JP2010168042A - Auxiliary visibility device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably operate an auxiliary visibility device whenever needed by a driver, while reducing a wasteful operation occasion, when automatically starting the visibility auxiliary device which provides an infrared reflection image. <P>SOLUTION: The auxiliary visibility device is started by a start-control circuit 150 when a light-up operation for a headlight switch 182 is detected and a photometer sensor 510 determines that the surrounding environment is darker than the predetermined level. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a visibility assisting device that provides a driver with an image of a road condition that is difficult to see visually at night.

  An example of such a visual field assisting device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-68989. In Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-68989, there is a system that projects illumination light to an imaging region and provides the imaging result to the driver when it is determined that the surroundings of the vehicle are dark based on the detection result of the illuminance sensor. It is disclosed.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-68989

  In this way, it is determined that the surroundings of the vehicle are dark based on the detection result of the illuminance sensor, and the visual field assist device is operated, but the degree of illuminance that requires such visual field assistance depends on individual differences and surroundings. It depends on the situation or driving condition. Therefore, it is conceivable to operate the visual assistance device from a relatively bright state with an allowance, but in this case, the visual assistance device is operated more than necessary, and the power consumption is correspondingly increased. In addition, the apparatus deteriorates at an early stage.

  Therefore, it is desirable to operate the visual assistance device only when the driver really wants it, but it is difficult to set a suitable operating condition in this case. For this reason, a situation may occur in which the visibility assisting device does not operate even in a situation where it is not strange that the visibility assisting device operates. In such a case, whether or not the device is operating normally is determined. It becomes difficult for the user to understand.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and its purpose is to reduce the useless operation opportunity of the visual assistance device and to ensure that the driver operates when he / she desires it. The object is to provide a field-of-view assisting device capable of achieving the above.

  The visual field assistance apparatus according to the present invention includes a video projection unit that projects an infrared image captured outside the vehicle onto a projection surface facing the driver, and a movable shielding member that can shield the video projection unit.

  Moreover, the visual field assistance apparatus according to the present invention includes illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance of the surrounding environment, and when the illuminance is detected to be bright, the movable shielding member shields the video projection means.

  The visual field assisting device according to the present invention further comprises illuminance detection means for detecting the illuminance of the surrounding environment, and when the illuminance is detected to be dark, the movable shielding member exposes the image projection means. Visibility assist device.

  Moreover, in the visual field assistance apparatus which concerns on this invention, a to-be-projected surface is a windshield.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the useless operation opportunity of the visibility assisting device and to reliably operate the driver when the driver desires it.

It is a block diagram showing roughly the whole composition of a visual field auxiliary device. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of an infrared projection lamp roughly. (A) is explanatory drawing which shows roughly the attachment position of the imaging camera ASSY in a vehicle, (b) is a perspective view which shows schematically the external appearance of the imaging camera ASSY. It is explanatory drawing which shows the attachment position of a display apparatus, and the display position of the infrared reflective image which a driver | operator visually recognizes. (A) is a top view of a display apparatus, (b) is a schematic sectional drawing which mainly shows a shutter and its drive mechanism among the cross sections along the AA line of (a). It is explanatory drawing which shows the arrangement | positioning position with respect to a vehicle in an infrared projection lamp, imaging camera ASSY, and a display apparatus. It is an operation | movement theory table | surface which shows the input condition, such as each switch operation, and the control state of the visual field assistance apparatus with respect to it.

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

  FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of a visual field assistance device according to an embodiment. The visual assistance device includes a central control device 100 that performs various controls of the visual assistance device, an infrared projection lamp (hereinafter referred to as “IR lamp”) 200 that irradiates near-infrared light on a subject area in front of the vehicle, The imaging camera ASSY 300 that captures a reflected image of near-infrared light projected on the area, a display device (HUD: Headup Displasy) 400 that displays an infrared reflected image captured by the imaging camera ASSY 300, and the like.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 2, the IR lamp 200 is a projection lamp dedicated to a visual field assist device that projects near-infrared light in a wavelength range of about 800 nm to 1000 nm, and uses a halogen lamp 210 as a light source and is visible. A visible light cut filter 220 that cuts light is provided. Thereby, near infrared light can be projected in the irradiation range equivalent to the high (Hi) beam of a headlight. As shown in FIG. 6, two IR lamps 200 are mounted in the vicinity of the fog lamps provided in the bumper part, one on each side.

  As shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 6, the imaging camera ASSY 300 is mounted on the back side of the inner mirror 20 below the overhead console 10 in the vehicle, and is housed in the fixed box 310. Therefore, it is stuck and fixed inside the windshield (windshield) 30. As schematically shown in FIG. 3B, the imaging camera ASSY 300 includes a lens 304 on the front surface of the main body 302, and reflects near infrared light in the main body 302 so as to face the lens 304. An infrared camera 306 (FIG. 1) for imaging is mounted, and an infrared reflected image incident through the lens 304 is captured by the infrared camera 306.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the display device 400 includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) 410 for displaying an image based on near-infrared light captured by the infrared camera 306, and a projection light source and a rear surface thereof. This is a device that provides an image (virtual image) to the driver by reflecting the image displayed on the liquid crystal display 410 to the windshield 30.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the display device 400 is mounted on the instrument panel 40 in front of the driver's seat on the back side of the combination meter on which the speedometer and the like are disposed. Thus, since the image is reflected on the windshield 30 and displayed to the driver, a virtual image is displayed by a single reflection, and thus the liquid crystal display 410 is fixed so that the liquid crystal display 410 faces upward. Although illustration is omitted, a translucent reflective thin film is formed on the surface on the indoor side in the reflection region of the windshield 30 that reflects the image.

  Since the liquid crystal display 410 of the display device 400 is in such a state as facing upward, it is likely to become high temperature under the influence of direct sunlight. Therefore, in order to avoid such influence of direct sunlight, a shutter 420 is provided so as to cover the liquid crystal display 410 when the display device 400 is not operated.

  This structure is shown in FIGS. 5 (a) and 5 (b). A liquid crystal display 410 is disposed below the opening 402 of the display device body, and a plate-like shutter 420 is disposed so as to be positioned in a gap between the opening 402 and the liquid crystal display 410. The shutter 420 is reciprocally supported by guide rails 430 disposed on both sides thereof, and rack rails 440 are respectively provided on the back side of the shutter 420 so as to be along the inner sides of the both guide rails 430. It has been. The rack rails 440 are fixed to the shutter 420 side with the meshing surfaces facing downward, and the gears 450 are engaged with the meshing surfaces of the rack rails 440, respectively. Both gears 450 are fixed to a drive shaft 460 penetrating through the central portion thereof, and the drive shaft 460 is a mechanism that is rotationally driven by a drive motor 470. Therefore, by driving the motor 470, the rack rail 440 meshed with the gear 450 and the shutter 420 are integrally sent out, and the shutter 420 moves so as to cover the liquid crystal display 410. In addition, by driving the drive motor 470 in reverse, the shutter 420 moves so as to return to the original position by the same action, and the liquid crystal display 410 is exposed again.

  As described above, the central control device 100 performs all the various controls of the visual assistance device, including the lighting control of the IR lamp 200 and the operation control of the imaging camera ASSY 300 and the display device 400.

  The central control device 100 includes a power supply control circuit 110 that controls supply of power to the imaging camera ASSY 300. An infrared reflected image captured by the imaging camera ASSY 300 is processed in the central control device 100 and converted into video data. And input to the display device 400.

  The central control device 100 also includes a display driver circuit 120 that performs display control in the display device 400 as a control system for the display device 400, and motor control that performs operation control of the drive motor 470 to perform opening / closing control of the shutter 420 described above. A circuit 130 is provided. Further, the brightness of the backlight 412 in the display device 400 is controlled based on the operation state of the dimming operation unit 480, and the brightness of the infrared image displayed by the display device 400 according to the driver's preference. Can be adjusted independently.

  In addition to this, the central control device 100 includes the vehicle speed information detected by the vehicle speed sensor 160, the operation state of the main switch 170 that can be switched between a permission state for permitting activation of the visibility assisting device and a prohibition state for prohibiting activation. And each signal which shows the operation state of the combination switch 180 which integrated the switch of several exterior lighting system is given.

  The combination switch 180 is a headlight that can be switched to three positions: an OFF position that turns off all lights, a TAIL position that turns on tail lights and small lamps (vehicle width lights), and a HEAD position that turns on tail lights, small lamps, and headlights. A switch 182, a light control switch 184 that switches operation / stop of a light control system 500 described later, a dimmer switch 186 that switches between a high beam state and a low beam state of the headlight, and the like.

  On the other hand, this vehicle is equipped with a light control system (conlight) 500 that senses ambient brightness and automatically turns on and off the headlights. In the system, the headlights are automatically turned on at night and in tunnels, and the lights are turned off automatically when it becomes brighter.

  In the light control system 500, an illuminance sensor (photo sensor) 510 for detecting such ambient brightness is provided on the instrument panel 40. The illuminance sensor 510 outputs an illuminance signal corresponding to the detected illuminance. The illuminance signal is also given to the central control device 100, and how much the illuminance around the vehicle is on the central control device 100 side. It is a system that grasps whether the brightness is dark (dark). Accordingly, one illuminance sensor 510 is shared by the light control system 500 and the visual field assisting device.

  The central control device 100 is provided with detection signals and operation signals such as the illuminance sensor 510, the vehicle speed sensor 160, the main switch 170, the combination switch 180, and the ignition switch 190, and a lighting control circuit of the central control device 100 is provided. In 140, these signals are comprehensively determined, the on / off control of the relay switch 230 is performed to control the lighting of the IR lamp 200, and the start control circuit 150 of the central controller 100 Start-up control is performed to automatically start the visibility assist device.

  The vehicle also includes a main switch indicator 602 that displays to the driver the on / off state of the main switch 170, a projection indicator 604 that displays to the driver whether or not the infrared projection lamp 200 is in a projection state, and a field of view. An operating status indicator 606 is provided to indicate that the auxiliary device is operating. This is because a system that automatically activates the visual assistance device when a predetermined condition is established by the activation control circuit 150 is employed, and even when the main switch 170 is turned on, For example, the visibility assisting device may not operate in a situation where the activation condition on the automatic activation system side described later is not satisfied, such as in the daytime. Therefore, in order to inform the driver that the system is in the READY state even in such a situation, that is, the ON operation of the main switch 170 is accepted and the visibility assist device is on standby, the main switch indicator 602 and the operation A status indicator 606 is provided. Further, the near-infrared light used in this visual field assisting device cannot be confirmed with the naked eye, so that the projection indicator 604 is turned on to cause the driver to be in the light projection state. Note that such light emission control of the indicators 602, 604, and 606 is performed by the indicator control circuit 600 of the central controller 100.

  Note that the main switch indicator 602 and the operating state indicator 606 can also be configured by a single indicator lamp. For example, when the main switch 170 is in an off state, the indicator lamp is turned off and turned on when the main switch 170 is turned on. At this time, the emission color of the indicator lamp is changed according to the operating state of the visual field assist device. As an example, when the activation condition is not satisfied and the visibility assisting device is on standby, this indicator light is lit in yellow, and when the visibility assisting device is actually activated, this indicator light is lit in blue.

  Here, the function of the main switch 170 will be described. Since the main switch 170 employs a system that is always reset to the off state when the ignition switch 190 is turned off, the main switch 170 is always in the off state when the ignition switch 190 is turned on (the main switch 170 Is the off state). Accordingly, by turning on the main switch 170, it can be considered that there has been an indication of the driver's intention to receive the provision of an infrared image for assisting the visibility, so that the main switch 170 is turned on. In FIG. 2, activation control for automatically activating the visibility assisting device is performed.

  Here, the control processing performed by the central control apparatus 100 will be described along the logical value table of FIG. Note that the table in FIG. 7 shows the control state of the visibility assisting device in accordance with each input condition such as each switch operation, and “-” in the table indicates that the corresponding input situation is not considered.

  First, the input condition A is when the ignition switch 190 is in an OFF state. In this case, the infrared camera 306 is operated by the power supply control circuit 110 under the instruction of the activation control circuit 150 so that the visibility assisting device is inactivated. The display driver circuit 120 controls the liquid crystal display 410 to turn off, and the motor control circuit 130 controls the shutter 420 to be closed. The lighting control circuit 140 controls the relay switch 230 to be turned off to turn off the IR lamp 200, and the indicator control circuit 600 turns off the main switch indicator 602, the projection indicator 604, and the operation state indicator 606.

  The input conditions B, C, D, E, F, and G are situations where the ignition switch 190 is turned on, and the input condition B is when the main switch 190 is further off. In this case, since the main switch 190 is in the off state, it is assumed that the driver does not need the visual field assistance device. Therefore, the control state is the same as in the case of the input condition A. Since it is controlled so as to be in a non-operating state, the description is omitted.

  The input conditions C, D, E, F, and G assume that the main switch 170 is further turned on to indicate the driver's intention to use the vision assistance. In C, the condition is that the headlight switch 182 is operated to the TAIL position. This visibility assisting device employs a method for determining whether the driver is subjectively dark about the environment around the vehicle based on the switch operation of the headlight switch 182 or the like, In a situation where the driver operates the headlight switch 182 to the TAIL position to turn on the tail lamp and the small lamp, it is determined that the surroundings are not dark enough to require a visual assistance device. In this case, similarly to the input conditions A and B described above, the visibility assisting device is controlled to be in an inoperative state. However, in this case, since the main switch 170 is turned on, the main switch indicator 602 is turned on, and the on operation of the main switch 170 is accepted. Is displayed. Note that such control for turning on the main switch indicator 602 is similarly performed under input conditions D, E, F, and G described later. Further, in this situation, since the visibility assisting device is in the standby state, the operation state indicator 606 is in the off state.

  Under the input condition D, the headlight switch 182 is further moved to the HEAD position where the headlight is turned on, or the light control switch 184 is operated to the AUTO position so as to start control for automatically turning on the headlight by the light control system 500. It is a condition that it is in a state. When the headlight switch 182 is at the HEAD position, it is considered that the surrounding environment of the vehicle is dark and it is difficult for the driver to visually recognize the road condition on the control system of the visibility assisting device. In addition, when the light control switch 184 is operated to the AUTO position, the headlight is automatically turned on instead of the driver under the condition that the driver feels dark based on the detection result of the illuminance sensor 510. Therefore, it is assumed that it is handled in the same manner as the headlight lighting operation by the driver. Therefore, in the case of the input condition D, the detection result of the illuminance sensor 510 is further considered, and the detection result of the illuminance sensor 510 is darker than a predetermined threshold value is added to the determination condition of the input condition D. ing. Further, in the input condition D, it is also a determination condition that the dimmer switch 186 is in a high beam state.

  When all of the determination conditions of the input condition D are satisfied, the activation control of the visibility assisting device will be performed. That is, under the instruction from the activation control circuit 150, the power supply control circuit 110 controls the power supply to the infrared camera 306 to be turned on, the display driver circuit 120 turns the display on the liquid crystal display 410 to the on state, and the motor control circuit 130 causes the shutter 420 to be turned on. Each is controlled to open.

  Further, in this case, when the high light of the headlight is turned on and the headlight is in a high beam state, near infrared light equivalent to the light distribution of the IR lamp 200 is sufficiently irradiated by the high beam lamp of the headlight. Yes. Therefore, in such a case, the lighting switch circuit 140 controls the relay switch 230 to the off state, and the IR lamp 200 is turned off to reduce power consumption. Therefore, the indicator control circuit 600 controls the main switch indicator 602 and the operation state indicator 606 to turn on and the projection indicator 604 to turn off.

  Next, under the input condition E, even when the ignition switch 190 is turned on and the main switch 170 is turned on, the detection result of the illuminance sensor 510 is brighter than the predetermined threshold value. In this case, the control system assumes that the environment around the vehicle is not objectively dark enough to require visibility assistance. In such a case, similarly to the case of the input condition C, control is performed so that the visibility assisting device is in an inoperative state (standby state) without considering the operation state of the headlight switch 182 and the like.

  Next, the input condition F is the same as the input condition D described above, based on the driver's intention to use, the situation that the driver feels subjectively dark, and the detection result of the illuminance sensor 510. Since all the situations that the surrounding environment is objectively dark are satisfied, the control state is a start-up control in which the visibility assisting device is activated.

  However, the input condition F is determined on the condition that the dimmer switch 186 is in a low beam state. Under such conditions, it is assumed that a far-infrared reflected image can be obtained by turning on the IR lamp 200. However, in this input condition F, the vehicle speed is lower than 6 km / h. Judging by a certain situation as a condition. This is because, when the vehicle is traveling at a low vehicle speed, the time during which infrared rays are applied to the retina of the pedestrian's eyes tends to increase. From the viewpoint of protecting the pedestrian, the IR lamp 200 is turned off. It is said.

  Accordingly, when all the conditions of the input condition F are satisfied, the power supply control circuit 110 controls the power supply to the infrared camera 306 to be turned on under the instruction of the activation control circuit 150, and the display driver circuit 120 controls the liquid crystal display. The display of 410 is turned on, and the motor control circuit 130 controls the shutter 420 to be opened. Further, the relay switch 230 is controlled to be turned off by the lighting control circuit 140 so that the IR lamp 200 is turned off. The indicator control circuit 600 controls the main switch indicator 602 and the operation state indicator 606 to be in a lighting state, and the projection indicator 604 to be in a non-lighting state.

  As for the next input condition G, input conditions other than those relating to the vehicle speed are determined based on the conditions as in the case of the input condition F described above. This vehicle speed is set to 6 km / or more. In such a case where there is a certain vehicle speed, the time during which infrared rays are applied to the retina of the pedestrian's eyes can be kept short. Thus, when the vehicle speed is 6 km / second or more, the input conditions described above are used. In addition to the control state of F, the lighting control circuit 140 controls the relay switch 230 to the on state to control the IR lamp 200 to the lighting state. Thereby, a far-infrared reflected image can be obtained. The indicator control circuit 600 controls the main switch indicator 602, the projection indicator 604, and the operation state indicator 606 to turn on.

  In the visibility assisting device according to the embodiment described above, the input speeds F and G have exemplified the vehicle speed determination threshold of 6 km / h. However, the present invention is not limited to this example, and other low vehicle speeds are shown. A threshold can be employed.

  In addition, in the case of the input condition D, from the viewpoint of suppressing power consumption, the case where the IR lamp 200 is turned off when the headlight is a high beam is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this example. Both the lamp 200 and the high beam may be turned on to obtain an infrared reflected image.

  A visual field auxiliary device according to an embodiment is a visual field auxiliary device that provides an infrared image outside a vehicle, and includes an illuminance detection unit that detects an illuminance of a surrounding environment and a switch that detects a switch operation for an illumination device that illuminates the outside of the vehicle And an activation control unit that performs activation control of the visibility assisting device. The activation control unit is illuminated by the switch operation detection unit when the illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit is darker than a predetermined level. When the lighting operation of the device is detected, start-up control for starting up the visual assistance device is performed.

  When a lighting operation of a lighting device that illuminates the outside of the vehicle such as a headlight is detected, it is assumed that the driver subjectively feels that the surrounding environment of the vehicle is dark. Therefore, the activation control means has two situations, the situation where the driver feels subjectively dark and the situation where the surrounding environment of the vehicle is objectively dark based on the detection result of the illuminance detection means. In this case, the visual field assisting device is activated, so that the useless operation opportunity of the visual field assisting device is reduced as compared with the case where the visual field assisting device is activated based on only one of them. Can be activated.

  In one embodiment, the above-described visual assistance device further switches between at least two states: a permission state in which activation of the visual field assistance device is permitted and a prohibited state in which activation of the visual assistance device is prohibited. The activation control means implements the activation control when the main switch is in the permitted state.

  In this way, in the activation control means, the operation state of the main switch is also taken into consideration, so that the driver feels subjectively dark as described above, and the situation where the surrounding environment of the vehicle is objectively dark. In addition, the driver's intention to use whether or not further visual assistance is required is also determined, and the visual assistance device can be activated in a situation where it is further required.

  The visibility assisting device according to an embodiment further includes illumination control means for automatically turning on and off the illumination device according to the illuminance of the surrounding environment. The means is characterized by sharing the illuminance detection means as means for detecting the illuminance of the surrounding environment.

  As described above, the activation control unit and the illumination control unit share the above-described illuminance detection unit as a unit for detecting the illuminance of the surrounding environment, thereby suppressing an increase in the number of mounted parts and a manufacturing cost.

  The visual field assistance apparatus according to an embodiment is the above-described visual field assistance apparatus, wherein the illumination device is a headlight, and the switch operation detection unit detects a switch operation on the headlight.

  The driver turns on the headlight when the surrounding environment of the vehicle is dark and the driver feels it is difficult to see the road condition. Therefore, it is difficult to see the road situation because the surrounding environment of the vehicle is dark in this way, and the situation that the visual assistance device is necessary is grasped as the switch operation of the headlight, and the detection result is as described above. By using it for activation control, it is possible to activate it appropriately in a situation where a visual assistance device is required.

  A visual field assist device according to an embodiment is a visual field assist device that provides an infrared image outside a vehicle, and is an infrared projection that projects infrared rays toward the image area to obtain an infrared reflected image from the image area. Means, a switch operation detecting means for detecting a switch operation with respect to a lighting device for illuminating the outside of the vehicle, and a lighting control means for controlling the lighting of the infrared projection means. When it is detected that the light projection state of the apparatus is in the high beam state, the infrared projection means is controlled to be turned off.

  For example, an illuminating device such as a headlight has two types of light projection states, a low beam state that illuminates a relatively near area in front of the vehicle and a high beam state that illuminates a relatively far area in front of the vehicle. The mechanism can be switched accordingly. In addition, since the light emitted from such a lighting device includes infrared rays, infrared rays outside the vehicle are obtained by using the high beam that illuminates far away to obtain infrared reflected light from a far object area. It is also possible to provide a video. Therefore, the lighting control means controls power consumption by controlling the infrared projection means to the extinguished state and obtaining an infrared image based on the reflected light of the high beam when the light projection state of the lighting device is the high beam state.

  The visual field assistance apparatus according to an embodiment further includes an illuminance detection unit that detects the illuminance of the surrounding environment, and an activation control unit that performs activation control of the visual field assistance device, and the visual field assistance device includes an activation control unit. Performs activation control for activating the visual field assisting device when the illuminance detected by the illuminance detection means is darker than a predetermined level and the lighting state of the lighting device is detected by the switch operation detection means.

  When the lighting device is in a high beam state by the lighting control means, the infrared projection means can be controlled to be turned off to reduce power consumption. In addition, the activation control means has two situations: the situation where the driver feels subjectively dark, and the situation where the surrounding environment of the vehicle is objectively dark based on the detection result of the illuminance detection means. Since the visual assistance device is activated in some cases, the visual assistance device has fewer opportunities to operate than when the visual assistance device is activated on the basis of only one of them, and the visual assistance device is activated when needed. Can be made.

  According to one embodiment, the visual assistance device includes a first display unit that displays an operating state of the visual assistance device, and whether the infrared projection unit is in a lighting state in a situation where the visual assistance device is operating. And a second display means for displaying whether the light is off.

  By providing the first display means and the second display means, the infrared projection is performed even when the infrared projection means is in the off state when the visibility assisting apparatus is operated, as in the visibility assisting apparatus according to claim 5 or 6. It is possible to prevent the driver from misidentifying that the means is a failure.

  In the visual field assisting device according to an embodiment, the visual field assisting device described above can shield the image projection unit that projects an infrared image captured outside the vehicle onto a projection surface facing the driver, and the image projection unit. And a movable shielding member.

  If the image projection means for projecting the imaged infrared image outside the vehicle is directly irradiated with sunlight for a long time, the projection function may be damaged. Therefore, the image projection means is protected from direct sunlight by shielding and covering the image projection means with the movable shielding member when the visibility assisting device is not in operation.

  The visual field assistance apparatus according to an embodiment is characterized in that the visual field assistance apparatus projects an infrared image directly toward a projection surface.

  By arranging the image projection means so as to avoid direct sunlight, there may be a case where it is impossible to project an infrared image directly from the image projection means toward the projection surface due to the arrangement. For example, a configuration in which an optical path adjusting member is provided between the image projection unit and the projection surface is adopted. By adopting a configuration in which an infrared image is projected directly toward the projection surface by the image projection means without interposing such an optical path adjusting member, the number of parts can be reduced and the device configuration can be simplified. To do.

  A visual field assisting device according to an embodiment is a visual field assisting device that provides an image outside the vehicle, and projects a captured image outside the vehicle onto a projection surface facing the driver. And a movable shielding member capable of shielding the image projection means, and the image projection means projects the image directly toward the projection surface.

  If the image projection means is directly exposed to sunlight or the like for a long time, the image projection function may be damaged. Therefore, the image projection means is protected from direct sunlight by shielding and covering the image projection means with the movable shielding member when the visibility assisting device is not in operation. In addition, by adopting a configuration in which an image is directly projected onto the projection surface by the image projection means, the number of parts is reduced and the device configuration is simplified.

  In the above-described visibility assisting apparatus, the visibility assisting apparatus according to an embodiment is configured such that the projection surface is a windshield in front of the driver, and the image projection unit is disposed below the projection surface.

  The projected surface is the windshield in front of the driver, and the video projection means is arranged below this projected surface, so that it can be used effectively in a limited installation space, and driving is possible. It is possible to provide a visual field assisting device that is excellent in visibility by a person.

  According to the visual field assist device according to the embodiment, the visual field assist device is activated when the illuminance detected by the illuminance detection unit is darker than a predetermined level and the lighting operation of the lighting device is detected by the switch operation detection unit. Adopted a configuration that provides a starting control means. As described above, since the visibility assisting device is activated when the situation where the driver feels subjectively dark and the situation where the surrounding environment of the vehicle is objectively dark are prepared, the device is wasted. And the visual assistance device can be reliably operated in a more required situation. As a result, not only the power consumption can be suppressed, but also an unnecessary use opportunity is reduced, which contributes to a longer device life.

  According to the field-of-view assisting device according to an embodiment, a configuration is provided that includes a lighting control unit that controls the infrared projection unit to be turned off when it is detected that the light projection state of the lighting device is in a high beam state. For this reason, by using infrared light equivalent to the light distribution of the infrared projection means that is emitted when the high beam that illuminates a distant place is used, power consumption can be suppressed compared to when the infrared projection means is turned on at this time. In addition, an infrared reflection image equivalent to the case where the infrared projection means is turned on can be obtained.

  Since the visual field auxiliary device according to one embodiment includes a video projection unit that projects a projection surface facing the driver and a movable shielding member that can shield the video projection unit, the visual field auxiliary device is not operated. The image projection means can be protected from direct sunlight by shielding and covering the image projection means with the movable shielding member. Further, by providing such a movable shielding member, it is possible to arrange the image projection means at a position exposed to sunlight, and the degree of freedom of mounting is improved. Furthermore, based on the state whether or not the movable shielding member covers the image projection means, it is possible to notify whether the visibility assisting device is in an operating state or a non-operating state. Furthermore, since a configuration in which an image is projected directly toward the projection surface by the image projection means is adopted, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and contribute to simplification of the apparatus configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Windshield, 100 ... Central controller, 110 ... Power supply control circuit, 120 ... Display driver circuit, 130 ... Motor control circuit,
140 ... lighting control circuit (lighting control means), 150 ... start control circuit (start control means),
170 ... main switch, 190 ... ignition switch 180 ... combination switch (switch operation detecting means),
200 ... Infrared projection lamp (infrared projection means), 230 ... Relay switch,
300 ... Imaging camera ASSY, 400 ... Display device (video projection means),
410 ... Liquid crystal display, 420 ... Shutter (movable shielding member),
470 ... Drive motor, 500 ... Light control system (illumination control means),
510 ... Illuminance sensor (illuminance detection means), 600 ... Indicator control circuit,
602 ... Main switch indicator,
604 ... Projection indicator (second display means),
606... Operation state indicator (first display means)

Claims (4)

Image projecting means for projecting the imaged infrared image of the vehicle exterior to the projected surface facing the driver;
A visual field assisting device comprising a movable shielding member capable of shielding the image projection means. It has illuminance detection means to detect the illuminance of the surrounding environment,
The visual field assisting device according to claim 1, wherein when the illuminance is detected to be bright, the movable shielding member shields the video projection unit. It has illuminance detection means to detect the illuminance of the surrounding environment,
The visual field assistance device according to claim 1, wherein when the illuminance is detected to be dark, the movable shielding member exposes the video projection means.   The visibility assisting device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the projection surface is a windshield.

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