking and the change in the ranking over a predetermined period of time in order to display the driving evaluation area 251.

[0047] In S414, the control unit 102 determines whether to end the process. For example, when the control unit 102 receives an instruction to end the safe driving support application, the control unit 102 determines to end the process and ends the series of operations, and otherwise returns the process to S401.

[0048] <Rescue process sequence> Next, a series of operations of the relief process will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The relief process is a process for restoring a once-decreased ranking, provided that the driver continues to drive safely. Furthermore, by providing the driver with a video of the ranking being restored, it is possible to induce a behavioral change to drive more safely. The series of operations of the relief process is realized by the CPU 110 of the control unit 102 expanding a computer program stored in the storage unit 106 into the RAM 111 and executing it. Furthermore, the series of operations of the relief process is executed when a safe driving assistance application is executed in the mobile terminal 100 and the vehicle in which the mobile terminal 100 is installed is traveling. In the following description of the relief process, the number of occurrences of an event is counted for each kilometer traveled, as in the description of FIG. 4. Furthermore, the mobile terminal 100 is associated with an individual driver in advance, and the process described below is performed for each individual driver.

[0049] In S501, the event detection unit 113 determines whether an event (for example, an acceleration of 0.5 G) has occurred while traveling a predetermined distance X km. If an event has occurred, the event detection unit 113 proceeds to S402, and if an event has not occurred, the relief process ends. In S502, the frequency calculation unit 114 stores the number of times N the event has occurred up to the distance X and a count for subtraction. At this point, the count for subtraction is initialized to 1.

[0050] In S503, the event detection unit 113 determines whether an event has occurred again within the next 1 km (within X+1 km). If an event has occurred, the process proceeds to S404, and if an event has not occurred, the process proceeds to S405.

[0051] In S504, if the number of times an event has occurred up to a distance of X km is N, the frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the number of times the event has occurred as N=N*(1-0.2*C). That is, the frequency calculation unit 114 restores the driver's ranking if the driver has not caused an event such as sudden acceleration or deceleration of 0.5 G for every 1 km traveled after the event occurred.

[0052] In S505, if the number of times an event occurs within a distance of X km is N and the number of times an event occurs within the previous 1 km is M, the frequency calculation unit 114 calculates the number of times an event occurs as N=N*(1-0.2*C)+M.

[0053] In S506, the frequency calculation unit 114 increments the subtraction count by C=C+1. That is, the frequency calculation unit 114 increments the subtraction count every time the vehicle travels 1 km. When the subtraction count C reaches a value of 5 by incrementing the subtraction count, the number of occurrences N becomes 0 (N=N*(1-0.2*5)=N*0.0). That is, as the subtraction count increases, the driver's ranking improves (recovers).

[0054] In S507, if C exceeds 5, the frequency calculation unit 114 ends the process, otherwise it repeats the process from S503.

[0055] In the example shown in FIG. 5, the vehicle's ranking is restored if it safely travels 5 km, but the vehicle may be configured to restore its ranking if it travels a longer distance.

[0056] By using this rescue process, if a safe driver happens to suddenly accelerate, decelerate, or turn with an acceleration of 0.5G, the driver's ranking can be restored to an appropriate ranking. In addition, by showing the driver how their ranking is improving, it is possible to encourage them to change their behavior.

[0057] Next, an example of the driving evaluation area 251 by the rescue process will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The driving evaluation area 601 shown in Fig. 6 shows an example of a display immediately after the driver has caused an event such as sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration at 0.5G. The display control unit 116 displays the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 601 in a color indicating high risk. The driver's ranking transition 256 is displayed as if it is rising, and is displayed as if it is located at the very upper limit of the danger zone 257. This indicates that the driver will soon be able to escape the danger zone 257, and encourages the driver to change his or her behavior so that he or she will drive in a way that does not cause an event such as sudden acceleration or sudden deceleration at 0.5G.

[0058] The driving evaluation area 602 indicates that the driver's ranking has escaped the danger zone 257 by continuing safe driving. The display control unit 116 displays the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 602 in a color that indicates that the risk is not high. By displaying the change in the driver's ranking and changing the background color, it is possible to impress upon the driver that he or she has escaped from a low evaluation ranking.

[0059] The driving evaluation area 603 shows how the driver's ranking is steadily improving. By showing that the driver's ranking is steadily improving and that the driver is moving away from the danger zone 257, the driver is encouraged to maintain the current safe driving.

[0060] The safety evaluation area 604 shows that when the driver causes an event such as sudden acceleration or deceleration of 0.5G, the driver's ranking drops again to the danger zone 257. The display control unit 116 changes the background area of ​​the driving evaluation area 601 to a color indicating high risk. This allows the driver to more intuitively grasp the worsening situation when the driver causes an event such as sudden acceleration or deceleration of 0.5G again, and can prompt the driver to change their behavior to aim for safe driving again.

[0061] The frequency calculation unit 114 may limit the number of times the above-described relief process is applied. For example, when a driver performs sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn of 0.5G for the first time, the frequency calculation unit 114 may perform the first relief process to restore the driver's ranking. In this case, the frequency calculation unit 114 adjusts the parameters of the relief process so that the driver's ranking is restored, for example, by 10 places.

[0062] Next, if the driver performs a second sudden acceleration, deceleration, or sharp turn at 0.5G, the frequency calculation unit 114 can perform a second rescue process to restore the driver's ranking. In this case, the frequency calculation unit 114 adjusts the parameters of the rescue process so that the driver's ranking is restored by, for example, five places.

[0063] Furthermore, if the driver performs a third 0.5G sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn, the frequency calculation unit 114 can perform a third rescue process to restore the driver's ranking. In this case, the frequency calculation unit 114 adjusts the parameters of the rescue process so that the driver's ranking is restored, for example, by two places. Thereafter, for example, if the driver performs a fourth 0.5G sudden acceleration, sudden deceleration, or sudden turn, the frequency calculation unit 114 can prevent the subsequent rescue process from being executed. If the rescue process is not performed, the number of event occurrences is maintained, for example, while the driver travels a predetermined distance (for example, 100 km or 200 km), and the driver's ranking is not restored.

[0064] In this way, when a driver's ranking is lowered due to the detection of an event in which an acceleration of a magnitude that rarely occurs (e.g., 0.5 G or 0.35 G) occurs, the frequency calculation unit 114 improves the ranking for each mileage of the vehicle. This prevents a low ranking from being assigned for a long period of time due to a single event. This reduces the possibility that the safe driving assistance application will be suspended due to a low ranking being assigned. Furthermore, when the frequency calculation unit 114 detects an event in which an acceleration of a magnitude that rarely occurs more than a predetermined number of times, it does not perform processing to improve the driver's ranking in response to the driver's lowered ranking. This makes it possible to ensure that a driver who repeatedly engages in driving that lowers his or her ranking is retained in a low ranking (highly dangerous ranking). Furthermore, the frequency calculation unit 114 decreases the degree to which the driver's ranking is improved as the number of times an event in which an acceleration of a magnitude that rarely occurs increases. This reduces the driver's expectation of a rescue process as the number of events detected increases.

[0065] As described above, in this embodiment, a safe driving support program for vehicle driving is executed on a mobile device that is pre-associated with a driver. The program causes the mobile device to acquire, as vehicle acceleration, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle or a sensor provided in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven, determine a ranking of the driver based on the vehicle acceleration, and display a display according to the determined ranking on the display. This eliminates the need for the driver to perform any identification operation or action, such as logging in to a vehicle navigation system, every time the driver gets into the vehicle, and makes it possible to easily evaluate the driver's vehicle driving.

[0066] In the above-described embodiment, the driving evaluation process and the relief process are executed on the mobile terminal. However, this embodiment is not limited to the above example. For example, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile terminal disposed in the vehicle or a sensor provided in the vehicle during driving may be transmitted to a server via the mobile terminal, and the driving evaluation process and the relief process may be executed on the server. That is, the server may include the event detection unit 113, frequency calculation unit 114, ranking determination unit 115, and display control unit 116. The server may then transmit the generated display information to the mobile terminal, and the mobile terminal may display the GUIs 201 and 250 on the display unit 105. The server may obtain information identifying the driver or the mobile terminal from the mobile terminal. In this manner, a system including a mobile terminal and a server may easily evaluate the driver's driving of the vehicle.

[0067] <Summary of the embodiment> (Item 1) A program that causes a computer to function as each means of a mobile terminal, the program being a program for supporting safe driving related to vehicle driving, the mobile terminal being associated with an individual driver, the mobile terminal comprising: an acquiring means for acquiring, as an acceleration of the vehicle, an acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; and a display control means for causing a display to be displayed according to the determined order on a display.

[0068] According to this embodiment, it is possible to easily evaluate the driving of the vehicle by the driver.

[0069] (Item 2) The vehicle acceleration sensor further includes an evaluation unit for evaluating the driving of the vehicle by the driver based on the acceleration of the vehicle, The program described in item 1, characterized in that the determination means determines the ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level based on a comparison between the evaluation result of the driver's driving and the evaluation results of the driving of the multiple drivers based on the driving history of the multiple drivers in the past.

[0070] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a guide to confirm whether the driving by the driver is safe in comparison with a large number of other drivers.

[0071] (Item 3) The acquisition means further acquires a position detected by a sensor of the mobile device or a sensor provided in the vehicle as the position of the vehicle; 2. The program according to item 1, wherein the determining means recalculates the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level every predetermined driving distance.

[0072] According to this embodiment, the driver's ranking can be updated as the vehicle travels.

[0073] (Item 4) 2. The program according to item 1, wherein the display control means causes the display to display a relative change in the driver's ranking regarding the risk level when the vehicle is moving.

[0074] According to this embodiment, by providing only the movement of the ranking, it is possible to maintain motivation for safe driving while allowing the driver to concentrate on driving.

[0075] (Item 5) Item 2. The program according to item 1, wherein the display control means causes the display to display a numerical value representing the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level when the vehicle is stopped.

[0076] According to this embodiment, detailed information that allows the driver to grasp the current situation more accurately can be provided at a timing when the driver can pay close attention to the display.

[0077] (Item 6) The program described in item 5, characterized in that the display control means further displays on the display, when the vehicle is stopped, the change in the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level over a predetermined period of time.

[0078] According to this embodiment, detailed information that provides a stronger motivation for safe driving can be provided to the driver at a timing when the driver can pay attention to the display.

[0079] (Item 7) The program described in item 1 is characterized in that the display control means switches whether or not to display the change in the driver's ranking regarding the risk level over a predetermined period of time depending on whether the vehicle is moving or stopped.

[0080] According to this embodiment, it is possible to achieve a balance between displays that encourage the driver to concentrate on driving and displays that provide a stronger motivation for safe driving.

[0081] (Item 8) The program described in item 1 is characterized in that, when the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is lower than a predetermined ranking, the display control means causes the display to display a display according to the determined ranking using a different display color than when the ranking is higher than the predetermined ranking.

[0082] According to this embodiment, it is possible to intuitively grasp that the driver's ranking is in a bad state and that the driver has overcome this bad state.

[0083] (Item 9) The program described in item 1 is characterized in that, when the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is a predetermined ranking or higher, the display control means causes the display to display a display according to the determined ranking using a display color different from that used when the ranking is lower than the predetermined ranking.

[0084] According to this embodiment, the driver can intuitively grasp that his / her ranking is in a good state and that he / she has entered this good state.

[0085] (Item 10) The acquisition means further acquires a travel speed detected by a sensor of the mobile device or a sensor provided in the vehicle as a vehicle speed of the vehicle; 2. The program according to item 1, wherein the determining means recalculates the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level every time the vehicle stops.

[0086] According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide the driver with the latest ranking that takes into account the most recent circumstances, such as the effect of sudden braking when stopping.

[0087] (Item 11) The program described in item 2, characterized in that the evaluation means evaluates the driving by the driver by measuring at least the frequency of an event in which acceleration of a magnitude equal to or greater than a first predetermined value occurs and the frequency of an event in which acceleration of a magnitude equal to or greater than a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value occurs.

[0088] According to this embodiment, driving can be evaluated based on events that occur less frequently but are of high severity, while drivers who do not cause events of high severity can be appropriately differentiated based on events that occur more frequently but are of low severity.

[0089] (Item 12) The program described in item 2 is characterized in that, when the driver's ranking regarding the risk level is lowered due to the detection of an event in which acceleration of a magnitude equal to or greater than a first predetermined value occurs, the evaluation means improves the ranking for each vehicle mileage.

[0090] According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a low ranking from being given for a long period of time due to an event that has occurred once.

[0091] (Item 13) Item 12. The program according to item 11, characterized in that the evaluation means, when detecting an event in which an acceleration greater than the first predetermined value occurs more than a predetermined number of times, does not perform processing to improve the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level, in response to a decrease in the driver's ranking.

[0092] According to this embodiment, a driver who repeatedly drives in a way that lowers his / her ranking can be made to retain a low ranking (a ranking with a high degree of risk).

[0093] (Item 14) Item 13. The program according to item 12, characterized in that the evaluation means decreases the degree to which the driver's ranking is improved as the number of times an event in which an acceleration greater than or equal to the first predetermined value is detected increases.

[0094] According to this embodiment, the more the number of detected events increases, the lower the driver's expectation of a rescue process.

[0095] (Item 15) A mobile terminal used for safe driving assistance related to vehicle driving and associated with an individual driver, an acquiring means for acquiring, as an acceleration of the vehicle, an acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; and a display control means for causing a display to be displayed on the display in accordance with the determined order.

[0096] According to this embodiment, a mobile terminal is provided that allows the driver's vehicle driving to be easily evaluated.

[0097] (Item 16) A method for controlling a mobile device used for safe driving assistance related to vehicle driving and associated with an individual driver, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring, as the acceleration of the vehicle, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; a determining step of determining a ranking of the risk of driving by the driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a display control step of causing a display to be displayed on the display in accordance with the determined order.

[0098] According to this embodiment, a control method is provided that makes it possible to easily evaluate the driving of the vehicle by the driver.

[0099] (Item 17) A storage medium storing the program according to any one of items 1 to 13.

[0100] According to this embodiment, a storage medium is provided that makes it possible to easily evaluate the driving of a vehicle by a driver.

[0101] (Item 18) A system used for safe driving assistance related to driving a vehicle, the system including a mobile terminal and a server, the mobile terminal being associated with an individual driver, The server an acquiring means for acquiring, from the mobile device, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is in operation or a sensor provided in the vehicle, as acceleration of the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a transmitting means for transmitting display information according to the determined ranking to the mobile terminal; The system is characterized in that the mobile terminal displays the display information received from the server on a display.

[0102] According to this embodiment, a system is provided that can easily evaluate the driving of a vehicle by a driver.

[0103] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0104] 100: Mobile terminal, 112: Information acquisition unit, 113: Event detection unit, 114: Frequency calculation unit, 115: Rank determination unit, 116: Display control unit

Claims

1. A program that causes a computer to function as each means of a mobile terminal, the program being a program for supporting safe driving related to vehicle driving, the mobile terminal being associated with an individual driver, the mobile terminal comprising: an acquiring means for acquiring, as an acceleration of the vehicle, an acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; evaluation means for evaluating driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a display control means for displaying a display according to the determined ranking on a display; the determining means determines a ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level based on a comparison between an evaluation result of the driver's driving and evaluation results of the driving of the plurality of drivers based on past driving histories of the plurality of drivers; The program is characterized in that, when the evaluation means detects an event in which acceleration greater than or equal to a first predetermined value occurs and the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is lowered, the evaluation means improves the ranking for each vehicle distance traveled.

2. The acquisition means further acquires a position detected by a sensor of the mobile device or a sensor provided in the vehicle as the position of the vehicle; 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the determination means, when the vehicle is moving, recalculates the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level every predetermined distance traveled based on the movement of the vehicle's position due to driving.

3. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the display control means causes the display to display a relative change in the ranking of the driver regarding the risk level while the vehicle is moving.

4. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the display control means causes the display to display a numerical value representing the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level when the vehicle is stopped.

5. 5. The program according to claim 4, wherein the display control means further causes the display to display, when the vehicle is stopped, a change in the ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level over a predetermined period of time.

6. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the display control means switches whether or not to display the change in the driver's ranking regarding the risk level over a predetermined period of time depending on whether the vehicle is moving or stopped.

7. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the display control means causes the display to display a display according to the determined ranking using a different display color when the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is lower than a predetermined ranking than when the ranking is higher than the predetermined ranking.

8. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the display control means causes the display to display a display according to the determined ranking using a different display color when the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is a predetermined ranking or higher, compared to when the ranking is lower than the predetermined ranking.

9. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaluation means evaluates the driving by the driver by measuring at least the frequency of an event in which an acceleration greater than or equal to a first predetermined value occurs and the frequency of an event in which an acceleration greater than or equal to a second predetermined value smaller than the first predetermined value occurs.

10. The program according to claim 1, characterized in that the evaluation means, when detecting an event in which an acceleration greater than the first predetermined value occurs more than a predetermined number of times, does not perform processing to improve the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level, in response to a decrease in the driver's ranking.

11. 2. The program according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation means decreases the degree to which the driver's ranking is improved as the number of times an event in which an acceleration greater than or equal to the first predetermined value is detected increases.

12. A mobile terminal used for safe driving assistance related to vehicle driving and associated with an individual driver, an acquiring means for acquiring, as an acceleration of the vehicle, an acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; evaluation means for evaluating driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a display control means for displaying a display according to the determined ranking on a display; the determining means determines a ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level based on a comparison between an evaluation result of the driver's driving and evaluation results of the driving of the plurality of drivers based on past driving histories of the plurality of drivers; The mobile terminal is characterized in that, when the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is lowered due to the detection of an event in which acceleration greater than or equal to a first predetermined value occurs, the evaluation means improves the ranking for each distance traveled by the vehicle.

13. A method for controlling a mobile device used for safe driving assistance related to vehicle driving and associated with an individual driver, comprising: an acquiring step of acquiring, as the acceleration of the vehicle, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is being driven or a sensor provided in the vehicle; an evaluation step of evaluating driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a determining step of determining a ranking of the risk of driving by the driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a display control step of displaying a display according to the determined order on a display; In the determining step, a ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level is determined based on a comparison between an evaluation result of the driver's driving and evaluation results of the driving of the plurality of drivers based on past driving histories of the plurality of drivers; A mobile terminal control method characterized in that, in the evaluation process, if the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is lowered due to the detection of an event in which acceleration greater than or equal to a first predetermined value occurs, the ranking is improved for each distance traveled by the vehicle.

14. A storage medium that stores the program according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

15. A system used for safe driving assistance related to driving a vehicle, the system including a mobile terminal and a server, the mobile terminal being associated with an individual driver, The server an acquiring means for acquiring, from the mobile device, acceleration detected by a sensor of the mobile device disposed in the vehicle while the vehicle is in operation or a sensor provided in the vehicle, as acceleration of the vehicle; evaluation means for evaluating driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a determining means for determining a ranking of the risk of driving by a driver of the vehicle based on the acceleration of the vehicle; a transmitting means for transmitting display information according to the determined ranking to the mobile terminal; the mobile terminal displays the display information received from the server on a display; the determining means determines a ranking of the driver in terms of the risk level based on a comparison between an evaluation result of the driver's driving and evaluation results of the driving of the plurality of drivers based on past driving histories of the plurality of drivers; The system is characterized in that, when the driver's ranking in terms of the risk level is lowered due to the detection of an event in which acceleration greater than or equal to a first predetermined value occurs, the evaluation means improves the ranking for each vehicle mileage.

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