# US 2026/0097771 A1 · Driving assistance device

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- Number: US 2026/0097771 A1
- Document ID: US20260097771A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 19/115,417
- Filed: 2023-09-28
- Published: 2026-04-09
- Earliest claimed: 2022-09-28
- Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha; Aisin Corporation
- Applicants: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha; Aisin Corporation
- Inventors: Makoto MAEHARA; Dai TONUMA; Takanori MORITA; Tsuyoshi HOSHINO; Kazuhiro TOMOSUE
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20260097771A1

## CPC

- B60W 40/08: related to drivers or passengers
- B60W 50/14: Means for informing the driver, warning the driver or prompting a driver intervention
- G06V 20/597: {Recognising the driver's state or behaviour, e.g. attention or drowsiness}
- G06V 40/18: Eye characteristics, e.g. of the iris
- B60W 2050/143: {Alarm means}
- B60W 2540/225: Direction of gaze
- B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT
- G06V: IMAGE OR VIDEO RECOGNITION OR UNDERSTANDING

## Abstract

A processor of an ECU includes a line-of-sight estimation unit that estimates a direction of a line of sight of a driver of a vehicle, a first looking-aside determination unit that determines whether the driver is looking aside, based on predetermined determination logic, when a line of sight of the driver is directed to a first looking-aside area deviating from a vehicle traveling direction, and a second looking-aside determination unit that determines whether the driver is looking aside, based on predetermined determination logic different from the predetermined determination logic of the first looking-aside determination unit, when a line of sight of the driver is directed to a second looking-aside area deviating from a vehicle traveling direction.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A driving assistance device, comprising:
a processor configured to:
estimate a direction of a line of sight of a driver of a vehicle;
determine by a first looking-aside determination whether the driver is looking aside, based on predetermined determination logic, when a line of sight of the driver is directed to a first looking-aside area deviating from a vehicle traveling direction; and
determine by a second looking-aside determination whether the driver is looking aside, based on predetermined determination logic different from the predetermined determination logic of the first looking-aside determination, when a line of sight of the driver is directed to a second looking-aside area deviating from a vehicle traveling direction.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine by the first looking-aside determination whether the driver is looking aside, based on both of first determination logic that determines continuous looking-aside of the driver, and second logic that determines intermittent looking-aside of the driver, and
determine by the second looking-aside determination whether the driver is looking aside, based on only the first determination logic that determines continuous looking-aside of the driver.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
determine by the first looking-aside determination that the driver is looking aside when a line of sight of the driver is continuously directed to the first looking-aside area for a first predetermined time or longer, and also determine by the first looking-aside determination that the driver is looking aside when a line of sight of the driver is directed to the first looking-aside area for a predetermined accumulated time or longer or a predetermined proportion or more in total within a second predetermined time, and
determine by the second looking-aside determination that the driver is looking aside when a line of sight of the driver is continuously directed to the second looking-aside area for the first predetermined time or longer.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein
the second looking-aside area is an area to which a line of sight of the driver is directed due to driving behavior of the driver.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The driving assistance device according to claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:
execute processing for warning the driver when the driver is looking aside is determined by the first looking-aside determination or the second looking-aside determination.