JP2015023484A - Display device for vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device for a vehicle which allows a passenger to properly recognize the state of the outside of the vehicle on a monitor which displays a bird's-eye-view image.SOLUTION: The display device comprises: acquisition means for acquiring information on the surrounding of the vehicle; bird's-eye-view image generation means for generating a bird's-eye-view image viewed from a virtual view point by using the information acquired by the acquisition means; a monitor for displaying the bird's-eye-view image; monitor angle adjustment means for adjusting a monitor angle being an angle between the display screen of the monitor and a predetermined plane; and bird's-eye-view angle adjustment means for adjusting the bird's-eye-view angle of a bird's-eye-view image in accordance with a monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment means.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device.

  An in-vehicle display device that allows a rear seat occupant to view a desired video source is installed for the rear seat. The viewpoint altitude conversion table information in which the weight information loaded when the occupant sits on the rear seat and the viewpoint altitude information of the occupant are associated with each other is generated in advance and stored in the viewpoint altitude conversion table storage unit. The weight detection unit detects the weight applied to the weight sensor when the occupant is seated in the rear seat, and the viewpoint altitude acquisition unit acquires the viewpoint altitude of the occupant corresponding to the detected weight from the viewpoint altitude conversion table information. To do. Furthermore, a viewing angle adjustment device for an in-vehicle display device is disclosed in which the viewing angle adjustment unit adjusts the angle of the in-vehicle display device so as to obtain an optimum viewing angle with respect to the virtual viewpoint at the acquired viewpoint altitude (Patent Document 1). .

JP 2010-195130 A

  However, when an overhead image showing the outside of the host vehicle is displayed on the above-described in-vehicle display device, the angle of the in-vehicle display device adjusted to be the optimum viewing angle for the occupant and the overhead angle of the overhead image Since it does not match, there is a problem that the occupant cannot properly recognize the state outside the host vehicle from the in-vehicle display device.

  The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vehicular display device that allows an occupant to properly recognize an external state of a host vehicle on a monitor that displays an overhead image.

  The present invention solves the above problem by generating an overhead image viewed from a virtual viewpoint, adjusting the monitor angle, and adjusting the overhead angle of the overhead image according to the adjusted monitor angle.

  The present invention adjusts the angle of the bird's-eye view image in accordance with the adjustment of the monitor angle, thereby suppressing the deviation between the surface recognized by the passenger looking at the monitor and the surface represented by the bird's-eye view image. On the other hand, the external state of the host vehicle can be appropriately recognized on the monitor that displays the overhead image.

It is a block diagram of the display apparatus for vehicles concerning the embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the vehicle carrying the vehicle display apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the circumference | surroundings of the monitor of FIG. It is a top view which shows the display screen of the monitor of FIG. It is a top view which shows the display screen of the monitor of FIG. It is a top view which shows the display screen of the monitor of FIG. It is a block diagram of the display apparatus for vehicles of FIG. 2A is a conceptual diagram when a top view overhead image is displayed on the monitor with the monitor of FIG. 2 tilted, and FIG. 2B is a case where an overhead image with an overhead angle greater than 0 degrees is displayed. The conceptual diagram of is shown. It is a figure which shows the correspondence of a monitor angle and a bird's-eye view angle, and has shown the side view of the vehicle of FIG. It is a graph which shows the characteristic of the overhead angle adjusted by the overhead angle adjustment part of FIG. It is a graph which shows the characteristic of the bird's-eye angle adjusted by the bird's-eye angle adjustment part of FIG. 7 in the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on the modification of this invention. It is a block diagram of the display apparatus for vehicles concerning other embodiments of the present invention. It is a graph which shows the characteristic of the addition angle adjusted with the bird's-eye view angle adjustment part of FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<< First Embodiment >>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a vehicle display device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle display device 100 according to the present embodiment includes a control device 10, four cameras 1 a to 1 d fixed outside the host vehicle, a radar 2, a vehicle speed sensor 3, a steering angle sensor 4, An acceleration sensor 5, a monitor 6, and a seat position detection unit 7 are provided. Each of these devices is connected by a CAN (Controller Area Network) or other in-vehicle LAN, and can exchange information with each other.

  The cameras 1a to 1d are in-vehicle cameras that capture an image of the vicinity of the host vehicle in order to acquire information about the surroundings of the host vehicle. Respectively. FIG. 2 shows an arrangement example of the cameras 1a to 1d. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a camera 1a installed at a predetermined position in front of the vehicle such as near the front grill picks up an image (front view image) of a predetermined imaging area in front of the vehicle. The camera 1b installed at a predetermined position on the left side of the vehicle such as the left side mirror captures an image (left side view image) of a predetermined imaging area on the left side of the vehicle. A camera installed at a predetermined position behind the vehicle, such as a roof spoiler, captures an image (rear view image) of a predetermined imaging area behind the vehicle. A camera 1d installed at a predetermined position on the right side of the vehicle such as a right side mirror captures an image (right side view image) of a predetermined imaging area on the right side of the vehicle. These four cameras 1a to 1d send captured images to the control device 10 at a predetermined cycle. The control apparatus 10 acquires captured images from the cameras 1a to 1d, respectively. The cameras 1a to 1d are composed of, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) camera. These cameras 1 a to 1 d take an image of the periphery of the vehicle at a predetermined cycle, and output the obtained captured image to the control device 10.

  The radar 2 is a device that measures the reflected signal of a transmitted radio wave transmitted from a millimeter wave radar or the like, and is provided at a position where the radio wave can be transmitted to the outside of the vehicle. The radar 2 detects obstacles such as other vehicles, power poles, and walls that travel around the host vehicle by measuring reflected waves from structures arranged around the host vehicle. The radar 2 outputs a detection signal to the control device 10. Thereby, the cameras 1a to 1d and the radar 2 function as sensors for acquiring information in the vicinity of the host vehicle.

  The vehicle speed sensor 3, the steering angle sensor 4, and the acceleration sensor 5 detect the traveling state of the host vehicle. Specifically, the vehicle speed sensor 2 detects the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. The steering angle sensor 4 detects the steering angle of the vehicle's steering wheel. Furthermore, the acceleration sensor 5 detects the acceleration of the host vehicle. Note that the detection of the vehicle speed, the detection of the acceleration, and the detection of the steering angle by the vehicle speed sensor 3, the steering angle sensor 4 and the acceleration sensor 5 are repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle. The vehicle speed sensor 3, the steering angle sensor 4, and the acceleration sensor 5 output a vehicle speed signal, an acceleration signal, and a steering angle signal to the control device 10.

  The vehicle display device 100 of the present embodiment includes a monitor 6 that displays the surroundings of the host vehicle with a bird's-eye view image. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the monitor 6 is provided on the instrument panel in front of the driver. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the periphery of the monitor 6 in the vehicle interior. The monitor 6 is provided in front of the driver via a handle 8 at a front position. The monitor 6 can be inclined with respect to a horizontal plane so that it can be easily seen by the driver. Moreover, the angle which inclines with respect to the horizontal surface of the monitor 6 can be adjusted. The monitor 6 can also be used as a tachometer and a speedometer.

  Display screens displayed on the monitor 6 are shown in FIGS. 4 shows a bird's-eye view image looking down at the host vehicle and the surroundings of the host vehicle, FIG. 5 shows an image with a bird's-eye view angle larger than zero with respect to the bird's-eye view image in FIG. 4, and FIG. It is an image with a bird's-eye view angle added to the image. The images shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 represent the surroundings of the host vehicle. Further, the overhead angle of the overhead image of FIG. 6 is larger than the overhead angle of the overhead image of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the periphery of the host vehicle is displayed on the monitor 6 as an overhead image so that the driver can easily grasp the periphery of the host vehicle. Regarding the orientation of the monitor 6, on the display screen, the portion indicating the rear of the host vehicle A is the handle 8 side, and the portion indicating the front of the host vehicle A is the windshield 9 side. Also, as a characteristic of the bird's-eye view image, even if the surroundings of the host vehicle are shown, the larger the bird's-eye view angle, the farther part can be shown, but the position indicating the far side is directed toward the bottom of the screen Come down. In other words, the larger the overhead angle, the smaller the display area in the screen area of the monitor 6.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the gaze direction detection device 7 is a device that detects the gaze direction of the driver looking at the monitor 6 (the gaze direction of the driver when viewing the monitor 6). The line-of-sight direction of the driver corresponds to the seat position, the reclining seat angle, or the steering tilt angle. Therefore, the gaze direction detection device is a device that detects at least one of the seat position, the reclining seat angle, or the steering tilt angle. For example, the higher the seat position, the greater the angle between the line of sight of the driver viewing the monitor 6 and the horizontal direction. That is, the seat position and the line-of-sight direction have a correlation. Therefore, the gaze direction detection device 7 can detect the gaze direction from the seat position (height of the seat). Similarly, the reclining seat angle and the steering tilt angle have a correlation with the viewing direction, and therefore the viewing direction detection device 7 determines the viewing direction from the reclining seat angle and the steering tilt angle. Can be detected.

  The control device 10 functions as a ROM (Read Only Memory) 12 in which various programs are stored, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 11 as an operation circuit for executing the programs stored in the ROM 12, and an accessible storage device. A random access memory (RAM) 13.

  Next, control of the display screen displayed on the monitor 6 by the vehicle display device 100 will be described. The control device 10 generates a display image and displays the generated image on the monitor 6 in order to display a captured image acquisition function, an image conversion function, an image generation function, a monitor angle adjustment function, and an overhead angle adjustment function. It has. The control device 10 can execute each function by cooperation of software for realizing the above functions and the hardware described above.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the vehicle display device. In FIG. 7, the structure for exhibiting the said function among the control apparatuses 10 is shown.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the control device 10 includes a neighborhood image control unit 110 and a monitor angle adjustment unit 120. The neighborhood image control unit 110 generates a neighborhood image indicating the neighborhood of the host vehicle based on the captured images of the cameras 1 a to 1 d and outputs the generated image to the monitor 6, so that the neighborhood of the host vehicle is displayed on the monitor 6. Display.

  The neighborhood image control unit 110 includes a neighborhood image generation unit 111 and an overhead angle adjustment unit 112. The neighborhood image generation unit 111 acquires information around the host vehicle by acquiring the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d, the detection value of the radar 2, and the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3. Then, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 generates a neighborhood image of the host vehicle from these pieces of information, and generates an overhead image by attaching an overhead angle set by the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 to the generated neighborhood image. And output to the monitor 6.

  The neighborhood image generation unit 111 acquires captured images from the respective cameras 1a to 1d, converts them into a bird's-eye view image looking down at the host vehicle and the host vehicle from a virtual viewpoint above the host vehicle, One composite overhead image is generated. Specifically, the control device 10 refers to the conversion table indicating the correspondence between the captured image acquired by the cameras 1a to 1d at different positions and the pixel address of each captured image and the address in the synthesized overhead image. , Convert to the coordinates of the composite overhead image.

  In addition, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 reconverts the address in the synthesized overhead image so as to give the overhead angle set by the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 after conversion to the coordinates of the synthesized overhead image. A table may be referred to for image conversion when the overhead angle is set. The bird's-eye view image looking down at the host vehicle and the surroundings of the host vehicle corresponds to an image when the bird's-eye view angle is 0 degree. Therefore, the neighborhood image generation unit 11 performs image conversion so as to give an overhead angle to the synthesized overhead image having an overhead angle of 0 degrees.

  Further, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 represents the structure detected by the radar 2 as an image, and synthesizes it with the overhead image obtained by image conversion. Thereby, the bird's-eye view images shown in FIGS. The cameras 1a to 1d capture images at a predetermined cycle while the vehicle is traveling. Then, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 generates a composite image so that the combined image moves on the monitor 6 at the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3 in order to generate an image during the imaging cycle. ing.

  The overhead angle adjustment unit 112 adjusts the overhead angle of the overhead image displayed on the monitor 6 according to the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120. Information on the bird's-eye angle set by the bird's-eye view image adjustment unit 112 is output to the neighborhood image generation unit 111.

  The monitor angle adjustment unit 120 adjusts the monitor angle of the monitor 6 based on the detection result of the line-of-sight direction detection device 7. The monitor angle is an angle between the display screen of the monitor 6 and the horizontal plane. The monitor angle adjustment unit 120 adjusts the angle of the monitor 6 so that the display screen of the monitor 6 can be easily seen by the driver with respect to the line-of-sight direction of the driver. Specifically, the monitor angle adjustment unit 120 sets the angle of the monitor 6 so that the line-of-sight direction of the driver detected by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120 and the surface along the display screen of the monitor 6 are vertical. . Information on the monitor angle set by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120 is output to the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 and the monitor 6, respectively. The monitor 6 tilts the monitor 6 so that the monitor angle set by the monitor angle adjusting unit 120 is obtained.

  Next, the relationship between the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120 and the overhead image displayed on the monitor 6 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 shows a state in which an image is displayed with the monitor 6 tilted. FIG. 8A shows a display state of an overhead image (top view image) when viewed from directly above the host vehicle. (B) shows the display state of the bird's-eye view image with a bird's-eye view angle greater than 0 degrees with respect to the state seen from directly above the host vehicle.

  It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling on a horizontal road and the monitor 6 is inclined at an angle A with respect to the horizontal plane. A plane S shown in FIG. 8 corresponds to a horizontal plane. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the image shown in the top view is displayed on the monitor 6 inclined at the angle A, the driver who viewed the monitor 6 actually travels on the horizontal plane. Despite being in the car, it feels as if the vehicle is climbing a hill.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the overhead angle of the overhead image is set in accordance with the monitor angle of the monitor 6 and the overhead image having the set overhead angle is displayed on the monitor 6, the monitor The driver who sees 6 can recognize the vehicle as seen in the top view, and can recognize the surrounding situation of the vehicle in the top view.

  For this reason, in this example, the overhead angle of the overhead image is adjusted according to the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120. The relationship between the monitor angle of the monitor 6 and the bird's-eye view angle of the bird's-eye view image will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the correspondence between the monitor angle and the overhead angle, and shows a side view of the vehicle. In FIG. 9, the arrow which turned to the horizontal direction on the paper surface has shown the advancing direction of the own vehicle. The direction of the dotted arrow indicates the direction when the host vehicle is viewed from directly above.

  First, the gaze direction detection unit device 7 detects the gaze direction of the driver, and the monitor angle adjustment unit 120 adjusts the monitor angle so that the angle between the display screen of the monitor 6 and the horizontal plane is A.

  Here, the overhead angle will be described. The bird's-eye view angle is expressed as an angle that is increased in the positive direction with respect to a direction in which a position farther is seen in front of the host vehicle when the direction of the host vehicle viewed from directly above is 0 degree. In other words, in FIG. 9, the bird's-eye view angle is set so that the angle in the positive direction increases in the clockwise direction with respect to the virtual line indicating the direction of the host vehicle as viewed from directly above.

  The overhead angle adjustment unit 112 adjusts the overhead angle to A, which is the same as the monitor angle, and outputs the adjusted angle to the neighborhood image generation unit 111. The neighborhood image generation unit 111 generates an overhead image so that the overhead angle A is set, and outputs the overhead image to the monitor 6. The monitor 6 displays an overhead image with an overhead angle A on the display screen while tilting at the monitor angle A. Thereby, an overhead image with an overhead angle corresponding to the monitor angle is displayed on the monitor 6.

  The overhead angle adjustment unit 112 adjusts the overhead angle so as to correspond to the monitor angle when the monitor angle is within the predetermined range. When the monitor angle is outside the predetermined range, Without corresponding, the overhead angle is fixed at a certain angle.

FIG. 10 is a graph showing characteristics of the overhead angle with respect to the monitor angle. The predetermined range (B) for associating the monitor angle with the overhead angle is preset in the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 and is defined by the monitor angle. The lower limit value (B _min ) of the predetermined range is set to the monitor angle (0 degree). If the monitor angle is a negative angle, the display image on the monitor 6 is difficult for the driver to see if the overhead angle is also negative. For this reason, in this example, the lower limit value (B _min ) is set to 0 degrees.

As shown in FIG. 6, as a characteristic of the overhead view image, when the overhead angle increases, the display area of the screen area of the monitor 6 becomes smaller. Therefore, in order to determine the upper limit value of the overhead angle, a limit value (B _max ) is also set on the upper limit side of the predetermined range (B). If the monitor angle is within a predetermined range (B), the overhead angle is proportional to the monitor angle.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the monitor angle is within the predetermined range (B), the bird's eye angle adjustment unit 112 increases the bird's eye angle as the monitor angle is larger. Further, when the monitor angle is larger than the upper limit value (B _max ) of the overhead view range, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 sets the overhead view angle to the upper limit overhead angle (C _max ) corresponding to the upper limit value (B _max ). . On the other hand, when the monitor angle is smaller than the lower limit value (B _min ) of the overhead range, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 sets the overhead angle to the lower limit angle (C _min ) corresponding to the upper limit value (B _min ). .

Further, the characteristic of the bird's eye angle with respect to the monitor angle is such that it does not bend in the vicinity of the upper limit (B _max ) or lower limit (B _min ) of the monitor angle, and the monitor is equal to or higher than the upper limit (B _max ) The characteristics of the bird's-eye view angle are set so that the bird's-eye view angle gradually converges to a predetermined value at an angle or a monitor angle equal to or lower than the lower limit ( _Bmin ).

  As described above, in this example, the overhead angle of the overhead image is adjusted according to the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120, and the overhead image having the adjusted overhead angle is displayed on the monitor 6. Thereby, since the plane represented by the bird's-eye view image can be matched with the horizontal plane outside the host vehicle with respect to the tilted monitor 6, the passenger looking at the monitor 6 can appropriately recognize the state outside the host vehicle. Can do.

  In this example, the angle of the monitor 6 is adjusted according to the sight line direction of the occupant detected by the sight line direction detection device 7. Thereby, the bird's-eye view angle of the bird's-eye view image can be adjusted with respect to the line-of-sight direction of the monitor while adjusting the angle of the monitor 6 to an angle that is easy for the passenger to see. As a result, the occupant can appropriately recognize the appearance outside the host vehicle on the monitor 6 having an easy-to-see angle.

  Further, in this example, when the monitor angle is within a predetermined range (range B in FIG. 10), the overhead angle is increased as the monitor angle is increased. Thereby, since the bird's-eye view angle can be adjusted to the monitor angle, the occupant looking at the monitor 6 can appropriately recognize the state of the outside of the host vehicle.

In this example, when the monitor angle is larger than the upper limit value (B _max ) of the predetermined range, the overhead angle is set to the predetermined upper limit angle (C _max ). Thereby, since the magnitude | size of the bird's-eye view image displayed on the monitor 6 can be ensured, the distance of the depth which can be expressed on the screen of the monitor 6 can be kept at a predetermined distance.

In this example, when the monitor angle is smaller than the lower limit value (B _min ) of the predetermined range, the overhead angle is set to the predetermined lower limit angle (C _min ). Thereby, even when the monitor angle becomes smaller than the lower limit value (B _min ), it is possible to prevent the monitor 6 from being difficult to see.

  As a modification of the present invention, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 increases the overhead angle as the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed sensor 3 increases. When the vehicle speed is high, it is better to increase the bird's-eye view angle so that the required stop distance becomes longer and it can be seen far away.

  In order to adjust the bird's-eye view angle to the vehicle speed, for example, when the vehicle speed is larger than a predetermined vehicle speed threshold, the bird's-eye angle adjustment unit 112 has a bird's-eye view corresponding to the monitor angle on the characteristics within the predetermined range B shown in FIG. An angle obtained by adding a predetermined angle to the angle is set as an overhead angle. On the other hand, when the vehicle speed is equal to or lower than the predetermined vehicle speed threshold, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 does not add the predetermined angle to the monitor angle. Alternatively, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 increases the predetermined angle to be added to the overhead angle corresponding to the monitor angle as the vehicle speed increases. Thereby, this example can display the path | route equivalent to the required stop distance according to a vehicle speed with a bird's-eye view image.

  Further, the present invention adjusts the overhead angle so that the characteristics when the overhead angle increases and the characteristic when the overhead angle decreases become hysteresis characteristics when the overhead angle is changed according to the vehicle speed. Also good. FIG. 11 is a graph showing characteristics of the overhead angle with respect to the vehicle speed. The monitor angle is constant.

As shown in FIG. 11, the bird's eye angle adjusted according to the vehicle speed is set at discrete angles so as to be C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ , and C ₄ . And in order to give a hysteresis to the bird's-eye view angle, the bird's-eye view angle is set as follows with respect to the vehicle speed.

When the vehicle speed is V ₁ or less, the overhead angle is set to C ₁ , and when the vehicle speed is V ₂ or more and V ₃ or less, the overhead angle is set to C ₂ , and the vehicle speed is V ₄ or more and V ₅ the bird's eye view angle in the case where less is set to C _3, when the vehicle speed is V ₆ or more overhead angle is set to C _4. Characteristics of the overhead angle between vehicle speed and (V ₁₎ and the vehicle speed (V ₂₎ has become a hysteresis characteristic, when the vehicle speed becomes greater than V ₁ from V ₁ the following conditions, the vehicle speed V ₂ until, overhead angle is maintained at C _1, if the vehicle speed is V ₂ or more, overhead angle becomes C _2. Further, when the vehicle speed is smaller than V ₂ decreases from V ₂ or more states, until the vehicle speed becomes V _1, overhead angle is maintained at C _2, if the vehicle speed is V ₁ or less, overhead angle It is a _{C 1.} Similarly, the overhead angle characteristic between the vehicle speed (V ₃ ) and the vehicle speed (V ₄ ) and the overhead angle characteristic between the vehicle speed (V ₅ ) and the vehicle speed (V ₆ ) are also hysteresis characteristics. ing.

  When the overhead angle is continuously changed with respect to the change in the vehicle speed, for example, the display screen changes during acceleration of the vehicle speed, so that the display screen of the monitor 6 becomes difficult to see. Therefore, this example prevents the display screen from changing continuously as the vehicle speed increases or decreases by setting the overhead angle with respect to the vehicle speed as a discrete value.

Further, for example, when the bird's-eye view angle changes with the vehicle speed V ₂ as a boundary, a hunting phenomenon occurs on the display screen of the monitor 6 when the vehicle speed is repeatedly increased or decreased near V ₂ . For this reason, in this example, in order to prevent the hunting phenomenon, the overhead angle characteristic is provided with hysteresis.

  Further, as a modification of the present invention, the control device 10 detects the travel lane in which the host vehicle travels from the images of the cameras 1a to 1d, and the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 decreases the road width of the detected travel lane, Reduce the overhead angle. When the road width of the traveling lane of the host vehicle is narrow, the image of the vicinity of the host vehicle is displayed larger on the monitor 6 when the bird's-eye view angle is reduced.

  In order to adjust the bird's-eye view angle according to the vehicle width, for example, when the vehicle width is shorter than a predetermined vehicle width threshold, the bird's-eye angle adjustment unit 112 has a monitor angle on the characteristics within the predetermined range B shown in FIG. An angle obtained by subtracting a predetermined angle from the overhead angle corresponding to is set as the overhead angle. On the other hand, when the vehicle width is equal to or greater than the predetermined vehicle width threshold, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 does not subtract the predetermined angle from the monitor angle. Alternatively, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 increases the predetermined angle to be subtracted from the overhead angle corresponding to the monitor angle as the vehicle width is narrower. Thus, in this example, when the width of the traveling lane of the host vehicle becomes narrower, the bird's-eye view angle is reduced to approach the top view, so that the lateral direction of the host vehicle (on the horizontal plane, The margin of the distance in the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction can be easily confirmed on the monitor 6.

  Further, as a modification of the present invention, the control device 10 detects an obstacle located in front of or behind the host vehicle from the detection value of the radar 2, and the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 is provided between the host vehicle and the obstacle. The shorter the distance, the smaller the overhead angle. When the distance between the obstacle and the host vehicle is short, an image in the vicinity of the host vehicle is displayed larger on the monitor 6 when the overhead angle is reduced. Easy to grasp.

  In order to adjust the overhead angle according to the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle, for example, when the distance to the obstacle is shorter than a predetermined distance threshold, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 has a predetermined range B shown in FIG. On the other hand, an angle obtained by subtracting a predetermined angle from the monitor angle is set as the overhead angle. On the other hand, when the distance to the obstacle is equal to or greater than the predetermined distance threshold, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 does not subtract the predetermined angle from the monitor angle. Alternatively, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 increases the predetermined angle to be subtracted from the monitor angle as the distance to the obstacle is shorter. Thus, in this example, when the distance to the obstacle is shortened, the overhead angle is reduced, and the distance from the own vehicle to the outside object can be increased on the monitor 6 by bringing it closer to the top view. It can be easily confirmed.

  In addition, this example shows an increase characteristic of the overhead angle when the overhead angle is adjusted according to the vehicle width of the traveling lane or when the overhead angle is adjusted according to the distance between the host vehicle and the obstacle. The decrease characteristic may be a hysteresis characteristic. In this example, when the overhead angle is adjusted according to the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit, the characteristic of the overhead angle may be a hysteresis characteristic.

  The monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjusting unit 120 does not necessarily have to be an angle such that the line-of-sight direction of the driver and the surface along the display screen of the monitor 6 are vertical. For example, when the monitor angle adjustment unit 120 can adjust the monitor angle according to the user's preference, the monitor angle set by the user is used as the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit 120. That's fine.

  The cameras 1a to 1d described above correspond to the “acquisition unit” of the present invention, the neighborhood image generation unit 111 corresponds to the “overhead image generation unit” of the present invention, and the overhead view angle adjustment unit 112 corresponds to the “overhead angle adjustment” of the present invention. The monitor angle adjustment unit 120 corresponds to “monitor angle adjustment means”, the line-of-sight direction detection device 7 corresponds to “line-of-sight angle detection means” of the present invention, and the vehicle speed sensor 3 corresponds to “vehicle speed” of the present invention. It corresponds to “detection means”. Moreover, when detecting a traveling lane from the captured images of the cameras 1a to 1d, the cameras 1a to 1d correspond to "traveling lane detecting means" of the present invention. The radar 2 corresponds to “obstacle detection means” of the present invention.

<< Second Embodiment >>
FIG. 12 is a block diagram of a vehicle display device 100 according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 12 shows a part of the configuration of the driving support device 100. In this example, the point which provides the inclination sensor 20 differs with respect to 1st Embodiment mentioned above. Since the configuration other than this is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, the description thereof is incorporated as appropriate.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the driving support apparatus 100 of this example includes an inclination sensor 20 in addition to the cameras 1a to 1d and the like. The inclination sensor 20 is a sensor that detects the angle of the gradient of the traveling lane of the host vehicle, and detects the angle of the tire contact surface with respect to the horizontal plane. Information on the detection value of the inclination sensor 20 is transmitted to the control device 10.

  The monitor angle adjusting unit 120 adjusts the overhead angle according to the gradient of the traveling lane detected by the inclination sensor 20. For example, when displaying the traveling lane of the host vehicle on the tilted monitor 6, if the host vehicle is climbing a slope, the driver may not easily recognize the slope of the slope from the display screen of the monitor 6. is there. Therefore, in this example, the inclination is conspicuous on the display screen of the monitor 6 by adjusting the overhead angle of the overhead image displayed on the monitor 6.

  First, when the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjustment unit 112 is set, the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 sets the overhead angle so as to correspond to the monitor angle. The overhead angle adjustment unit 112 sets the overhead angle for adjustment by adding an angle corresponding to the gradient to the overhead angle set based on the monitor angle. The overhead angle for adjustment is the overhead angle of the overhead image displayed on the monitor 6.

  FIG. 13 shows characteristics of an angle corresponding to the gradient, that is, an angle added to the overhead angle set according to the monitor angle (hereinafter referred to as an addition angle). Note that the gradient indicated by the horizontal axis corresponds to the tilt angle detected by the tilt sensor 20.

When the angle of the gradient is smaller than the lower limit value (D _min ) of the gradient, the addition angle is zero. When the angle of the gradient is not less than the lower limit value (D _min ) and not more than the upper limit value (D _min ), the addition angle increases in proportion to the road gradient. When the gradient angle is larger than the upper limit value (D _max ) of the gradient, the addition angle is a constant value at the upper limit addition angle (E _max ).

The overhead angle adjustment unit 112 adjusts the overhead angle according to the gradient by setting the addition angle to 0 degrees when the angle of the gradient indicated by the detection value of the tilt sensor is smaller than the lower limit (D _min ). While prohibiting, the overhead angle according to the monitor angle is set to the overhead angle of the overhead image.

Moreover, when the angle of the gradient is greater than or equal to the lower limit value (D _min ) and less than or equal to the upper limit value (D _min ), the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 sets the addition angle corresponding to the angle of the gradient according to the characteristics illustrated in FIG. The angle obtained by adding the added angle to the overhead angle corresponding to the monitor angle is set as the overhead angle of the overhead image. Moreover, when the angle of the gradient is larger than the upper limit value (D _max ), the overhead angle adjustment unit 112 sets an angle obtained by adding the upper limit addition angle (E _max ) to the overhead angle corresponding to the monitor angle. Set to overhead angle.

  As described above, in this example, the overhead angle is adjusted according to the gradient of the traveling lane detected by the inclination sensor 20. Thereby, when the bird's-eye view image of the traveling lane having the gradient is displayed on the monitor 8, the illusion of the road gradient by the occupant can be prevented.

Further, in this example, when the lane gradient angle is within a predetermined range including 0 degrees (in FIG. 13, the gradient angle is within the range from 0 degrees to D _min ), the gradient is The adjustment of the bird's-eye view angle is prohibited, and the angle of the bird's-eye view is adjusted according to the gradient when the angle of the traveling lane gradient is out of the predetermined range. As a result, in this example, the overhead angle is not adjusted when the slope angle is near 0 degrees, so the overhead angle changes when the vehicle is traveling on a flat road or a road with a gentle slope. This prevents the display screen of the monitor 6 from flickering.

  In this example, an angle obtained by adding an angle corresponding to the gradient to the monitor angle of the monitor 6 is set as the overhead angle. Thereby, for example, during traveling on a road where the angle of the gradient gradually increases or decreases, the occupant can easily grasp the change in the gradient of the traveling vehicle from the change in the overhead image displayed on the monitor 6. .

  In this example, the inclination angle is detected by the inclination angle sensor 8, but the inclination angle may be detected by another sensor. For example, the inclination angle is detected based on the detection value of the acceleration sensor 5. May be.

  The inclination angle sensor 8 corresponds to the gradient detection means of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1a-1d ... Vehicle speed sensor 2 ... Radar 3 ... Vehicle speed sensor 6 ... Monitor 7 ... Gaze direction detection apparatus 10 ... Control apparatus 110 ... Neighborhood image control part 111 ... Neighborhood image generation part 112 ... Overhead image adjustment part 120 ... Monitor angle adjustment part

Claims (12)

Obtaining means for obtaining information around the host vehicle;
Using the information acquired by the acquisition means, an overhead image generation means for generating an overhead image viewed from a virtual viewpoint;
A monitor that displays the overhead image;
Monitor angle adjusting means for adjusting a monitor angle that is an angle between the display screen of the monitor and a predetermined plane;
A vehicle display device comprising: an overhead angle adjusting means for adjusting an overhead angle of the overhead image according to the monitor angle adjusted by the monitor angle adjusting means. The vehicle display device according to claim 1,
It further comprises gaze direction detection means for detecting the gaze direction of the occupant,
The display device for vehicles, wherein the monitor angle adjusting means adjusts the monitor angle according to the line-of-sight direction detected by the line-of-sight direction detecting means. The vehicle display device according to claim 1 or 2,
The overhead angle indicates an angle with respect to the direction in which the host vehicle is looked down from directly above,
The predetermined plane is a horizontal plane;
When the monitor angle is within a first predetermined range, the overhead angle adjustment means increases the overhead angle as the monitor angle increases. The vehicle display device according to claim 3,
The overhead view angle adjusting means sets the overhead view angle to a predetermined upper limit angle when the monitor angle is larger than the upper limit value of the first predetermined range. The vehicle display device according to claim 3 or 4,
The vehicular display device is characterized in that, when the monitor angle is smaller than a lower limit value of the first predetermined range, the overhead angle is set to a predetermined lower limit angle. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
Further comprising gradient detecting means for detecting the gradient of the traveling lane of the host vehicle,
The vehicle display device, wherein the overhead angle adjustment means adjusts the overhead angle in accordance with the gradient detected by the gradient detection means. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The overhead angle adjusting means is
When the angle of the gradient is within a second predetermined range including 0 degrees, the adjustment of the overhead angle according to the gradient is prohibited,
When the angle of the gradient is outside the second predetermined range, the overhead view angle is adjusted according to the gradient. The vehicle display device according to claim 6 or 7,
The vehicular display device, wherein the overhead angle adjusting means sets an angle obtained by adding an angle corresponding to the gradient to the monitor angle as the overhead angle. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
Vehicle speed detecting means for detecting the vehicle speed of the host vehicle,
The vehicle display device, wherein the overhead angle adjustment means increases the overhead angle as the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detection means increases. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
The vehicle further comprises traveling lane detecting means for detecting the traveling lane of the host vehicle,
The vehicular display device is characterized in that the bird's-eye view angle adjustment means reduces the bird's-eye view angle as the road width of the travel lane detected by the travel lane detection means is narrower. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 8,
An obstacle detection means for detecting an obstacle located in front of or behind the host vehicle;
The vehicle display device, wherein the overhead angle adjustment means decreases the overhead angle as the distance between the obstacle detected by the obstacle detection means and the host vehicle is shorter. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 11,
The vehicle display device, wherein the characteristic when the overhead angle increases and the characteristic when the overhead angle decreases are hysteresis characteristics.

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