JP2007191116A - Vehicular display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular display device capable of reducing cost while ensuring the function of adjusting the information display position. <P>SOLUTION: A projector 13 projects the projecting light as a partial image for expressing information to be transferred to a driver from a light emission area B. A combiner 15 is provided on an inner surface of a windshield glass 16 to allow the external light incident through the windshield glass 16 to be transmitted therethrough, and the projecting light from the projector 13 is reflected into a cabin to display the image. A display control unit adjust the display position of the partial image on the windshield glass 16 by changing the light emission position of the light emission area B on an effective area A of the projector 13. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device for a vehicle, and more particularly to adjustment of a display position of information on a head-up display.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are known vehicle display devices that display various driving support information such as out-of-vehicle monitoring information, navigation information, and alarm information obtained using a stereo camera, a laser, and the like in the vehicle. For example, in a head-up display device, a combiner, which is a transmissive reflector, is provided on the inner surface of the windshield, and the driver confirms objects such as a preceding vehicle and a pedestrian through the combiner and windshield, The image projected from the projector can be viewed. However, depending on the driver, it may be difficult to confirm the driving support information on the combiner. This is because the position of the mark (image showing driving support information) projected on the combiner is constant, even though the object looks different depending on the eye height. This is because a positional shift may occur.

  In order to solve such a problem, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a head-up display that adjusts the projection position of an image on a combiner according to the position of the driver's eyes.

In the head-up display of Patent Document 1, an image from a projector is projected onto a rotating mirror, and a projected image reflected by the mirror is projected on a combiner. The position of the image on the combiner is adjusted by changing the mirror angle by the motor. Further, the head-up display of Patent Document 2 is provided with a plurality of projectors having different image emission positions. The projection position on the combiner is changed by selecting and using one of the projectors.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-144082 JP 2004-168230 A

  However, since the head-up display of Patent Document 1 uses a mechanical structure called a rotating mirror for adjusting the projection position of the image, the configuration of the optical system and the mirror drive system is complicated, and the number of parts is increased. Further, since the head-up display of Patent Document 2 uses a plurality of projectors, the control system of the projector becomes complicated and the number of parts increases. As a result, both Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a problem that it is difficult to reduce the cost.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this situation, The objective is to provide the display apparatus for vehicles of a novel structure which can adjust an information display position.

  Another object of the present invention is to reduce the manufacturing cost by suppressing the complexity of the configuration and the increase in the number of parts.

  In order to solve this problem, the vehicle display device according to the present invention includes a projector, a combiner, and a display control unit. The projection light projected from the predetermined light emitting area of the projector forms an image representing information to be transmitted to the driver, particularly toward the vehicle interior. The combiner provided on the inner surface of the windshield reflects the projection light corresponding to the image toward the vehicle interior and displays the image. The display control unit changes the light emission position of the image on the light emission area of the projector, and thereby adjusts the display position of the image on the combiner.

  Such a vehicle display device may further include a reflector that reflects the projection light from the projector toward the combiner.

  These vehicle display devices further include an instruction unit that outputs a first signal indicating the operation amount operated by the driver, and the display control unit described above emits an image in accordance with the first signal. It is preferable that the change is made.

  In addition, these vehicle display devices further include a detection unit that detects the position of the driver's eyes and outputs a second signal indicating the detected eye position, and the display control unit includes the second signal. It is preferable that the light emission position of the image is changed according to the above.

  In this vehicular display device, the above information relates to an object in front of the host vehicle seen through the windshield, and the display control unit causes the object and the image to correspond in position on the windshield. In addition, it is desirable to change the light emission position of the image.

  In the vehicular display device as described above, the effective area where the projector can emit light has the light emitting area and the blank area, and the display control unit shifts the position of the light emitting area to the blank area side on the effective area. Thus, it is preferable to change the light emission position of the image. The light emitting area here is an area that can emit light according to an image, and the margin area is an area that is provided at least at a part around the light emitting area and is maintained in a non-light emitting state regardless of the image.

  According to the vehicle display device of the present invention, since the display position of information on the combiner is adjusted based on the processing in the display control unit, a complicated mechanical mechanism like a conventional head-up display device is required. As a result, the cost required for production can be further reduced.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a main hardware configuration of the vehicle display device 1 according to the first embodiment. The vehicle display device 1 attached to the vehicle has a vehicle exterior monitoring mechanism and a head-up display using stereo image processing, and improves the visibility of vehicle front information by the driver during night driving. The reflected light of the infrared light irradiated forward of the vehicle is imaged by an infrared camera, and this captured image is image-processed and then projected from the projector to the combiner.

  The headlight operation unit 2 shown in FIG. 1 is a switch that is manually turned on / off by the driver. As the headlight operation unit 2 is turned on, a pair of headlamps 3a and 3b, a pair of infrared auxiliary lamps 4a and 4b, and a display control unit 12 described later are turned on. .

  Headlamps 3a and 3b as projectors are respectively attached to the left and right front portions of the vehicle, and irradiate visible light in front of the vehicle. The infrared auxiliary lamp 4a is provided in the vicinity of the headlamp 3a attached to the right front part of the vehicle. The infrared auxiliary lamp 4b is provided in the vicinity of the headlamp 3b attached to the left front portion of the vehicle. These infrared auxiliary lights 4a and 4b irradiate infrared light ahead of the vehicle. The infrared auxiliary lamps 4a and 4b can be configured by attaching a visible light cut filter to a lamp such as a headlamp that emits visible light, but a near infrared LED (Light Emitting Diode) can also be used.

  The stereo camera 5 is attached in the vicinity of the interior mirror in the vehicle, and acquires monitoring information regarding road conditions and obstacles ahead of the vehicle. The stereo camera 5 includes a pair of infrared cameras 5a and 5b that are sensitive to infrared light, and images the front of the host vehicle under the irradiation of the headlamps 3a and 3b and the infrared auxiliary lamps 4a and 4b. Each of the cameras 5a and 5b incorporates an image sensor such as a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor or a CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor) sensor. The main camera 5a disposed on the right side in the traveling direction captures a reference image when performing stereo image processing, whereas the sub camera 5b disposed on the left side in the traveling direction displays a comparison image in synchronization with the main camera 5a. Take an image.

  The analog signal output from the main camera 5a is converted into digital data of a predetermined luminance gradation (for example, 256 gradation gray scale) by the A / D converter 6a, and is then sent to the image correction unit 7 as reference image data. Supplied. The analog signal output from the sub camera 5b is similarly converted into digital data by the A / D converter 6b, and then supplied to the image correction unit 7 as comparison image data.

  The image correction unit 7 performs image correction such as luminance correction and image geometric conversion on the reference image data and the comparison image data. Since there is usually an error caused by distortion of the body or the like at the mounting position of the infrared cameras 5a and 5b constituting the stereo camera 5, the captured image is also shifted. Geometric transformation such as affine transformation is performed to correct this deviation. After such image processing, the reference image data and comparison image data for one frame are output to the subsequent stereo matching unit 8 and stored in the image data memory 10.

  The stereo matching unit 8 calculates distance data related to the captured image for one frame based on the reference image data and the comparison image data. This distance data is a set of parallax d calculated for each small area (for example, 4 × 4 pixels) on the image plane defined by the image data. When calculating the parallax d of a certain pixel block (correlation source) in the reference image, a region (correlation destination) having a correlation with the luminance characteristic of the pixel block is specified in the comparison image.

  As is well known, the distance from the stereo camera 5 to the object appears as a horizontal shift amount between the reference image and the comparison image. Therefore, when searching for the correlation destination in the comparison image, it is only necessary to search on the same horizontal line (epipolar line) as the pixel block that is the correlation source. Further, the correlation between two pixel blocks can be evaluated by, for example, calculating a city block distance, and the pixel block having the minimum value is determined as the correlation destination. The amount of deviation between the correlation destination specified in this way and the correlation source is the parallax d. The distance data calculated through such processing, that is, a set of parallax d associated with the position on the image plane is stored in the distance data memory 9.

  Based on the distance data stored in the distance data memory 9, the microcomputer 11 refers to the image data stored in the image data memory 10 as necessary, and the object such as a preceding vehicle or a pedestrian existing in front of the host vehicle. Recognize and monitor objects, for example, monitor information (driving support information) to be transmitted to the driver, such as the behavior of the recognized object and the distance to the host vehicle, and send these information to the display control unit 12 at the subsequent stage Output.

  The display control unit 12 generates an image to be projected from the projector 13 based on the output of the microcomputer 11 and controls the display. The display control unit 12 controls the headlamps 3a, 3b and It operates when the infrared auxiliary lights 4a and 4b are turned on. With these operations, when the visibility in front of the vehicle is low, such as when driving at night, it is possible to smoothly transmit the driving support information to the driver. The display control unit 12 may be configured to operate independently from the headlight operation unit 2. The projector 13 is configured by a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) driven liquid crystal display, for example.

  The instruction unit 14 has an adjustment dial. The driver rotates the adjustment dial, and a signal indicating the amount of operation (indicated value of the image light emission position) is output to the display control unit 12, thereby changing the light emission position of the image. This change of the image emission position will be described in more detail.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the change of the light emission position of the image in the light emission area of the projector 13. FIG. 2A is a diagram for explaining a light emission image of the projector 13, and FIG. 2B is a diagram for explaining an image confirmed by the driver on the combiner 15. As shown in FIG. 2A, the projector 13 includes partial images C1 to C3 and D1 to D2 representing information to be transmitted to the driver in the light emitting area B in the effective area A that can emit light, which is a pixel set. 3 is projected. The light emitting area B has the same size as the effective area A in the horizontal direction, and is set smaller than the effective area A in the vertical direction. Here, the images C1 to C3 showing the frames indicate that the pedestrian and the two preceding vehicles are recognized by the processing by the microcomputer 11 described above. In addition, the images D1 to D3 indicate that the distance between each object and the host vehicle is 10 m, 8 m, and 36 m, respectively.

  When the driver operates the adjustment dial of the instruction unit 14 to output a vertical instruction value related to the light emission position of the light emission region B in the effective region A to the display control unit 12, the display control unit 12 displays the instruction value. Accordingly, the vertical light emission position of the light emission area B in the effective area A is set. Based on the light emission position set in this way, the projector 13 projects the light emission region B as projection light (emitted light). The display control unit 12 can change the light emission position of the light emission area B in the effective area A of the projector 13 in units of pixels.

  Depending on the height of the driver's eyes, the position of the object seen through the combiner 15 and the windshield 16 can be changed up and down. However, as shown in FIG. The adjustment dial of the instruction unit 14 is operated so that the light-emitting area B comes to a position where each object can be accommodated.

  More specifically, the optical path is changed as follows in accordance with the operation of these adjustment dials. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram regarding the optical path of the projection light from the projector 13. The projector 13 is installed inside the instrument panel so that the effective area A faces the upper surface, that is, the interior ceiling side, and the vertical direction of the effective area A shown in FIG. 2 corresponds to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, the combiner 15, which is a transmissive reflector, is provided on the inner surface of the windshield 16, transmits light from the outside incident through the windshield 16, and transmits projection light from the projector 13. Reflects towards the driver. Therefore, the driver visually recognizes the images C1 to 3 and D1 to 3 in the light emitting area B on the combiner 15 emitted from the effective area A of the projector 13 while confirming the front of the vehicle through the windshield 16 and the combiner 15. can do.

  When the light emitting area B is projected onto the combiner 15 as projection light from an arbitrary position within the effective area A of the projector 13, the projection light is reflected by the combiner 15, and the eyes of the driver at the position P Is incident on. As a result, the driver can visually recognize the virtual image of the light emitting area B through the combiner 15 in front of the vehicle.

  On the other hand, when the position P ′ of the driver's eyes is higher than the position P, the driver indicates that the light emission position in the vertical direction (left and right direction in FIG. 3) of the light emission area B in the effective area A is B ′. The instruction unit 14 is operated as follows. In response to this operation, the display control unit 12 controls the projector 13 so that the light emitting area B is projected from the position B ′. As a result, the reflection position of the projection light from the projector 13 in the combiner 15 moves upward, and the projection light reflected by the combiner 15 enters the eyes of the driver at the position P ′.

  As described above, in the vehicle display device 1, the driver operates the instruction unit 14 according to the eye height. Based on the instruction value from the instruction unit 14, the display control unit 12 changes the light emission position of the light emission area B in the effective area A of the projector 13 and changes the reflection position of the light emission area B on the combiner 15. As a result, information to be transmitted can be displayed on the windshield 16 at an optimum position for each driver.

  In particular, since the light emission position of the light emission area B in the effective area A of the projector 13 is changed by the control of the display control unit 12, an additional display position adjustment mechanism such as a mirror and a motor or a plurality of projectors is not required. The vehicle display device can reduce the size and cost.

  About the display control part 12, the projector 13 can be controlled so that the blank part except the light emission area | region B among the effective areas A may be maintained in a non-light-emission state. According to this, since nothing is displayed on the windshield 16 in the margin of the effective area A on the windshield 16 during night driving, it is prevented that the driver's field of view is obstructed, and visibility to the front of the vehicle is improved. Improvement is achieved.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram relating to the optical path of the projection light from the projector 13 in the vehicle display device according to the second embodiment. This vehicle display device is the same as the vehicle display device 1 of the first embodiment, except for the configuration, effects, and the like related to the installation position of the projector 13 and the reflection plate 17, and the description thereof is omitted. The projector 13 is installed inside the instrument panel so that the light emitting area faces the front of the vehicle (left side in FIG. 4) and the vertical direction of the light emitting area corresponds to the vertical direction of the vehicle. A reflector 17 that reflects the projection light from the projector 13 toward the combiner 15 is provided in front of the projector 13 in the instrument panel. Projection light as a partial image in the light emission region B from the projector 13 enters the eyes of the driver at the position P via the reflector 17 and the combiner 15. Here, when the driver operates the instruction unit 14 and the display control unit 12 shifts the light emission position of the light emission region B to B ′, the projection light as the light emission region B is transmitted through the reflector 17 and the combiner 15. Through the eyes of the driver at position P ′.

  In the present vehicle display device, the degree of freedom of the installation position of the projector 13 is improved by providing the reflecting plate 17. For example, the projector 13 can be installed at a position where direct sunlight inside the instrument panel is difficult to hit. When the projector 13 is configured by a liquid crystal display, irradiation of direct sunlight to the liquid crystal display is suppressed, and the durability of the projector 13 can be improved.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a vehicle display device according to the third embodiment. This vehicle display device is obtained by adding a detection unit 18 and a measurement unit 19 to the vehicle display device 1 according to the first embodiment, and the configuration, effects, etc. other than these are similar to those of the vehicle display device 1. And The detection unit 18 is, for example, an ultrasonic sensor attached to the ceiling in the vehicle, and detects the position (height) of the driver's eyes by measuring the distance from the ceiling to the driver's head, and the detection result. Is output to the display control unit 12. The display control unit 12 sets the light emission position of the image in the light emission region of the projector 13 in accordance with this signal from the detection unit 18. Thereby, the display position of information on the windshield 16 can be automatically set, and manual adjustment such as operation of the instruction unit 14 by the driver can be omitted.

  Specifically, the display control unit 12 calculates the time average of the distance from the ceiling to the driver's head, and sets the light emission position of the image using the time average value of this distance as an instruction value from the detection unit 18. It can be. Thereby, since variation in the distance from the ceiling to the head due to the movement of the driver's head within a short time can be prevented, the information display position on the windshield 16 is stabilized, and the driver Driving support information can be confirmed at a stable position without sudden movement.

  Further, the display control unit 12 sets the light emission position of the image by adding the instruction value according to the operation of the instruction unit 14 by the driver to the instruction value from the detection unit 18 so that the light emission position can be finely adjusted. The image information is transmitted to the driver at a more appropriate position.

  In the vehicle display device, a measuring unit 19 may be further provided. The measurement unit 19 is, for example, a vehicle speed sensor, measures the vehicle speed of the vehicle at a predetermined interval, and outputs the measurement result to the display control unit 12. The display control unit 12 sets the light emission position of the light emission region B according to the position of the eyes of the driver detected by the detection unit 18 when the vehicle speed measured by the measurement unit 19 is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. That is, when the vehicle speed is less than a predetermined value, such as when the vehicle is stopped or traveling at a low speed, the information display position is not automatically adjusted. Thus, the malfunction of the adjustment regarding the display position of information on the windshield 16 can be suppressed.

  In particular, the change of the light emission position by the display control unit 12 is based on the above-mentioned frame and distance related to these objects from the preceding vehicle, pedestrians, etc. seen from the driver through the windshield 16 (combiner 15). When the image to be displayed is positioned so as to correspond to the position as viewed from the driver, the visibility is effectively improved.

  Moreover, the detection part 18 is not limited to an ultrasonic sensor, What is necessary is just to be able to detect the position of a driver | operator's eyes (head, face, etc.). For example, the detection unit 18 may detect the position of the driver's eyes by irradiating near infrared rays and imaging the driver's face with a stereo camera.

1 is a block diagram of a vehicle display device according to a first embodiment. Explanatory drawing of the light emission position of the image in the light emission area of the projector Explanatory drawing regarding the optical path of the projection light from the projector in the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on 1st Embodiment. Explanatory drawing regarding the optical path of the projection light from the projector in the display apparatus for vehicles which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram of the display apparatus for vehicles concerning a 3rd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Display apparatus for vehicles 2 Headlight operation part 3a, 3b Headlight 4a, 4b Infrared auxiliary light 5 Stereo camera 5a Main camera 5b Sub camera 6a, 6b A / D converter 7 Image correction part 8 Stereo matching part 9 Distance data memory DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image data memory 11 Microcomputer 12 Display control part 13 Projector 14 Instruction part 15 Combiner 16 Windshield 17 Reflector 18 Detection part 19 Measurement part

Claims (6)

In a vehicle display device,
A projector that projects projection light that forms an image representing information to be transmitted to the driver from a predetermined light emitting area;
A combiner that is provided on the inner surface of the windshield and reflects the projection light from the projector toward the vehicle interior;
A display device for a vehicle, comprising: a display control unit that adjusts a display position of the image on the combiner by changing a light emission position of the image on the light emission region of the projector.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, further comprising a reflector that reflects the projection light from the projector toward the combiner. An instruction unit that outputs a first signal indicating an operation amount operated by the driver;
The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit changes a light emission position of the image according to the first signal. A detection unit that detects the position of the driver's eyes and outputs a second signal indicating the detected position of the eyes;
4. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the display control unit changes a light emission position of the image in accordance with the second signal. 5. The information relates to an object in front of the vehicle seen through the windshield,
The display control unit changes the light emission position of the image so that the object and the image correspond to each other in position on the windshield as viewed from the driver. The vehicle display device described. The effective area in which the projector can emit light is the light emitting area that emits light according to the image, and a blank area that is provided in at least part of the periphery of the light emitting area and is maintained in a non-light emitting state regardless of the image Have
The said display control part changes the light emission position of the said image by shifting the position of the said light emission area | region to the said margin area | region side on the said effective area | region. Vehicle display device.

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