Mitsubishi Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Katsunori Hamatani

Yoshinaka Kawakami

Yoshiharu Takigawa

Kouichi Kamiya

Arihiro Isomura

Eiji Sato

Yasufumi Sekine

A heartbeat rate detection apparatus and method which can accurately detect a heartbeat of a driver by simultaneously detecting a heartbeat rate of the driver with an infrared sensor, and detecting a heartbeat rate of the driver from a potential difference due to pulsation between both hands with a potencial type heartbeat sensor, comparing the the heartbeat rate detected by the infrared type heartbeat sensor with the heartbeat rate detected by the potential type heartbeat sensor, and selects one as an effective heartbeat rate.

Apparatus for detecting awareness of a vehicle driver and method thereof

An apparatus and method for detecting heartbeat pulse information of a driver, including determining a level of awareness of the driver from the heartbeat pulse information, detecting a steering angle of the vehicle, determines the level of awareness, of the driver from the steering angle and activating at least one warning according to the level of awareness of the driver.

Apparatus and method for improving the awareness of vehicle drivers

An apparatus and method for a driver of a vehicle in which a level of awareness of the driver is determined, and compared with a reference value to determine a decrease in awareness. A warning is generated when driver awareness is low. The driver responds by terminating the warning. The reference value of the awareness determination means is corrected according to a response time of the driver to the warning.

Growing community of inventors

Okazaki, Japan

Katsunori Hamatani