JP2018016121A - Visual field control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow a visual line to be guided without troubling an operator by making use of saliency.SOLUTION: An outer edge of front window glass 1 for example as a visual field region is regulated by a pair of left and right front pillars 2, a roof 3 and an instrument panel 4. At a peripheral edge part of the front window glass 1 is provided a change region S11 in which saliency (visual saliency) can be partially enhanced by liquid crystals or the like for instance. Saliency at a site in a direction in which a visual line is guided of the region S11 is enhanced (for instance, a luminance difference is made large with respect to a visual scene in the front window glass 1). When it is determined that visual habituation occurs in the site whose saliency is enhanced, saliency is further enhanced or control contents to enhance saliency (for instance, color, luminance, movement, area, unevenness and the like) are changed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a visibility control device.

  An operator of a moving object, for example, a vehicle driver, performs driving while confirming the situation outside the vehicle through the front window glass. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228667 discloses a window frame shape of a front window glass that can be visually changed. That is, in Patent Document 1, a view changing region that can change the presence or absence of view restriction using a liquid crystal or the like is set at the periphery of the front window glass, for example, a vehicle running state, a road state, a vehicle peripheral state Accordingly, there is disclosed a technique in which the window frame shape of the front window glass can be visually changed by partially limiting the field of view.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-37201

  By the way, when a person visually observes a certain situation, if the visual feature amount called saliency is large (the saliency is high), the line of sight is easily guided to the specific part. The saliency is a visual feature amount consisting of saliency that changes every moment depending on the color, brightness, edge inclination, movement, and the like. That is, when the driver of the vehicle visually observes the front situation through the front window glass, the line of sight is likely to be spontaneously (unconsciously) guided toward a high saliency.

  On the other hand, in a vehicle as a moving object, for example, when the front situation is visually confirmed through a front window glass serving as a field of view, the driver's line-of-sight direction is greatly deviated from the object to be watched. It happens at random. For example, when driving straight ahead, it is likely that the line of sight is unconsciously turned toward a conspicuous object (eg, a large signboard that is lit) on the left and right roads. For this reason, guiding the driver's line of sight to the visual target to be watched is preferable for safe driving, etc. However, for example, guiding the direction of the line of sight by voice is bothersome for the driver. This is undesirable.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a visual field control device capable of guiding a line of sight without causing trouble for an operator of a moving object. .

In order to achieve the above object, the following solution is adopted in the present invention. That is, as described in claim 1,
A visual field control device in which an outer edge of a visual field area in a moving object is defined by a frame,
A saliency changing means for changing the saliency in the direction of increasing the saliency in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the viewing area;
Control means for controlling the saliency changing means to increase the saliency in the vicinity of the peripheral edge in the direction of the line of sight with respect to the operator, in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the visual field area;
Familiarity determining means for determining that the operator is visually accustomed to the site whose saliency has been increased by the control means;
A change means for changing the control content to increase the saliency or to increase the saliency when the habituation detection means determines that visual habituation of the operator has occurred.
It is supposed to be equipped with.

  According to the above-described solution method, the operator's line of sight is naturally (unconsciously) guided in the direction of the increased saliency by increasing the saliency of a predetermined part in the direction in which the sight line is to be guided in the visual field region. can do. Further, the line-of-sight guidance by increasing the saliency is a gentle line-of-sight guidance as compared with the case of the line-of-sight guidance by voice, so that it is prevented or suppressed from bothering the operator. Become. Also, if the same state continues for a long time as the state of increased saliency, the operator may experience visual habituation at the site where the saliency is increased and the gaze guidance function may be reduced, but visual habituation occurs. If it is determined that the saliency is increased, or the control content for increasing the saliency is changed, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the gaze guidance function.

A preferred mode based on the above solution is as described in claim 2 and the following. That is,
Imaging means for imaging a peripheral situation visually recognized by an operator of the moving object through the viewing area;
A distribution state detection unit that detects a distribution state of saliency in the field of view based on an image captured by the imaging unit;
Further comprising
The control means performs control for increasing the saliency in the direction of gaze guidance according to the saliency distribution state in the visual field area detected by the distribution state detection means.
(Corresponding to claim 2). In this case, since the control for increasing the saliency for gaze guidance is performed based on the distribution state of the saliency in the visual field region, the degree of increasing the saliency can be appropriately set. For example, when the peripheral part of the visual field region in the direction of gaze guidance is dark, the saliency is not increased unnecessarily, and conversely, when the peripheral part of the visual field region in the direction of gaze guidance is bright, This is extremely preferable for guiding the line of sight with an appropriate height of saliency without causing a lack of the degree of increasing the image quality.

The saliency changing means is set so that saliency can be increased at least at three locations of the left side edge, the right side edge and the upper edge of the field of view,
The control means controls to increase the saliency of at least one selected from the three locations;
(Corresponding to claim 3). In this case, it is preferable to perform line-of-sight guidance in the forward, left, and right directions.

  The familiarity detecting means determines that familiarity has occurred when a predetermined period has elapsed from a predetermined timing set in advance (corresponding to claim 4). In this case, it is preferable to easily determine whether visual habituation has occurred or not.

  The familiarity detecting means determines that familiarity has occurred every time a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of movement of the moving object (corresponding to claim 5). In this case, it is possible to more easily determine visual habituation.

  The familiarity detecting means determines that familiarity has occurred every time a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of control for increasing saliency by the control means (corresponding to claim 6). In this case, using the starting point of control at which saliency is increased as a starting point is preferable for improving determination accuracy while easily determining visual habituation.

The changing means increases the saliency step by step (corresponding to claim 7). In this case, visual habituation can be prevented by a simple method of gradually increasing saliency.
A visual field control device characterized by that.

  The change means is configured to change the control content by changing at least two kinds among color, brightness, movement, area, and presence / absence of unevenness (corresponding to claim 8). In this case, the level of saliency height can be changed over a wide range to effectively prevent visual habituation.

The field of view is the front windshield of the vehicle,
The operator is a vehicle driver;
(Corresponding to claim 9). In this case, it is preferable as the line-of-sight guidance in the vehicle. In particular, while there are many vehicles traveling, there are many opportunities to travel in a mixed state with pedestrians, motorcycles, other vehicles, etc. It is extremely preferable to be able to guide the line of sight without giving a thickness.

The field of view is one of a rear mirror, a side mirror, and a display that displays a set predetermined direction in a vehicle,
The operator is a vehicle driver;
(Corresponding to claim 10). In this case, the effect corresponding to claim 1 can be obtained for the visual field region serving as the indirect visual field.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to guide the line of sight without bothering the operator by effectively using the saliency that is easily visible to the human eye.

The figure which shows the front window glass part as a visual field area | region. The figure which shows the area | region setting example which can raise a saliency about front windshield. The figure which shows the state which raised the saliency of the side edge part of front wind glass. The figure which shows the state which raised the saliency of the upper edge part of the front window glass. The figure which shows the example of a control system of this invention. The flowchart which shows the example of control of this invention. The figure which shows another example of the state which raised the saliency of the side edge part of front wind glass. The figure which shows another example of the state which raised the saliency of the side edge part of front wind glass. The figure which shows another example of the state which raised the saliency of the side edge part of front wind glass.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the embodiments, a moving object is an example of an automobile which is a kind of vehicle. First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a front window glass of an automobile. An outer edge of the front window glass 1, that is, a window frame shape, is defined by a pair of left and right front pillars 2, a roof 3, and an instrument panel 4. In FIG. 1, 5 is a rearview mirror, 6 is a side mirror, and 7 is a display for a navigation device. The display 7 normally displays map information, but when the reverse gear is selected, the rear view is automatically displayed (display of an image captured by the rear camera). In addition, in the embodiment, the mirror that is used to project the indirect field of view such as the rearview mirror 5 and the side mirror 6 is an electronic display type (that is, a display) that projects the image captured by the camera. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the front window glass 1 is provided with a change area S <b> 11 capable of increasing saliency at the entire peripheral edge thereof. The change area S11 is configured to use a liquid crystal film or projection mapping, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, and can increase the saliency of an arbitrary part of the change area S11. It has become.

  In order to increase the saliency in the change area S11, the peripheral situation in the front window glass 1 (especially, the saliency distribution state indicated by the peripheral situation) and the luminance difference when a member existing in the vicinity of the peripheral portion is used as the background are increased. In addition to this, the color can be changed. For example, when the background is mainly gray or black, the change area S11 is displayed with a bright color (for example, yellow) with a large difference in brightness and with high brightness. The configuration for increasing the saliency of the peripheral portion of the front window glass 1 is performed by setting a liquid crystal film on the peripheral portion of the front window glass 1 or projecting light by projection mapping. For example, a liquid crystal film or LED illumination may be installed on the front edge of the front pillar 2, the inner edge of the front pillar 2 in the vehicle width direction, or the front edge of the instrument panel 4, or projection mapping may be performed.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the change region S11 is controlled to form a portion HR1 in which the saliency for the right edge of the front window glass 1 is increased (visual saliency is increased). The driver's line of sight is guided to the part HR that is considered to have a high saliency. That is, the setting of the part HR with high saliency is preferable when the driver's line of sight is guided to the right, for example, when turning right. When turning left, as shown by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 3, a portion HL <b> 1 with high saliency may be set for the left edge of the front window glass 1. The line-of-sight guidance in either the left or right direction can also be performed, for example, at the time of width adjustment (execution of control for increasing the saliency in the width alignment direction).

  Further, when there is an object to be visually observed on the right side, and the driver's line of sight is greatly deviated from the right direction, the part HR1 with high saliency can be set. Conversely, when there is a visual target to be watched on the left side, and the driver's line of sight is greatly deviated from the left direction, the part HL1 with high saliency can be set.

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the change area S11 is controlled to form a part HU having high saliency for the upper edge of the front window glass 1. By increasing the saliency of the part HU, the driver is guided to the line of sight toward the upper edge of the front window glass 1, that is, the front side. The setting as shown in FIG. 4 is preferable when traveling straight, particularly when traveling straight on an expressway (including a motorway). In particular, on highways, there are many lighting lamps that illuminate the road along the road, but it is preferable to guide the line of sight ahead without being disturbed by the lighting lamps on the left and right It becomes.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a control system for performing gaze guidance control using the change area S11. In FIG. 5, U is a controller (control unit) configured using a microcomputer. Signals from various sensors or devices S1 to S5 are input to the control unit U. S1 is a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed. S2 is a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle. S3 is a navigation device, and the vehicle position information (GPS function) and map information are acquired. S4 is an eye camera, which is provided at the front end of the roof 3, for example, and detects (images) the driver's line-of-sight direction. S5 is a camera outside the vehicle that captures the situation in front of the host vehicle, and is used to detect saliency in the image captured by the camera S5 outside the vehicle.

  The controller U controls the speaker S12 in addition to controlling the above-described change area S11 (such as liquid crystal constituting the change area). The speaker S12 is used to issue a warning by voice only when the driver is not visually recognizing the visual object to be watched and when it is dangerous.

  The controller U has two types of databases D1 and D2. Each of the databases D1 and D2 is configured by a large-capacity flash memory or hard disk. The database D1 stores a lot of data regarding the visual recognition object that the driver should pay attention to in the saliency. For example, the brake lamps of the preceding vehicle, the display of traffic lights, particularly the lighting-type road signs, oncoming vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles, pedestrians, etc. are stored as visual recognition objects.

  On the other hand, the database D2 stores a large number of saliencies that are not visually recognized objects. Examples of saliency that cannot be recognized by the driver are stored as saliency that is not required to be visually recognized, such as lighting signs beside the road, street lights, lighting, building windows, street trees, the sun, the moon, and stars. Has been. Note that the storage in the databases D1 and D2 is performed for each of various traveling scenes (for example, straight traveling, turning traveling, urban traveling, highway traveling, etc.).

  The controller U extracts the saliency from the image captured by the outside camera S5, collates the extracted saliency with the databases D1 and D2, and recognizes the visual object to be watched by the driver and the object that is unnecessary to be visually recognized. Divide into And according to this division, the visual recognition target object which a driver should look at according to a run scene is specified.

  Next, the types of control content for increasing saliency will be described. First, the HR1 in FIG. 3 and the HU in FIG. 4 are shown as the sites where the saliency is increased, but other cases such as those shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 can also be adopted.

  In FIG. 7, the site where the saliency is increased is shown as HR1-2 and corresponds to the site HR1 in FIG. 3. However, the part HR1-2 is in a state where the width is reduced (the area is reduced) and the saliency is reduced compared to the part HR1.

  In FIG. 8, the site with increased saliency is shown as HR1-3. Part HR1-3 in FIG. 8 is a state in which the inner peripheral edge of part HR1 shown in FIG. 3 is provided with knurled irregularities, and is more in a state where the saliency is further increased as compared with the case of part HR1. The

  In FIG. 10, the site with increased saliency is shown as HR1-4. The portions HR1-4 have a small vertical length, and are reciprocated in the vertical direction between a position indicated by a solid line and a position indicated by a broken line, and are extremely conspicuous.

  The examples shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 7 to 9 are merely examples, and in order to change the degree of increasing saliency (the degree of conspicuousness), any one or more of the various examples described above are used. It can be done by a combination of In other words, by appropriately changing any one or any combination of two or more of the color, brightness (luminance difference), unevenness (edge), movement, area, and the like, which are the control contents for increasing the saliency, It is possible to prevent visual habituation about the elevated part.

  Next, an example of control by the controller U will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In the following description, Q indicates a step. First, in Q1 of FIG. 6, signals from various sensors or devices S1 to S5 are input. Thereafter, in Q2, the driver's line-of-sight direction is calculated based on the detection result of the eye camera S4.

  After Q2, saliency is calculated at Q3. As described above, the processing in Q3 should be particularly focused on the saliency in the image captured by the outside camera S5 by dividing the saliency into a visual object to be watched by the driver and an object that is unnecessary to be visually recognized. This is a process for determining the visual recognition object. Further, in this process, the position of the visual target object to be watched (corresponding to the direction to be visually recognized at the position in the visual field region of the front window glass 1) is also determined.

  After Q3, the driving scene is determined at Q4. The processing at Q4 is to determine the current traveling state of the host vehicle. In the embodiment, at least whether or not the vehicle travels straight and turns (curves) is determined. The travel scene can be determined by a known appropriate method, and can be determined in consideration of operating conditions of sensors and switches not shown in FIG.

  After Q4, in Q5, the line-of-sight direction to be watched by the driver (the direction in which the line of sight should be gently guided so as to be guided unconsciously) is calculated. The process at Q5 is a process for setting the direction of the visual target that the driver acquired by the process at Q3 should watch. The line-of-sight direction to be watched is the direction with respect to the visual object to be emphasized most when there are a plurality of visual objects. In particular, when there is no object to be viewed, the line-of-sight direction to be watched is set according to the traveling scene in Q4. Specifically, for example, when driving on a curve, the curve direction of the curve can be set as the line-of-sight direction to be watched, and when driving straight on the highway, the line-of-sight direction to be focused on the far distance Can be set as

  After Q5, at Q6, it is determined whether or not the driver is looking at the line of sight to watch. If the determination in Q6 is NO, it is determined in Q7 whether or not a predetermined time (for example, 30 minutes) has elapsed since the vehicle started to travel. When the determination in Q7 is NO, in Q8, the saliency of the specific part at the position corresponding to the line-of-sight direction to be watched is increased in the peripheral portion of the front window glass 1.

  When the determination in Q7 is YES, it means that visual habituation has occurred or is highly likely to occur for the site with increased saliency. At this time, in Q9, in order to prevent visual habituation with respect to the site where the saliency is increased, for example, control is performed so that the saliency is further increased. In order to further increase the saliency, it is possible to increase the brightness or change the color to a more conspicuous color.

  If YES in Q6, the process returns because there is no particular need to guide the line of sight. However, when YES is determined in Q6, it is also possible to guide the line of sight according to the driving scene calculated in Q4 (for example, when driving in a curve, the line of sight is directed toward the curve direction). .

  When it is determined that the visually recognized object is particularly dangerous and the driver is not visually recognizing this dangerous visually recognized object, an alarm can be generated from the speaker S12.

  When a visual target to be watched by the driver appears in a state in which the visual line is guided according to the driving scene (for example, the visual line is guided in a curve direction), the visual line is directed toward the visual target object. Controls that increase saliency for guidance can also be performed. Specifically, for example, when the vehicle is traveling on a right curve, a visual object to be watched appears on the left side in a state where the saliency of the right edge of the front window glass 1 is increased, and this visual recognition is performed. When the driver's line of sight is not facing the object, the saliency of the left edge of the windshield 1 may be increased. In this case, when increasing the saliency of the left edge, it is preferable to temporarily interrupt the control for increasing the saliency of the right edge.

  In the process of Q9, instead of or in addition to increasing the saliency, the control content for increasing the saliency can be changed. That is, for example, in Q8, the saliency is increased by the color and brightness, whereas in Q9, the eyes are changed by incorporating movement, making irregularities, changing the area range (especially expanding), etc. To prevent visual habituation.

  Here, every time a predetermined time elapses from the start of traveling of the vehicle, it is possible to perform control to further increase the saliency. For this reason, every time a predetermined period of time elapses, the saliency is increased stepwise by, for example, a combination of color and brightness. It can be done accurately. When the upper limit for increasing saliency in steps of color and brightness is reached, further increase saliency by adopting any one of movement, unevenness, area expansion, or any combination of two or more. be able to.

  Further, prevention of visual habituation can be achieved not only by increasing saliency, but also by greatly changing the control content. For example, it is also possible to prevent visual habituation by performing a new movement while reducing the saliency due to the color and brightness while the saliency is increased by the color and brightness.

  The timing for increasing the saliency or changing the control content is a visual timing such as when a predetermined time elapses from the start of the control for increasing the saliency or when a control for increasing the saliency for another part is started. It is possible to carry out at an appropriate timing that is assumed to cause general habituation. In other words, the predetermined period that becomes a parameter when changing the saliency further or changing the control content and the starting time of the calculation can be set as appropriate. Further, whether or not visual familiarity has occurred can be determined based on the travel distance instead of using the time as a parameter, or based on the driver's pupil state detected by the eye camera S4. Etc., can be performed by an appropriate method.

  Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. The degree of increasing the saliency can be set so as to have at least a predetermined luminance difference, for example, from the relationship with the background (peripheral situation) in the visual field region. The lower edge of the field of view (for example, the front window glass 1) can also be controlled to increase the saliency (for example, when driving in an urban area where many pedestrians and motorcycles exist around the host vehicle, To guide your eyes). Similarly, the indirect fields of view of the rearview mirror 5, the side mirror 6, the display 7, etc. can be controlled to partially increase the saliency at the periphery. As the control content for increasing the saliency, an appropriate method such as blinking display can be adopted in addition to the above description.

  Various parts can be set as a part for increasing saliency. For example, it is possible to partially increase the saliency in the length direction of the side edge portion such as the intermediate portion in the vertical direction, the upper end portion, and the lower end portion without extending over the entire length of the side edge portion of the front window glass 1 (viewing area). . Similarly, with respect to the upper edge portion or the lower edge portion, the saliency can be partially increased in the length direction such as the intermediate portion in the left-right direction, the left end portion, and the right end portion without extending over the entire length. Further, in the case of the front window glass 1 as an example, when “the upper edge portion in the vehicle width direction left end portion + the left edge portion upper end portion” is used, it is possible to guide the line of sight in the diagonally upper left direction. In the case of “the upper edge portion of the upper edge portion in the vehicle width direction + the upper edge portion of the right edge portion”, it is possible to guide the line of sight in the diagonally upper right direction. Similarly, when the part that increases the saliency is “the left edge of the lower edge in the vehicle width direction + the lower edge of the left edge”, the line of sight can be guided diagonally to the lower left. In the case of “width direction right end portion + right end portion lower end portion”, the line of sight can be guided diagonally to the lower left. The present invention can be similarly applied to various moving objects (aircrafts, ships, trains, etc.) other than vehicles (automobiles). Of course, the object of the present invention is not limited to what is explicitly stated, but also implicitly includes providing what is substantially preferred or expressed as an advantage.

  The present invention makes it possible to guide the line of sight without bothering the operator by effectively utilizing the saliency that is easily noticeable by humans.

1: Front window glass (field of view)
2: Front pillar 3: Roof 4: Instrument panel 5: Rearview mirror 6: Side mirror 7: Display (field of view)
U: Controller S1: Vehicle speed sensor S2: Rudder angle sensor S3: Navigation device S4: Eye camera S5: Outside camera (for detecting saliency)
S11: Change area (liquid crystal)
S12: Speaker (for alarm)
D1: Database (stores the saliency that is the object of visual recognition)
D2: Database (stores saliency that is not visible)
HR1: (site with high saliency)
HL1: (site with high saliency)
HU: (site with high saliency)
HR1-2: (site with increased saliency)
HR1-3: (site with high saliency)
HR1-4: (site with high saliency)

Claims (10)

A visual field control device in which an outer edge of a visual field area in a moving object is defined by a frame,
A saliency changing means for changing the saliency in the direction of increasing the saliency in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the viewing area;
Control means for controlling the saliency changing means to increase the saliency in the vicinity of the peripheral edge in the direction of the line of sight with respect to the operator, in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the visual field area;
Familiarity determining means for determining that the operator is visually accustomed to the site whose saliency has been increased by the control means;
A change means for changing the control content to increase the saliency or to increase the saliency when the habituation detection means determines that visual habituation of the operator has occurred.
A visual field control device comprising: In claim 1,
Imaging means for imaging a peripheral situation visually recognized by an operator of the moving object through the viewing area;
A distribution state detection unit that detects a distribution state of saliency in the field of view based on an image captured by the imaging unit;
Further comprising
The control means performs control for increasing the saliency in the direction of gaze guidance according to the saliency distribution state in the visual field area detected by the distribution state detection means.
A visual field control device characterized by that. In claim 1 or claim 2,
The saliency changing means is set so that saliency can be increased at least at three locations of the left side edge, the right side edge and the upper edge of the field of view,
The control means controls to increase the saliency of at least one selected from the three locations;
A visual field control device characterized by that. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
The visual field control device according to claim 1, wherein the familiarity detecting unit determines that familiarity has occurred when a predetermined period has elapsed from a predetermined timing set in advance. In claim 4,
The visual field control device according to claim 1, wherein the familiarity detecting unit determines that familiarity has occurred every time a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of movement of the moving object. In claim 4,
The visual field control device according to claim 1, wherein the familiarity detecting unit determines that familiarity has occurred every time a predetermined time has elapsed since the control unit started control for increasing saliency. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 6,
The field-of-view control device characterized in that the changing means increases saliency step by step. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 7,
The visual field control device according to claim 1, wherein the changing means changes the control content by changing at least two kinds among color, luminance, movement, area, and presence / absence of unevenness. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 8,
The field of view is the front windshield of the vehicle,
The operator is a vehicle driver;
A visual field control device characterized by that. In any one of Claim 1 thru | or Claim 9,
The field of view is one of a rear mirror, a side mirror, and a display that displays a set predetermined direction in a vehicle,
The operator is a vehicle driver;
A visual field control device characterized by that.

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