US 12,462,587 B2
Driver monitoring device, driver monitoring method, and driver monitoring-use computer program
Shunichiro Sawai, Tokyo-to (JP); and Kenichiroh Hara, Yokohama (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Toyota (JP)
Filed on Mar. 25, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/656,567.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-051353 (JP), filed on Mar. 25, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0309808 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. G06V 20/59 (2022.01); B60Q 9/00 (2006.01); G06V 40/16 (2022.01)
CPC G06V 20/597 (2022.01) [G06V 40/174 (2022.01); B60Q 9/00 (2013.01)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A driver monitoring device comprising a camera installed in a vehicle and oriented towards a face of a driver of the vehicle, a human machine interface adapted to output a warning to the driver if the driver is judged to have fallen asleep, and a processor configured to:
detect an opening/closing state of eyes of the driver of the vehicle based on a first time series of facial images received from the camera in which the face of the driver is shown,
judge that the driver has fallen asleep if the opening/closed state of the eyes are detected to be in a closed state for more than a predetermined period of time;
detect a first frequency by which an amount of change of a mouth opening degree of the driver becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined first threshold value based on a second time series of facial images received from the camera; and
judge whether the driver is talking if the first frequency is equal to or greater than a predetermined first reference frequency, wherein
the processor causes the human machine interface to output a warning to the driver if the driver is judged to have fallen asleep; and
the processor does not judge that the driver has fallen asleep and does not cause the human machine interface to output a warning to the driver, if the opening/closing state of the eyes is closed, while it is judged that the driver is talking.