JP2016012277A - Vehicle communication device and communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vehicle communication device capable of reducing a burden on a recipient of a message.SOLUTION: A vehicle communication device 100 includes: reception means 46 which receives a message from another vehicle; display means 47 which displays the message on a display unit 11 above a dashboard; recognition determination means 48 which determines whether a driver has recognized the message displayed on the display unit; and transmitting means 49 which transmits the determination result by the recognition determination means to the other vehicle.

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle communication device for communication between a vehicle and a vehicle.

  Attempts to provide driving assistance using so-called inter-vehicle communication in which vehicles communicate with each other are known. For example, a driver who is in a different vehicle can communicate with each other using inter-vehicle communication (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Patent Document 1 discloses a vehicle communication method in which a transmission vehicle transmits a communication message to another vehicle in response to an operation such as blinking a hazard lamp. Even if the occupant of the vehicle on the receiving side cannot confirm the hazard lamp, the occupant of the transmitting side can grasp that the vehicle on the transmitting side is calling attention by confirming the reception information output by voice or video.

  Further, in the inter-vehicle communication for communication, since the driver needs to perform some operation, there is a disadvantage that it becomes a burden on the driver. Thus, inter-vehicle communication has been devised that reduces the burden on the driver and communicates (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In Patent Document 2, a surrounding traffic situation is detected in a transmission-side vehicle, and when the detected traffic situation satisfies a predetermined condition of a condition master file, a corresponding transmission message is extracted from the transmission message DB and the reception-side vehicle is extracted. A message communication device for transmitting to is disclosed. Therefore, the driver of the vehicle on the transmission side can always transmit the message without performing an explicit operation for transmitting the message, so that the burden on the driver can be reduced.

  By the way, as a driver of the transmitting vehicle, there is a case where it is desired to know whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle has confirmed the message. For this reason, also in patent document 2, the driver | operator of the vehicle of the receiving side can respond to a message with a button or an audio | voice.

  However, conventional vehicle-to-vehicle communication has a problem in that it is a burden to respond to the driver of the vehicle that receives the message. For example, the driver of the transmitting vehicle transmits a message regardless of the situation of the driver of the receiving vehicle. For the driver of the vehicle that receives the message, there is a possibility that the confirmation of the message is not desired or in an undesired manner (display, voice, etc.), and confirmation of the message obstructs concentration on driving. There is a case. In addition, when the user concentrates on driving, the message cannot be confirmed and there is a possibility that the user cannot respond.

  Therefore, depending on the situation of the driver of the receiving vehicle, the driver of the transmitting vehicle may not be able to confirm the response. In this case, since the driver of the transmitting vehicle cannot grasp whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle has confirmed the message, there is a communication trap with the driver of the receiving vehicle. There is.

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle communication device that can reduce a burden on a message recipient.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a receiving means for receiving a message from another vehicle, a display means for displaying the message on a display device above the dashboard, and driving the message displayed on the display device. There is provided a vehicular communication apparatus comprising: a recognition determination unit that determines whether or not a person has recognized; and a transmission unit that transmits a determination result of the recognition determination unit to the other vehicle.

  It is possible to provide a vehicle communication device that can reduce a burden on a message recipient.

It is an example of the figure which illustrates the outline of communication by the communication system between vehicles of this embodiment typically. It is an example of the block diagram of the intention transmission apparatus mounted in a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the example of arrangement | positioning of the intention transmission apparatus in a vehicle. It is an example of a lineblock diagram of a look and eyeball position detection part. It is an example of the schematic block diagram of HUD. It is an example of the hardware block diagram of a control part. It is an example of the functional block diagram of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system. It is an example of the figure which shows typically the transmission vehicle and receiving vehicle on a road. It is an example of the sequence diagram which shows the communication procedure of a transmission vehicle and a receiving vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of transmission information. It is a figure which shows typically the scene where the vehicle which is advancing on the road of one side 2 lanes changes a course as an example of the scene of vehicle-to-vehicle communication. It is a figure which shows typically the scene where the vehicle which is advancing on the road of one side 2 lanes changes a course as an example of the scene of vehicle-to-vehicle communication. In the course change course of Drawing 11, an example of notice of the contents of transmission displayed on HUD of a transmitting vehicle is shown. In the course change course of Drawing 12, an example of notice of the contents of transmission displayed on HUD of a transmitting vehicle is shown. It is an example of the figure explaining the display method of a transmission object vehicle instruction | indication part and a course change position instruction | indication part. FIG. 12 is an example of a diagram showing an image displayed on the HUD when message transmission fails in the course change scene of FIG. 11. It is an example of the figure explaining the image | video displayed on HUD of the receiving vehicle which received the message in the scene of the course change of FIG. It is an example of the figure explaining the image | video displayed on HUD of the transmission vehicle which received the notification of the visual recognition result from the receiving vehicle in the course change course of FIG. It is an example of the figure explaining the image | video displayed on HUD of the transmission vehicle which received the notification of the visual recognition result from the receiving vehicle in the course change course of FIG. It is an example of the figure which shows the message etc. which are displayed in the case of a traffic jam. It is an example of the figure which shows the message etc. which are displayed in the case of passing on a narrow road. It is an example of the figure which shows the message etc. which are displayed in the case of passing on a narrow road. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the process which a transmission vehicle selects the transmission partner of a message. It is an example of the figure explaining the determination method of an approach position in the scene of a course change. It is an example of the flowchart figure explaining the procedure of the message transmission process of a transmission vehicle. It is a figure which shows an example of the format of transmission data. It is an example of the figure explaining the vehicle A and the vehicle B which perform visible light communication. It is an example of the flowchart figure explaining the message reception process of a receiving vehicle. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the procedure of a received data analysis process. It is an example of the flowchart figure which shows the procedure of the visual recognition determination process by the already-read determination part. It is an example of the figure explaining calculation of an eye viewpoint.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an example of a diagram schematically illustrating an outline of communication by the inter-vehicle communication system 200 of the present embodiment. Hereinafter, the transmitting vehicle is referred to as a transmitting vehicle, and the receiving vehicle is referred to as a receiving vehicle.
1. A message 15 “coming in front” is transmitted from the transmitting vehicle 10 to the receiving vehicle 20 (FIG. 1A).
2. When receiving the message, the receiving vehicle 20 displays the message on a HUD (Head Up Display) 11 (FIG. 1B). The receiving vehicle 20 determines whether or not the driver's line of sight has seen the message displayed on the HUD 11.
3. When it is determined that the HUD 11 is viewed, the receiving vehicle 20 transmits a visual recognition result (determination result of whether the message has been confirmed) indicating whether or not the message has been confirmed to the transmitting vehicle 10 (FIG. 1C). ). Since the transmitting vehicle 10 notifies the driver that the message has been confirmed or not confirmed, the driver can grasp whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has recognized the message.

  As described above, the inter-vehicle communication system 200 according to the present embodiment is characterized in that the received message is displayed on the HUD 11 with less movement of the driver's line of sight. Since the driver looks at the HUD 11 with a small line of sight movement, it is possible to provide a situation in which the message can be easily confirmed even in a situation where it is difficult to confirm the message. Moreover, even if the message is confirmed, it is difficult to disturb the concentration on driving.

  Further, in the inter-vehicle communication system 200 according to the present embodiment, the receiving vehicle 20 can determine whether or not the driver has confirmed the message from the line of sight without the driver's explicit operation. Therefore, since the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 can confirm the message by viewing the HUD 11 with a small line of sight movement, the message can be confirmed with a small burden. As a result, the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 can easily transmit the response message, and the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can increase the possibility of grasping whether the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has confirmed the message. . Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of communication traps between the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 and the receiving vehicle 20.

<Configuration example>
FIG. 2 shows an example of a configuration diagram of an in-vehicle communication device. The inter-vehicle communication system 200 is constructed by mounting the intention transmitting device 100 on a plurality of vehicles. The intention transmitting device 100 is an example of a vehicle communication device in the claims. That is, the configuration of the intention transmitting apparatus 100 in FIG. 2 is common to the transmitting vehicle 10 and the receiving vehicle 20.

  The intention transmitting apparatus 100 includes a line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21, a control unit 22, a wireless communication unit 23, a surrounding image acquisition unit 24, an audio interface 25, and a user input unit 26 that are communicably connected to each other via the in-vehicle network 40. , Storage device 27, own vehicle position detection unit 28, inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 29, display controller 30, and external communication unit 34. In addition, a microphone 31 and a speaker 32 are connected to the audio interface 25, and a HUD 11 and an ambient monitor display 33 are connected to the display controller 30.

  The line of sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 detects the direction of the driver's line of sight. In this embodiment, a method for detecting the direction of the line of sight is not limited, but an example of a method for detecting the direction of the line of sight will be described later. The line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 may detect the face direction instead of the line-of-sight direction. Since the face direction and the direction of the line of sight often coincide with each other while driving, whether the driver looks at the HUD 11 according to the face direction, looks at the navigation screen (the surrounding monitor display 33), or looks ahead of the host vehicle. It may be possible to determine whether or not

  The control unit 22 is an information processing device that controls the entire intention transmission device 100 or a device called a microcomputer. The control unit 22 executes a program stored in the storage device 27 and provides a function of the intention transmission device 100 described later.

  The wireless communication part 23 performs communication between vehicles (henceforth vehicle-to-vehicle communication). Various methods have been proposed to realize inter-vehicle communication. In Japan, an improved version of ARIB STD-T75, a standard for road-to-vehicle communication, may be used. In “ARIB STD-T75”, a frequency band of 5.8 GHz is used, but communication using a white space (a frequency band of several hundreds of MHz) in a traveling place may be used. In Europe and the United States, IEEE 802.11p in the 5.9 GHz band based on IEEE 802.11a, which is a wireless LAN standard, may be used for inter-vehicle communication. For example, MANET (Mobile Ad-hock Network) is known as a communication protocol not defined by these communication standards, but the communication protocol is not limited to this. In this embodiment, the wireless communication part 23 should just be able to communicate between vehicles wirelessly, and a communication system is not ask | required.

  The wireless communication unit 23 does not need to be fixed to the vehicle, and uses a wireless LAN function or a Bluetooth (registered trademark) function such as a smartphone, a tablet PC, a notebook PC, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), or a mobile phone. May communicate with each other. The smart phone or the like executes an inter-vehicle communication app, and communicates with a surrounding smart phone or the like that is also executing the inter-vehicle communication app. In addition, the smart phone etc. are connected to the vehicle-mounted network 40 by wire or radio | wireless, and can also acquire the information of a vehicle.

  Further, visible light communication can also be used as the wireless communication unit 23. Visible light communication is a communication method in which a light source such as an LED blinks at high speed and digital data is transmitted in correspondence with light ON and OFF. Visible light communication has a strong directivity, so that it is easy to specify a communication partner vehicle.

  The surrounding image acquisition unit 24 is an imaging device that captures images around the host vehicle. Although the surroundings of the own vehicle are the front, the right side, the left side, or the back, for example, it is not restricted to these. Further, an imaging device using a wide-angle lens such as a fisheye lens may be used.

  The audio interface 25 controls the microphone 31 and the speaker 32 in the vehicle. The audio interface 25 has, for example, a steering switch, and converts an audio signal collected by the microphone 31 into text while the steering switch is pressed. Thereby, a voice input device can be realized. The audio interface 25 outputs the received message from the speaker 32 by voice. Note that the speaker 32 and the microphone 31 may not be mounted on the vehicle, and the external speaker 32 and the microphone 31 may be used.

  The user input unit 26 is mainly a user interface for performing a transmission operation in which the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 transmits a message. Specifically, it corresponds to an operation unit operated by the driver in a situation where a message is transmitted, such as a direction indicator (winker lever), a steering wheel, an accelerator pedal, a brake pedal, or a hazard lamp. In addition, a button for explicitly instructing transmission of a message may be provided. It may also be used to select a message.

  The user input unit 26 is used to input driver attribute information 274. The driver attribute information 274 is information such as age, presence / absence of hearing impairment (including hearing), and the like.

  The storage device 27 stores a message communication program 271, a message recognition determination program 272, a message image generation program 273, driver attribute information 274, and transmission information 275. The message communication program 271 is a program for transmitting and receiving messages, and the message recognition determination program 272 is a program for determining whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has confirmed the message. The message image generation program 273 is a program that generates an image to be displayed on the HUD 11. As described above, the driver attribute information 274 includes the presence or absence of hearing impairment, but may store gender, preference, and the like. The transmission information 275 is a message associated with a scene. Details will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, road map data may be stored.

  The message communication program 271, the message recognition determination program 272, and the message image generation program 273 may be stored as one or two programs. That is, the program need not be divided into three, and the three programs are illustrated for the sake of explanation.

  These programs are distributed by the external communication unit 34 connected to the Internet and downloaded from the server. Alternatively, a portable storage medium (not shown) or a tool for rewriting a program may be connected to the vehicle, and a service person or the like may install the program in the storage device 27.

  In addition, although HDD (Hard Disk Drive), SSD (Solid State Drive), etc. are used as the memory | storage device 27, you may utilize ROM, RAM, etc. which the control part 22 mentions later.

  The own vehicle position detection unit 28 detects the position (latitude, longitude, altitude) of the own vehicle on the earth by using, for example, GPS (Global Positioning System). When a navigation system is installed, position information measured by autonomous navigation from the position detected by the navigation system using GPS may be used. Furthermore, the road where the own vehicle exists can be specified by the map matching performed by the navigation system (the process of applying the own vehicle position to the road of the appropriate road map).

  The inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 measures the distance and direction (relative position) with another vehicle in front of the host vehicle or with other surrounding vehicles. For example, the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 is a stereo camera. In the case of a stereo camera, the distance is detected based on the parallax of images captured by the left and right cameras. Further, the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 may be a millimeter wave radar. In this case, the distance is obtained from the time until the transmitted millimeter wave is reflected by another vehicle and returns, and the azimuth can be obtained from the reflection direction. The inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 29 may be equipped with a monocular camera and a laser radar. In this case, the other vehicle is recognized by the camera, and the relative distance between the vehicles is measured by the laser radar. In addition, TOF (Time Of Flight) may be used for distance measurement, and the distance measurement method is not limited.

  The display controller 30 controls the HUD 11 and the surrounding monitor display 33. The HUD 11 is an example of a display device. It is mainly used to display a video that visually displays the received message and the content of the message. In addition, it is also possible to display the current vehicle speed, navigation information (instructions for turning left and right, etc.), pedestrian detection results, traffic information, and the like.

  The surrounding monitor display 33 is a flat panel display such as a liquid crystal or an organic EL. The surrounding monitor display 33 displays the image acquired by the surrounding image acquisition unit 24, and also displays the road map of the navigation system, the screen of the AV device, the operation buttons of the navigation system and the AV device, and the like.

  The external communication unit 34 connects to a network such as the Internet by connecting to a base station of a mobile phone network or a wireless LAN access point. The external communication unit 34 may be replaced with an information terminal such as a smartphone, a mobile phone, a notebook PC, or a tablet PC.

<Intentional communication device>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an arrangement example of the intention transmission device 100 in the vehicle. The eye camera 103 of the line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 is disposed in front of the driver's seat so that the driver's eyeball can be monitored. Although it is arranged on the dashboard in the figure, it may be embedded in the meter panel or center cluster.

  In FIG. 3, a direction indicator extending from the steering column is shown as the user input unit 26. In addition, a steering switch is disposed in the steering, and the sound collected by the microphone 31 can be recognized.

  Although HUD11 is mentioned later, HUD11 reflects the image | video which the optical unit 101 projects on the semi-transmissive mirror 102, and displays the virtual image 110 in front of a driver | operator. The semi-transmissive mirror 102 transmits some% of the image projected by the optical unit 101 through the windshield and reflects the rest to the driver's seat side. The transflective mirror 102 may be called a combiner. The semi-transmissive mirror 102 may be affixed to the windshield 37, or may be a movable type that pops up from the dashboard when the HUD 11 is used.

  As shown in the figure, the semi-transmissive mirror 102 is located above the dashboard 104 and overlaps with the windshield as viewed from the driver. Therefore, the driver can view the semi-transmissive mirror 102 with a small line of sight movement.

  The inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 is arranged at two places in FIG. The first is arranged on the vehicle front side of the rearview mirror, and the second is arranged on the roof of the vehicle. Both have the same function, but the detection range and accuracy of other vehicles may differ depending on the installation location. For example, the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 of the rear mirror detects a distance from another vehicle in a range of about 30 degrees ahead of the host vehicle, whereas the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 of the roof is 360 degrees parallel to the road surface. The distance from other vehicles can be detected within a range.

  Moreover, the arrangement | positioning location to show in figure is only an example, and the distance measurement part 29 may be arrange | positioned in the back bumper of the own vehicle, a back corner, etc., and the distance with the other vehicle of back and back side may be detected. .

  Thus, the arrangement location and the number of arrangements of the communication device 100 shown in FIG. 3 are merely examples, and each device such as the HUD 11 has an exterior and interior shape, interference with other devices, cost, and the like. Depending on the location.

<Gaze / eyeball position detector>
FIG. 4 is an example of a configuration diagram of the line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21. Under the control of the line-of-sight information processing unit 112, the infrared light source 111 emits point-like infrared light, and the infrared light is reflected on the driver's cornea. The eye camera 103 images the eyeball of the driver, and creates image data in which the pupil 113 and the corneal reflection point 114 are imaged. The line-of-sight information processing unit 112 extracts the center point of the pupil 113 and the center point of the corneal reflection point 114 from the image data, and obtains the line of sight from the relative position of the two feature points.

  More specifically, calibration is performed in advance by displaying a reference point on an arbitrary display and associating the relative position of two feature points when the reference point is viewed with the reference point. This makes it possible to detect the direction of the line of sight as to where on the display is being viewed.

A known method may be used to detect the pupil 113 and the corneal reflection point 114. For example, the following procedure is used.
1. For example, a Haar-Like feature amount is prepared as a weak classifier for face recognition, and weighting of each weak classifier is learned by boosting.
2. Since the face portion is detected from the image data, binarization processing is performed, and eyebrows, eyes, nostrils, lips, etc. are specified using the left and right symmetry of the face.
3. If these can be specified, monitoring of the rectangular area including the eye is started, and the pupil 113 and the corneal reflection point 114 are detected.

  Note that the line-of-sight direction may be detected not from the pupil 113 and the corneal reflection point 114 but from the relative position of the iris and the eye. In this case, since a light source for irradiating infrared rays is unnecessary, the cost can be reduced. Alternatively, not the pupil 113 but the iris may be detected, and the direction of the line of sight may be calculated from the iris position by a known method.

  The eyeball position is measured from an image in which the pupil 113 and the iris are recognized. In order to measure the distance from the eye camera 103 to the face, it is preferable to acquire distance information using a stereo camera, TOF, or the like. If the distance information of the pupil 113 is obtained, the coordinates of the eyeball can be expressed in a predetermined coordinate system.

  By knowing the coordinates of the eyeball and the direction of the line of sight, the control unit 22 can determine whether or not the driver is looking at at least the semi-transmissive mirror 102 of the HUD 11, and which part of the semi-transmissive mirror 102 is being viewed. You can determine whether or not. Details will be described with reference to FIG.

<Head-up display>
FIG. 5 shows an example of a schematic configuration diagram of the HUD 11. The HUD 11 has an optical unit 101 and a semi-transmissive mirror 102. The optical unit 101 irradiates the image of the display 202 such as liquid crystal with the light source 201 from behind, enlarges it with the convex mirror 203, performs distortion correction according to the shape of the windshield with the concave mirror 204, and the direction of the windshield It is folded back. A semi-transmissive mirror 102 is disposed on the inner side of the windshield (or attached to the inner side of the windshield), and a part of the image projected by the optical unit 101 is reflected to the driver side. As a result, the driver can visually recognize the enlarged virtual image 110 in front of the windshield.

  Although the semi-transmissive mirror 102 and the windshield overlap, the driver can view the front field of view through both the wind shield and the semi-transmissive mirror 102. The position of the semi-transmissive mirror 102 may be above the dashboard 104 and is not limited to below the windshield. For example, the windshield may be disposed near the roof panel, or may be disposed near the A pillar. Further, depending on the transmittance of the semi-transmissive mirror 102, the semi-transmissive mirror 102 may be arranged so as to cover almost the entire surface of the windshield.

  In addition to the semi-transmissive mirror 102 in front of the driver's seat, the semi-transmissive mirror 102 may be disposed in front of the passenger seat.

  Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is merely an example, and the HUD 11 may have any structure. In addition, a message is displayed on the HUD 11 as will be described later, but a device that displays the message may be a projector, for example. In the case of a projector, an image may be projected on the semi-transmissive mirror 102.

<Functions of control unit, etc.>
FIG. 6 shows an example of a hardware configuration diagram of the control unit 22, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a functional block diagram of the inter-vehicle communication system 200.

  The control unit 22 includes a CPU 221, a RAM 222, a ROM 223, a CAN controller 224, an I / O 225, and the like, like a general microcomputer. These are connected via a bus 226 such as a system bus or an external bus controlled by a bus controller.

  The CPU 221 executes the message communication program 271, the message recognition determination program 272, and the message image generation program 273 stored in the storage device 27 using the RAM 222 as a working memory. Thereby, the transmitting vehicle 10 or the receiving vehicle 20 performs message communication, read determination, message display, and the like.

  The CAN controller 224 is connected to a CAN bus 227, and communicates with the line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 based on the CAN protocol. Sensors and actuators connected by cables other than the CAN bus 227 are connected to the I / O 225.

  As illustrated in FIG. 7, the inter-vehicle communication system 200 has a function of the intention transmitting device 100 of the transmitting vehicle 10 and a function of the intention transmitting device 100 of the receiving vehicle 20.

  The sending side communication device 100 has functions realized by the CPU 221 executing one or more of the message communication program 271, the message recognition determination program 272, and the message image generation program 273 and cooperating with hardware. Have. First, the control unit 22 of the transmission vehicle 10 includes a scene determination unit 41, a transmission partner selection unit 42, a message transmission unit A43, a message display unit A44, and a message reception unit A45.

  The scene determination unit 41 determines whether the scene is a scene for transmitting a message. A scene is a situation of the transmission vehicle 10, and a scene for transmitting a message is determined in advance. The scene will be described with reference to FIG.

  The transmission partner selection unit 42 selects a vehicle that transmits a message among the vehicles around the transmission vehicle 10 as a transmission partner. By selecting and transmitting a transmission partner, even if a vehicle other than the transmission partner receives a message, it can be determined that the vehicle is not addressed to the host vehicle.

  The message transmission unit A43 generates transmission data including the message and transmits the message (transmission data) to the transmission partner. The message transmission unit A43 notifies the message display unit A of the message and success / failure of transmission.

  The message receiving unit A45 receives the visual recognition result of the message of the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 from the receiving vehicle 20.

  The message display unit A44 displays the transmitted message, the success / failure of the transmission, and the visual recognition result on the HUD 11.

  The receiving side communication device 100 has a function realized when the CPU 221 executes one or more of the message communication program 271, the message recognition determination program 272, and the message image generation program 273 and cooperates with hardware. Have. The receiving side communication device 100 includes a message reception unit B46, a message display unit B47, a read determination unit 48, and a message transmission unit B49.

  The message reception unit B46 receives a message from the transmission vehicle 10. The message display unit B47 displays the received message on the HUD 11. The already-read determination unit 48 determines whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has visually recognized the message. The message transmission unit B49 transmits the visual recognition result to the transmission vehicle 10.

<Outline of inter-vehicle communication>
The message transmission / reception between vehicles will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is an example of a diagram schematically showing the transmitting vehicle 10 and the receiving vehicle 20 on the road, and FIG. 9 is an example of a sequence diagram showing a communication procedure between the transmitting vehicle 10 and the receiving vehicle 20. Note that the arrangement of the transmission vehicle 10 and the reception vehicle 20 in FIG. 8 is merely for convenience, and the arrangement of the transmission vehicle 10 and the reception vehicle 20 varies depending on the scene.

S1: First, the driver performs a transmission operation for transmitting a message. Hereinafter, this transmission operation is referred to as a transmission action. The intention transmitting apparatus 100 starts processing by the transmission action. The transmission action is detected, for example, when the driver operates a direction indicator or the like while the vehicle is traveling on a road whose route can be changed. Thereby, a scene is determined. Note that whether or not the transmission vehicle 10 is traveling on a road whose route can be changed can be determined based on the vehicle position detected by the vehicle position detection unit 28. Further, as will be described with reference to FIG. 10, the driver's transmission action may be unnecessary depending on the scene.
S2: When a scene is determined, the transmission partner selection unit 42 of the transmission vehicle 10 selects a message transmission partner according to the scene. Details will be described with reference to FIG.
S3: When the transmission partner selection unit 42 selects a message transmission partner, the message display unit A44 notifies the driver of the transmission contents. The notification of the transmission content is performed by displaying a transmitted message and a display image (a transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 and a route change position instruction unit 62 described later) on at least one of the HUD 11 and the surrounding monitor display 33.
S4: After the notification of the transmission content or in parallel with the notification, the message transmission unit A43 performs a transmission process of transmitting the message to the message transmission partner. Details of this message transmission processing will be described later.
S5: The message transmission unit A43 transmits transmission data including the message to the receiving vehicle 20.

S6: After transmitting the message, the message transmission unit A43 notifies the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 of the success or failure of the message transmission. In advance, the driver sets whether the message is automatically retransmitted when the message transmission fails or whether the driver selects whether or not to resend each time. Therefore, when the driver selects whether or not to resend, the message transmission unit A43 causes the driver to select whether to retransmit the message or cancel the transmission.
S7: In the message receiving vehicle 20, the message receiving unit B46 receives the message and performs a message receiving process. By the message reception process, it is determined whether or not the message is a message for the host vehicle.
S8: When the message is a message for the host vehicle, the message received by the message display unit B47 is output as video or audio. And the already-read determination part 48 starts a visual confirmation process. This visual confirmation processing will be described with reference to FIG.
S9: The message transmission unit B49 of the reception vehicle 20 transmits the visual recognition result to the transmission vehicle 10.
S10: Since the message receiving unit A45 of the transmission vehicle 10 receives the visual recognition result from the transmission vehicle 10, the message display unit A44 notifies the driver of the visual recognition result. The visual recognition result includes whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has visually recognized. The driver is notified of the success or failure of the visual recognition using at least one of the HUD 11 and the surrounding monitor display 33.

  Further, when a long time has elapsed without receiving a response message from the receiving vehicle 20, the message display unit A44 informs the driver that the communication has failed by video or audio.

  S11: In the transmission vehicle 10, the communication is terminated when the termination condition corresponding to the message transmission action is satisfied. The message transmission unit A43 notifies the receiving vehicle 20 of the end of communication.

  Note that in the communication device 100 of the receiving vehicle 20, the communication is terminated in the receiving vehicle 20 when the communication completion notification is not received even after a certain time has elapsed after the visual confirmation.

<Relationship between scene and send action>
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the transmission information 275. The transmission information 275 is an example of a diagram illustrating a scene in which the transmission vehicle 10 transmits a message, a transmission action of each scene, a transmission partner, a transmission message, a display image, a transmission image, and an end condition. In FIG. 10, as the scene, there are a course change, a conventional end, and a passing on a narrow road.
・ Changing the course means changing the course (passing place) without changing the direction of travel in Japan. That is, the present invention is not limited to changing the vehicle lane (travel lane).

The scene determination unit 41 determines that the scene is a course change when it is detected that the direction indicator is operated and the vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the threshold value.
-Reaching the tail end of the traffic is to approach the tail of the vehicle when a plurality of vehicles are stopped, but it does not matter whether or not it is strictly the tail. Moreover, the factor of traffic congestion is not ask | required.

In the scene determination unit 41, the inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 29 detects the vehicle ahead of the host vehicle, and obtains the vehicle speed of the vehicle ahead from the relative speed with the host vehicle and the vehicle speed of the host vehicle. When the vehicle speed of the vehicle ahead is more than a certain speed slower than the legal speed, it is determined that the scene reaches the end of the traffic jam.
・ Passing on a narrow road means passing on an oncoming vehicle on a road with a width of less than a specified value on one lane.

  When the width of the currently running road detected by the vehicle position detection unit 28 is less than a predetermined value and the inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 29 detects an oncoming vehicle, the scene determination unit 41 is a passing scene on a narrow road. Judge that there is. Being an oncoming vehicle is determined from the relative speed and the vehicle speed of the host vehicle.

  In the route change scene, the message transmission action is that the direction indicator is operated. The destination of the message is the vehicle that will follow after the course is changed. The message to be transmitted is, for example, “Previous”. The end condition is when the course change is completed.

  In a scene that reaches the end of the traffic jam, the message transmission action is to detect that the speed of the vehicle ahead is slower than the legal speed by a certain amount. The transmission partner of the message is a subsequent vehicle as viewed from the own vehicle. The message to be transmitted is, for example, “congestion”. The end condition is that the relative speed with respect to the following vehicle when viewed from the own vehicle is equal to or less than a certain value.

  In a scene where people pass on a narrow road, the message transmission action is to detect the opposing vehicle ahead on the narrow road. The message transmission partner is the oncoming vehicle closest in the traveling direction. The message to be transmitted is, for example, “Please come first / pass first”. In this case, the driver may select the message “please first” or “pass first”. If the vehicle speed of the sending vehicle 10 is higher than the message transmission unit A43, “pass first”. If you are late, you may select “Please come first”. That is, an appropriate message may be selected by comparing the vehicle status of two vehicles. The end condition is that the oncoming vehicle moves rearward from the own vehicle.

  The display image is an image displayed on the HUD 11 or the surrounding monitor display 33 of the transmission vehicle 10 after the transmission vehicle 10 selects a message transmission partner. Moreover, a transmission image is an image which the transmission vehicle 10 transmits to a transmission partner with a message. The scene identification number may be transmitted instead of the transmitted image. The receiving vehicle 20 can read and display the transmission image based on the scene identification number.

<Example of course change>
FIG. 11 schematically shows a scene in which a vehicle traveling on a two-lane road on one side changes its course as an example of a scene of inter-vehicle communication. FIG. 11 shows a course change in which the preceding transmitting vehicle 10 moves in front of the succeeding receiving vehicle 20 in the right traveling lane.

  When the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 operates the direction indicator, the scene determination unit 41 determines that the scene is a course change, and the transmission partner selection unit 42 informs the reception vehicle 20 that is the subsequent vehicle after the course change to “previous”. "I will enter" message.

  FIG. 12 schematically shows a scene in which a vehicle traveling on a road on two lanes on one side changes its course as an example of a scene of inter-vehicle communication. FIG. 12 shows a course change in which the rear transmitting vehicle 10 moves ahead of the receiving vehicle 20 traveling in the left traveling lane.

  When the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 operates the direction indicator, the scene determination unit 41 determines that the scene is a course change, and the transmission partner selection unit 42 informs the reception vehicle 20 that is the subsequent vehicle after the course change to “previous”. "I will enter" message.

<Display example of messages>
Display examples of messages, transmission contents, and visual recognition results will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 13 shows an example of notification of transmission contents displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 in the course change scene of FIG.

  When the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 operates the turn indicator to the right, a message is displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 between the time when the message is transmitted and the time when the response message is received from the reception vehicle 20. . The message can notify the driver that the message has been sent and that it is waiting for a response message.

  In the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 that has transmitted the message, for example, a notification of the content of transmission of “entering in front. Thereby, the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can grasp the content of the message, that the message is being transmitted, and that the reaction on the receiving side has not yet returned.

  Instead of simply displaying the transmission content notification, the transparency and brightness of the transmission content notification may be changed before and after the message transmission. Thereby, the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can determine whether or not a message has been transmitted.

  Further, a sound or a sound may be output at the timing when the message is transmitted without changing the color or the like of the transmission content notification.

  FIG. 14 shows an example of the notification of the transmission content displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 in the route change scene of FIG.

  When the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 operates the turn indicator to the left, the message and display image are displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 between the time when the message is transmitted and the time when the response message is received from the reception vehicle 20. Is displayed. That is, unlike FIG. 13, display images (transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 and route change position instruction unit 62) are displayed.

  First, the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 indicating the reception vehicle 20 is displayed on the HUD 11 so as to be superimposed on the reception vehicle 20 so as to relate to the reception vehicle 20. The transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 includes, for example, a text “transmission target vehicle” included in a balloon. By displaying the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 in the vicinity of the transmission vehicle 10, the driver of the reception vehicle 20 can easily grasp which vehicle has transmitted the message.

  Further, the HUD 11 displays a route change position instruction unit 62 at the route change position so as to be superimposed on the travel lane 65 to be changed. The course change position instructing unit 62 is an arrow icon indicating the course change position. The course change position instruction unit 62 is also an icon indicating a moving direction in which the host vehicle moves for changing the course. By the course change position instruction unit 62, the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 can easily grasp the course change position and the moving direction of the vehicle. The display methods of the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 and the course change position instruction unit 62 will be described with reference to FIG.

  In the course change course of FIG. 11, the receiving vehicle 20 does not exist over the semi-transparent mirror. Therefore, in the course change in FIG. 11, the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 and the course change position instruction unit 62 may be displayed on the surrounding monitor display 33 so as to be superimposed on the receiving vehicle 20 or the road.

  FIG. 15 is an example of a diagram illustrating a display method of the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 and the route change position instruction unit 62. When the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 and the surrounding image acquisition unit 24 are imaging means such as a camera, the receiving vehicle 20 is captured as an image, and thus the transmitting vehicle 10 can recognize the receiving vehicle 20 by the recognition process.

  Specifically, since the transmission target vehicle (reception vehicle 20) is selected, the reception vehicle 20 can be specified by the position of the reception vehicle 20. Further, the receiving vehicle 20 at the specified position may be recognized by image processing from an image captured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 or the surrounding video acquisition unit 24. Since the approximate position of the receiving vehicle 20 is known, the receiving vehicle 20 can be recognized using both the Haar-Like feature amount and the HOG feature. Note that selection of a transmission partner will be described with reference to FIG.

  Similarly, the image data captured by the inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 29 and the surrounding image acquisition unit 24 is not limited to a lane marking (hereinafter referred to as a white line), but may have a function of dividing a traveling lane. The white line can be recognized by performing a (good) recognition process (recognizing a straight line with high luminance).

  In addition, since the angle of view and the attachment position of the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 and the surrounding image acquisition unit 24 are fixed, the imaging range is constant. The position of the semi-transmissive mirror 102 with respect to the windshield 37 is also fixed. Therefore, a region corresponding to the semi-transparent mirror 102 can be determined in advance for the image data 38 captured by the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29 and the surrounding image acquisition unit 24. In FIG. 15, the range surrounded by the dotted line of the image data 38 is a corresponding region of the semi-transmissive mirror 102. In general, image data> translucent mirror, but the reverse case is not inconvenient.

  Therefore, assuming that the message display unit A44 has displayed the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 in the vicinity of the reception vehicle 20 recognized from the image data, the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 is located at which position of the semi-transparent mirror 102. Ask for correspondence. By displaying the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 at the position obtained by the semi-transmissive mirror 102, the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 is displayed so that the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 can be seen in the vicinity of the reception vehicle 20 from the driver's seat. be able to.

  Further, it is assumed that the message display unit A44 has displayed the course change position instruction unit 62 recognized on the road surface ahead of the receiving vehicle 20 in the adjacent lane recognized from the image data 38. The position of the transflective mirror 102 corresponding to the position of the unit 62 is obtained, and the course change position instruction unit 62 is displayed on the HUD 11.

  As will be described later, since the transmission partner vehicle (receiving vehicle 20) is determined by the relative position after a predetermined time has elapsed, the approach position may not be accurate at the timing when the message is transmitted. However, if the route change position indicating unit 62 is displayed in front of the receiving vehicle 20 that is a subsequent vehicle after the route change, the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 can use the entry position as a guide.

  Further, the display mode of the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 61 is merely an example, and may be directly superimposed on the receiving vehicle 20 without using a balloon, or may be displayed on the lower side (road surface side) of the receiving vehicle 20. Also good.

  Moreover, the display mode of the course change position instructing unit 62 is merely an example, and may be displayed so as to be superimposed on a white line, or may be displayed so as to be superimposed on the road surface of the traveling lane in which the transmission vehicle 10 is traveling. Also good.

  FIG. 16 is an example of a diagram showing an image displayed on the HUD 11 when message transmission fails in the route change scene of FIG. The message display part A44 of the transmission vehicle 10 displays whether the message transmission is correct or not on the HUD 11. FIG. 16 shows a notification “Enter before. Transmission failed” which is displayed when transmission could not be performed. If the transmission is successful, for example, a notification “Enter before.

  Note that the case where the message transmission fails includes a case where the wireless communication unit 23 has a high load for other communication or a case where the communication channel is not free.

  The driver of the transmission vehicle 10 can recognize that the message could not be transmitted by the notification “going in front.

  When the message can be transmitted, the message display unit A44 operates so as to change the color and transparency of the message before sending the message. When the message cannot be transmitted, the color, transparency, and brightness do not change. The transmission failure may be notified.

  FIG. 16 shows a notification example of whether transmission is correct or not in the case of the scene of FIG. 11, but the same display is performed in the scene of FIG.

  FIG. 17 is an example of a diagram illustrating an image displayed on the HUD 11 of the receiving vehicle 20 that has received a message in the course change scene of FIG. 11.

  The message display unit B47 displays the message transmitted from the transmission vehicle 10 on the HUD 11. In this display, the message display unit B47 displays the transmission image on the HUD 11. The transmission image in FIG. 17 includes an approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 for indicating the transmission vehicle 10 and an approach position instruction unit 64 indicating the approaching position. The approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 is an icon that instructs a vehicle to enter (the approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 is an example of another vehicle instruction image in the scope of claims). The approach position instructing unit 64 is an icon indicating the approach position of the approaching vehicle. Moreover, the approach position instruction | indication part 64 is also an icon which shows the moving direction to which the transmission vehicle 10 moves for a course change (the approach position instruction | indication part 64 is an example of the moving direction image of a claim).

  The message display unit B47 displays the message 15 on the HUD 11. The display position of the message 15 is below, above, right end, left end, or center of the semi-transparent mirror 102. Moreover, you may display near the approach position instruction | indication part 64 described below (below and above the approach position instruction | indication part 64). By displaying near, it becomes easy to grasp the meaning of the approach position instruction unit 64.

  The message display unit B47 displays the approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 in the vicinity of the transmission vehicle 10. Moreover, the approach position instruction | indication part 64 is superimposed and displayed on the road surface of the driving lane of the own vehicle.

  First, since the transmission data includes position information (transmission vehicle position described later) of the transmission vehicle 10, the reception vehicle 20 can identify the transmission vehicle 10. Therefore, the display position of the approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 in the HUD 11 can be determined by detecting the transmission vehicle 10 from the image data acquired by the inter-vehicle distance measurement unit 29 and the surrounding image acquisition unit 24.

  As for the approach position instruction section 64, the display position in the HUD 11 is determined on the assumption that the image data is displayed on the road surface in front of the transmission vehicle 10 and in front of the reception vehicle 20.

  The driver of the receiving vehicle 20 can grasp the direction in which the transmission vehicle 10 moves by the approach position instruction unit 64 and can grasp the transmission vehicle 10 by the approach vehicle instruction unit 63.

  In addition, the receiving vehicle 20 may output the message transmitted from the transmitting vehicle 10 from the speaker 32 and notify the driver.

In the case of the route change scene of FIG. 12, since the transmitting vehicle 10 is traveling behind the receiving vehicle 20, the message display section B47 of the receiving vehicle 20 displays as follows.
The message “enter before” transmitted from the transmission vehicle 10 is displayed on the HUD 11 together with the approach position instruction unit 64 indicating the approach position of the transmission vehicle 10.
-The approach vehicle instruction | indication part 63 displays on the periphery monitor display 33, and displays it in the vicinity of the transmission vehicle 10. FIG.

  FIG. 18 is an example of a diagram illustrating an image displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 that has received the notification of the visual recognition result from the reception vehicle 20 in the course change scene of FIG. FIG. 18 is a display example when it is confirmed that the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has visually recognized.

  When the message display unit A44 of the transmission vehicle 10 receives the visual confirmation result that the confirmation has been made, the message “I will enter before” and the text “Confirmed” indicating that the driver of the reception vehicle 20 has confirmed the message are displayed. To do.

  In addition to displaying, in order to tell that it has been confirmed, the text “confirmed” may be output from the speaker 32 using voice information. In addition, confirmation may be notified by changing the color, transparency, lightness, etc. of the message “enter in front”.

  In the course change course in FIG. 12 as well, the transmitting vehicle 10 displays the text “confirmed” in the same manner.

  FIG. 19 is an example of a diagram illustrating an image displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 that has received the notification of the visual recognition result from the reception vehicle 20 in the course change scene of FIG. FIG. 19 is a display example when it is not possible to confirm that the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has visually recognized.

  When the message display unit A44 of the transmitting vehicle 10 receives the visual recognition result that it cannot be confirmed, the message “enter before” and the text “confirmation failure” indicating that the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 did not confirm the message. Is displayed.

  In addition to displaying, in order to convey that the confirmation has failed, the text “confirmation failure” may be output from the speaker 32 using voice information. Further, the confirmation failure may be notified by changing the color, transparency, lightness, etc. of the message “enter before”.

  In the course change course in FIG. 12 as well, the transmitting vehicle 10 displays the text “confirmation failure” in the same manner.

<< Messages of traffic scenes >>
A message displayed on the HUD 11 in the case of another scene will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 20 is an example of a diagram showing messages and the like displayed in the case of a traffic jam. FIG. 20A shows an example of notification of transmission contents displayed on the surrounding monitor display 33 of the transmission vehicle 10 in a traffic jam scene. That is, the surrounding image acquisition unit 24 of the transmission vehicle 10 captures a rear image and displays it on the surrounding monitor display 33. The message display unit A44 displays “congestion is being transmitted” on the surrounding monitor display 33, and the transmission target instruction unit 66 is displayed in the vicinity of the receiving vehicle 20. Thereby, the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can grasp the receiving vehicle by the surrounding monitor display 33.

  FIG. 20B is an example of a diagram showing a notification of success or failure of transmission displayed when message transmission fails. Thereby, the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can grasp whether or not the message is transmitted by the surrounding monitor display 33.

  The left figure of FIG. 20C shows the notification of the visual recognition result that it has been confirmed, and the right figure shows the notification of the visual recognition result that it cannot be confirmed. Thereby, the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can grasp whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has confirmed the message by the surrounding monitor display 33.

  FIG. 20D is an example of a diagram illustrating an image displayed on the HUD of the receiving vehicle 20 that has received a message in a traffic jam scene. The message display unit B47 displays a forward vehicle instruction unit 67 in the vicinity of the transmission vehicle 10 together with a message “congestion”.

  FIG. 21 is an example of a diagram showing messages and the like displayed in the case of passing on a narrow road. FIG. 21A shows an example of notification of transmission content displayed on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10 in a passing scene on a narrow road. In a passing scene on a narrow road, the receiving vehicle 20 is present in the front, so that “During sending ahead” can be displayed on the HUD 11. In addition, the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 68 can be displayed in the vicinity of the receiving vehicle 20 as in the case of the course change.

  Moreover, the stop instruction | indication part 71 is displayed on the road surface ahead of the own vehicle. That is, when a message “Please come first” is transmitted in a passing scene on a narrow road, the transmitting vehicle 10 should stop or slow down until passing each other. The driver can be prompted to stop or slow down.

  As shown in FIG. 21 (b), the success or failure of transmission is displayed on the HUD 11, and as shown in FIG. 21 (c), the visual recognition result is displayed on the HUD 11.

  FIG. 21 (d) is an example of a diagram illustrating an image displayed on the HUD 11 of the receiving vehicle 20 that has received a message in a passing scene on a narrow road. On the HUD 11 of the receiving vehicle 20, a vehicle waiting instruction unit 69 is displayed in the vicinity of the transmitting vehicle 10. In addition, the message display unit B47 displays a stop state display unit 72 in the vicinity of the transmission vehicle 10. Thereby, the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 can grasp that the transmitting vehicle 10 is waiting to pass and may pass ahead as instructed by the message.

  FIG. 22 is an example of a diagram showing a message displayed in the case of passing on a narrow road. Unlike FIG. 21, in FIG. 22, the message is “pass first”. Therefore, the message display unit A44 displays not only the transmission target vehicle instruction unit 73 but also the travel instruction unit 74 on the front road surface on the HUD 11 of the transmission vehicle 10. As a result, the driver of the transmission vehicle 10 can grasp that it can proceed after receiving the result of visual recognition of the message.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22D, the message display unit B47 of the receiving vehicle 20 displays the passing vehicle instruction unit 75 in the vicinity of the transmitting vehicle 10, and displays the passing display unit 76 on the road surface in front of the passing vehicle 10. indicate. Thereby, the driver of receiving vehicle 20 can grasp that transmitting vehicle 10 passes first.

<Processing procedure>
<< Select recipient >>
FIG. 23 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a process in which the transmission vehicle selects a message transmission partner. FIG. 23 starts when a transmission action is detected.
S1: Before or after the transmission action is determined, the transmitting vehicle measures the relative position and relative speed with the surrounding vehicles by the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29.
S2: Next, the transmission partner selection unit 42 selects a message transmission partner. First, the scene determination unit 41 determines a scene as described above. Then, a transmission partner designated by the scene is selected from around the own vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 24, in order to select a transmission partner, first, an approach position is determined. FIG. 24 is an example of a diagram illustrating a method of determining an approach position in a course change course.
1. The transmission partner selection unit of the transmission vehicle determines an inter-vehicle distance in which the course is changed. For example, it is recommended that the route change be started after 3 seconds from the operation of the direction indicator, for example, so the transmission partner selection unit 42 predicts the relative position of the surrounding vehicle after 3 seconds. The relative position after 3 seconds can be predicted from the current relative position and relative speed. For example, it is assumed that the arrangement of FIG. 24 is the relative position of the surrounding vehicle after 3 seconds.
2. Next, an inter-vehicle distance that is closest to the host vehicle and has a sufficient inter-vehicle distance in the travel lane after the course is changed is determined as an approaching inter-vehicle distance. In the example of FIG. 24, between the inter-vehicle distance A and the inter-vehicle distance B, the inter-vehicle distance B satisfies the condition, so the inter-vehicle distance B is determined between the approaching vehicles.
3. Next, an approach position is determined. The approach position is an intermediate position when the inter-vehicle distance between approaching vehicles is less than a certain value. When the inter-vehicle distance is more than a certain distance, after changing the course, a position a certain distance away ahead of the succeeding vehicle is set as the entry position.

  Thus, the receiving vehicle 20 can be determined as a transmission partner by determining the approach position where the course is changed.

  FIG. 24 illustrates the determination of the approach position in the course change scene of FIG. 11, but the same applies to the course change scene of FIG. In other words, the travel lane of the entry destination changes from right to left, but the approach position can be determined in the same manner because the relative position of the surrounding vehicle after 3 seconds is predicted.

  Further, in a scene that reaches the tail end of the traffic jam, the nearest succeeding vehicle that travels in the same travel lane as the host vehicle is the message transmission partner. In a passing scene on a narrow road, the oncoming vehicle closest in the direction of travel is the message transmission partner.

<< Sending vehicle message transmission process >>
FIG. 25 is an example of a flowchart for explaining the procedure of the message transmission process of the transmission vehicle. The process of FIG. 25 is performed following the process of FIG.
S1: The message transmission unit A43 first generates transmission data. Since the scene has already been determined, a message is read from the transmission information 275. The generation of transmission data will be described with reference to FIG.
S2: The message transmission unit A43 transmits the created transmission data to the transmission partner.

  FIG. 26A shows an example of a format of transmission data. In addition to the message, the transmission data includes a transmission image (the approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 and the approaching position instruction unit 64), both sender identification information, and reception vehicle identification information.

  The message or the transmission image may be transmitted as identification information for specifying a scene, instead of transmitting the message or the transmission image. Thereby, communication time can be shortened.

  The sender identification information and the receiving vehicle identification information will be described. In transmitting a message, there is a possibility that a vehicle other than the transmission partner vehicle (receiving vehicle 20) may receive the message, and therefore information for identifying the receiving vehicle 20 from other vehicles is transmitted. This information is referred to as receiving vehicle identification information. Moreover, since the receiving vehicle 20 transmits the visual recognition result to the transmitting vehicle, the transmitting vehicle 10 must be distinguished from other vehicles when viewed from the receiving vehicle 20. Information for distinguishing the transmission vehicle 10 from other vehicles is referred to as transmission vehicle identification information.

  The transmission vehicle identification information includes, for example, transmission vehicle position, transmission vehicle travel lane information, or transmission vehicle IP address. The received vehicle identification information includes a received vehicle position and received vehicle travel lane information. Among these, it is preferable that the transmitting vehicle position and the receiving vehicle position are always included.

  The transmission vehicle position is, for example, the latitude / longitude / altitude detected by the vehicle position detection unit 28. The transmission vehicle traveling lane information indicates the number of traveling lanes on one side from the left (or right). The transmission vehicle IP address may be a global IP address or an IP address given by any vehicle or roadside device as a DHCP server. Further, when the inter-vehicle communication uses TCP / IP communication, it is included in the header of the IP packet even if it is not included in the transmission data.

  The received vehicle position is a latitude / longitude / altitude, etc. in consideration of the relative position of the transmission partner with respect to the latitude / longitude / altitude detected by the vehicle position detection unit 28. The reception vehicle travel lane information is a value obtained by adding 1 to the transmission vehicle travel lane information or subtracting 1 depending on the direction of the course change. The received vehicle IP address is not included because it may be unknown when the message is transmitted, but it is preferable to include it if it is known.

  In addition, when the wireless communication part 23 communicates by visible light communication, it is not necessary to specify the vehicle which transmitted vehicle information. FIG. 27 is an example of a diagram illustrating a vehicle A and a vehicle B that perform visible light communication. The vehicle B has receivers 1 to 8 around the vehicle, and the vehicle A has transmitters 1 to 8 around the vehicle. Assume that the vehicle A is the transmitting vehicle 10 and the vehicle B is the receiving vehicle 20.

  When changing the lane, the vehicle A transmits a message from the transmitter 5 in order to transmit a message to the right rear vehicle of the host vehicle. The vehicle B receives this at the receiver 1. Therefore, by receiving the message at the receiver 1, the vehicle B can specify that the vehicle that transmitted the message is traveling left ahead and is the vehicle A.

  The vehicle B does not always receive visible light only by the receiver 1, but even if the receivers 2 and 8 receive visible light, the receiver 1 has the strongest reception intensity of visible light. It can be identified that a message has been received. Therefore, in visible light communication, the communication partner can be specified by the receivers 1 to 8 that have received visible light.

<< Message reception process >>
FIG. 28 is an example of a flowchart for explaining message reception processing of the receiving vehicle. The process of FIG. 28 starts when the receiving vehicle 20 receives a message.
S1: First, the message receiver B46 performs received data analysis processing. The received data analysis process will be described with reference to FIG.
S2: When the received data analysis process ends, the message receiving unit B46 determines whether or not the received message is a message for the host vehicle. If it is determined that the message is not for the host vehicle, the processing in FIG. 28 ends. When the transmitting vehicle can identify and transmit the receiving vehicle by visible light communication or the like, it is not necessary to determine whether the message is for the host vehicle.
S3: When it is determined that the message for the host vehicle has been received, the message display unit B47 acquires the vehicle information of the host vehicle. The vehicle information is information on a mounted display device, audio output device, or these connected devices.
S4: The message display unit B47 determines whether there is a device capable of outputting a message such as a display device or a voice output device in the host vehicle. If there is no device that can output a message to the host vehicle, the process proceeds to step S11.
S5: When there is a device that can output a message to the host vehicle, the message display unit B47 acquires the driver attribute information 274 from the storage device 27.
S6: The message display unit B47 determines, based on the driver attribute information 274, whether or not the driver can recognize the output from the display device and the voice output device provided in the host vehicle. For example, when there is a hearing impairment, even if a message is output from the speaker 32, it is difficult to recognize. Further, when the age is above a certain level, the hearing ability may be reduced and it may be difficult to recognize the message output from the speaker 32. Therefore, for example, when the driver has a hearing impairment and the message output means provided in the vehicle is only an audio output device, it is determined that recognition is difficult. In this case, the process proceeds to step S11.
S7: When the driver determines that the message can be recognized, the message display unit B47 displays the message and the transmission image (the approaching vehicle instruction unit 63 and the approach position instruction unit 64).
S8: And the already-read determination part 48 performs the visual recognition determination process (S8-1) and the speech recognition process (S8-2) which are the processes which determine whether the driver | operator recognized the message. Details of the visual recognition determination process will be described later. Regarding the voice recognition processing, it is confirmed that the message has been recognized by recognizing the driver's speech command such as “OK” or “Please”. A known technique can be used for the voice recognition process. When the receiving vehicle 20 includes only one of the line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 or the voice recognition device, only processing is performed only by one means of the line-of-sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 or the voice recognition device provided. .
S9: The read determination unit 48 determines whether the message has been confirmed.
S10: When the message is confirmed, the message transmitting unit B49 notifies the transmitting vehicle 10 of a visual recognition result indicating that the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has recognized the message.
S11: When the message is not confirmed, the message transmitting unit B49 transmits a visual recognition result indicating that the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has not recognized the message to the transmitting vehicle 10.

  As shown in FIG. 26B, the visual recognition result for the transmission vehicle 10 includes transmission vehicle identification information and recipient identification information. The transmission vehicle 10 determines that the result is a visual recognition addressed to the own vehicle based on the transmission vehicle identification information in the same manner as the transmission data. Moreover, the transmission vehicle 10 can specify the other party of the end notification by the receiver identification information.

  Alternatively, the transmitting vehicle 10 may be specified by transmitting a message to the IP address attached to the transmission data.

<< Received data analysis processing >>
FIG. 29 is an example of a flowchart showing a procedure of received data analysis processing. Here, the determination when the reception vehicle identification information is the reception vehicle position is shown.
S1: The message reception unit B46 measures the position of the host vehicle by the host vehicle position detection unit 28.
S2: The message receiving unit B46 measures the relative positions of the surrounding vehicles by the inter-vehicle distance measuring unit 29.
S3: The message receiving unit B46 acquires a message, a transmission image, both sender identification information, and both receiver identification information included in the received transmission data by the reception data parsing process.
S4: Next, the message receiver B46 determines whether or not the message is for the host vehicle. That is, if the receiving vehicle position included in the transmission data is the same as the own vehicle position in step S1 and the transmitting vehicle is observed at the transmitting vehicle position included in the transmission data, it is determined as a message for the own vehicle. Is determined to be a message for other vehicles.

  Since it is confirmed that the receiving vehicle exists at the receiving vehicle position measured by the transmitting vehicle and the transmitting vehicle 10 measured by the receiving vehicle 20 exists at the transmitting vehicle position measured by the transmitting vehicle 10, a message addressed to the own vehicle is used. You can be sure of it.

<< Viewing determination process >>
FIG. 30 is an example of a flowchart illustrating a procedure of visual recognition determination processing by the read determination unit 48.
S1: The already-read determination unit 48 determines whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed since the message was received. If a certain time has elapsed since the reception, the process proceeds to step S9. This fixed time is sufficiently longer than the human reaction time. That is, it is a sufficiently long time that it can be determined that the message is not noticed. Further, based on the age defined in the driver attribute information 274, the higher the age, the longer may be set.
S2: If the predetermined time or more has not elapsed since the reception, the already-read determination unit 48 sets the message viewing time to “0”. That is, the viewing time is initialized.
S3: The line of sight / eyeball position detection unit 21 measures the line of sight / eyeball position.
S4: Then, the eye viewpoint is calculated from the direction of the line of sight and the eyeball position.
S5: The read determination unit 48 determines whether the eye viewpoint is in the vicinity of the message display position. If the eye viewpoint is not near the message display position, the process returns to step S1. The message display position is the display position of the received message or transmission image on the translucent mirror 102, and the already-read determination unit 48 acquires the display position from the message display unit B47.
S6: When the eye viewpoint is near the message display position, the already-read determination unit 48 adds the viewing time of the message.
S7: The read determination unit 48 determines whether the viewing time of the message is equal to or greater than a threshold value. As the threshold for the viewing time, for example, according to Non-Patent Document 1, 0.150 seconds, which is the viewing time for viewing, can be used. In addition, based on the age set in the driver attribute information 274, the higher the age, the longer may be set.
S8: When the viewing time becomes equal to or greater than the threshold, the viewing flag is set to “1”, and the process of FIG. 30 ends. If the viewing time is not greater than or equal to the threshold, the process returns to step S3, and the direction of the line of sight and the eyeball position are subsequently detected.
S9: If the predetermined time or more has elapsed since the reception of the message before the viewing time becomes equal to or greater than the threshold, the already-read determination unit 48 sets the viewing flag to “0”, and the processing in FIG. 30 ends.

  By doing so, when the driver of the receiving vehicle continuously views the message, the visual recognition flag becomes “1”, and it can be detected that the driver has visually recognized.

<< Calculation of eye viewpoint >>
FIG. 31 is an example of a diagram illustrating the calculation of the eye viewpoint. For example, the center of the semi-transmissive mirror 102 is set as the origin O (0,0,0). From the viewpoint of the driver, the X axis is set to the right of the semi-transparent mirror 102, the Y axis is set to the lower side, and the Z axis is set to the rear side.
P (xp, yp, zp): Driver's eye position
V (xv, yv, zv): Driver's gaze vector
S (xs, ys, 0): Eye viewpoint in driver's translucent mirror Considering the semi-transparent mirror as a plane, formula of the plane is established. The eye viewpoint S (xs, ys, 0) can be calculated by this method.

メッセージの表示位置は既知なので、メッセージの外接矩形に目視点S(xs,ys,0)が含まれるか否かにより、メッセージを目視しているか否かを判断できる。

Since the display position of the message is known, it can be determined whether or not the message is being viewed based on whether or not the eye viewpoint S (xs, ys, 0) is included in the circumscribed rectangle of the message.

  As described above, in the intention transmitting apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the message received by the receiving vehicle 20 is displayed on the HUD 11 with less movement of the driver's line of sight, so that the driver can easily confirm the message. Moreover, in the intention transmission apparatus 100 of the present embodiment, the receiving vehicle 20 can determine from the line of sight whether or not the driver has confirmed the message. Therefore, since the message can be confirmed with a small burden, the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 can increase the possibility of grasping whether or not the driver of the receiving vehicle 20 has confirmed the message. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility of communication traps between the driver of the transmitting vehicle 10 and the receiving vehicle 20.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  For example, the driver means a person who is in the driver's seat, but other passengers can communicate with each other.

  Further, the positions of the route change position instruction unit 62 and the approach position instruction unit 64 shown in the figure are examples, and the display location can be changed as appropriate.

  The scenes described in the present embodiment are merely examples, and the present embodiment can be applied to scenes in which vehicles are preferably communicated with each other by drivers.

  In addition, the inter-vehicle communication means that the vehicles communicate directly with each other, but the vehicles may communicate with each other via a roadside machine.

10 Transmission vehicle 11 HUD
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Reception vehicle 21 Eye-gaze / eyeball position detection part 22 Control part 23 Wireless communication part 24 Ambient image acquisition part 25 Audio interface 26 User input part 27 Storage device 28 Own vehicle position detection part 29 Inter-vehicle distance measurement part 30 Display controller 31 Microphone 32 Speaker 100 communication device 200 inter-vehicle communication system

JP 2012-048748 A

Ryoko Fukuda, Minoru Sakuma, Ikuo Nakamura, Tadahiko Fukuda Experimental study on the definition of gazing point Japan Ergonomics Society 1996-08-1532 4 197-204

Claims (19)

Receiving means for receiving a message from another vehicle; display means for displaying the message on a display device above the dashboard;
Recognition determination means for determining whether the driver has recognized the message displayed on the display device;
Transmitting means for transmitting the determination result of the recognition determining means to the other vehicle;
A vehicle communication device characterized by comprising: It has an eye viewpoint measurement means for measuring the driver's eye viewpoint,
The vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the recognition determination unit determines whether a driver has recognized the message based on the eye viewpoint. The display means displays, together with the message, an other vehicle instruction image indicating the other vehicle or a movement direction image indicating a movement direction of the other vehicle on the display device.
The vehicular communication apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The display device has transparency, and the driver can view the windshield and the front field of view through the display device,
The display means displays the other vehicle instruction image in the vicinity of the image of the other vehicle on the display device.
The vehicle communication device according to claim 3. The display device has transparency, and the driver can view the front view through the windshield and the display device,
The vehicle communication device according to claim 3, wherein the display unit displays the moving direction image so as to be superimposed on an image of a road surface in the display device. Position detecting means for detecting the position of the host vehicle;
Relative position detecting means for detecting a relative position of the other vehicle with respect to the own vehicle, and the receiving means receives the position information of the other vehicle and the position information of the own vehicle together with the message,
The position information of the own vehicle received from the other vehicle indicates the position detected by the position detection means, and the position information of the other vehicle received from the other vehicle is detected by the relative position detection means. Indicates the relative position
Receiving the message determined to be addressed to the vehicle.
The vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle communication device is a vehicle communication device. Having attribute information storage means for storing driver attribute information;
When the host vehicle does not have the display device and the attribute information indicates that it is difficult to recognize a message by voice, the display means does not display the message,
The transmission means transmits the determination result that the driver did not recognize to the other vehicle.
The vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle communication device is a vehicle communication device. Having voice recognition means for recognizing voice;
The recognition determination unit determines whether or not the driver has recognized the message by using at least one of the predetermined voice recognized by the voice recognition unit and the eye viewpoint.
The vehicle communication device according to claim 2. Status detection means for detecting that the message is being sent,
If it is the situation, other vehicle determination means for determining another vehicle to be transmitted of the message;
Transmitting means for transmitting the message to the other vehicle determined by the other vehicle determining means;
Receiving means for receiving, from the other vehicle, a determination result as to whether or not the driver of the other vehicle has recognized the message displayed on the second display device above the dashboard of the other vehicle;
Display means for displaying the determination result received by the receiving means on a display device;
A vehicle communication device characterized by comprising:   The vehicle communication device according to claim 9, wherein the display unit displays the determination result on the display device together with the message transmitted by the transmission unit.   11. The vehicle communication device according to claim 9, wherein the display unit displays a message transmitted from the transmission unit to the other vehicle on a display device. The display means changes the color of the message displayed until the determination result is received as a message to be transmitted to the other vehicle to a different color according to the success or failure of the determination result, thereby determining the determination result. Displaying on the display device;
The vehicle communication device according to claim 11. The display means displays, together with the message, an other vehicle instruction image indicating the other vehicle or a moving direction image indicating a moving direction of the own vehicle on the display device.
The vehicle communication device according to claim 11. The display device has transparency, and the driver can view the windshield and the front field of view through the display device,
The display means displays the other vehicle instruction image in the vicinity of the image of the other vehicle on the display device.
The vehicle communication device according to claim 13.   The vehicle communication device according to claim 9, wherein the display unit displays on the display device whether or not the transmission unit has transmitted a message. Relative position detection means for detecting the relative position of the other vehicle after a predetermined time has elapsed,
The other vehicle determining means determines the other vehicle to be transmitted of the message based on a relative position of the other vehicle after a predetermined time has elapsed.
The vehicular communication apparatus according to claim 9. When the relative position detecting means detects the relative positions of the plurality of other vehicles,
The other vehicle determination means determines the other vehicle behind the vehicle distance closest to the host vehicle as the other vehicle to be transmitted with the message, when the distance between the other vehicle and the other vehicle is greater than or equal to a threshold value. The vehicle communication device according to claim 16.   The vehicle communication device according to claim 1, wherein the display device is a head-up display. A communication system in which a first vehicle communication device and a second vehicle communication device communicate with each other,
The first vehicle communication device comprises:
A first transmission means for receiving a message;
The second vehicle communication device includes:
Receiving means for receiving a message from another vehicle; display means for displaying the message on a display device above the dashboard;
Recognition determination means for determining whether the driver has recognized the message displayed on the display device;
Second transmission means for transmitting the determination result of the recognition determination means to the other vehicle;
A communication system comprising:

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