JP2005329768A - Vehicular display device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicular display device capable of intuitively and visually recognizing the situation behind a vehicle. <P>SOLUTION: In the vehicular display device, image pickup means (24, 34, 45) to pick up a rear image of the vehicle, and first display units (21, 31, 21a, 31a, 21b, 31b, 45b) to allow a driver to visually recognize the image picked up by the image pickup means (24, 34, 45) are provided on an instrument panel (41) or a windshield (43) of the vehicle. The first display units (21, 31, 21a, 31a, 21b, 31b, 45b) are arranged at the position determined according to the positional relationship between the driver and the image pickup means (24, 34, 45) and deviated from the front of the driver. The parts of installation of the image pickup means (24, 34, 45) are intuitively and easily grasped, and a rapid driving operation or the like can be performed from the HMI (Human-Machine Interface) viewpoint. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a display device for a vehicle that displays an image of an imaging unit that captures the back of the host vehicle.

  The driver often looks at the rear view mirror and the left and right side mirrors (door mirrors, fender mirrors) to check the situation behind the car while driving. At this time, the driver's line of sight deviates from the front. In particular, since the door mirror is mounted on the open / close door, the degree of line-of-sight shift is large.

In Patent Document 1, it is proposed to display a rear image (corresponding to a room mirror) and a left and right image (corresponding to a door mirror) captured by an imaging means on a display unit of a vehicle display device. .
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-306057

  In Patent Document 1, since the images of the rear and left and right rear of the imaging means are displayed in a concentrated manner in the meter panel, it is not necessary to remove the driver's line of sight. However, since the rear and left and right rear images of the vehicle are displayed in a concentrated manner, it is difficult to intuitively understand where the rear and left and right rear images of the vehicle are, and a human machine interface (hereinafter referred to as HMI). There is a risk that it will not be possible to respond quickly.

  For example, in the case of a right-hand drive vehicle, since the left door mirror is installed at a position farther from the right door mirror as viewed from the driver, the driver intuitively determines which of the left and right images is based on the image of the position. For this reason, the above-mentioned trouble arises.

  In the case of a room mirror, since it is installed at a position closer to the door mirror, the image of the position with respect to the room mirror is different from the image of the position with respect to the door mirror.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicular display device that can intuitively visually recognize the rear state of the host vehicle.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention employs the following technical means.

The vehicle display device according to claim 1 includes an imaging unit that captures the rear of the host vehicle, and a first display unit that allows the driver to visually recognize a video captured by the imaging unit. Prepare on the windshield,
The first display unit is a position determined according to the positional relationship between the driver and the imaging means, and is arranged at a position removed from the front position of the driver.

  In this invention, the first display unit for allowing the driver to visually recognize the image of the image pickup means is located at a position determined according to the positional relationship between the driver and the image pickup means, and removed from the front position of the driver. To do. As a result, the position where the image is captured can be easily understood intuitively, and a quick response operation or the like can be performed from an HMI perspective.

  The vehicle display device according to claim 2 is the vehicle display device according to claim 1, characterized in that the imaging means is installed in the vicinity of the side mirror.

  The image of the imaging means installed in the vicinity of the side mirror (door mirror, fender mirror) plays the role of a side mirror and improves safety during driving. In the present invention, it is easy to intuitively understand which side of the left and right side mirrors is on the image, and a quick driving operation is possible from an HMI perspective. In particular, a quick operation is required during driving, but this significantly improves safety during driving.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vehicular display device according to the first aspect, the image pickup means is an image pickup means for picking up at least a visible region of the room mirror.

  In the present invention, the imaging means serves as a rearview mirror, and is disposed in the vicinity of the license plate at the rear of the vehicle or in the vicinity of the rearview mirror. Accordingly, it is easy to intuitively understand that the image is an image of the imaging means serving as a room mirror, and it is possible to perform a quick driving operation from an HMI perspective.

  The vehicle display device according to claim 4 is a surface that penetrates the center of the steering wheel and the center of the driver in the vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The distance at which the first display unit is arranged with respect to a plane perpendicular to the floor surface of the vehicle is made to correspond to the distance at which the imaging means is arranged.

  In the present invention, as an element that associates the first display unit with the image pickup means, a plane that passes through the center of the steering wheel and the center of the driver is used as a reference plane, and a distance to the reference plane is selected. As a result, the position where the image is captured can be more intuitively and easily understood, and a corresponding operation or the like can be performed more quickly from an HMI perspective.

  The vehicle display device according to claim 5 is a surface that penetrates the center of the steering wheel and the center of the driver in the vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, A direction in which the first display unit is arranged with respect to a plane perpendicular to a floor surface of the vehicle is made to correspond to a direction in which the imaging unit is arranged.

  In the present invention, as an element that associates the first display unit with the image pickup means, a plane that passes through the center of the steering wheel and the center of the driver is used as a reference plane, and a direction with respect to the reference plane is selected. As a result, the position where the image is captured can be more intuitively and easily understood, and a corresponding operation or the like can be performed more quickly from an HMI perspective.

The vehicle display device according to claim 6 is the vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the meter is arranged on a part of the instrument panel and displays vehicle information. A panel, and a second display unit that is formed in the meter panel and displays a real image of the image captured by the imaging unit,
The first display unit causes the driver to visually recognize the real image displayed on the second display unit as a virtual image, and the first display unit is arranged outside the meter panel.

  In the present invention, the image of the imaging means is visually recognized by the driver as a virtual image. As will be described later, the virtual image display is displayed farther as viewed from the driver than the real image display. During driving, the driver can see the distant scene, and can view the image of the imaging means as a virtual image in the distance, so that focusing becomes easy.

  In this virtual image display, the image of the imaging means is displayed as a real image on the second display unit, and this real image display image is visually recognized by the driver as a virtual image by the first display unit. And since this 2nd display part is formed in a meter panel, a structure is simplified.

  Furthermore, since the first display unit is arranged outside the meter panel, the position where the image is captured becomes more intuitive and easy to understand, and a quick response operation or the like is possible from an HMI perspective.

The vehicle display device according to a seventh aspect is the vehicle display device according to the sixth aspect, in which the image captured by the imaging unit is displayed as a real image on the second display unit and also displayed on the second display unit. A display control means for causing the driver to visually recognize the real image that has been generated by the first display unit as a virtual image;
The display control means includes a virtual image conversion unit that allows the driver to visually recognize the video of the second display unit displayed as a real image as a virtual image using the first display unit.
The virtual image conversion unit has at least one mirror, and the image displayed by the second display unit as a real image is converted into a virtual image using at least one reflection using the mirror to convert the image to the driver. It is characterized by being visually recognized.

  In the present invention, since the display control means for allowing the driver to visually recognize the virtual image has the virtual image conversion unit, and the virtual image conversion unit is configured with a mirror, the effect of the invention of claim 6 can be obtained at low cost. it can.

  The vehicle display device according to claim 8 is the vehicle display device according to claim 7, wherein at least one of the mirrors is a concave mirror, and the virtual image conversion unit is enlarged by the concave mirror, It is characterized by making a driver | operator visually recognize with a virtual image by 1 display part.

  In this invention, in order to make a driver | operator visually recognize the expanded virtual image, required information can be judged faster from the image | video which the imaging means image | photographed. For this reason, it is possible to perform a response operation or the like faster from an HMI perspective.

  Hereinafter, an example in which the display device for a vehicle according to the present invention is used in a combination meter mounted on an automobile will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
(Constitution)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a vehicle display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and shows a schematic diagram of a front part of a vehicle interior. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the vehicle, in which the left camera 24 and the right camera 34 are disposed at portions of the left door mirror 25 and the right door mirror 35, respectively. The left camera 24 captures an area A that the driver visually recognizes with the left door mirror 25, and the right camera 34 captures an area B that the driver visually recognizes with the right door mirror 35.

  Instead of the left and right door mirrors 25 and 35, left and right fender mirrors may be used, and the left and right cameras 24 and 34 are arranged on side mirrors for confirming the left and right rear sides of the vehicle.

  In FIG. 3, the combination meter 1, the left display unit 2, and the right display unit 3 are integrally formed on the liquid crystal display device 10. The left display unit 2 displays an image captured by the left camera 24, and the right display unit 3 displays an image captured by the right camera 34. In FIG. 3, the combination meter 1 includes a speedometer that displays the speed of the automobile, a tachometer that displays the engine speed, and a fuel gauge that displays the remaining fuel amount.

  4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the V view of FIG. 4, and is an explanatory diagram of optical paths that guide the display images of the combination meter 1, the left display unit 2, and the right display unit 3 of the liquid crystal display device 10 to the driver.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the right display unit 3 is covered with an instrument panel 41 so that the driver cannot visually recognize the right display unit 3. Although not shown in FIG. 4, the left display unit 2 is also covered with an instrument panel 41 so that the driver cannot visually recognize the left display unit 2. In FIG. 3, a two-dot chain line 41 a indicates an opening of the instrument panel 41. That is, in FIG. 1, the opening 41 a is formed in the instrument panel 41 so that the visual recognition of the combination meter 1 is not hindered by the steering wheel 42.

  In FIG. 5, the display image of the left display unit 2 is guided to the driver from the left display window 21 as a virtual image by the first left mirror 22 and the second left mirror 23 along the optical path indicated by the arrow P1. The display image of the right display unit 3 is guided to the driver from the right display window 31 as a virtual image by the first right mirror 32 and the second right mirror 33 along the optical path indicated by the arrow P2.

  The mirrors 22, 23, 32, and 33 are all plane mirrors. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the display windows 21 and 31 are formed by providing an opening in the instrument panel 41 and providing a transparent cover in the opening.

  Here, if the display windows 21 and 31 are arranged so close to each other, it is difficult to intuitively understand which of the left and right images, and from the viewpoint of a human machine interface (hereinafter referred to as “HMI”), a quick operation cannot be performed. There is a fear.

  Therefore, not only the image of the left camera 24 is visually recognized from the left display window 21 and the image of the right camera 34 is visually recognized from the right display window 31, but the distance between the driver and the display windows 21 and 31 also becomes a problem. For this reason, it is possible to arrange the display windows 21 and 31 at positions that are removed from the front position of the driver on the instrument panel 41 and that are determined according to the distance between the driver and the cameras 24 and 34. Necessary.

  Specifically, in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plane that passes through the center of the steering wheel 42 and the center of the driver and is perpendicular to the floor of the vehicle is defined as a reference plane M. The ratio L2 / L1 (see FIG. 2) of the distance L2 between the right camera 34 and the reference plane M with respect to the distance L1 between the left camera 24 and the reference plane M is set as the right display window with respect to the distance L3 between the left display window 21 and the reference plane M. It is necessary to correspond to the ratio L4 / L3 (see FIG. 1) of the distance L4 between 31 and the reference plane M.

  This makes it easier to understand intuitively whether the video is left or right. In the case of the right handle shown in FIG. 1, when viewed from the driver, the left door mirror 25 (left camera 24) is installed at a position farther than the right door mirror 35 (right camera 34) (L1> L2). In order to intuitively determine which of the left and right images is based on the image, the driver arranges the display windows 21 and 31 corresponding to the image.

  The above-mentioned ratios do not need to be perfectly matched, and it is intuitive whether the left and right images are simply increased by increasing the distance on the display windows 21 and 31 side for displaying images on the long distance side of the cameras 24 and 34. And become easy to understand. And the installation site | part and angle (inclination) of the mirrors 22, 23, 32, and 33 are set so that the display windows 21 and 31 can be arrange | positioned in an appropriate site | part.

  As described above, the left electronic mirror 20 that allows the driver to visually recognize the video imaged by the left camera 24 includes the left display unit 2, the first left mirror 22, the second left mirror 23, and the left display window 21. The right electronic mirror 30 that allows the driver to visually recognize the video captured by the right camera 34 includes the right display unit 3, the first right mirror 32, the second right mirror 33, and the right display window 31.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5, the display image of the combination meter 1 is directly guided to the driver as a real image along the optical path indicated by the arrow P3.

  The vehicle display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes a combination meter 1, a left electronic mirror 20, and a right electronic mirror 30.

  FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining an electric circuit configuration of the vehicle display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The control device 4 is always supplied with power from the battery 6. The ignition switch 5 is connected so as to be able to detect ON / OFF thereof. The control device 4 is connected to input detection signals from various sensors and video signals from the camera. That is, the speed sensor 7, the water temperature sensor 8, the left camera 24, the right camera 34, and the like are connected.

  Further, a liquid crystal display device 10 driven by the control device 4 in response to signals from these various sensors 7 and 8 and the cameras 24 and 34 is connected. That is, a liquid crystal panel, a light emitting diode, etc. (not shown) are connected.

(Operation)
The operation of this embodiment in the above configuration will be described.

  When the ignition switch 5 is turned on by the driver, the control device 4 detects it and starts operation, and drives the liquid crystal display device 10. That is, the combination meter 1 is displayed according to detection signals from the various sensors 7 and 8 and the display units 2 and 3 are displayed according to video signals from the cameras 24 and 34.

  In FIG. 5, the display image of the combination meter 1 is guided to the driver as a real image along the optical path of the arrow P3, and the display image of the combination meter 1 shown in FIG. 1 is visually recognized by the driver. On the other hand, in FIG. 5, the display images of the display units 2 and 3 are guided to the driver from the display windows 21 and 31 as virtual images according to the optical paths of the arrows P1 and P2, respectively. At 31, the driver can see it.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, not only the image of the left camera 24 is viewed from the left display window 21 and the image of the right camera 34 is viewed from the right display window 31, but also the distance between the left camera 24 and the reference plane M. The ratio L2 / L1 (see FIG. 2) of the distance L2 between the right camera 34 and the reference plane M with respect to L1, and the ratio L34 of the distance L4 between the right display window 31 and the reference plane M with respect to the distance L3 between the left display window 21 and the reference plane M. / L3 (see FIG. 1).

  Accordingly, it is possible to provide a vehicle display device in which the display windows 21 and 31 for displaying the images of the cameras 24 and 34 are arranged at appropriate positions from the viewpoint of HMI. Can do. Further, since the display units 2 and 3 and the combination meter 1 are integrally formed on the liquid crystal display device 10, the above-described effects can be obtained at low cost.

  Since the electronic mirror 20 (30) uses the two mirrors 22, 23 (32, 33), the image viewed from the display window 21 (31) is not reversed. However, for example, if only one mirror can be used due to design requirements, the image viewed from the display window 21 (31) is inverted, but the image displayed on the display unit 2 (3) is inverted. If you let it, there is no problem.

  In addition, since the display portion that is obstructed by the steering wheel 42 is displayed in a virtual image where it is easy to see, the liquid crystal display device 10 can be used to the maximum extent possible.

  Further, the virtual image display is displayed farther as viewed from the driver than the real image display. FIG. 7 schematically shows the combination meter 1, the right display unit 3, and the mirrors 32 and 33 shown in FIG. 4. In FIG. 7, the image of the display unit 3 is reflected by the first right mirror 32, and the virtual image 3 a appears to be formed at a symmetrical position of the display unit 3 with respect to the first right mirror 32. Further, it is reflected by the second right mirror 33, and it appears that the virtual image 3 b is formed at a symmetrical position of the virtual image 3 a with respect to the second right mirror 33. That is, for the driver, the position at which the virtual image 3b appears to be formed appears farther than the position of the combination meter 1, which is the position of the real image.

  While driving, the driver sees a distant view. For this reason, in the display windows 21 and 32, the images of the cameras 24 and 34 can be seen as distant images as virtual images, and focusing becomes easy.

(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, since the mirrors 22, 23, 32, and 33 all use plane mirrors in FIG. 5, the virtual image is not enlarged and displayed in the optical paths indicated by the arrows P1 and P2. In the second embodiment, a virtual image is enlarged and displayed by making at least one of the two mirrors 22 and 23 (32, 33) a concave mirror. Accordingly, the display window 21a (31a) is set large in FIG.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, you may make it display on the display surfaces 21b and 31b of the vehicle interior side of the windshield 43 (what is called a head-up display).

(Third embodiment)
In the above-described embodiment, the cameras 24 and 34 are provided at the portions of the door mirrors 25 and 35. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, a rear camera 45 (corresponding to the room mirror 44) that captures the area C may be disposed in the vicinity of the license plate at the rear of the vehicle. Then, as shown in FIG. 9, an image behind the vehicle is displayed on the display surface 45 b between the display surfaces 21 b and 31 b among the surfaces on the vehicle interior side of the windshield 43.

  Specifically, the distance L5 (see FIG. 2) between the rear camera 45 and the reference surface M is made to correspond to the distance L6 (see FIG. 9) between the display surface 45b and the reference surface M. In this case, it is necessary to add to the liquid crystal display device 10 a display unit 45a that displays the image of the rear camera 45 as a real image, and the shape of the combination meter 1 needs to be changed.

(Other embodiments)
In the above-described embodiment, the display units 2, 3, and 45 a that display the images of the cameras 24, 34, and 45 are integrally formed on the liquid crystal display device 10 on which the combination meter 1 is formed. It is not necessary to limit to this, and the display units 2, 3, and 45a may be provided separately from the combination meter 1. In this case, there arises a problem that the manufacturing cost increases, but the other effects described above can be obtained.

  In addition, although the images of the display units 2, 3, and 45a are displayed as virtual images, the present invention is not limited to this, and real images may be displayed. In this case, the effect of facilitating focusing cannot be obtained by the distant display using the virtual image, but the other effects described above can be obtained.

  As described above, in the present invention, the display units 21, 31, 21 a, 31 a, 21 b, 31 b, 45 b that make the driver visually recognize the images of the cameras 24, 34, 45 are provided to the driver 24, It arrange | positions corresponding to the position where 34 and 45 are installed, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. This makes it easy to intuitively understand which camera image, and from a HMI perspective, it is possible to respond quickly to driving operations. As a result, driving safety and the like are significantly improved.

  That is, it is an essential requirement of the present invention to arrange in correspondence with this, and it is indispensable to display a camera image in a virtual image, or to integrate a display unit for displaying a camera image in the combination meter 1. It is not a requirement. Therefore, the combination meter 1 does not need to be a liquid crystal display type and may be configured as a pointer instrument.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a vehicle display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and shows an outline of a front part of a vehicle interior. FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the vehicle, and shows the mounting positions of the cameras 24, 34, and 45 and the photographing areas A, B, and C thereof. FIG. 3 is a front view of the liquid crystal display device 10. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic V view diagram of FIG. 4 for explaining the optical paths P1, P2, and P3 for guiding the display images of the combination meter 1, the left display unit 2, and the right display unit 3 to the driver. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram for explaining an electric circuit configuration of the vehicle display device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the combination meter 1, the right display unit 3, and the mirrors 32 and 33 for explaining the distant display of the virtual image. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the vehicle display device according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and shows an outline of the front part of the vehicle interior. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of the vehicle display device according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and shows an outline of the front part of the vehicle interior.

Explanation of symbols

1 Combination meter (meter panel)
2, 3, 45a Display unit (second display unit)
4. Control device (display control means)
21, 31, 21a, 31a, 21b, 31b, 45b
Display window, display surface (first display section)
22, 23, 32, 33, mirror (concave mirror, display control means, virtual image converter)
25, 35 Door mirror (side mirror)
24, 34, 45 Camera (imaging means)
41 Instrument panel 42 Steering wheel 43 Windshield 44 Room mirror M Reference plane (surface)

Claims (8)

Imaging means for photographing the rear of the vehicle;
A first display unit that allows a driver to visually recognize a video imaged by the imaging unit is provided on an instrument panel or a windshield of the vehicle,
The vehicle display device, wherein the first display unit is a position determined according to a positional relationship between the driver and the imaging unit, and is disposed at a position removed from the front position of the driver.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is installed in the vicinity of a side mirror.   The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the imaging unit is an imaging unit that captures at least a visual recognition area of a room mirror.   The distance at which the first display unit is disposed with respect to a plane that passes through the center of the steering wheel of the vehicle and the center of the driver and is perpendicular to the floor of the vehicle is the imaging means. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the vehicle display device is made to correspond to a distance at which the vehicle is disposed.   The imaging means indicates a direction in which the first display unit is arranged with respect to a plane that passes through the center of the steering wheel of the vehicle and the center of the driver and is perpendicular to the floor of the vehicle. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle display device corresponds to a direction in which the vehicle is disposed. A meter panel arranged on a part of the instrument panel and displaying vehicle information;
A second display unit that is formed in the meter panel and displays the image captured by the imaging unit as a real image;
The first display unit causes the driver to visually recognize the real image displayed on the second display unit as a virtual image,
The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first display unit is arranged outside the meter panel. The video captured by the imaging unit is displayed as a real image on the second display unit, and the real image displayed on the second display unit is visually recognized by the driver as a virtual image by the first display unit. Comprising display control means,
The display control means includes a virtual image conversion unit that causes the driver to visually recognize the video of the second display unit displayed as a real image as a virtual image by the first display unit,
The virtual image converter has at least one mirror,
The virtual image conversion unit converts the video displayed by the second display unit as a real image into a virtual image using at least one reflection using the mirror and causes the driver to visually recognize the image. The vehicle display device according to claim 6. At least one of the mirrors is a concave mirror,
The vehicle display device according to claim 7, wherein the virtual image conversion unit is magnified by the concave mirror and is visually recognized by the driver as a virtual image by the first display unit.

Images