Vehicle Control Apparatus for Abnormal Driver State Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional vehicle control systems fail to accurately distinguish between actual and perceived driver abnormalities, leading to unnecessary driving support interventions that can obstruct legitimate driver operations.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle control apparatus that includes abnormality determination means to assess driver state and driving operation invalidation means to temporarily suspend driving state changes based on driver operations, with specific operation determination to validate normal driving conditions and cancel unnecessary warnings and support interventions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If driving support is continuously performed after driver abnormality determination, then driver safety is improved, but legitimate driver operations are obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the driving support state based on real-time driver operation detection. When a specific operation pattern is detected, the system transitions from an active driving support state to a normal driving state, allowing the driver to resume control. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the system responsive to actual driver intent rather than maintaining a static restrictive state.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback through specific operation detection mechanisms that monitor driver inputs. When the driver performs a specific operation pattern, the system receives feedback indicating the driver's intent to resume control, and accordingly cancels the driving support. This feedback loop ensures that legitimate driver operations are recognized and honored, preventing unnecessary obstruction while maintaining safety when needed.
2Reliability
If driving support intervention is activated based on abnormality determination, then potential safety risks are reduced, but false positives cause unnecessary obstructions
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary abnormality determination before activating full driving support intervention. This preliminary assessment allows the system to identify potential abnormalities and prepare appropriate responses. By implementing a staged approach with preliminary detection followed by specific operation verification, the system reduces false positives while maintaining safety, as it requires confirmation through specific operation patterns before sustaining driving support activation.
3Reliability
If driving state change requests are invalidated after abnormality determination, then vehicle safety is protected, but driver autonomy is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically manages driving state change requests based on the abnormality determination state. When abnormality is detected, the system temporarily invalidates driving state change requests to ensure safety. However, when specific operations are detected indicating driver recovery or intent to resume control, the system dynamically restores autonomy by allowing driving state changes again. This dynamic management resolves the contradiction between safety protection and driver autonomy preservation.
Data Source
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AI summary
Driving support ECU (10) determines that a driver is in an abnormal state when a state where a steering amount correlation value which changes when a steering wheel SW of a vehicle is operated does not change continues over more than or equal to an abnormality determination threshold time. When the driver is determined to be in the abnormal state, the ECU (10) decelerates the vehicle, makes a hazard lamp (61) blink and invalidates an acceleration request based on a change in an operation amount of an accelerator pedal (11 a). The ECU (10) terminates decelerating of the vehicle and permits the acceleration override when a specific driving operation (an operation that the accelerator pedal (11 a) changes from an operating state to a non-operating state and then again changes to the operating state within a predetermined threshold time) is determined to have occurred after the driver has been determined to be in the abnormal state.