Coordinated vehicle response system and method for driver behavior

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9292471-B2
Application number	US-201313843194-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2013
Priority date	Feb 18, 2011
Publication date	Mar 22, 2016
Grant date	Mar 22, 2016

Abstract

Methods of assessing driver behavior include monitoring vehicle systems and driver monitoring systems to accommodate for a slow reaction time, attention lapse and/or alertness of a driver. When it is determined that a driver is drowsy, for example, the response system may modify the operation of one or more vehicle systems. The response system can modify the control of two or more systems simultaneously in response to driver behavior.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of controlling vehicle systems in a motor vehicle, comprising:
receiving operating information at a first vehicle system from one or more vehicle systems;
determining at the first vehicle system a level of drowsiness based on monitoring information received from one or more monitoring devices;
detecting a hazard based on the operating information from the first vehicle system;
modifying control of the first vehicle system based on the level of drowsiness and the hazard;
selecting a second vehicle system that is different from the first vehicle system;
communicating the level of drowsiness and information about the hazard from the first vehicle system directly to the second vehicle system; and
modifying the control of the second vehicle system based on the level of drowsiness and the hazard.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first vehicle system is connected to an electronic control unit and where the second vehicle system is connected to the electronic control unit.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first vehicle system communicates with the second vehicle system through a network.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the control of the second vehicle system is coordinated with the control of the first vehicle system.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first vehicle system is a blind spot indicator system and wherein the second vehicle system is an electronic power steering system.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein the electronic power steering system is controlled to help prevent a driver from turning a steering wheel of the motor vehicle when the blind spot indicator system detects the hazard and when the blind spot indicator system determines the driver is drowsy based on the level of drowsiness.

7. A method of controlling vehicle systems in a motor vehicle, comprising:
operating a first vehicle system, the operation of the first vehicle system comprising:
determining a first level of drowsiness associated with a driver of the motor vehicle based on monitoring information received from one or more monitoring devices;
detecting a hazard based on operating information from the first vehicle system;
modifying control of the first vehicle system based on the level of drowsiness and the hazard;
submitting information related to the hazard to a second vehicle system;

operating the second vehicle system, the operation of the second vehicle comprising:
determining a second level of drowsiness based on monitoring information received from one or more monitoring devices;
receiving the information related to the hazard from the first vehicle system;
checking for the hazard; and
modifying the control of the second vehicle system based on the second level of drowsiness and the hazard.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the first level of drowsiness and the second level of drowsiness are a body state index having at least two values.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the submitted information includes instructions for the second vehicle system to check for potential hazards.

10. The method according to claim 7 , wherein the modified control of the second vehicle system is coordinated with the modified control of the first vehicle system.

11. A motor vehicle, comprising:
a first vehicle system and a second vehicle system in communication with the first vehicle system;
the first vehicle system being capable of detecting at least one hazard and the first vehicle system being configured to determine a level of drowsiness for a driver;
the second vehicle system being capable of detecting at least one hazard and the second vehicle system being configured to determine the level of drowsiness for the driver;
wherein the operation of the first vehicle system can be modified according to the level of drowsiness and wherein the operation of the second vehicle system can be modified according to the level of drowsiness; and
wherein the second vehicle system is configured to check for at least one hazard when the first vehicle system detects at least one hazard,
wherein the second vehicle system checks for at least one hazard in response to information sent by the first vehicle system.

12. The motor vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein the first vehicle system is connected to an electronic control unit and the second vehicle system is connected to the electronic control unit and wherein second vehicle system checks for at least one hazard in response to instructions from the electronic control unit.

13. The motor vehicle according to claim 11 , wherein the motor vehicle includes three or more vehicle systems.

14. The motor vehicle according to claim 13 , wherein the three or more vehicle systems check for hazards in response to instructions from an electronic control unit.

15. The motor vehicle according to claim 13 , wherein the three or more vehicle systems are connected to one another using a network.

16. The motor vehicle according to claim 13 , wherein the second vehicle system and a third vehicle system check for hazards in response to instructions from the first vehicle system.

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fung Kin C
• Dick Timothy J

Classifications

• A61B5/1114

  Tracking parts of the body · CPC title

• B60T2201/12

  Pre-actuation of braking systems without significant braking effect; Optimizing brake performance by reduction of play between brake pads and brake disc · CPC title

• A61B5/1103

  Detecting muscular movement of the eye, e.g. eyelid movement · CPC title

• G01C21/3697

  Output of additional, non-guidance related information, e.g. low fuel level (G01C21/3679 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06F17/00 Primary

  Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific functions (information retrieval, database structures or file system structures therefor G06F16/00) · CPC title