System and method for responding to driver behavior

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9440646-B2
Application number	US-201414461530-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 18, 2014
Priority date	Feb 18, 2011
Publication date	Sep 13, 2016
Grant date	Sep 13, 2016

Abstract

Methods of assessing driver behavior include monitoring vehicle systems and driver monitoring systems to accommodate for a driver's slow reaction time, attention lapse and/or alertness. 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 systems that may be modified include: visual devices, audio devices, tactile devices, antilock brake systems, automatic brake prefill systems, brake assist systems, auto cruise control systems, electronic stability control systems, collision warning systems, lane keep assist systems, blind spot indicator systems, electronic pretensioning systems and climate control systems.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of controlling one or more vehicle systems in a motor vehicle, comprising:
receiving monitoring information, the monitoring information including information from the one or more vehicle systems and information about a head position of a driver;
determining a body state index of the driver based on the monitoring information;
changing an operating parameter of the one or more vehicle systems based on the body state index, wherein the operating parameter is used to determine activation of a particular function of the one or more vehicle systems;
determining if the driver is distracted based on the body state index; and
modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems based on the operating parameter when the driver is distracted.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems when the driver is distracted includes modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems based on the operating parameter of at least one of the one or more vehicle systems, wherein the one or more vehicle systems include an antilock brake system, an automatic brake prefill system, a brake assist system, a collision mitigation braking system and a collision warning system.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes changing at least one operating parameter of the antilock brake system to decrease a stopping distance of the motor vehicle when the driver is distracted.

4. The method according to claim 2 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes automatically prefilling at least one brake line of the motor vehicle when the driver is distracted.

5. The method according to claim 2 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes providing braking assistance to the driver by lowering the braking force required to depress a brake pedal.

6. The method according to claim 2 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes warning the driver earlier of potential collisions when the driver is distracted.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is an auto cruise control system.

8. The method according to claim 7 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes increasing a headway distance when the driver is distracted.

9. The method according to claim 7 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes automatically decreasing a current cruising speed when the driver is distracted.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is a lane keep assist system.

11. The method according to claim 10 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes alerting the driver when the motor vehicle crosses a lane marker boundary while the driver is fully alert and alerting the driver before the motor vehicle crosses the lane marker boundary while the driver is distracted.

12. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is a blind spot indicator system, and wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes modifying a blind spot detection area based on the body state index.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is an electronic pretensioning system for a seatbelt.

14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes generating a warning pulse with the electronic pretensioning system when the driver is distracted.

15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes pretensioning the seatbelt when the driver is distracted.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is an electronic power steering system.

17. The method according to claim 16 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes decreasing power steering assistance when the driver is distracted.

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is a visual device for providing visual stimuli to the driver when the driver is distracted.

19. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is an audio device for generating sound when the driver is distracted.

20. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is a tactile device for providing tactile stimuli to the driver when the driver is distracted.

21. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring information is received from a monitoring system.

22. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring information is received from the one or more vehicle systems.

23. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring information is received from the one or more vehicle systems and a monitoring system.

24. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more vehicle systems is a navigation system.

25. The method according to claim 24 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes turning off the navigation system when the driver is distracted.

26. The method according to claim 1 , wherein modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems includes comparing the monitoring information to the operating parameter and modifying the control of the one or more vehicle systems based on the comparing.

27. A method of controlling a vehicle system in a motor vehicle, comprising:
receiving monitoring information;
determining a body state index for a driver, the body state index characterizing distraction and based on the monitoring information;
determining a control coefficient based on the body state index, wherein the control coefficient is a value that varies as a function of the body state index;
determining a control parameter using the control coefficient, wherein the control parameter is used to determine activation of a particular function of the vehicle system; and
operating the vehicle system using the control parameter.

28. The method according to claim 27 , wherein the body state index includes at least 2 values.

29. The method according to claim 28 , wherein the body state index includes at least 3 values.

30. The method according to claim 28 , wherein the body state index includes at least 4 values.

31. The method according to claim 27 , wherein the body state index comprises discrete values.

32. The method according to claim 27 , wherein the body state index comprises continuous values.

33. The method according to claim 27 , wherein the control parameter comprises discrete values.

34. The method according to claim 27 , wherein the control parameter comprises continuous values.

35. The method according to claim 27 , wherein the value of the control parameter varies with the body state index.

36. The method according to claim 35 , wherein the value of the control parameter increases as the body state index increases.

37. The method according to claim 35 , wherein the value of the control parameter decreas

Assignees

• Honda Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fung Kin C
• Dick Timothy J

Classifications

• B60W2540/221

  Physiology, e.g. weight, heartbeat, health or special needs · CPC title

• A61B5/1103

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

• A61B5/055

  involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging · CPC title

• A61B5/0205

  Simultaneously evaluating both cardiovascular conditions and different types of body conditions, e.g. heart and respiratory condition · CPC title

• A61B5/18

  for vehicle drivers {or machine operators} · CPC title