JP2019038371A - Display device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a display device that optimizes a visual field that an occupant can view with his/her naked eye in accordance with a running state of a vehicle, and can appropriately present information to the occupant.SOLUTION: A display device includes: a screen 110 provided forward of an occupant of a vehicle; projection means for projecting information on the screen; vehicle state determination means for determining a state of the vehicle; and display area control means for causing a position of an upper edge part 141 of a projection range 140 in the screen to displace in a vertical direction based on a determination result by the vehicle state determination means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device provided in front of an occupant of a vehicle such as an automobile, and in particular, optimizes the field of view that the occupant can see with the naked eye according to the running state of the vehicle and can appropriately present information to the occupant. About.

  In a vehicle such as an automobile, an image captured by an imaging device such as a camera is used so that a driver or other occupant during manual driving can easily recognize the situation around the host vehicle and reduce the monitoring burden. Various display devices to be presented are proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 describes a vehicle display device that displays an image obtained by capturing an image of the front of the host vehicle with an infrared camera on a head-up display.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-155307

When the vehicle is traveling at a low speed or when the vehicle is parked or stopped, it is preferable that the occupant has a wide field of view so that the periphery of the vehicle can be seen with the naked eye.
On the other hand, when the vehicle is traveling at high speed, when the road surface immediately before the host vehicle enters the field of view, the feeling of speed felt by the occupant is excessively emphasized, and there is a concern that the occupant may be feared.
Further, when traveling at high speed, a normal occupant tends to stare at a distance from when traveling at low speed. For this reason, when viewing an instrument or various display devices, the amount of line-of-sight movement from a state of staring in front of the host vehicle becomes large.
In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of optimizing the field of view that the occupant can see with the naked eye according to the traveling state of the vehicle and appropriately presenting information to the occupant. .

The present invention solves the above-described problems by the following means.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a screen provided in front of an occupant of a vehicle, a projection unit that projects information on the screen, a vehicle situation determination unit that discriminates the situation of the vehicle, and a projection range on the screen. A display device comprising: a display area control means for displacing the position of the edge portion in the vertical direction based on the determination result of the vehicle status determination means.
According to this, in a situation where it is preferable to limit the immediate field of view of the host vehicle, such as when driving at high speed, the occupant moves the front of the host vehicle by displacing the position of the upper edge of the projection range upward. The field of view that can be seen with the naked eye is moderately limited, and it is possible to prevent an excessive sense of speed and the accompanying fear.
In addition, by setting a portion where the field of view by the naked eye is blocked as the projection range, it is possible to visually recognize the information projected by the line of sight movement with few occupants.
The invention according to claim 2 is the display device according to claim 1, wherein the screen allows the occupant to see through the outside of the vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the vehicle situation determination unit has a function of detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle, and the display area control unit increases the position of the upper edge of the projection range by increasing the traveling speed. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is raised according to the movement speed and lowered according to the decrease in the traveling speed.
According to this, the restriction | limiting of the visual field at the time of the high speed driving | running | working mentioned above can be performed appropriately with a simple structure.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided display means provided in front of an occupant of a vehicle and capable of displaying information, vehicle status determination means for determining the status of the vehicle, and the position of the display means. The display device is characterized by comprising display means lifting / lowering means that is displaced in the vertical direction based on the determination result.
According to this, in a situation where it is preferable to limit the immediate field of view of the host vehicle, such as when driving at high speed, the front of the host vehicle can be visually observed by moving the position of the display device upward. Can restrict moderate visibility and prevent giving a feeling of excessive speed and fear associated therewith.
Further, by moving the display means to a place where the field of view by the naked eye is blocked, the information displayed by the line of sight movement with few occupants can be viewed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the vehicle status determination means has a function of detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle, and the display means elevating means raises the display means in accordance with an increase in the traveling speed. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the display device is lowered according to a decrease in the traveling speed.
According to this, the restriction | limiting of the visual field at the time of the high speed driving | running | working mentioned above can be performed appropriately with a simple structure.

The invention according to claim 6 is the display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information includes a front image indicating a situation in front of the host vehicle.
According to this, even when a part of the field of view visible with the naked eye is obstructed, it is possible to display information necessary for the occupant's own vehicle forward monitoring.

The invention according to claim 7 is the display device according to claim 6, wherein a field of view of the front image is reduced as the traveling speed increases.
According to this, appropriate information display can be performed by guiding an occupant's line of sight to an area that needs to be watched during high-speed traveling and not showing an excessively wide range of information.

The invention according to claim 8 is the display device according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the front image is set such that the lower region has a lower image update frequency than the upper region. is there.
The invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that in the front image, the lower area is displayed at a lower display magnification than the upper area. Display device.
According to each of these inventions, it is possible to prevent the movement of the subject in the field of view immediately before the host vehicle from appearing too fast, and to prevent the passenger from feeling afraid.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a display device capable of optimizing the field of view that the occupant can see with the naked eye according to the traveling state of the vehicle and appropriately presenting information to the occupant. .

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 1st Embodiment of the display apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows typically a crew member field of view of a vehicle provided with a display of a 1st embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the display apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically an example of the display image in the display apparatus of 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of 2nd Embodiment of the display apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows typically the passenger | crew view of a vehicle provided with the display apparatus of 2nd Embodiment.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a display device to which the present invention is applied will be described.
The display device according to the first embodiment is provided, for example, in an automobile such as a passenger car, and displays information such as an image in front of the host vehicle on an occupant.
Here, the occupant may be a driver in a vehicle that performs manual driving, and may be a person who is responsible for monitoring the surroundings of the host vehicle in a vehicle that performs automatic driving.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the display device of the first embodiment.
The display device 1 includes a camera 10, an image processing device 20, a head-up display device 30, a projection range setting device 40, a vehicle speed sensor 50, an engine control unit 60, a body integration unit 70, a navigation device 80, and the like. Yes.
The image processing device 20, the projection range setting device 40, the vehicle speed sensor 50, the engine control unit 60, the body integration unit 70, and the navigation device 80 can communicate with each other via a CAN communication system that is an in-vehicle LAN.

The camera 10 is an imaging device that images the front of the host vehicle.
The camera 10 includes a solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS and a driving device thereof, and an optical system such as a lens that forms a subject image on an imaging surface of the CMOS.
The camera 10 sequentially transmits image data of a moving image captured in front of the host vehicle to the image processing device 20.

The image processing device 20 performs various corrections such as brightness, contrast, color tone, distortion, etc. on the image data transmitted from the camera 10 and image processing such as extraction of a specific subject, and is displayed by the head-up display device 30. The image data of the display image is generated.
The image processing apparatus 20 also has a function of trimming a part of a range from a captured image of the camera 10 and adjusting a visual field (display range / view angle).
The image processing device 20 sequentially transmits the image data of the display image to the head-up display device 30.
In addition, the image processing device 20 may change the head-up display device 30 in place of the image in front of the host vehicle or together with the image in front of the host vehicle, the vehicle speed, the engine speed, the engine cooling water temperature, the fuel remaining amount, and other various indicators. Etc. are displayed.
In this case, the projection range by the head-up display 30 can be used as a pseudo instrument panel.

The head-up display device 30 projects a display image generated by the image processing device 20 using, for example, a windshield (windshield) provided at the front of a passenger compartment in which a passenger is accommodated as a screen (projection medium). is there.
The head-up display device 30 enlarges an image generated by a display housed in the instrument panel by an optical system having a magnifying glass and the like, projects the image on a windshield, and displays it as a virtual image in front of the occupant.
A projection apparatus having a display and an optical system is built in an instrument panel 120 described later.

The projection range setting device 40 sets a projection range 140 on the windshield 110 in the head-up display device 30.
The projection range setting device 40 has a function of displacing the position of the upper edge portion 141 of the projection range 140 of the head-up display device 30 in the vertical direction according to the traveling speed of the vehicle (vehicle speed V).
The projection range setting device 40 functions as display area control means in the present invention.
Such a function will be described in detail later.

The vehicle speed sensor 50 is provided adjacent to a hub portion to which a wheel is attached, and outputs a vehicle speed pulse signal proportional to the rotational speed of the wheel.
The vehicle speed pulse signal output from the vehicle speed sensor 50 is transmitted to the projection range setting device 40.
The projection range setting device 40 calculates the vehicle speed V based on the cycle of the vehicle speed pulse signal.
The vehicle speed sensor 50 functions as a vehicle state determination unit according to the present invention.

The engine control unit 60 controls the engine, which is a driving power source for the vehicle, and its auxiliary equipment.
The engine control unit 60 transmits information related to the engine speed (crankshaft rotation speed), the coolant temperature, and the like to the image processing apparatus 20.
Further, the engine control unit 60 has a diagnostic function for detecting an abnormality in the engine and the auxiliary machinery. When an abnormality is detected, the engine control unit 60 transmits information about the detected abnormality to the image processing device 20. When information related to the abnormality is transmitted to the image processing device 20, an alarm display is projected on the windshield 110 by the head-up display device 30.

The body integrated unit 70 is for comprehensively controlling various electrical components mounted on the vehicle.
Examples of electrical components controlled by the body integration unit 70 include instruments, lights, heaters, ventilators, air conditioners, airbag systems, wiper / washer systems, security systems, and the like.
The body integration unit 70 provides displayed information to the image generation device 20 when the projection range 140 of the head-up display device 30 is used as a pseudo instrument panel.

The navigation device 80 includes a positioning device having a GPS receiving device, a storage device that stores map data, an image generation device that generates a navigation display image, and the like.
The navigation device 80 measures the current position of the host vehicle and collates the measured current position with map data, and whether the road on which the host vehicle is traveling is a general road, a high-standard road such as an expressway, an automobile-only road, etc. It has a function of discriminating whether it is a road that allows high speed travel.
The navigation device 80 has a function of causing the head-up display device 30 to project a navigation screen onto the windshield 110 when the head-up display device 30 is not used for displaying an image ahead of the host vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an occupant field of view of the vehicle including the display device according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 2, the vehicle includes a windshield 110, an instrument panel 120, a steering wheel 130, and the like.
In addition, a projection range 140 of the head-up display device 30 is provided in a part of the windshield 110 in front of the occupant.

The windshield 110 is provided in front of the passenger compartment where the occupant is main.
The windshield 110 is seen through when the occupant views the front of the host vehicle with the naked eye.
The windshield 110 also functions as a screen on which a display image is projected by the head-up display device 30.

The instrument panel 120 is a member that is provided in the lower part of the windshield 110 in the passenger compartment and accommodates instruments, a navigation device 80, an air conditioner, and the like.
The instrument panel 120 incorporates a projection device for the head-up display device 30.

The steering wheel 130 is an annular input member that allows the occupant to perform a steering operation during manual driving.
The steering wheel 130 is attached to a protruding end portion (an end portion on the vehicle rear side) of a steering column (not shown) protruding from the lower part of the instrument panel 120 toward the occupant side.
The projection device of the head-up display 30 is disposed on the front side of the steering wheel 130.

The projection range 140 is provided in the lower part of the windshield 110 in the area in front of the occupant.
The projection range 140 is, for example, formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the occupant side, and is arranged so that the main part can be seen above the steering wheel 130 when viewed from the occupant.
The position of the upper edge 141 of the projection range 140 in the vertical direction is displaced according to the vehicle speed.
This point will be described in detail below.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the display device of the first embodiment.
Hereinafter, the steps will be described step by step.

<Step S01: Vehicle speed detection>
The projection range setting device 40 detects the current vehicle speed of the host vehicle based on the vehicle speed pulse signal transmitted from the vehicle speed sensor 50.
Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S02.

<Step S02: Determination of Projection Range Upper Position>
In the projection range setting device 40, the position of the upper edge portion 141 of the currently set projection range 140 is a low position for low-speed running (shown by a broken line in FIGS. 2 and 4), or for high-speed running. It is determined whether the position is high (indicated by a solid line in FIGS. 2 and 4).
When the position of the upper edge 141 is the low position, the process proceeds to step S03, and when the position is the high position, the process proceeds to step S04.

<Step S03: Vehicle speed judgment 1>
The projection range setting device 40 determines whether or not the current vehicle speed V is equal to or higher than a preset threshold value Vu.
When the vehicle speed V is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vu, the process proceeds to step S04 in order to raise the upper edge portion 141. When the vehicle speed V is less than the threshold value Vu, the upper edge portion 141 maintains the low position and the series of processing ends.

<Step S04: Projection Range Upper Position Increase>
The projection range setting device 40 changes the setting position of the upper edge 141 of the projection range 140 from the current low position to the high position.
The projection range setting device 40 transmits a signal instructing the displacement of the upper edge portion 141 to a high position to the image generation device 20 and the head-up display device 30.
As a result, the projection range 140 is enlarged by raising the upper edge portion 141, and the range in which the occupant can see with the naked eye through the windshield 110 is partially blocked and reduced (restricted).
At this time, the range in which the projection range 140 is enlarged is set to a position where the area immediately close to the host vehicle in the field of view through the windshield 110 is shielded when viewed from the viewpoint position of the passenger.
Thereafter, the series of processing is terminated.

<Step S05: Vehicle Speed Judgment 2>
The projection range setting device 40 determines whether or not the current vehicle speed V is less than or equal to a preset threshold value Vd (Vd <Vu).
If the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to the threshold value Vu, the process proceeds to step S06 in order to lower the upper edge portion 141. If the vehicle speed V is greater than the threshold value Vd, the upper edge portion 141 remains in the high position and the series of processing ends.

<Step S06: Projection Range Top Position Increase>
The projection range setting device 40 changes the setting position of the upper edge 141 of the projection range 140 from the current high position to the low position.
The projection range setting device 40 transmits a signal that instructs the image generation device 20 and the head-up display device 30 to move the upper edge portion 141 to a low position.
As a result, the projection range 140 is reduced when the upper edge portion 141 is lowered, and the range in which the occupant can see with the naked eye through the windshield 110 is enlarged.
Thereafter, the series of processing is terminated.

FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of a display image in the display device of the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the display image 200 is generated as an image indicating the situation ahead of the host vehicle (a forward image referred to in the present invention) based on an image obtained by capturing the front of the host vehicle.
As the display image 200, a real image obtained by performing predetermined image processing on an image captured by the camera 10 or computer graphics generated based on an image captured by the camera 10 can be used.
In the example shown in FIG. 4, the display image 200 displays a horizontal line H, a host vehicle travel lane 201, an oncoming lane 202, white lines 203, 204, 205, and the like.
Moreover, when a preceding vehicle, an oncoming vehicle, a pedestrian, a building, terrain, a sign, a traffic light, and the like are present, these images are also displayed.

  When the vehicle speed V is equal to or higher than the threshold value Vu and the upper edge portion 141 of the projection range 140 is raised, the display image 200 is automatically masked at the left and right end portions and the lower end portion as shown by broken lines in FIG. The image in front of the vehicle is not displayed, and the field of view (display range / angle of view) of the display image 200 is reduced.

A dividing line L that divides the display image 200 in the vertical direction is set in an area below the horizontal line H in the display image 200.
For example, the dividing line L is arranged along the horizontal direction.
In the display image 200, in the region below the dividing line L, the refresh rate, which is the frequency of image update, is lower than that in the upper region (the update frequency is sparse).
Further, the area below the dividing line L may be displayed so that the display magnification is smaller (wide angle) than the area above.

According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) During high-speed traveling, where it is preferable to limit the immediate field of view of the host vehicle, the front of the host vehicle can be viewed with the naked eye by displacing the position of the upper edge 141 of the projection range 140 upward. The field of view is moderately limited, and it is possible to prevent an excessive sense of speed and fear associated therewith.
Further, by setting a portion where the field of view with the naked eye is blocked as the projection range 140, it is possible to visually recognize the information projected by the line of sight movement with few occupants.
(2) By displaying an image in front of the host vehicle in the projection range 140, even if a part of the field of view that can be seen with the naked eye is blocked by the projected image, the occupant can monitor the front of the host vehicle. The necessary information can be displayed.
(3) By masking the peripheral part of the display image of the projection range 140 according to the increase in the vehicle speed and reducing the field of view, the sight line of the occupant is guided to an area that needs to be watched at high speed, and an excessively wide range Appropriate information display can be performed by not showing the information.
(4) By reducing the refresh rate of the area below the dividing line L in the display image 200 with respect to the upper area, it is possible to prevent the subject from moving too quickly in the field of view immediately before the host vehicle, It can prevent the passenger from feeling afraid.
The same effect can also be obtained when the area below the dividing line L is set to wide angle display (low magnification display).

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the display device to which the present invention is applied will be described.
In the second embodiment to be described below, portions that are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and differences are mainly described.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the display device according to the second embodiment.
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically illustrating an occupant field of view of a vehicle including the display device according to the second embodiment.
A display device 1A according to the second embodiment is replaced with a head-up display device 30 and a projection range setting device 40 in the display device 1 according to the first embodiment, and a display device 90, a display lifting / lowering drive device 91, and a display described below. A position setting device 100 is included.

The display device 90 is a display unit formed in a panel shape having, for example, a liquid crystal display device (LCD).
The display device 90 sequentially displays the display image 200 generated by the image processing device 20.
The display device 90 is attached to the upper part of the instrument panel 120 so that a main part can be seen above the steering wheel 130 when viewed from the passenger.
The display device 90 is attached to the instrument panel 120 so as to be vertically displaceable.

The display lifting / lowering drive device 91 drives the display device 90 to be displaced in the vertical direction with respect to the instrument panel 120.
The display lifting / lowering drive device 91 includes, for example, a motor, a reduction gear train, and a conversion mechanism that converts a rotational motion into a translational motion in the vertical direction.

The display position setting device 100 sets the position of the display device 90 in the vertical direction.
The display position setting device 100 controls the display raising / lowering driving device 91 to displace the display device 90 in the vertical direction according to the vehicle speed V detected by the vehicle speed sensor 50.
The display device 90 rises when the vehicle speed V is greater than or equal to the threshold value Vr and descends when the vehicle speed V is less than or equal to the threshold value Vd, substantially the same as the position of the upper edge portion 141 of the projection range 140 in the first embodiment. .
The display raising / lowering driving device 91 and the display position setting device 100 work together to function as the display means raising / lowering means according to the present invention.
Also in the second embodiment described above, substantially the same effect as the effect of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

(Modification)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the technical scope of the present invention.
(1) The configuration of the vehicle and the display device is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate.
For example, the functions realized by a plurality of devices in the embodiment may be realized by a single device, or the functions realized by a single device may be divided into a plurality of devices.
(2) In the embodiment, the upper edge of the projection range and the vertical position of the display are raised and lowered according to the vehicle speed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and these may be raised and lowered according to other traveling conditions of the vehicle. Good.
For example, when it is recognized that the vehicle is traveling on a high-standard road such as an expressway based on information from a navigation device or a toll collection system, the upper edge of the projection range and the display are raised. It may be.
(3) In the embodiment, an image obtained by capturing a state in front of the host vehicle is used as the display image. However, the display image is not limited to this and can be changed as appropriate.
For example, information on the state of the vehicle such as an image obtained by bird's-eye view of the host vehicle (a plurality of live-action images are synthesized or generated by computer graphics), a navigation image generated by the navigation device, vehicle speed, engine speed, etc. Information displayed on the instrument panel in the vehicle may be displayed.
Further, in a vehicle that performs fully automatic driving at level 4 or higher, an image, a video, or the like provided from an entertainment system may be displayed.
(4) In the first embodiment, an image is directly projected on the windshield by the head-up display. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a screen made of a transparent member independent of the windshield is provided to provide an image. May be projected.
(5) In the second embodiment, a liquid crystal display device (LCD) is used as the display means. However, the specific configuration of the display means is not limited to this, and other types of displays such as an organic EL display are used. May be.
In addition, a so-called transparent display that can be seen through when an image or the like is not displayed may be used.
In this case, both the display device itself and the upper edge of the display range inside the display may be moved up and down.
(6) In the embodiment, the position of the upper edge of the projection range and the position of the display are changed in two stages of the high position and the low position, but are changed in three stages or more, or continuously. You may make it make it.
In addition, the extent to which the field of vision should be shielded when traveling at high speeds varies depending on the physique and seating posture of the occupant, so the position of the upper edge of the projection range and the position of the display must be adjusted by the user. Is preferably possible.
Further, the viewpoint position of the occupant may be detected using the occupant monitoring device, and may be automatically adjusted according to the detected viewpoint position.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display apparatus 10 Camera 20 Image display apparatus 30 Head-up display apparatus 40 Projection range setting apparatus 50 Vehicle speed sensor 60 Engine control unit 70 Body integration unit 80 Navigation apparatus 90 Display apparatus 91 Display raising / lowering drive apparatus 100 Display position setting apparatus 110 Front glass 120 Instrument panel 130 Steering wheel 140 Projection range 141 Upper edge 200 Display image H Horizontal line L Dividing line 201 Own vehicle travel lane 202 Oncoming lane 203 to 205 White line

Claims (9)

A screen provided in front of a vehicle occupant;
Projecting means for projecting information onto the screen;
Vehicle status determination means for determining the status of the vehicle;
A display device comprising: display area control means for displacing the position of the upper edge of the projection range on the screen in the vertical direction based on the determination result of the vehicle condition determination means. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the occupant can see through the exterior of the vehicle. The vehicle status determination means has a function of detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The said display area control means raises the position of the upper edge part of the said projection range according to the increase in the said travel speed, and descends according to the decrease in the said travel speed. 2. The display device according to 2. Display means provided in front of a vehicle occupant and capable of displaying information;
Vehicle status determination means for determining the status of the vehicle;
A display device comprising: display means lifting / lowering means for displacing the position of the display means in the vertical direction based on the determination result of the vehicle state determination means. The vehicle status determination means has a function of detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle,
The display device according to claim 4, wherein the display unit elevating unit raises the display unit according to an increase in the traveling speed and lowers the display unit according to a decrease in the traveling speed. The display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the information includes a front image indicating a situation ahead of the host vehicle. The display device according to claim 6, wherein a field of view of the front image is reduced as the traveling speed increases. 8. The display device according to claim 6, wherein the front image is set such that a lower region has a lower image update frequency than an upper region. 9. The display device according to any one of claims 6 to 8, wherein the front image is displayed at a lower display magnification in a lower area than in an upper area.

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