| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for detecting sleepiness, which enable the determination of sleepiness to be rapidly started without the use of data peculiar to a detection object person, and which enable the high-precision detection of the sleepiness. <P>SOLUTION: A driver's pulse wave is detected by using a pulse wave sensor 10 which is built in a handle of an automobile, and a pleural pressure signal is generated by performing the processing (envelope detection, or the like) of a pulse wave signal from the pulse wave sensor 10 in a signal processing circuit 24. Otherwise, a driver's body surface motion is detected by a body surface motion sensor which is provided on the seating surface, back surface or side surface of a seat, so that a depth-of-breathing signal can be generated. In a microcomputer 28, the pleural pressure signal or the depth-of-breathing signal is sampled for a predetermined period of time (time required for determination), so that the degree of agreement between its sampled waveform and a reference pattern for the determination of the sleepiness can be determined, and the driver's sleepiness is determined according to whether or not the degree of the agreement exceeds a threshold. Consequently, the determination of the sleepiness can be performed with high precision, without the use of data peculiar to the driver. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI |
