JP2022001484A - Head-up display, control method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a head-up display which can suitably reduce burden on eyes of an observer without changing virtual image distance.SOLUTION: A head-up display 2 includes a light source unit 4, and a combiner 9. A control part 55 of the light source unit 4 recognizes a position of an attention object Obj on the basis of an image Im or the like acquired from a camera 3 for imaging a front scenery. The control part 55 displays a virtual image Iv so as to form an image at virtual image distance Lv previously set by a driver by the combiner 9. Moreover, the control part 55 displays at least one virtual image Iv at a position in the vicinity of the attention object Obj when the attention object Obj is positioned in a virtual image vicinity range Rn with the virtual image distance Lv as a reference.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a display technique for a head-up display.

In a head-up display or a head-mounted display that displays a virtual image superimposed on a front landscape, a technique for adjusting the virtual image distance, which is the distance from the observer's viewpoint to the virtual image, has been conventionally known. For example, in Patent Document 1, the distance from the viewpoint to the background is described in order to prevent the virtual image from being embedded and observed in the background when the actual background position is closer to the viewpoint than the virtual image position. A binocular head-mounted display that changes the virtual image distance is disclosed. Further, Patent Document 2 describes an optical reflector for near focus and an optical reflector for far focus in order to set a virtual image position at a near focus while the vehicle is stopped and a far focus at the same distance as the focal point when driving while the vehicle is running. A head-up display with an optical reflector is disclosed.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-139589 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-247180

In the head-up display, when the virtual image distance can be changed according to the distance from the viewpoint to the background as in Patent Document 1, as shown in Patent Document 2, an optical reflector for near focus and a far focus are used. It is necessary to provide both an optical reflector for the optical system, and there is a problem that the optical system becomes large.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a head-up display capable of suitably reducing the burden on the eyes of an observer without changing the virtual image distance. The main purpose is that.

The invention according to claim is a head-up display mounted on a moving body and displaying a virtual image superimposed on the front scenery, and is an acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object included in the front scenery, and the moving body. The control means is provided with a control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver, and the control means is within a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from the driver. When the object is located, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object.

Further, the invention according to claim is a control method executed by a head-up display mounted on a moving body and displaying a virtual image superimposed on a front landscape, and acquires a position of an object included in the front landscape. The acquisition step includes a control step of displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, and the control step is preset by the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including a distance, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object.

The invention according to claim is a program executed by a computer mounted on a moving body and controlling a head-up display for displaying a virtual image superimposed on the front landscape, and is a position of an object included in the front landscape. The computer is made to function as an acquisition means for acquiring the above and a control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, and the control means is the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from the above, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object.

The schematic configuration of the display system is shown. The schematic configuration of the navigation device is shown. The schematic configuration of a head-up display is shown. The schematic configuration of the light source unit is shown. Caution This is an example of the front scenery that can be seen from the driver's seat when no object is detected. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship between the attention object and a vehicle when the nearest attention object exists farther than the virtual image neighborhood range. A display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 6 is shown. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship between the attention object and a vehicle when the nearest attention object exists in the range near a virtual image. A first display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 8 is shown. A second display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 8 is shown. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship between the attention object and a vehicle when the nearest attention object exists closer than the virtual image neighborhood range. A first display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 11 is shown. A second display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 11 is shown. A modified example of the display of the combiner shown in FIG. 10 is shown. A modified example of the display of the combiner shown in FIG. 12 is shown.

In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, a head-up display mounted on a moving body and displaying a virtual image superimposed on a front landscape includes an acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object included in the front landscape and the movement. The control means includes a control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the body, and the control means has a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from the driver. When the object is located inside, the display means causes the display means to display at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object.

The head-up display includes acquisition means and control means. The acquisition means acquires the position of the object included in the forward landscape. The control means causes the display means to display the virtual image so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body. Further, the control means causes the display means to display at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object when the object is located within a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from the driver. Here, the "neighborhood position" indicates a position close to the extent that the driver can see the object and the virtual image at the same time. In this way, the head-up display displays a virtual image in the vicinity of the object when the distance from the driver to the object is close to the virtual image, so that the driver can see the virtual image and the object at the same time. .. As a result, the head-up display can suitably reduce the burden on the driver's eyes when visually recognizing the virtual image and the object without changing the virtual image distance.

In one aspect of the head-up display, the control means moves the display position of at least one of the virtual images being displayed to a position in the vicinity of the object. According to this aspect, the head-up display can preferably make the driver visually recognize the virtual image and the object.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control means hides at least one of the virtual images being displayed when the position of the object is closer to the driver than the predetermined distance range. Alternatively, the display position of the virtual image is moved to a position other than the position near the object. In general, when a virtual image and an object having different distances from the driver are visually recognized at the same time, the burden on the driver's eyes becomes large. Therefore, according to this aspect, the head-up display can suitably suppress the simultaneous viewing of virtual images and objects having different distances from the driver.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control means sets the display position of at least one of the virtual images being displayed when the position of the object is farther from the driver than the predetermined distance range. Move to a position near the object. In general, focusing between far focal points is less burdensome to the eyes, and this aspect allows the head-up display to preferably allow the driver to visually recognize the virtual image and the object.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control means causes an undisplayed virtual image to be displayed in the vicinity of the object when the object is located within the predetermined distance range. Also in this aspect, the head-up display can suitably visually recognize the virtual image and the object without imposing a burden on the driver's eyes.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control means determines whether or not a virtual image to be displayed in the vicinity of the object is superimposed on the object for each type of the object. According to this aspect, for example, the head-up display superimposes a virtual image on an object that is sufficiently visible even if a virtual image is superimposed, and displays the object without overlapping the virtual image on an object whose visibility deteriorates when the virtual image is superimposed. Can be done.

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, a control method performed by a head-up display mounted on a moving body and displaying a virtual image superimposed on a front landscape is to acquire the position of an object included in the front landscape. It has a step and a control step of displaying the virtual image on a display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, and the control step is preset by the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including a distance, the display means causes the display means to display at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object. By executing this control method, the head-up display can suitably reduce the burden on the driver's eyes when visually recognizing the virtual image and the object without changing the virtual image distance.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a program executed by a computer mounted on a moving body and controlling a head-up display for displaying a virtual image superimposed on the front landscape acquires the position of an object included in the front landscape. The computer is made to function as an acquisition means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, and the control means is previously provided by the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including a set distance, the display means causes the display means to display at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object. By executing this program, the head-up display can suitably reduce the burden on the driver's eyes when visually recognizing the virtual image and the object without changing the virtual image distance. Preferably, the program is stored in a storage medium.

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

[Rough configuration]
(1) System Configuration Figure 1 shows a configuration example of the display system 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the display system 100 is mounted on the vehicle Ve and includes a navigation device 1, a head-up display 2, and a camera 3. Instead of the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the head-up display 2 may have a function corresponding to the navigation device 1.

The navigation device 1 has a function of providing route guidance from a departure point to a destination. The navigation device 1 can be, for example, a stationary navigation device installed in the vehicle Ve, a PND (Portable Navigation Device), or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone.

The head-up display 2 is a device that generates an image (also referred to as a "guidance image") that displays information that assists driving, and visually recognizes the guidance image as a virtual image from the position (eye point) of the driver's eyes. .. As a guidance image, the head-up display 2 has, for example, an arrow indicating the direction of the guidance route, information on the guidance point such as a right / left turn point, information on the running of the vehicle Ve such as the vehicle speed, information indicating the position of the facility, and a forward direction. Information indicating that, and information related to traffic regulations are displayed. Various information necessary for generating a guidance image, such as guidance route information, is supplied to the head-up display 2 from the navigation device 1.

The camera 3 is fixed toward the front of the vehicle Ve, and generates an image (also referred to as “image Im”) of the front of the vehicle Ve at predetermined intervals. The camera 3 supplies the generated image Im to the head-up display 2. As will be described later, the head-up display 2 detects an object (also referred to as “attention object Obj”) included in the forward landscape that the driver should pay attention to based on the image Im. The object Obj is, for example, a vehicle ahead, a traffic light, a traffic sign, a person, or / and a facility. In this embodiment, the head-up display 2 detects a vehicle in front and a traffic light as an object of interest Obj. Preferably, the camera 3 is a stereo camera that captures the landscape in front from different directions. In this case, the head-up display 2 can also serve as a means for detecting the distance between the object of interest Obj and the vehicle Ve based on the image Im.

When the navigation device 1 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, the navigation device 1 may be held by a cradle or the like. In this case, the navigation device 1 may exchange information with the head-up display 2 via a cradle or the like. Further, the head-up display 2 may receive the image Im via the navigation device 1 instead of directly receiving the image Im from the camera 3. In this case, the camera 3 transmits the image Im to the navigation device 1, and the navigation device 1 transfers the image Im to the head-up display 2.

(2) Configuration of Navigation Device FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the navigation device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 1 includes an autonomous positioning device 10, a GPS receiver 18, a system controller 20, a disk drive 31, a data storage unit 36, a communication interface 37, a communication device 38, an interface 39, and a display unit 40. , A voice output unit 50, and an input device 60.

The self-supporting positioning device 10 includes an acceleration sensor 11, an angular velocity sensor 12, and a distance sensor 13. The acceleration sensor 11 is composed of, for example, a piezoelectric element, detects the acceleration of the vehicle Ve, and outputs acceleration data. The angular velocity sensor 12 is composed of, for example, a vibration gyro, detects the angular velocity of the vehicle Ve when the direction of the vehicle Ve is changed, and outputs angular velocity data and relative orientation data. The distance sensor 13 measures a vehicle speed pulse composed of a pulse signal generated with the rotation of the wheels of the vehicle Ve.

The GPS receiver 18 receives radio waves 19 that carry downlink data including positioning data from a plurality of GPS satellites. The positioning data is used to detect the absolute position (also referred to as "current position") of the vehicle Ve from the latitude and longitude information and the like.

The system controller 20 includes an interface 21, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 22, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, and controls the entire navigation device 1.

The interface 21 operates as an interface with the acceleration sensor 11, the angular velocity sensor 12, the distance sensor 13, and the GPS receiver 18. Then, from these, vehicle speed pulse, acceleration data, relative orientation data, angular velocity data, GPS positioning data, absolute orientation data and the like are input to the system controller 20. The CPU 22 controls the entire system controller 20. The ROM 23 has a non-volatile memory (not shown) in which a control program or the like for controlling the system controller 20 is stored. The RAM 24 readablely stores various data such as route data preset by the user via the input device 60, and provides a working area to the CPU 22.

The system controller 20, a disk drive 31 such as a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM drive, a data storage unit 36, a communication interface 37, a display unit 40, an audio output unit 50, and an input device 60 are mutually connected via a bus line 30. It is connected to the.

Under the control of the system controller 20, the disc drive 31 reads and outputs content data such as music data and video data from a disc 33 such as a CD or DVD. The disc drive 31 may be either a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM drive, or may be a CD- or DVD-compatible drive.

The data storage unit 36 is a unit composed of, for example, an HDD or the like, and stores various data used for navigation processing such as map data. The map data includes road data represented by a link corresponding to a road and a node corresponding to a connecting portion of the road, facility information related to each facility, and the like.

The communication device 38 is composed of, for example, an FM tuner, a beacon receiver, a mobile terminal, a dedicated communication module, and the like, and is distributed from a VICS (registered trademark, Vehicle Information Communication System) center via a communication interface 37. Receive road traffic information such as traffic information and other information. Further, the communication device 38 transmits various information used for navigation processing such as current position information acquired from the GPS receiver 18, information such as vehicle speed pulse acquired from the self-sustaining positioning device 10, and map data to the head-up display 2. do.

The display unit 40 displays various display data on a display device such as a display under the control of the system controller 20. Specifically, the system controller 20 reads map data from the data storage unit 36. The display unit 40 displays map data or the like read from the data storage unit 36 by the system controller 20 on the display screen. The display unit 40 includes a graphic controller 41 that controls the entire display unit 40 based on control data sent from the CPU 22 via the bus line 30, and a memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM), and can display image information immediately. It includes a buffer memory 42 that temporarily stores a buffer memory 42, a display control unit 43 that controls the display of a display 44 such as a liquid crystal display or a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) based on image data output from the graphic controller 41, and a display 44. .. The display 44 functions as an image display unit, and includes, for example, a liquid crystal display device having a diagonal of about 5 to 10 inches, and is mounted near the front panel in the vehicle.

Under the control of the system controller 20, the audio output unit 50 performs D / A (Digital to Analog) conversion of audio digital data transmitted from the CD-ROM drive 31, DVD-ROM 32, RAM 24, etc. via the bus line 30. The D / A converter 51 to be performed, the amplifier (AMP) 52 for amplifying the audio analog signal output from the D / A converter 51, and the speaker 53 for converting the amplified audio analog signal into audio and outputting it into the vehicle. It is configured in preparation.

The input device 60 includes keys, switches, buttons, a remote controller, a voice input device, and the like for inputting various commands and data. The input device 60 is arranged around the front panel and the display 44 of the main body of the in-vehicle electronic system mounted in the vehicle. When the display 44 is of the touch panel type, the touch panel provided on the display screen of the display 44 also functions as the input device 60.

(3) Configuration of the head-up display FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the head-up display 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the head-up display 2 according to the present embodiment is a vehicle Ve including a light source unit 4, a combiner 9, a front window 25, a ceiling portion 27, a bonnet 28, a dashboard 29, and the like. It is attached.

The light source unit 4 is installed on the ceiling portion 27 in the vehicle interior via the support members 5a and 5b, and emits light constituting a guide image showing information for assisting driving toward the combiner 9 to be emitted toward the combiner 9. The driver is made to visually recognize the virtual image "Iv" through. Hereinafter, as shown in the figure, the distance from the eye point Pe to the virtual image Iv is also referred to as “virtual image distance Lv”.

The combiner 9 projects the display image emitted from the light source unit 4 and reflects the display image to the driver's eye point "Pe" to display the display image as a virtual image Iv. The combiner 9 has a support shaft portion 8 installed on the ceiling portion 27, and rotates with the support shaft portion 8 as a support shaft. The support shaft portion 8 is installed, for example, in the vicinity of the ceiling portion 27 near the upper end of the front window 25, in other words, the position where the sun visor (not shown) for the driver is installed. The support shaft portion 8 may be installed in place of the above-mentioned sun visor. The combiner 9 is an example of the "display means" in the present invention.

(4) Configuration of Light Source Unit FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the light source unit 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the light source unit 3 has a light source 54, a control unit 55, and a communication unit 56.

The light source 54 has, for example, a laser light source of each color of red, blue, and green, and emits light (also referred to as “display light”) constituting a display image to be irradiated to the combiner 9 under the control of the control unit 55. ..

The communication unit 56 receives various information used for navigation processing from the navigation device 1 based on the control of the control unit 55. For example, the communication unit 56 receives information necessary for generating a guidance image, such as information on a guidance route and information on the current position, from the navigation device 1. Further, the communication unit 56 receives images Im from the camera 3 at predetermined intervals.

The control unit 55 has a CPU, a ROM for storing control programs and data executed by the CPU, a RAM for sequentially reading and writing various data as a work memory when the CPU operates, and the like, and is a general head-up display 2. Control.

The control unit 55 generates a guide image based on the information transmitted from the navigation device 1, and emits the display light constituting the guide image to the light source 54. Further, in this embodiment, the control unit 55 detects one or a plurality of attention objects Obj based on the image Im transmitted from the camera 3. Further, the control unit 55 is a distance between the detected object Obj and the vehicle Ve (strictly speaking, eye point Pe) based on the output of the image Im or various radars (not shown) (also referred to as “object distance Lo”). Recognize. Then, the control unit 55 appropriately changes the display position of the guide image to be displayed as the virtual image Iv on the combiner 9 while fixing the virtual image distance Lv. This is explained in detail in the Adjusting Display Position section.

Then, the control unit 55 functions as a "acquisition means", a "control means", and a computer for executing the program in the present invention.

[Adjustment of display position]
Next, a method of adjusting the display position of the guide image visually recognized as the virtual image Iv on the combiner 9 will be described. Generally, the control unit 55 determines the display position of the guide image to be displayed as the virtual image Iv based on the relationship between the object distance Lo and the virtual image distance Lv of the attention object Obj closest to the eye point Pe. As a result, the control unit 55 preferably visually recognizes both the object of interest Obj and the virtual image Iv without imposing a burden on the driver's eyes.

(1) When the object to be watched does not exist FIG. 5 is an example of the front scenery visually recognized from the driver's seat when the object to be watched Obj is not detected. In FIG. 5, the control unit 55 is the first guide indicating the direction in which the vehicle Ve should travel at the next right / left turn point (here, the right direction) and the distance to the next right / left turn point (here, 2 km) based on the guide route. The image 81 is displayed as a virtual image Iv at the lower left of the combiner 9. Further, the control unit 55 displays a second guide image 82 showing the speed of the vehicle Ve (here, 66 km / h) at the lower right of the combiner 9. In this way, when the control unit 55 does not detect the object of interest Obj, one or a plurality of (here, two) guide images displaying specific information are displayed at predetermined positions.

(2) When the object to be watched is farther than the range near the virtual image Next, the object to be watched Obj is detected, and the nearest object to be watched Obj detected is near the virtual image Iv with reference to the traveling direction of the vehicle Ve. The case where it exists farther than the range in (also referred to as "virtual image neighborhood range Rn") will be described. In this case, the control unit 55 displays a virtual image Iv showing at least one guide image in the vicinity of the nearest attention object Obj, considering that focusing between the far focal points is less burdensome to the eyes.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve when the nearest attention object Obj exists farther than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes the traffic light 91, which is the object of interest Obj, based on the image Im, and further calculates the object distance Lo. Further, the control unit 55 recognizes the virtual image distance Lv, which is a fixed value, by storing it in a memory or the like in advance. Then, the control unit 55 recognizes a range before and after a predetermined distance "L1" from the virtual image Iv with respect to the traveling direction of the vehicle Ve as a virtual image neighborhood range Rn based on the virtual image distance Lv. Here, the predetermined distance L1 is predetermined, for example, to a distance at which the driver can visually recognize an object within the virtual image neighborhood range Rn with the same perspective as the virtual image Iv, based on experiments and the like. Then, since the maximum distance (= Lv + L1) from the eye point Pe in the recognized virtual image neighborhood range Rn is shorter than the object distance Lo of the traffic light 91, the control unit 55 causes the traffic light 91 to be shorter than the virtual image neighborhood range Rn. Recognize that it exists in the distance.

FIG. 7 shows a display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81 at a position near the traffic light 91 visually recognized in the combiner 9. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes the area of the traffic light 91 visually recognized on the combiner 9 from the area of the traffic light 91 extracted from the image Im, and displays the first guide image 81 at a position in the vicinity thereof. At this time, the control unit 55 stores, for example, information indicating the correspondence between the display position in the image Im and the display position on the combiner 9 in advance, and by referring to the information, the combiner 9 Recognize the area of the traffic light 91 seen above.

In general, focusing between far focal points is less burdensome to the eyes. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 7, the driver can easily visually recognize the traffic light 91 and the first guide image 81, both of which are visually recognized at a relatively long distance, without burdening the eyes.

Further, in the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 55 does not change the display position of the second guide image 82 showing the vehicle speed from the case where the attention object Obj does not exist (see FIG. 5). That is, in the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 55 fixes the display position of the second guide image 82 regardless of the positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv, and sets the display position of the first guide image 81. Caution Change according to the positional relationship between the object Obj and the virtual image Iv. As described above, the control unit 55 may determine in advance whether or not to fix the display position of the guide image according to the type of information indicated by the guide image. As an example, an image showing the position of the facility by being displayed in association with the position of the facility existing in the front landscape visible from the driver's seat, and the direction such as which position in the front landscape corresponds to the east. It is not preferable that the position of the image showing the above is changed from the original display position. For such types of images, the display position may not be changed from the position where it should be displayed.

(3) Case where the attention object is within the virtual image neighborhood range Next, a case where the detected nearest attention object Obj is within the virtual image neighborhood range Rn will be described. In this case, since the positions of the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv in the front direction of the vehicle Ve are approximately the same, the control unit 55 has at least one virtual image Iv in the vicinity of the attention object Obj visually recognized on the combiner 9. Is displayed. As a result, the object of interest Obj and the virtual image Iv, which do not need to be focused in the distance, are displayed in the vicinity, and these are suitably visually recognized by the driver without burdening the eyes.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve when the nearest attention object Obj exists in the virtual image vicinity range Rn. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes the traffic light 91 and the track 92, which are the objects of interest Obj, based on the image Im, and further calculates the distance Lo of these objects. Then, the control unit 55 recognizes that the track 92 is the closest object of interest Obj based on the calculated object distance Lo. Then, the control unit 55 determines that the track 92 exists within the virtual image neighborhood range Rn because the difference between the object distance Lo corresponding to the track 92 and the virtual image distance Lv is within the predetermined distance L1.

FIG. 9 shows a first display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the first display example shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81 at a position in the vicinity of the truck 92 visually recognized in the combiner 9. As a result, the control unit 55 can display the truck 92 and the first guide image 81, which do not need to be focused in the distance, in the vicinity, and allow the driver to preferably visually recognize them without burdening the eyes. .. Further, the control unit 55 fixes the display position of the second guide image 82 showing the vehicle speed regardless of the presence or absence of the attention object Obj, as in the example of FIG. Further, as in the above description, the display position of the image showing the position of the facility and the image showing the orientation may not be changed from the position where the facility should be originally displayed.

FIG. 10 shows a second display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the second display example shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 55 recognizes that the truck 92 is a vehicle ahead by image recognition using the image Im, and displays a third guide image 83 showing the distance to the vehicle ahead. , Is newly displayed near the track 92. As described above, in the display example shown in FIG. 10, when the control unit 55 determines that the track 92, which is the closest object of attention Obj, exists within the virtual image neighborhood range Rn, the control unit 55 has not displayed it until then. The guide image 83 is displayed in the vicinity of the object of interest Obj. Even with this, the control unit 55 can suitably make the driver visually recognize the virtual image Iv and the object of interest Obj without imposing a burden on the driver's eyes.

(4) Case where the attention object Obj is closer to the virtual image neighborhood range Next, a case where the detected nearest attention object Obj exists at a position closer to the virtual image neighborhood range Rn will be described. In this case, the control unit 55 does not display the virtual image Iv in the vicinity of the nearest attention object Obj because the positions of the vehicle Ve in the traveling direction are different between the nearest attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv. This prevents the driver from simultaneously viewing the object of interest Obj and the virtual image Iv, which need to be focused in perspective.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve when the nearest attention object Obj exists closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes that the track 92 is the object of interest Obj and the object distance Lo with respect to the track 92 based on the image Im. Then, the control unit 55 determines that the track 92 exists closer to the virtual image neighborhood range Rn based on the object distance Lo corresponding to the track 92 and the virtual image distance Lv.

FIG. 12 shows a first display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the display example shown in FIG. 12, first, in the control unit 55, the display position of the first guide image 81 on the combiner 9 in the normal state, that is, the display position at the lower left of the combiner 9 (see FIG. 5) is the combiner 9. It is determined that the truck 92 is within a predetermined distance from the area of the truck 92 visually recognized above. The above-mentioned predetermined distance is determined based on an experiment or the like, for example, as a distance between displays where the driver may visually recognize two displays on the combiner 9 at the same time. Then, in this case, when the first guide image 81 is displayed at the normal display position (that is, the lower left of the combiner 9), the control unit 55 determines that the first guide image 81 is displayed in the vicinity of the truck 92. Therefore, in this case, the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81 at a position (here, the upper right on the combiner 9) separated from the area of the truck 92 visually recognized on the combiner 9 by a predetermined distance or more.

Generally, when the object of interest Obj is closer than the range Rn near the virtual image, the focal position of the virtual image Iv and the object of attention Obj are different in perspective. Therefore, in this case, when the virtual images Iv are displayed in the vicinity of the object of interest Obj, the driver tries to see them all at once, and the focus is placed on the eyes at the same time. In consideration of the above, in the example of FIG. 12, it is preferable that the control unit 55 puts a burden on the driver's eyes by displaying the first guide image 81 at a position on the combiner 9 away from the truck 92. Can be suppressed.

FIG. 13 shows a second display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the display example shown in FIG. 13, when the first guide image 81 is displayed at a normal position, the control unit 55 determines that the first guide image 81 is displayed in the vicinity of the track 92, and determines that the first guide image 81 is displayed in the vicinity of the track 92. The display is erased. In this way, the control unit 55 erases the display of the first guide image 81 in order to prevent the first guide image 81 from being displayed in the vicinity of the track 92. Even with this, the control unit 55 can prevent the guide image from being displayed in the vicinity of the attention object Obj, which is closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn, and can suitably suppress the burden on the driver's eyes.

As described above, the head-up display 2 according to the present embodiment includes a light source unit 4 and a combiner 9. The control unit 55 of the light source unit 4 recognizes the position of the object of interest Obj based on the image Im or the like acquired from the camera 3 that captures the landscape in front. Further, the control unit 55 causes the combiner 9 to display the virtual image Iv so as to form an image at a virtual image distance Lv set in advance from the driver. Further, the control unit 55 displays at least one virtual image Iv at a position near the attention object Obj when the attention object Obj is located within the virtual image neighborhood range Rn with respect to the virtual image distance Lv. As a result, the head-up display 2 can preferably make the driver visually recognize the virtual image Iv and the object of interest Obj without changing the virtual image distance Lv.
Further, in the examples of FIGS. 12 and 13, the control unit 55 continues to display the display position of the second guide image 82 indicating the vehicle speed without changing the display position. In this way, the control unit 55 continues to display the guide image without changing the display position even if the attention object Obj exists at a position closer to the virtual image neighborhood range Rn according to the type of information indicated by the guide image. Whether or not it may be determined in advance. Since it is not preferable to change the position of the image showing the position of the facility or the image showing the orientation from the original display position, if the object to be noted Obj is located closer to the virtual image neighborhood range Rn, it should be originally. The display may be erased without changing the position from the display position of.

[Modification example]
Hereinafter, a modification suitable for the above-mentioned embodiment will be described. The following modifications may be applied to the above-described embodiment in any combination.

(Modification 1)
In the display examples of FIGS. 9 and 10 used in the explanation of the section "(3) When the object to be watched is within the range near the virtual image", the control unit 55 is a guide image in the vicinity of the nearest object to be watched Obj. When displaying, the guide image was displayed at a position that does not overlap with the nearest object of interest Obj. Instead of this, the control unit 55 may display the guide image at a position overlapping the nearest attention object Obj in this case.

FIG. 14 shows a modified example of the display of the combiner 9 shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, the control unit 55 displays the third guide image 83 at a position overlapping the track 92. Even in this case, the control unit 55 simultaneously makes the driver visually recognize the truck 92 and the third guide image 83, which do not need to be focused in perspective, and the presence of the truck 92 and the third guide image 83 without burdening the eyes. 3 The content of the guide image 83 can be suitably recognized by the driver. Note that the control unit 55 may display the guide image at a position overlapping the nearest attention object Obj even when the nearest attention object Obj is farther than the virtual image neighborhood range Rn.

Further, preferably, the control unit 55 may determine whether or not to display the guide image in an overlapping manner for each type of the target object of interest Obj. For example, the control unit 55 displays the guide image in the vicinity of the traffic light without overlapping the guide image when the target for displaying the guide image in the vicinity is a traffic light, and guides the guide image when the target for displaying the guide image in the vicinity is a vehicle in front. The image may be superimposed on the vehicle in front.

(Modification 2)
When the attention object Obj is closer than the virtual image neighborhood range Rn, the control unit 55 changes the display position to a position near the other attention object Obj within the virtual image neighborhood range Rn or farther than the virtual image neighborhood range Rn. A guide image to be displayed may be displayed.

FIG. 15 shows a modified example of the display of the combiner 9 shown in FIG. In FIG. 15, instead of the truck 92, the passenger car 93, which is a vehicle in front, is traveling at a position closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. Further, in the example of FIG. 15, since the vehicle height of the passenger car 93 is lower than that of the truck 92, the traffic light 91 existing farther than the virtual image vicinity range Rn can also be visually recognized via the combiner 9.

In this case, the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81, which is displayed in the vicinity of the passenger car 93 in the normal display position, at a position that is not in the vicinity of the passenger car 93 and is far from the virtual image neighborhood range Rn. The first guide image 81 is displayed at a position near the signal 91, which is the object Obj. By doing so, the control unit 55 prevents the driver from visually recognizing the passenger car 93 and the first guide image 81, which need to be focused at a distance, at the same time, and even if they visually recognize the passenger car 93 and the first guide image 81 at the same time, the burden of focusing is burdened. The traffic light 91 and the first guide image 81 can be visually recognized at the same time.

(Modification 3)
In FIG. 3, the head-up display 2 has a combiner 9, and the driver is made to visually recognize the virtual image Iv based on the emitted light of the light source unit 4 reflected by the combiner 9. However, the configuration to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to this. Instead, the head-up display 2 may not have a combiner 9 and may allow the driver to visually recognize the virtual image Iv based on the emitted light of the light source unit 4 reflected by the windshield 25. In this case, the windshield 25 is an example of the "display means" in the present invention.

Further, the position of the light source unit 4 is not limited to the case where it is installed on the ceiling portion 27. Instead of this, the light source unit 4 may be installed on the dashboard 29 or may be installed inside the dashboard 29. When installed on the dashboard 29, the dashboard 29 is provided with a combiner 9 or the windshield 25 reflects light directly from the light source unit 4 to make the driver recognize the virtual image Iv. When installed in the dashboard, the dashboard 29 is provided with an opening for allowing light to pass through the combiner 9 or the windshield 25.

(Modification example 4)
The system controller 20 may execute a part of the processing of the control unit 55. For example, the system controller 20 may generate a guide image for display by the head-up display 2, and the light source unit 4 of the head-up display 2 may receive the guide image.

In another example, the system controller 20 may receive the image Im from the camera 3 from the communication device 38 instead of the head-up display 2, and perform the detection process of the attention object Obj and the measurement process of the object distance Lo. good. In this case, the system controller 20 transmits the detection result of the object of interest Obj and the measurement result of the object distance Lo to the head-up display 2 via the communication device 38.

In yet another example, the system controller 20, in addition to the detection process of the object Obj and the measurement process of the object distance Lo, the attention target is based on the measured object distance Lo as in the control unit 55 of the embodiment. The positional relationship between the object Obj and the virtual image vicinity range Rn may be recognized, and the display position of the guide image may be determined according to the positional relationship. In this case, the system controller 20 transmits the information for designating the display position of the guide image to the head-up display 2 by the communication device 38, so that the head-up display 2 displays the guide image at a predetermined position.

In this modification, the system controller 20 functions as an "acquisition means", a "control means", and a computer for executing a program in the present invention.

Further, the head-up display 2 may have a part or all of the functions of the navigation device 1. In this case, the light source unit 4 may have, for example, a memory for storing map data, sensors such as a GPS receiver, and the like.

1 Navigation device 2 Head-up display 4 Light source unit 9 Combiner 25 Windshield 28 Bonnet 29 Dashboard 100 Display system

Claims (1)

It is a head-up display that is mounted on a moving body and displays a virtual image superimposed on the landscape in front.
An acquisition means for acquiring the position of an object included in the front landscape, and
A control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body is provided.
When the object is located within a predetermined distance range in the vicinity of the virtual image with respect to the traveling direction of the moving body, the control means displays at least one virtual image on the display means on the display means. A head-up display characterized by displaying in the vicinity of an object.

Images