JP2006260011A - Display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a user to view a desired video without searching it from among videos photographed by a camera when displaying those videos on a display unit in a display device for a vehicle for photographing directions to be hidden by a sun-visor, and for displaying them at the display unit. <P>SOLUTION: When a sun-visor is used for shielding sunlight, directions hidden by the sun-visor are photographed by an HDRC camera 7. A pattern recognizing part 13 extracts a traffic light from the photographic videos of the camera 7, and transmits it to a display unit 9, and makes a screen 10 display it. In this case, when any display request switch 18 is not operated, the traffic light is not displayed on the screen 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device configured to display, for example, a traffic signal that is hidden by vehicle components or vehicle fixtures.

  It is very important to prevent accidents by recognizing the state of the signal lights of the traffic lights at the intersection and stopping or moving the vehicle according to the traffic light signals. However, in reality, it is difficult to recognize the state of the traffic light due to sunlight being backlit, or when the sun visor is used to block the backlight, the traffic light is hidden by the sun visor and cannot be seen. Or

In view of the importance of traffic signals, Patent Document 1 discloses a receiver that receives a radio signal output from a transmitter to a vehicle and a signal device that receives the radio signal that is output from the transmitter to a vehicle, as a transmitter that outputs the state of the traffic signal as a radio signal. Has proposed a system in which a display device for notifying the driver of the state information is provided. Further, Patent Document 2 is provided with a camera that captures an area that cannot be seen by the front pillar because the driver's field of view is obstructed by the front parts of the automobile, for example, the left and right front pillars. The display apparatus for vehicles made to display on is disclosed.
JP-A-8-269921 JP 2004-64131 A

  Since the system of Patent Document 1 is a system that functions only when a transmitter is attached to a traffic light, a large cost burden is generated. In the vehicle display device of Patent Document 2, it is not necessary to newly add a device such as a transmitter to the traffic light side. However, in Patent Document 2, since all objects photographed by the camera are displayed on the display device, it is necessary for the driver to recognize and recognize whether or not a traffic light is included in the video.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to find out what the user wants to see from the video when the video shot by the shooting means is displayed on the display means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a display device for a vehicle that does not have to be performed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a photographing unit capable of photographing a region in which the field of view from the driver's seat is obstructed by a member constituting the vehicle or equipment provided on the vehicle, and a specific image selected from the images photographed by the photographing unit. The display means includes an extraction means for detecting an object and extracting an image of the object, and a display means for displaying an image of the specific object extracted by the extraction means. The user wants to see what he / she wants to see (specific thing). For this reason, it is not necessary for the user to find out what he / she wants to see from the video displayed on the display means.

  In the invention of claim 2, when the sun visor is used, the field of view from the driver's seat is partially obstructed by the sun visor, but the area obstructed by the sun visor is photographed by the photographing means, and a specific object is detected from the image. The video is displayed on the display means. For this reason, when there is an object that the user wants to see in an area that is difficult to see due to backlight, the object can be recognized by the display of the display means.

In this case, as described in claim 3, by extracting the video of the traffic light and displaying it on the display means, the display means can recognize the state of the traffic light that has become difficult to see due to the backlight, and the vehicle can be advanced or stopped. It can be done correctly according to the condition of the traffic light.
According to invention of Claim 4, when a user wants to see, the operation means is operated and the thing can be displayed on a display means.
In the fifth aspect of the invention, the video of the specific object is displayed on the display means only when the use of the sun visor is detected. In other cases, the display means is used for displaying a map of another device, for example, a navigation device. Can be used for

In the invention of claim 6, an operating means is provided, and only when the use of the sun visor is detected and the operating means is operated, the display means displays an image of the specific object. More opportunities to use for display.
In the invention of claim 7, since the video extracted by the extraction means is displayed on the display means for a fixed time after the operation means is operated, the problem that the video display on the display means continues indefinitely can be solved. it can.

In the invention of claim 8, since the operating means is provided on the steering wheel, the driver can easily operate.
According to invention of Claim 9, the map data acquisition means which acquires map data, the position acquisition means which acquires the present position of the own vehicle, the advancing direction acquisition means which acquires the advancing direction of the own vehicle, and the said positional information Whether the host vehicle approaches the traffic signal installation position based on the current position acquired by the acquisition unit, the traveling direction of the host vehicle acquired by the traveling direction acquisition unit, and the map data acquired by the map data acquisition unit. It is equipped with a traffic signal approach judging means to judge, so that when the vehicle is approaching the intersection and the sun visor is used and it is difficult to see the traffic light status, the video of the traffic light is automatically displayed. It can be displayed on the display means.

  According to the invention of claim 10, position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the host vehicle, travel direction acquisition means for acquiring the traveling direction of the host vehicle, date and time information acquisition means for acquiring the current date and time, A database having a relationship with the position of the sun for each region, solar position estimating means for estimating the position of the sun at the current position from the position acquisition means, the date and time information acquisition means, and the database; and Backlight determination means for determining whether the direction viewed through the front window from the driver's seat of the own vehicle is affected by backlight due to sunlight, and the influence of backlight, based on the travel direction of the own vehicle acquired by the travel direction acquisition means A photographing means for photographing the direction of the backlight when it is determined to receive, an extraction means for extracting the video of the traffic light from the video photographed by the photographing means, Since comprises a display means for displaying an image extracted by the extraction means, when the traffic light is hardly seen in the backlight, it is possible to automatically display an image of the traffic signal to the display means.

  According to invention of Claim 11, the map data acquisition means which acquires map data, the positional information acquired by the said positional information acquisition means, the advancing direction of the own vehicle acquired by the said advancing direction acquisition means, and the said map data acquisition means The traffic light approach determining means for determining whether or not the own vehicle approaches the installation position of the traffic light from the map data acquired by the above, the backlight determining means is determined to be affected by the backlight, and the traffic light approach determining means Since it is provided with display control means for displaying the video of the traffic light extracted by the extraction means on the display means on the condition that it is determined that the own vehicle is approaching the traffic light, it becomes difficult to see the traffic light due to backlight. When the vehicle is in a state of approaching the intersection, the image of the traffic light can be automatically displayed on the display means.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when the vehicle moves away from the traffic light, that is, when it becomes unnecessary to see the state of the traffic light, the video of the traffic light can be automatically deleted from the display means.
According to the thirteenth aspect, by using the photographing means having a wide dynamic range characteristic, the state of the traffic light can be clearly displayed on the display means even when sunlight is backlit.

(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the vehicle (vehicle) 1 is viewed from the front through the front window 2. As shown in FIG. 3, a driver seat side sun visor 3 and a passenger seat side sun visor 4 are provided on the upper portion of the front window 2. The sun visors 3 and 4 on the driver seat side and the passenger seat side are supported by an L-shaped pivot 5 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction.

  These sun visors 3 and 4 are always placed in a non-use position superimposed on the interior ceiling of the vehicle above the front window 2. And if it rotates below from this non-use position, the light (mostly sunlight) inserted into the vehicle from the upper part of the front window 2 will be blocked. The positions of the sun visors 3 and 4 that block the light inserted into the vehicle from the upper part of the front window 2 are called use positions.

  A user (driver) sitting in the driver's seat 6 is partially obstructed from the upper side of the front view seen through the front window 2 particularly when the driver's seat-side sun visor 3 is in the use position. The field of view obstructed by the sun visors 3 and 4 is referred to as a blind spot area, and this blind spot area is indicated by D in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, an HDRC camera 7 as a photographing unit is provided in the front portion of the automobile 1, and the HDRC camera 7 can photograph a wide range in front of the automobile 1 in color. In addition, the shootable range (indicated by E in FIG. 4) of the HDRC camera 7 includes a region D that is a blind spot of the driver by the driver seat side sun visor 3.

  Here, the HDRC of the HDRC camera 7 is an abbreviation for High Dynamic Range Cmos and has a wide dynamic range characteristic. In a camera with a wide dynamic range, there is a large difference in the amount of light between a bright part and a dark part that can be clearly photographed. For this reason, the HDRC camera 7 can clearly shoot a subject whose sunlight is backlit. In this embodiment, the traffic light is taken as an object to be photographed. However, even when the sun is behind the traffic light and the sunlight is backlit, the HDRC camera 7 can clearly display the traffic light. .

  FIG. 1 shows a vehicle display device 8. This vehicle display device 8 extracts a traffic light from the video taken by the HDRC camera 7 and displays it on the screen 10 of the display device 9, and is mainly composed of an image processing device 11 comprising an ECU equipped with a CPU. ing. The video signal of the HDRC camera 7 is input to the image processing device 11. The image processing apparatus 11 includes an image processing unit 12, a pattern recognition unit 13, a video output unit 14, and a control unit 15 that performs overall control.

  The image processing unit 12 processes the video signal of the HDRC camera 7 to generate image information. Based on the image information processed by the image processing unit 12, the pattern recognition unit 13 recognizes whether or not a signal (a specific object) is included in the captured image of the HDRC camera 7, and the signal is included. If so, the image of the traffic light is extracted. Therefore, the pattern recognition unit 13 functions as an extraction unit that extracts the video of the traffic light from the video captured by the HDRC camera 7.

In this case, the traffic light has a horizontally or vertically elongated rectangular shape, and three circular signal lights are arranged in the rectangular outline, and the colors in the three circles are red, yellow, and blue. One of the features is brighter than the other. The pattern recognizing unit 13 detects a portion having the above characteristics from the video processed by the image processing unit 12, and extracts the portion (signal) when it is detected.
The video output unit 14 outputs the video extracted by the pattern recognition unit 13 to the display unit 9 as display means. The display 9 includes a display capable of color display, for example, a color liquid crystal display. The video signal output from the video output unit 14 of the image processing apparatus 11 is processed by the control unit 16 of the display 9 to be displayed on the screen 10. Is displayed as an image of the traffic light.

  In this embodiment, the display device 8 is also used as a display device for a car navigation device (not shown). As shown in FIG. 3, the screen 10 of the display device 8 is disposed at the center of the instrument panel 17. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the steering wheel 18 of the automobile 1 is provided with a display request switch 19 as an operation means, and an operation signal of the display request switch 19 is input to the vehicle display device 8. It is like that. When an operation signal is input from the display request switch 19, the control unit (display control unit) 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 causes the HDRC camera 7 to start shooting. Then, the control unit 15 starts a timing operation from the time of shooting of the HDRC camera 7 and stops shooting by the HDRC camera 7 when a certain time has elapsed.

  The operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When sunlight enters the vehicle from the top of the front window 2, sunlight enters the eyes of the driver, making it dazzling and difficult to see the front. In such a case, the driver rotates the sun visor 3 on the driver's seat side downward and sets it to the use position. Then, since the sun visor 3 blocks the field of view on the upper right side of the front window 2, the traffic light at the intersection may be hidden by the sun visor 3 and become invisible.

In such a case, the display request switch 19 is operated. Then, the operation signal is input to the image processing apparatus 11 (“YES” in step S1). The control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 starts photographing by the HDRC camera 7 based on the input of the operation signal from the display request switch 19. Then, the pattern recognition unit 13 of the image processing apparatus 11 determines whether or not there is a traffic signal in the captured video of the HDRC camera 7, and if there is a traffic signal video ("YES" in step S2), the video of the traffic signal Is extracted and output to the display 9 (step S3).
Here, the dynamic range of the HDRC camera 7 is wide. For this reason, even if the sunlight is within the shooting range of the HDRC camera 7 and the backlight is in the backlit state, the HDRC camera 7 clearly captures the traffic light.

  The control unit 16 of the display 9 displays the traffic signal image S sent from the image processing device 11 on the screen 10 so as to overlap the already displayed road map as shown in FIG. 5 (step S4). ). The driver recognizes the state of the signal light by looking at the traffic light displayed on the screen 10 of the display 9 even if the traffic light is hidden by the sun visor 3 at the use position and cannot be seen directly. Can do. Then, the control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 starts the time counting operation when the display request switch 19 is operated, and when the time counting reaches a certain time (“YES” in step S5), the HDRC camera. 7 is stopped, whereby the video display of the traffic light on the screen 10 of the display 9 is also stopped (step S6), and the process returns.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even when the driver cannot directly see the traffic light due to the use of the sun visor 3, the driver recognizes the state of the traffic light on the screen 10 of the display 9. Can do. In this case, since the camera 7 has a wide dynamic range characteristic, the traffic light can be clearly photographed even in a backlit state where the sun enters the photographing range, and the traffic light can be clearly displayed on the screen 10. Can do.

  Moreover, since the traffic light image | photographed with the HDRC camera 7 is displayed on the screen 10 on the condition that the display request switch 19 was operated, even if the traffic light is installed on the left side of the road and the sun visor 3 is used, When the driver can see the traffic light through the front window 2, the traffic light does not have to be displayed on the screen 10, and the car navigation device can be used only for displaying the map. In the present embodiment, a traffic signal hidden by the passenger side sun visor 4 of the HDCR camera 7 can also be displayed on the screen of the display 9.

(Second Embodiment)
6 to 9 show a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment described above in the following two points. The first point is that an image of a traffic light is displayed on the condition that the driver's seat side visor 3 is in use in addition to the operation of the display request switch 19. The second point is that a display device for displaying a traffic light is dedicated to the display device, and the display device is provided in the driver's seat side sun visor 3.

  As shown in FIG. 9, a fixed contact 20 is provided on the pivot 5 side of the driver side sun visor 3, and a movable contact 21 is provided on the sun visor 3 side. Both the fixed and movable contacts 20 and 21 are provided. Thus, a detection switch 22 is configured as a usage detection unit that detects the use of the sun visor 3. When the sun visor 3 is in the non-use position, the detection switch 22 detects non-use (off) because the movable contact 21 is separated from the fixed contact 20 as shown in FIG. . When the sun visor 3 is turned from the non-use position to the use position, as shown in FIG. 9B, the movable contact 21 comes into contact with the fixed contact 20, and the use detection switch 22 detects the use. (ON). The use detection switch 22 is connected to the image processing apparatus 11 and outputs a use signal / non-use signal to the image processing apparatus 11 in accordance with use / non-use of the sun visor 3.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the display device (display means) 23 dedicated to signal display includes a control unit 24 and a screen 25 made of color liquid crystal. As shown in FIG. 9, the screen 25 of the display 23 is facing upward in the unused position on the front and back surfaces of the sun visor 3 and is not visible to the driver, but in a state where the driver is turned to the used position. It is attached to the surface that can be seen from the driver facing the rear of the room.

  In this configuration, when sunlight inserted into the vehicle from the upper part of the front window 2 feels dazzling, the sun visor 3 is rotated downward from the non-use position of FIG. 9 (a) to the use position as shown in FIG. 9 (b). The upper part of the front window 2 is hidden as shown in FIG. Then, the detection switch 22 is turned on and a use detection signal is output. As a result, the control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 recognizes that the sun visor 3 is in use (step A1) and monitors whether the display request switch 19 has been operated (step A2).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (a), it is good when there is no traffic signal. However, as shown in FIG. 8 (b), when a traffic light reaches an intersection, the traffic light installed at the intersection is a sun visor. 3 is hidden by 3 and cannot be seen from the driver's seat, the driver operates the display request switch 19. Then, the control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 detects the operation of the display request switch 19 (“YES” in step A2), and the shooting by the HDRC camera 7 is performed as in the case of the first embodiment described above. A traffic light is extracted from the video and displayed on the screen 25 of the display 23 (steps A3 to A5).

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the sun visor 3 has the surface of the display device 23 to which the screen 25 is attached facing the interior of the vehicle. The state of the signal light can be recognized by the traffic light. Then, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the operation of the display request switch 19 (“YES” in step A6), the control unit 15 stops the shooting by the HDRC camera 7 and stops the display of the traffic light on the display 23 (step A7). ), Return.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the sun visor 3 is set at the use position, when the driver turns slightly upward, the screen 25 of the display 23 provided on the sun visor 3 can be seen. When the display request switch 19 is operated, a traffic light is displayed on the screen 25 of the sun visor 3. Therefore, the traffic light hidden by the sun visor 3 is seen through the sun visor 3, and the traffic light is confirmed. It is convenient for.

(Third embodiment)
10 and 11 show a third embodiment of the present invention. This third embodiment is based on the second embodiment described above, and the differences from the second embodiment will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 10, the image processing device 11 is connected with a position detector 27 and a map data storage device 28 as position detecting means of the car navigation device 26.
The position detector 27 includes a GPS receiver 29 for a GPS (Global Positioning System) that detects (positions) the position of the vehicle (own vehicle) 1 based on a radio wave transmitted from an artificial satellite for GPS. It has a gyroscope 30 as an azimuth sensor that detects the rotational angular velocity, and a distance sensor 31 that detects the travel distance of the host vehicle. The current position of the automobile 1 is detected from the detection data of these sensors. Since each sensor has an error having a different property, each sensor is configured to detect the current position of the automobile 1 while being complemented by a plurality of sensors.
The map data storage device 28 is composed of, for example, a DVD-ROM storing map data and a DVD player that reads map data from the DVD-ROM. The map data includes traffic signal installation data, and the location where the traffic signal is installed can be detected from the traffic signal installation data.

    Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the routine of FIG. 11 is entered, the control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 determines whether or not the sun visor 3 is used. If it is used (“YES” in step B1), then the position detector 27, the current position of the vehicle 1 and the traveling direction of the vehicle 1 are acquired from the gyroscope 30 (step B2), and map data around the current position is acquired from the map data storage device 28 (step B3).

  And the control part 15 acquires the advancing direction of the motor vehicle 1 from the detection information of the gyroscope (traveling direction acquisition means) 30, and it is from the figure data whether the present position is in front of the traffic light, that is, the motor vehicle 1 It is determined whether or not there is a traffic signal installation position within a predetermined distance ahead of the traveling direction (step B4; traffic signal approach determination means). When the current position of the automobile 1 is in front of the traffic light (“YES” in step B4), the control unit 15 starts shooting with the HDRC camera 7, and extracts the video of the traffic light from the video by the pattern recognition unit 13. Are displayed on the screen 10 of the display 9 (“YES” in step B5 and step B6, step B7). Therefore, the driver recognizes the state of the traffic light by looking at the screen 10 of the display 9 when the traffic light is difficult to see due to backlight or when the traffic light is hidden by the sun visor 3 in the use position. Can do.

  In the state in which the traffic signal is displayed on the screen 10 of the display device 9, the control unit 15 acquires the current position from the position detector 27 (step B8), and the vehicle 1 determines the traffic signal installation position from the previously acquired map data. It is repeated to determine whether or not it has passed (“NO” in step B9). When it is determined that the vehicle 1 has passed the traffic signal installation position (“YES” in step B9), the control unit 15 stops shooting by the HDRC camera 7 and stops displaying the traffic signal on the screen 10 of the display unit 9. (Step B10), it returns.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, when the sun visor 3 is used and in front of the traffic light, the traffic light is extracted from the video image taken by the HDRC camera 7 and displayed on the screen 25 of the display 23. A traffic light is automatically displayed on the screen 25, and convenience is improved.

(Fourth embodiment)
12 and 13 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The fourth embodiment is based on the first embodiment described above, and the differences from the first embodiment will be described below. In this embodiment, the same car navigation apparatus as in the above-described third embodiment is used. Therefore, for the car navigation apparatus, the reference numerals used in the above-described third embodiment are used as they are, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 12, a position detector 27 and a map data storage device 28 of the car navigation device 26 are connected to the image processing device 11. The transmission radio wave from the GPS artificial satellite includes a signal for notifying the current date and time (year / month / day / time). In this embodiment, the current date and time are detected by the transmission radio wave. .

On the other hand, the image processing apparatus 11 has a database 32. In this database 32, the relationship between the time for each calendar day and the position of the sun is stored in a table for each region.
Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. When the routine of FIG. 13 is entered, the control unit 15 of the image processing apparatus 11 acquires the current position of the automobile 1 from the position detector 27, acquires the current calendar date and time from the GPS receiver 29, and the gyro. The traveling direction of the automobile 1 is acquired from the scope 30 (step C1). Next, the control unit 15 searches the database 31 to acquire the position of the sun from the current calendar date and time in the area to which the acquired current position of the automobile 1 belongs, and based on this, the sun at the current position is acquired. Is estimated (step C2; solar position estimating means).

  Then, the control unit 15 determines whether or not sunlight is inserted from the front window 2 from the estimated position of the sun and the traveling direction of the automobile 1, that is, the sun is in front of the traveling direction, and the sun is backlit. (Step C3; backlight determination means). If it is determined that the backlight is back (“YES” in step C3), the control unit 15 next acquires map data around the current position from the map data storage device 28 (step C4), and the current position is determined from this map data. It is determined whether or not it is in front of the traffic light, that is, whether or not the traffic light installation position is within a predetermined distance ahead of the traveling direction of the automobile 1 (step C5).

When the current position of the automobile 1 is in front of the signal direction (“YES” in step C5), the control unit 15 starts shooting with the HDRC camera 7, and extracts the video of the traffic light from the video by the pattern recognition unit 13 Then, it is displayed on the screen 10 of the display 9 (steps C6 to C8).
For this reason, the driver recognizes the state of the traffic light by looking at the screen 10 of the display 9 when the traffic light is difficult to see due to backlight or when the traffic light is hidden by the sun visor 3 in the use position. be able to.

  In a state where the traffic light is displayed on the screen 10 of the display device 9, the control unit 15 acquires the current position from the position detector 27 (step C9), and the vehicle 1 determines the traffic signal installation location from the previously acquired map data. It is repeatedly determined whether or not it has passed (“NO” in step C10). When it is determined that the vehicle 1 has passed the traffic signal installation location (“YES” in step C10), the control unit 15 stops shooting by the HDRC camera 7 and stops displaying the traffic signal on the screen 10 of the display unit 9. (Step C10), it returns.

(Other embodiments)
The image of the traffic light may be displayed on the front window 2 by a head-up display (display means) (not shown) as in the fifth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.
Further, the image of the traffic light is displayed on the meter cover glass 34 covering the front surface of the instrument panel 33 by a head-up display (display means) not shown, as in the sixth embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. You may make it do.
In the fourth embodiment described above, an image of a traffic light may be displayed on the screen 10 of the display 9 when it is determined that the backlight is backlit. In other words, step C4 and the subsequent steps may be omitted. Even in this case, if there is no traffic light in the captured video of the HDRC camera 7, it is not displayed on the screen 10, and the video is displayed on the screen 10 only when the traffic light is photographed. There is no need to search for traffic lights.

The camera is not limited to the HDRC camera.
The direction of photographing with the camera is not limited to the direction hidden by the sun visor 3, and the direction hidden by the components constituting the vehicle or the equipment attached to the vehicle, such as the direction hidden by the left and right pillars, may be taken. good. And as a specific thing extracted from a picked-up image, not only a traffic light but an electric pole etc. may be sufficient.
The place where the display request switch 19 is provided is not limited to the steering wheel 18 as long as it is within a range that can be operated by the driver.
The current date and time may be time-measured by providing a time measuring unit in the image processing apparatus 11.
You may make it display the signal apparatus in the area | region hidden by the passenger side sun visor 4. FIG.

The block diagram which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention Traffic signal video display flowchart Perspective view looking forward from inside the car Car top view The figure which shows the display form of the traffic light on the indicator The block diagram which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention Traffic signal video display flowchart A perspective view seen through the front window when the sun visor is in use Sectional view showing detection form of use of sun visor The block diagram which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention Traffic signal video display flowchart The block diagram which shows the 4th Embodiment of this invention Traffic signal video display flowchart The figure which shows the 5th Embodiment of this invention and shows the display form of the traffic light to the front window The figure which shows the 6th Embodiment of this invention and shows the display form of the traffic light to the cover glass for meters

Explanation of symbols

  In the figure, 1 is an automobile (vehicle), 2 is a front window, 3 is a driver's side sun visor, 7 is an HDRC camera (photographing means), 8 is a vehicle display device, 9 is a display (display means), and 10 is a screen. , 13 is a pattern recognition unit (extraction unit), 15 is a control unit (display control unit, traffic light approach determination unit, sun position estimation unit, backlight determination unit), 18 is a steering wheel, 19 is a display request switch (operation unit), 22 is a use detection switch (use detection means), 23 is a display (display means), 26 is a car navigation device, 27 is a position detector (position acquisition means), 28 is a map data storage device (map data acquisition means), 30 is a gyroscope (traveling direction acquisition means), and 32 is a database.

Claims (13)

Photographing means capable of photographing an area in which visibility from the driver's seat is hindered by a member constituting the vehicle or equipment provided in the vehicle;
Extraction means for extracting a video of a specific object from the video taken by the photographing means;
A vehicle display device comprising: display means for displaying the video extracted by the extracting means. A sun visor provided at the top of the front window of the vehicle and movable between a non-use position and a use position;
A photographing means capable of photographing an area in which the view seen through the front window from the driver's seat is blocked by the sun visor in the use position;
Extraction means for extracting a video of a specific object from the video taken by the photographing means;
A vehicle display device comprising: display means for displaying the video extracted by the extracting means.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the specific object is a traffic light. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
Operation means;
A display device for a vehicle, comprising: a display control unit configured to display the video extracted by the extraction unit on the display unit on condition that the operation unit is operated. The vehicle display device according to claim 2,
Furthermore, use detecting means for detecting that the sun visor has been moved to the use position;
A display device for a vehicle, comprising: display control means for causing the display means to display an image extracted by the extracting means on condition that the use detecting means detects use of the sun visor. The vehicle display device according to claim 5,
Furthermore, an operating means is provided,
The display control means causes the display means to display the video extracted by the extraction means on the condition that the use detection means detects use of the sun visor and the operation means is operated. A vehicle display device.   The vehicle display device according to claim 4 or 6, wherein the display control means causes the display means to display the video extracted by the extraction means for a certain period of time after the operation means is operated.   The vehicle display device according to claim 4, wherein the operation means is provided on a steering wheel. The vehicle display device according to claim 5,
The specific object extracted by the extraction means is a traffic light,
In addition, map data acquisition means for acquiring map data,
Position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the vehicle;
Traveling direction acquisition means for acquiring the traveling direction of the own vehicle;
Whether the host vehicle approaches the traffic signal installation position based on the current position acquired by the position information acquiring unit, the traveling direction of the host vehicle acquired by the traveling direction acquiring unit, and the map data acquired by the map data acquiring unit A traffic light approach judging means for judging whether or not,
The display control means uses the extraction means on the display means on the condition that the use detection means detects the use of the sun visor and the traffic light approach judgment means judges that the vehicle approaches the traffic signal installation position. 6. The vehicle display device according to claim 5, wherein an image of the extracted traffic signal is displayed. Position acquisition means for acquiring the current position of the vehicle;
Traveling direction acquisition means for acquiring the traveling direction of the own vehicle;
Date and time information acquisition means for acquiring the current date and time;
A database having the relationship between date and time and sun position by region;
Solar position estimating means for estimating the position of the sun at the current position from the position acquisition means, the date and time information acquisition means, and the database;
Backlight for determining whether the direction seen through the front window from the driver's seat of the vehicle is affected by backlight due to sunlight based on the estimated position of the sun and the traveling direction of the own vehicle acquired by the traveling direction acquisition means. Judgment means,
When it is determined that the light is affected by the backlight, a photographing means for photographing the direction of the backlight,
Extraction means for extracting the video of the traffic light from the video photographed by the photographing means;
A vehicle display device comprising: display means for displaying the video extracted by the extracting means. The vehicle display device according to claim 10,
Furthermore, map data acquisition means for acquiring map data;
Whether or not the host vehicle approaches the traffic signal installation position from the position information acquired by the position information acquiring unit, the traveling direction of the host vehicle acquired by the traveling direction acquiring unit, and the map data acquired by the map data acquiring unit A traffic light approach judging means for judging
The display means displays the video of the traffic light extracted by the extraction means on the condition that the back light judgment means judges that it is affected by the back light and the traffic light approach judgment means judges that the vehicle approaches the traffic light. And a display control means for displaying on the vehicle. When it is determined by the traffic signal approach determining means that the vehicle is moving away from the traffic signal installation position,
The vehicle display device according to claim 9, wherein the display control unit stops displaying the image of the traffic light on the display unit. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the photographing unit has a wide dynamic range characteristic.

Images