JP4552747B2 - Vehicle display apparatus and method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device and method mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile.

As a conventional technique for maintaining the driver's attention during monotonous driving of a vehicle, for example, there is a “slumber driving prevention device” described in Patent Document 1 below.
In this device, by monitoring the driver, the consciousness reduction detection unit detects the degree of consciousness reduction of the driver. The determination control unit examines a change pattern of consciousness deterioration over time, in particular, a change pattern of consciousness decrease after awakening, based on a signal supplied from the consciousness decrease detection unit. Then, from this change pattern, it is determined whether the cause of the decrease in consciousness is due to monotonous driving or due to fatigue or lack of sleep. If it is caused by monotonous driving, the alarm and awakening are repeated, and if it is caused by fatigue or lack of sleep, the vehicle is forcibly stopped.

JP-A-6-107031

However, in such a conventional device, the reduction of consciousness → alarm or awakening is repeated, and the consciousness reduction itself unpleasant to the driver cannot be prevented.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to prevent a driver from feeling uncomfortable at the time of monotonous driving of the vehicle, and to improve the driver's concentration on driving, It is an object of the present invention to provide a vehicle display device and method capable of maintaining the driver's attention.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a flow display presenting means for presenting a flow display in which an image constituted by a display entity changes with time in a driver's field of view in conjunction with the movement of the host vehicle. And a monotonous operation identifying means for identifying monotonous operation of the vehicle, and is configured to present the flow display in which the display position of the display entity changes with time during the monotonous operation of the vehicle.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, at the time of monotonous driving of a vehicle, the display apparatus for vehicles which can prevent the driver | operator's unpleasant fall of consciousness, can improve the driver | operator's concentration with respect to a driving | operation, and can maintain a driver | operator's attention. And methods can be provided.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, components having the same function are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof is omitted.
1-18 is a figure explaining embodiment of this invention.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a vehicle display device according to the present embodiment.
In the figure, 1 is an ECU (Electronic Control Unit), 2 is a fluid display control device, 3 is a projector installed in the vehicle interior, 4 is a dashboard in the vehicle interior which is a projection plane, and 5 is a vehicle installed near the vehicle interior. Infrared illumination (near infrared light source), 6 is a CCD camera installed in the passenger compartment, 7 is a driver wakefulness estimation (or measurement) device, 8 is a seat vibration device, (I) is a monotonous driving determination calculation, (II) is a basic flow display calculation, (III) is a display attribute determination calculation, and (IV) is an output calculation.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the installation position and appearance of the projector 3, the dashboard 4, the near-infrared illumination 5, and the CCD camera 6 of the display device for a vehicle according to the present embodiment, where (a) is a side view and (b). Is a top view.
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a projector 3 installed on the ceiling of the vehicle interior can project a fluid display linked to the vehicle movement onto the dashboard 4 that is a vehicle interior structure, and the vehicle speed is almost the same. During a monotonous operation that is constant, a flow display in which a display pattern or a flow rate changes with time is projected at random time intervals. In addition, the seat vibration device 8 applies vibration stimulation to the driver in synchronization with the time change of the flow display, thereby changing the driver's surrounding environment, maintaining the driver's attention, and driving By providing the driver's attention to the driver's sense of self-motion, a vehicle display device and method that improve the driver's ability to concentrate on driving operations are provided.

  The ECU 1 outputs the vehicle speed and yaw rate signals of the host vehicle to the flow display control device 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the near-infrared illumination 5 and the CCD camera 6 are attached to the upper part of a meter (not shown) in front of the driver. The near-infrared illumination 5 and the CCD camera 6 are used to capture a driver's clear face image regardless of day and night, and an image signal is output to the driver arousal level estimation device 7. The driver awakening level estimation device 7 estimates the driver's awakening level based on the driver's face image, particularly an image of the eyeball portion. When the driver's arousal level estimation device 7 detects a decrease in the arousal level, a signal indicating a reduction in the arousal level is output to the flow display control device 2. The specific configuration and algorithm of the driver arousal level estimation device 7 are based on known techniques (for example, refer to Japanese Patent No. 3116638).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the flow display control device 2 determines a monotonous driving state based on a change in the vehicle speed of the host vehicle output from the ECU 1 (I) a monotonous driving determination calculation, a flow display linked to the movement of the host vehicle. (II) Basic flow display calculation, display attribute of flow display, that is, display pattern (at least one of display pattern luminance, color, shape, size, density, display portion constituting flow display) (III) display attribute determination calculation, flow display on / off signal, and sheet vibration signal from the sheet vibration device 8 synchronized with the temporal change of the flow display, respectively. 3. Four processes of (IV) output calculation output to the sheet vibration device 8 are executed. Details of each process will be described later.

  The entity of the fluid display control device 2 is a high-performance arithmetic device including a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), and includes an interface circuit, a graphics circuit, a video memory, and the like. The image projected from the projector 3 in the passenger compartment is formed as a real image on the dashboard 4 which is the projection surface, and is visually recognized by the driver.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the projector 3 is installed on the ceiling in the passenger compartment and almost above the driver, and projects an image on the dashboard 4 in front of the driver.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the projection surface 31 viewed from the viewpoint of the driver.
The viewing angle range of the projection plane 31 from the viewpoint of the driver on the projection plane is as shown in FIG. Since the projection surface 31 is projected from the front of the driver in a range of a lower angle of 15 ° or more, an image is projected on the peripheral visual field in the field of view during normal driving. Henceforth, the description regarding correction | amendment of a projection image is abbreviate | omitted on the assumption that the dashboard 4 is a horizontal surface.

  FIG. 4 is a view showing an installation position of the sheet vibration device 8. The seat vibration device 8 is a device in which an eccentric rotor having an asymmetric mass distribution with respect to a rotation axis is driven by a motor, and is installed in a driver's seat cushion 41 as shown in FIG. When the eccentric rotor rotates by driving the motor, a vibration stimulus having a frequency proportional to the motor rotational speed is given to the driver by the inertial force based on the asymmetric mass distribution.

<(I) Calculation details of monotonic operation determination calculation>
Next, calculation contents of (I) monotonous operation determination calculation in the flow display control device 2 will be described. (I) The monotonous driving determination calculation is a calculation process for determining that the driver is performing monotonous driving when the vehicle speed is constant for a predetermined time.
Specifically, it is as shown in the processing flow of FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a processing flow of (I) monotonous operation determination calculation.

  First, in S501, if the difference between the vehicle speed (V) input from the ECU 1 and the previous value (Vb) is smaller than the threshold value (dVs), the counter is incremented (counted up) in S502, assuming that there is no vehicle speed fluctuation, In other cases (when the vehicle speed fluctuates), the counter is reset in S503. In S504, if the counter exceeds the predetermined number of times (Cs), it is determined that there is no fluctuation in the vehicle speed for a certain period of time, and monotonous operation is determined in S505. Otherwise, it is determined in S506 that the operation is non-monotonic.

<(II) Calculation contents of basic flow display calculation>
Next, calculation contents of (II) basic flow display calculation in the flow display control device 2 will be described. (II) The basic flow display calculation is a calculation process for displaying a display entity such as a dot on the projection surface on the dashboard 4 that moves in the same manner as the flow of the ground texture when viewed from the driver. is there.
A coordinate system used in the following description is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, s is a distance from the front end of the projection surface to the driver.
With the driver viewpoint (design point) as the origin, the right side is the X direction, the front is the Y direction, and the upper is the Z direction. Further, the ground clearance of h _e driver's _viewpoint, the Z-direction length of the projection surface and the driver's viewpoint and h _d.

FIG. 7A is a side view showing the relationship between the flow display on the projection surface and the flow on the road surface, and FIG. 8B is a top view.
In order to realize the same movement as the ground flow from the viewpoint of the driver by display on the projection plane, the velocity vector (vx _d , vy _d ) at the display position (x _d , y _d ) on the projection plane, ( x _d, that is the line-of-sight direction of the _{y d)} intersects the ground _(x e, velocity vector _(vx e in _{y e),} vy _e) is, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, consistent with the viewing angle in the driver's viewpoint There is a need to.

From these requirements, (x _d , y _d ) and (vx _d , vy _d ) satisfy the following vector equation.
(X _d , y _d ) = h _d / h _e · (x _e , y _e ) (1)
(Vx _d , vy _d ) = h _d / h _e (vx _e , vy _e ) (2)
FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between vehicle motion (when turning) and road surface flow. As shown in FIG. 9, assuming that the vehicle motion is a mass system motion centered on the driver's viewpoint, the vehicle speed V and the yaw rate r (right turn is a positive value) input from the ECU 1 are used to generate a point (x _e , Y _e ), the velocity vector (vx _e , vy _e ) is expressed by the following vector equation.

_{(Vx e, vy e) =} r · R e (-sinθ e, cosθ e) ... (3)
Where R _e = ((x _e −V / r) ² + y _e ² ) ^1/2 , θ _e = tan ⁻¹ (y _e / (x _e −V / r))
From the vector equations (1), (2), and (3), the velocity vector (vx _d , vy _d ) at the display position (x _d , y _d ) of the projection plane during the vehicle motion at the vehicle speed V and the yaw rate r is as follows: It can be expressed by the following vector equation.

_{(Vx d, vy d) =} h d / h e · r · R e (-sinθ e, cosθ e) ... (4)
However, R _e = (((h _e / h _d ) x _d −V / r) ² + ((h _e / h _d ) y _d ) ² ) ^1/2 , θ _e = tan ⁻¹ ((h _e / H _d ) y _d / ((h _e / h _d ) x _d −V / r))
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the relationship between vehicle motion (when traveling straight) and ground flow.
As shown in FIG. 10, in the case of straight ahead (r = 0), if r → 0 in equation (4), it can be expressed by the following vector equation, and a constant velocity vector and Become.

(Vx _d , vy _d ) → (0, −h _d / h _e · V) (5)
From the above, using (4) or (5), the moving component of the display entity at each position on the projection plane is set to Δt · (vx _d , vy _d ) (Δt is the display update cycle). As a result, it is possible to display a display entity such as a dot on the projection surface on the dashboard 4 that moves in the same manner as the flow of the texture of the running ground. The brightness, color, shape, size, density, display area, etc. of the display entity constituting the flow velocity and the flow display may be freely set within a range in which the visibility of the flow display can be secured. Further, the initial appearance position of the display entity is randomly arranged at the front end (wind shield side) of the projection range, so that natural fluid display can be performed.
FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 are diagrams showing examples of basic flow display displayed on the projection plane viewed from the driver's point of view when traveling straight and turning right, respectively.
When the basic flow display determined by the above method is projected on the projection surface, for example, the flow display as shown in FIG. 11 is obtained when driving straight and FIG. 12 is displayed when turning right.

<(III) Calculation contents of display attribute determination calculation>
Next, calculation contents of (III) display attribute determination calculation in the flow display control device 2 will be described. (III) The display attribute determination calculation is a calculation process for improving the driver's attention maintenance effect by changing the flow display at random time intervals and not allowing the driver to predict the change of the flow display.

  FIG. 13 is a determination table for determining a flow display pattern (that is, a display attribute). Here, when simply referred to as “pattern”, it includes a display pattern composed of at least one combination of luminance, color, shape, size, density, display portion, etc. of a display entity constituting a flow display and a flow velocity. .

  As shown in FIG. 13, the flow display pattern is as follows: flow rate (high, constant speed, low), luminance (high, low), color (white, green), shape (circle, rhombus), size (large, small). , Density (large, small), and display part (whole, side).

  Regarding the flow velocity, the flow velocity corresponding to the actual vehicle speed of the host vehicle is set to “constant velocity”, the flow velocity setting faster than the constant velocity is set to “high”, and the flow velocity setting slower than the constant velocity is set to “low”. Fig.14 (a)-FIG.16 (f) are figures which show the example of the pattern of a flow display.

  If the state of FIG. 14A is a constant velocity, for example, the flow display of the flow rate “high” is as shown in FIG. Luminance, color, shape, and size are attributes of the shape of the display entity that constitutes the flow display. For example, when the shape changes from “circle” to “rhombus”, the state shown in FIG. 14A changes to the state shown in FIG. When the size changes from “small” to “large”, the state shown in FIG. 14A changes to the state shown in FIG. The density and the display part are distributions of display entities constituting the flow display. For example, when the density changes from “low” to “high”, the state shown in FIG. 14A to the state shown in FIG. It becomes. When the display part changes from “whole” to “side”, the state shown in FIG. 14A changes to the state shown in FIG.

  The display pattern and the flow velocity pattern are 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 = 192 patterns. Pattern changes occur at random time intervals within a predetermined time range (for example, 1 to 30 seconds), and pattern selection is also performed randomly from 192 patterns. As a result, the driver cannot predict the timing and display pattern of the display change, and can effectively maintain the driver's attention.

  Thus, the significance of configuring a pattern by a combination of a plurality of display attribute changes lies in an increase of an exponential pattern by the combination. In the case of a change by one attribute, the setting of several patterns is the limit, and the driver adapts immediately to the pattern change, and the attention maintaining effect is low. On the other hand, in the case of a 192 pattern change as in the present embodiment, the driver is difficult to adapt to the pattern change, and the effect continues.

  Further, when a driver arousal level reduction signal is input from the driver arousal level estimation device 104, the flow rate of the flow display is made faster than the flow rate corresponding to the actual vehicle speed. For this reason, in the pattern of FIG. 13, the pattern is selected by limiting the flow velocity to “high”. Specifically, the pattern No. The processing is changed to select a display pattern from 1 to 64.

  In the present embodiment, the random temporal change of the pattern is random within a predetermined time range. However, in other embodiments, fluctuation (for example, 1 / f fluctuation) is given at a constant time interval. Thus, randomness may be realized.

<(IV) Output calculation details>
Next, the calculation content of the (IV) output calculation in the flow display control device 2 will be described. The (IV) output calculation is a calculation process for turning on the flow display only during monotonous operation and outputting a motor drive signal to the sheet vibration means when the flow display pattern changes.
Specifically, in the case of (I) monotonous operation determination calculation, when it is determined as “monotonic operation”, the flow display image obtained from the calculation results of (II) basic flow display calculation and (III) display attribute determination calculation is displayed on the vehicle. Output to the projector 3 in the room. Further, (III) when the pattern is changed in the display attribute determination calculation, a pulse signal for one cycle is output to the drive motor of the sheet vibration device 8 s / vxd after the change time. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing the moment of change of the flow display pattern.

  Here, s is the distance from the front end of the projection surface to the driver (see FIG. 6), vxd is the speed of the flow display, and as if the seam of the change in the flow display passes through the driver (shown in FIG. 17). Situation), a vibration stimulus is given to the driver. As a result, the change in the pattern of the flow display can be felt as a more realistic environmental change for the driver, and the driver's attention can be effectively maintained.

In the following, experimental data showing the effect of maintaining the driver's attention by the flow display in which the flow rate and the display pattern change with time during monotonous operation are shown.
In the experiment, a driving simulator was set up to follow a preceding car on a monotonous straight road. Then, a task of performing a full brake operation was imposed on the subject (driver) when the brake lamp lighting of the preceding vehicle was visually confirmed. The preceding vehicle traveled at a constant speed, and the time from the start of the experiment until the preceding vehicle turned on the brake lamp was 3 to 4 minutes. The experimental condition is the presence or absence of a temporal change in the flow display pattern, and the measurement item is the subject's brake response time (the time from when the preceding vehicle brake lamp is turned on until the driver performs a brake operation). FIG. 18 shows the results of the brake reaction time when this experiment was performed five times continuously (5 sessions).

Under the condition that the flow display pattern does not change with time (fixed pattern), the brake reaction time tends to be delayed as the number of experiments progresses. This is because in a monotonous driving situation in which the vehicle follows a preceding vehicle traveling at a constant speed on a monotonous straight road, the concentration on driving is lost. On the other hand, under the condition (variable pattern) in which the flow display pattern changes with time, the initial brake reaction time can be maintained even if the number of experiments progresses. This reflects that the driver's ability to concentrate on driving can be maintained by the flow display whose pattern changes with time.
From the above, it can be said that the present invention has an effect of maintaining the driver's attention during monotonous driving.

  As described above, the vehicle display device according to the present embodiment distinguishes between the flow display control device 2 that presents the flow display linked to the movement of the host vehicle within the driver's field of view and the monotonous driving of the host vehicle. The flow display control device 2 presents a flow display in which at least one of the display pattern and the flow rate changes with time during the monotonous operation of the host vehicle identified by the ECU 1.

  In addition, the vehicle display method of the present embodiment includes a flow display control device 2 that presents a flow display that is linked to the movement of the host vehicle within the driver's field of view, and an ECU 1 that identifies monotonous driving of the host vehicle. A display method for a vehicle in a display device for a vehicle, wherein a flow display in which at least one of a display pattern and a flow velocity changes with time is presented by the flow display control device 2 during monotonous operation of the host vehicle identified by the ECU 1. It is configured to do.

  In the above-described conventional apparatus, the reduction of consciousness → alarm and awakening are repeated, and it has not been possible to prevent the consciousness decrease itself that is unpleasant for the driver. On the other hand, it is possible to detect an early stage of wakefulness that the driver himself is not aware of and issue a warning, but for drivers who are not aware of the wakefulness drop, another problem is that the warning can be annoying. appear. In the present embodiment, the above-described configuration solves such problems of the prior art, prevents a decrease in unpleasant consciousness for the driver during monotonous driving of the vehicle, and increases the driver's concentration on driving. It becomes possible to maintain the driver's attention. In other words, during monotonous driving, the display pattern or flow velocity of the flow display linked to the vehicle behavior presented in the driver's field of view changes with time, so the driver's surrounding environment can be changed. It is possible to maintain the attention of the person. Further, since the changing flow display is linked to the vehicle behavior, the driver pays attention to his / her motor sensation, and as a result, an effect of increasing concentration on driving can be obtained.

  The temporal change of the display pattern is a temporal change of at least one of the luminance, color, shape, size, density, and display portion of the display entity constituting the flow display. Since the change in the display pattern of the flow display that changes with time in this way is displayed with a combination of the brightness, color, shape, size, density, and display part of the display pattern that constitutes the flow display, each display attribute A very versatile display pattern can be configured by a combination of changes. Further, the driver is not expected to change the display pattern, and the driver's attention maintenance effect can be further enhanced.

  In addition, a seat vibration device 8 that applies vibration stimulation to the driver is further provided, and vibration stimulation is applied by the sheet vibration device 8 in synchronization with the temporal change of the flow display. In this way, a vibration stimulus is applied to the driver in synchronization with the change in the flow display, so the change in the flow display can be felt as a more realistic environmental change for the driver, and the driver's attention Maintenance effect increases.

  In addition, the flow display control device 2 is configured to randomly change the flow display with time. As described above, since the display pattern of the flow display or the temporal change of the flow velocity is randomly performed, the driver is not expected to display the timing of the display change, and the driver's attention maintenance effect can be further enhanced. .

  Furthermore, it is further provided with a near-infrared illumination 5, a CCD camera 6, and a driver arousal level estimation device 7 for detecting a decrease in the driver's arousal level. The control device 2 is configured to increase the flow rate of the flow display above the flow rate corresponding to the actual vehicle speed. In this way, when the driver's arousal level is reduced, the flow rate of the flow display is increased from the flow rate corresponding to the actual vehicle speed, thereby increasing the sense of speed felt by the driver and temporarily increasing the driver's tension. Can be awakened more effectively.

The embodiment described above is described in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, and is not described in order to limit the present invention. Therefore, each element disclosed in the above embodiment includes all design changes and equivalents belonging to the technical scope of the present invention.
The correspondence between each component in the claims and each component in the embodiment of the invention will be described. Flow display control device 2 in the embodiment, (II) basic flow display calculation, (III) display The attribute determination calculation and (IV) output calculation are close to the flow display presentation means in the claims, the ECU 1 (I) the monotone operation determination calculation is close to the monotone operation identification means, and the seat vibration device 8 is close to the vibration means. The infrared illumination 5, the CCD camera 6, and the driver arousal level estimation device 7 correspond to arousal level detection means, respectively.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display apparatus for vehicles of embodiment of this invention. It is the side view and top view which show the installation position and external appearance of the projector, dashboard, near infrared illumination, and CCD camera of the display apparatus for vehicles of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the projection surface seen from the viewpoint of the driver | operator in embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the installation position of the sheet | seat vibration apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of the monotonous driving | running determination calculation in embodiment of this invention. It is the side view and top view which define the coordinate system used for description of embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the relationship between the flow display on the projection surface and the flow of a road surface in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the relationship between the flow display in the projection surface in Embodiment of this invention, and the flow of a road surface. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the vehicle motion (at the time of turning) and the flow of the road surface in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the vehicle motion (at the time of straight advance) and the flow of the ground in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the basic flow display displayed on the projection surface seen from the driver | operator viewpoint in embodiment of this invention (at the time of going straight). It is a figure which shows the example of the basic flow display displayed on the projection surface seen from the driver | operator viewpoint in embodiment of this invention (at the time of turning). It is a determination table for determining the pattern of the flow display in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern of the flow display in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern of the flow display in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the pattern of the flow display in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the moment of the change of the pattern of the flow display in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the effect of the flow display which a pattern changes in time in embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... ECU 2 ... Flow display control apparatus 3 ... Projector 4 ... Dashboard 5 ... Near-infrared illumination 6 ... CCD camera 7 ... Driver alertness estimation apparatus 8 ... Seat vibration device 31 ... Projection surface 41 ... Seat cushion

Claims (6)

A flow display presentation means for presenting a flow display in which an image constituted by a display entity changes with time in a driver's field of view in conjunction with the movement of the host vehicle ;
Monotonous driving identification means for identifying monotonous driving of the host vehicle,
The vehicle display characterized by presenting the flow display in which the display position of the display entity changes with time by the flow display presenting means during the monotonous operation of the host vehicle identified by the monotonous operation identifying means. apparatus. The display pattern of the flow display is temporally changed, and the temporal change of the display pattern is a temporal change of at least one of luminance, color, shape, size, density, and display portion of the display entity. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein: Further comprising vibration means for applying vibration stimulation to the driver,
The vehicle display device according to claim 2 , wherein a vibration stimulus is applied by the vibration means in synchronization with a temporal change of the display pattern . The vehicular display device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the fluid display presenting means performs a temporal change of the display pattern at random. Further comprising wakefulness detection means for detecting a decrease in the driver's wakefulness,
Changing the flow velocity of the flow display, which is the speed with respect to the temporal change of the display position of the display entity,
2. The flow display presenting means raises the flow rate of the flow display higher than the flow rate corresponding to the actual vehicle speed when a decrease in the driver's arousal level is detected by the awakening level detection means. The vehicle display device according to any one of 1 to 4. A flow display presentation means for presenting a flow display in which an image constituted by a display entity changes with time in a driver's field of view in conjunction with the movement of the host vehicle ;
A vehicle display method in a vehicle display device comprising monotonous operation identification means for identifying monotonous operation of the host vehicle,
The vehicle display characterized by presenting the flow display in which the display position of the display entity changes with time by the flow display presenting means during the monotonous operation of the host vehicle identified by the monotonous operation identifying means. Method.

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