US 11,738,780 B2
Driving assistance apparatus
Kenichiroh Hara, Yokohama (JP); Naruhisa Yoshida, Tokyo-to (JP); Kazuhiro Tomosue, Tokyo-to (JP); Shunichiroh Sawai, Tokyo-to (JP); Naoki Nishimura, Tokyo-to (JP); Takanori Kusakabe, Gotemba (JP); Tomoyuki Yoshida, Nisshin (JP); Shogo Konishi, Susono (JP); and Hirofumi Mori, Susono (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed on Jul. 17, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/931,525.
Claims priority of application No. 2019-133020 (JP), filed on Jul. 18, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0016804 A1, Jan. 21, 2021
Int. Cl. B60W 60/00 (2020.01); B60W 40/08 (2012.01); B60W 50/14 (2020.01)
CPC B60W 60/0059 (2020.02) [B60W 40/08 (2013.01); B60W 50/14 (2013.01); B60W 60/0051 (2020.02); B60W 60/0053 (2020.02); B60W 2050/143 (2013.01); B60W 2050/146 (2013.01)] 2 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A driving assistance apparatus for a vehicle capable of hands-off driving that lets a driver take his or her hands off a steering wheel, the driving assistance apparatus comprising:
a processor configured to:
determine, on a basis of sensor information indicating a state of the driver, whether or not the driver is in a state unsuitable for surrounding monitoring of the vehicle during the hands-off driving;
warn the driver through a notification device when it is determined that the driver is in the state unsuitable for the surrounding monitoring; and
notify the driver, through the notification device, of a request for holding the steering wheel by displaying the request or by outputting the request as a voice sound;
wherein the processor is further configured to analyze an image received from a driver monitor camera, to determine if a face is present in the image, to determine a face orientation angle from pitch, roll and yaw angles of the face if a face is determined to be in the image, to determine if the face orientation angle exceeds a distraction angle, and if the face orientation angle exceeds the distraction angle, to determine if a time period of distraction of the driver exceeds a predetermined threshold, and if the time period of distraction exceeds the predetermined threshold, to determine that the driver is in a state unsuitable for surrounding monitoring of the vehicle; and
wherein after notifying the driver of a request for holding the steering wheel, the processor is further configured to determine if a touch sensor of the steering wheel indicates that the driver has touched the steering wheel continuously for a predetermined time period, and if the driver touches the steering wheel continuously for the predetermined time period, to cancel the notification.