IP Library Granted Patent US 12,420,806
Granted Patent B2
US 12,420,806 · App. 18/381,064 · Granted Sep 23, 2025

Determination system

Inventors: Yuta Inoue (Osaka, JP); Yosuke Matsushita (Osaka, JP); Keisuke Nagata (Osaka, JP)
Assignee: PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
B60W40/08B60W2040/0827B60W2040/0845B60W2040/0872B60W2540/221
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,420,806
App. No.
18/381,064
Granted
Sep 23, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

A determination system includes a determiner that determines whether sleepiness of a driver who drives a mobile body is normal, based on sleepiness data regarding the sleepiness of the driver and reference data regarding sleepiness used as reference for determining whether the sleepiness of the driver is normal.

Claims (45)

1. A determination system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to perform operations, the operations including:

obtaining current sleepiness data, sleepiness data being time-series data of a sleepiness level of a driver who drives a mobile body;

extracting at least one past data from one or more past data based on a route on which the current sleepiness data is obtained and a time frame in which the current sleepiness data is obtained, the one or more past data being sleepiness data obtained in past;

generating reference data from the at least one past data, the reference data being time-series data of the sleepiness level used as a reference for determining whether the sleepiness of the driver is normal; and

determining whether sleepiness of the driver is normal, based on the current sleepiness data and the reference data, wherein

the processor makes a comparison between a first change speed that is a change speed of sleepiness indicated by the current sleepiness data and a second change speed that is a change speed of sleepiness indicated by the reference data, and determines that the sleepiness of the driver is not normal when the first change speed is greater than the second change speed.

2. The determination system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor:

determines whether there is an external factor that affects sleepiness and is not attributable to the driver in the at least one past data, based on sensor data obtained by at least one sensor and operation management data regarding operation management of the mobile body; and

when it is determined that there is the external factor, corrects the reference data in such a manner as to reduce the second change speed according to the external factor.

3. The determination system according to claim 2 ,

wherein the external factor includes at least one of weather, a traffic situation, a month, a date, a room temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and illuminance, and

the processor corrects the reference data in such a manner as to reduce the second change speed for each of the external factor.

4. The determination system according to claim 2 ,

wherein when it is determined that the driver has had lunch, the processor corrects the current sleepiness data in such a manner as to reduce the first change speed by using previously measured change speed of sleepiness when the driver has had lunch.

5. The determination system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor makes a comparison between a first sleepiness level that is indicated by the current sleepiness data and is the sleepiness level of the driver at a drive starting point at which the driver has started driving the mobile body and a second sleepiness level that is indicated by the reference data and is sleepiness level of the driver at the drive starting point in past, and determines that the sleepiness of the driver is not normal when the first sleepiness level is greater than the second sleepiness level.

6. The determination system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor determines whether the sleepiness of the driver is normal, based on the current sleepiness data indicating sleepiness having an increasing tendency and the reference data.

7. The determination system according to claim 1 , wherein

when it is determined that the sleepiness of the driver is not normal, the processor estimates a factor for the sleepiness of the driver being not normal.

8. The determination system according to claim 7 ,

wherein the processor estimates the factor, based on the current sleepiness data and the reference data.

9. The determination system according to claim 7 ,

wherein the processor estimates the factor, based on at least one of: a section in which the processor has determined that the sleepiness of the driver is not normal; the sleepiness level of the driver at a drive starting point at which the driver has started driving the mobile body; or biological information on the driver.

10. The determination system according to claim 7 ,

wherein the processor estimates, as the factor, an internal factor that affects sleepiness.

11. The determination system according to claim 1 , wherein

the processor further controls a report to the mobile body, based on a result of determination of whether sleepiness of the driver is normal.

12. The determination system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the processor extracts, as the at least one past data, (i) a plurality of past data that were obtained on a route identical to the route on which the current sleepiness data was obtained, (ii) a plurality of past data that were obtained on a route that overlaps the route on which the current sleepiness data was obtained, or (iii) a plurality of past data that were obtained in a predetermined section of a route which starts at a starting point identical to a starting point of the route on which the current sleepiness data was obtained, the predetermined section starting at the starting point.

13. The determination system according to claim 9 ,

wherein the biological information is any one of a heart rate, a body temperature, or a respiratory rate of the driver.

14. The determination system according to claim 10 ,

wherein the internal factor is any one of taking medicine, lack of sleep, or fatigue from a previous day.

15. The determination system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the sleepiness level is an index indicating a magnitude of sleepiness.

16. The determination system according to claim 1 ,

wherein the mobile body is a vehicle.

17. The determination system according to claim 10 ,

wherein the processor estimates fatigue from a previous day or lack of sleep is the internal factor when the sleepiness in a first-half section is not normal and the sleepiness level at a drive starting point at which the driver has started driving the mobile body is higher than the sleepiness level of reference data by a threshold value, the first-half section being a first half of a section of the route from the drive starting point to a current point of the mobile body.

18. The determination system according to claim 10 ,

wherein the processor estimates that a physical condition is the internal factor when a heart rate, a body temperature, and a respiratory rate are increasing compared with the reference data.

Assignments (2)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 6, 2024
From: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
To: PANASONIC AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 068328/0764 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 12, 2024
From: INOUE, YUTA; MATSUSHITA, YOSUKE; NAGATA, KEISUKE
To: PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.
Reel/Frame 067083/0691 →
Priority Claims (1)
JP 2022-170066 · Oct 24, 2022 · national
Continuity (2)
Related Publication 20240132077A1 · Apr 25, 2024
Related Publication 20240227817A9 · Jul 11, 2024
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