JP2018016117A - Visual field control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To be able to prevent or suppress a situation where a visual line is unnecessarily guided to objects other than an object to be visually recognized which should be gazed at.SOLUTION: An outer edge of front window glass 1 for example as a visual field region is regulated by a pair of left and right front pillars 2, a roof 3 and an instrument panel 4. At a peripheral edge part of the front window glass 1 is provided a region S11 in which visual fields can be partially restricted by liquid crystals or the like for instance. Saliency having visual saliency is extracted from an image photographed by a camera S5 which photographs a front side of a vehicle for instance. If the extracted saliency needs not be visually recognized by a driver, a visual field of a saliency part which needs not be visually recognized of the region S11 in which visual fields are restricted is restricted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a visibility control device.

  The driver of the vehicle will drive while checking the situation outside the vehicle through the front window glass. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228667 discloses a window frame shape of a front window glass that can be visually changed. That is, in Patent Document 1, a view changing region that can change the presence or absence of view restriction using a liquid crystal or the like is set at the periphery of the front window glass, for example, a vehicle running state, a road state, a vehicle peripheral state Accordingly, there is disclosed a technique in which the window frame shape of the front window glass can be visually changed by partially limiting the field of view.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-37201

  By the way, when a person visually observes a certain situation, if the visual feature amount called saliency is large (the saliency is high), the line of sight is easily guided to the specific part. The saliency is a visual feature amount consisting of saliency that changes every moment depending on the color, brightness, edge inclination, movement, and the like. That is, when the driver of the vehicle visually observes the front situation through the front window glass, the line of sight is likely to be spontaneously (unconsciously) guided toward a high saliency.

  On the other hand, there are many saliencies that are unnecessary as visual recognition objects. For example, a lighted signboard, a streetlight, a post box, etc. on the side of the road while the vehicle is running are things that do not require special attention when driving. On the other hand, special attention should be paid to saliency, for example, for a preceding vehicle with a brake lamp lit, a traffic light in front of a red display, and a pedestrian who moves to enter the traveling path of the host vehicle. It becomes a visual object to be paid.

  As described above, for example, in the saliency in the peripheral situation viewed through a visual field region such as a front window glass, there are actually both a visual object to be watched and an object that is not visually recognized. For this reason, it is the actual situation that it is easy to cause a situation in which the line of sight is guided to a saliency that does not require visual recognition and attention to the visual target object is neglected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and its purpose is to prevent or suppress a situation in which the line of sight is unnecessarily guided with respect to things other than the visual target to be watched. The object is to provide a visibility control device.

In order to achieve the above object, the following solution is adopted in the present invention. That is, as described in claim 1,
A visual field control device in which an outer edge of a visual field region is defined by a frame,
Visibility changing means for changing the visibility at a peripheral edge portion that is a portion along the frame body in the visual field area;
Saliency detection means for detecting saliency in the field of view;
A visibility control means for controlling the visibility changing means based on the saliency detected by the saliency detection means;
It is supposed to be equipped with.

  According to the above solution, the driver is easily guided to the saliency, and by controlling the visual field changing means based on this saliency, the driver is directed toward (the direction of) the visual object to be watched. And can guide the line of sight gently.

A preferred mode based on the above solution is as described in claim 2 and the following. That is,
The field-of-view changing means is configured to limit the field of view (corresponding to claim 2). In this case, the driver's line of sight can be made difficult to be guided at the view restriction region, and the line of sight can be guided (gentle line of sight guidance) toward an area where the view is not restricted.

  The field-of-view changing means limits at least the field of view of the left and right edges of the field-of-view area (corresponding to claim 3). In this case, it is preferable to prevent or suppress the situation where the line of sight is unnecessarily guided toward the saliency that is not visible and exists on the side of the road.

  The visual field changing means is configured to limit the visual field of at least one of the upper edge portion and the lower edge portion of the visual field area (corresponding to claim 4). In this case, it is preferable for preventing or suppressing a situation where the line of sight is unnecessarily guided toward a saliency that is far away or at the nearest position and is unnecessary for visual recognition.

  The visibility control means controls so that the visibility is limited only for a specific part where the saliency detected by the saliency detection means is not a visual target, and where the saliency that is not the visual target exists ( Corresponding to claim 5). In this case, it is preferable to prevent or suppress a situation in which the line of sight is unnecessarily guided toward the saliency that is unnecessary for visual recognition, while limiting the visibility as much as possible.

The field of view is a front window glass in a moving object,
(Corresponding to claim 6). In this case, the front window glass that has a wide field of view and is a direct field of view has a high frequency of occurrence of a saliency that is not visually recognized by the operator of the moving object. The situation where it is induced can be prevented or suppressed.

  The field-of-view area is configured to be one of a rearview mirror, a side mirror, and a display that displays a set predetermined direction on a moving object (corresponding to claim 7). In this case, even when the visual field region becomes an indirect visual field, it is possible to prevent or suppress a situation where the visual line is induced with respect to the saliency that is not visually recognized. In particular, when the display surface constituting the indirect field of view such as a rearview mirror is a display (electronic display surface), the field of view can be easily limited.

The moving object is a vehicle traveling on a road;
The field-of-view control means limits the field of view of the lower left and right side edges of the field-of-view area when traveling in an urban area, and controls the field-of-view area that is not field-limited to have an inverted trapezoidal shape. (Corresponding to claim 8). In this case, it is preferable for securing a sufficient field of view for the presence of a pedestrian jumping out, a two-wheeled vehicle or the like in a far distance while visually limiting unnecessary saliency existing near the left and right of the host vehicle.

The moving object is a vehicle traveling on a road;
The visibility control means, when traveling on a highway, limits the visibility of the left and right side edges of the visibility area over the entire length in the vertical direction, and controls the visibility area that is not restricted to a rectangular shape. ,
(Corresponding to claim 9). In this case, it is preferable to sufficiently secure the field of view in consideration of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle while visually limiting the illumination lamps and the like existing on the left and right of the travel path.

The moving object is a vehicle traveling on a road;
The visibility control means does not perform visibility restriction when near an intersection or when changing lanes,
(Corresponding to claim 10). In this case, a wide field of view can be secured in the vicinity of an intersection where safety confirmation is required over a wide range of surroundings or when a lane is changed.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent or suppress a situation in which the line of sight is unnecessarily guided with respect to things other than the visual target object to be watched.

The figure which shows the front window glass part as a visual field area | region. The figure which shows the visual field restriction | limiting possible range with respect to front windshield. The figure which shows the example which restricted the visual field. The figure which shows another example which restricted visibility. The figure which shows the example of a control system of this invention. The flowchart which shows the example of control of this invention. The flowchart which shows the detail of Q8 in FIG. The figure which shows the example of a visual field restriction | limiting with the display which displays a back visual field. The figure which shows the state which changed the visual field restriction | limiting range from the state of FIG.

  In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a front window glass of an automobile as a vehicle. An outer edge of the front window glass 1, that is, a window frame shape, is defined by a pair of left and right front pillars 2, a roof 3, and an instrument panel 4. In FIG. 1, 5 is a rearview mirror, 6 is a side mirror, and 7 is a display for a navigation device. The display 7 normally displays map information, but when the reverse gear is selected, the rear view is automatically displayed (display of an image captured by the rear camera). In addition, in the embodiment, the mirror that is used to project the indirect field of view such as the rearview mirror 5 and the side mirror 6 is an electronic display type (that is, a display) that projects the image captured by the camera. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the front window glass 1 is provided with a view restriction region S11 in which the view restriction is possible at the entire periphery. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, the view restriction region S11 is configured by using a liquid crystal film or using projection mapping, and can restrict the view of an arbitrary portion of the view restriction region S11. It has become. The visibility restriction by the visibility restriction region S11 can be appropriately set in a range of a transparency rate of 100% from a state where the visibility is completely cut off, and the visibility rate is 100% in a normal time when the visibility is not restricted. .

  FIG. 3 shows a state where the view restriction region S11 is controlled and the view restriction portions HR1 and HL1 are formed on the left and right edges of the front window glass 1. In FIG. 3, the view restriction regions HR1 and HL1 are set so as to be located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction as they go downward, so that the view field region of the front window glass 1 has a substantially inverted trapezoidal shape. .

  The setting as shown in FIG. 3 is a preferable setting in city driving. That is, when driving in an urban area, there are many unnecessary saliencies that are not visible to the driver, such as stores and storefront signs, etc. on the side of the road. It is hard to be induced. In particular, by making the substantial field of view of the windshield 1 into an inverted trapezoidal shape, visual restrictions are imposed on unnecessary saliency existing near the host vehicle, while there are pedestrians jumping out and motorcycles etc. In order to prepare for this, sufficient visibility is secured. Note that FIG. 3 shows the case where the view restriction portions HR1 and HL1 are formed at the left and right edges, but when an unnecessary saliency exists only on the right side, only the view restriction portion HR1 is formed. It is also possible (no formation of the view restriction site HL1). Conversely, when an unnecessary saliency exists only on the left side, it is also possible to form only the view restriction site HL1 (no formation of the view restriction site HR1).

  FIG. 4 shows a state in which the view restriction regions HR2 and HL2 are formed on the left and right edges of the front window glass 1 by controlling the view restriction region S11. In FIG. 4, the view restriction portions HR <b> 2 and HL <b> 2 are set so as to be located on the inner side in the vehicle width direction as they go upward, and the view region of the front window glass 1 is substantially rectangular.

  The setting as shown in FIG. 4 is a preferable setting on an expressway (including an automobile exclusive road). That is, in many highways, there are many illuminating lamps that illuminate the road along the traveling road, but these illuminating lamps are unnecessary saliency that does not become a visual target for the driver. For this reason, the left-right width of the front window glass 1 is narrowed to make it difficult to guide the line of sight to unnecessary saliency. In particular, by making the substantial field of view of the front windshield 1 rectangular, visual restrictions are imposed on the lighting lamps present on the left and right, and a sufficient field of view is ensured in consideration of the preceding vehicle and the oncoming vehicle in the distance. It is like that. On a high-speed moving road, there is no particular problem because there is no pedestrian or other vehicle jumping out from the side even if the right and left width of the field of view is narrowed. FIG. 4 shows the case where the view restriction regions HR2 and HL2 are formed at the left and right edges. However, when an unnecessary saliency exists only on the right side, only the view restriction region HR2 may be formed. Yes (no formation of the view restriction site HL2). On the contrary, when an unnecessary saliency exists only on the left side, it is also possible to form only the view restriction site HL2 (no formation of the view restriction site HR2).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of a control system for controlling the view restriction by the view restriction region S11. In FIG. 5, U is a controller (control unit) configured using a microcomputer. Signals from various sensors or devices S1 to S5 are input to the control unit U. S1 is a vehicle speed sensor that detects the vehicle speed. S2 is a steering angle sensor that detects the steering angle. S3 is a navigation device, and the vehicle position information (GPS function) and map information are acquired. S4 is an eye camera, which is provided at the front end of the roof 3, for example, and detects the driver's line-of-sight direction. S5 is a camera outside the vehicle that captures the situation in front of the host vehicle, and is used to detect saliency in the image captured by the camera S5 outside the vehicle.

  The controller U controls the speaker S12 in addition to controlling the above-described field-of-view restriction region S11 (liquid crystal constituting the region). The speaker S12 is used to issue an alarm by voice when the driver is not visually recognizing the visual target to be watched.

  The controller U has two types of databases D1 and D2. Each of the databases D1 and D2 is configured by a large-capacity flash memory or hard disk. The database D1 stores a lot of data regarding the visual recognition object that the driver should pay attention to in the saliency. For example, the brake lamps of the preceding vehicle, the display of traffic lights, particularly the lighting-type road signs, oncoming vehicles, two-wheeled vehicles, pedestrians, etc. are stored as visual recognition objects.

On the other hand, the database D2 stores a large number of saliencies that are not visually recognized objects. Examples of saliency that cannot be recognized by the driver are stored as saliency that is not required to be visually recognized, such as lighting signs beside the road, street lights, lighting, building windows, street trees, the sun, the moon, and stars. Has been. The controller U extracts the saliency from the image captured by the outside camera S5, collates the extracted saliency with the databases D1 and D2, and recognizes the visual object to be watched by the driver and the object that is not visually recognized. Divide into And according to this division, when the object which does not need visual recognition exists in the visual field restriction | limiting area | region S11, it controls so that a visual field restriction | limiting is carried out at least about the part in which this visual object unnecessary. Note that the storage in the databases D1 and D2 is performed for each of various traveling scenes (for example, straight traveling, turning traveling, urban traveling, highway traveling, etc.).

Next, a control example related to the view restriction by the controller U will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In the following description, Q indicates a step. First, in Q1 of FIG. 6, signals from various sensors or devices S1 to S5 are input. Thereafter, in Q2, the driver's line-of-sight direction is calculated based on the detection result of the eye camera S4.

  After Q2, saliency is calculated at Q3. As described above, the process in Q3 is a process of classifying the saliency in the image captured by the outside camera S5 into a visual object to be watched by the driver and an object that is unnecessary to be visually recognized. Then, the position of the saliency that is not particularly visually recognized (the position in the field of view of the front window glass 1) is also determined.

  After Q3, the driving scene is determined at Q4. The processing in Q4 is to determine the current driving situation of the host vehicle. For example, driving in an urban area, driving on an expressway, driving in the vicinity of an intersection, straight driving when changing lanes, driving in a curve, combined driving of these scenes Etc. are determined. Note that the determination of the travel scene can be performed by a known appropriate method, and can be determined in consideration of operating conditions of sensors and switches not shown in FIG. 5 (for example, at the time of lane change) Whether it is present or not is determined according to the operating state of a winker switch (not shown)).

  After Q4, in Q5, the line-of-sight direction to be watched by the driver is calculated. The process in Q5 is a process of setting the direction of the visual target that the driver acquired by the process in Q3 should watch. The direction in which the line of sight is guided may be a plurality of directions when there are a plurality of objects to be viewed.

  After Q5, at Q6, it is determined whether or not the driver's line-of-sight direction calculated at Q2 substantially matches the line-of-sight direction to be watched calculated at Q5. If the determination in Q6 is YES, it is determined that there is no problem in the driver's visual recognition status, and the process returns to Q1 (no visibility restriction).

  If NO in Q6, it is determined in Q7 whether it is near an intersection or when a lane is being changed. If YES in Q7, the process returns to Q1 from the viewpoint of securing the field of view as widely as possible (no field of view restriction).

  When the determination in Q7 is NO, in Q8, control for visual field limitation is executed as described later. Details of Q8 are shown in FIG. That is, in Q11 of FIG. 7, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is currently traveling on a highway. If YES in Q11, the view restriction is performed in Q12 as shown in FIG. The field of view restriction at Q12 is performed when an object that is not visually recognized by the driver is present on at least one of the left and right edges of the front window glass 1.

  If NO in Q11 or after Q12, it is determined in Q13 whether the vehicle is traveling in the city. If the determination in Q13 is YES, the field of view restriction as shown in FIG. 3 is performed in Q14. The field of view restriction at Q14 is performed when an object that is not visually recognized by the driver is present on at least one of the left and right edges of the front window glass 1. In the case where the field of view is restricted, an alarm sound can be generated from the speaker S12 when the driver's line-of-sight direction is significantly deviated from the object to be watched.

  Here, although illustration is omitted, when there is a saliency that is not visually recognized at the upper edge of the front window glass 1 (for example, a bright celestial body such as moonlight or starlight, lighting of a building in a distant or high position, etc.) The field of view can be limited on the upper edge of the front window glass 1. Further, for example, when saliency that is not visually recognized exists at the lower edge portion of the front window glass 1 (for example, reflected light from the bonnet), the visibility of the lower edge portion of the front window glass 1 can be limited.

  FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show an example in which the field of view is limited with respect to the rear field of view (indirect field of view captured by the rear camera) displayed on the display 7 when the transmission is selected as the reverse gear. It is. That is, FIG. 8 shows a case where the host vehicle is far from the vehicle stop 21 when traveling backward toward the vehicle stop 21 while moving backward. In this case, the visibility of the lower edge of the display 7 is limited when there is a saliency that does not require intrusion in the vicinity of the host vehicle so that the vehicle stop 21 located in the distance is in the direction to be watched. The restriction site is a hatched HB part).

  When approaching the vehicle stop 21, the upper edge of the display 7 is limited in view when there is a saliency that is not visually recognized in the distance of the host vehicle so that the vehicle stop 21 located in the vicinity should be directed. There is a visibility restriction site (indicated by the hatched symbol HU). Note that, in a display serving as an electronic display surface, it is possible to easily limit the field of view only by not displaying an image of a part of the display.

  Although the embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and appropriate modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. The transmittance of the part whose visibility is restricted may be changed according to the strength of the saliency determined to be visually invisible (the strength of visual saliency) (the higher the saliency strength, the lower the transmittance). To increase the level of visibility restriction). It is also possible to limit the field of view only to the corresponding part at the position of the saliency where the visual recognition is unnecessary. Visibility restriction control can be similarly performed for the indirect field of view of the rearview mirror 5, the side mirror 6, and the like. The present invention can be similarly applied to various vehicles (aircrafts, ships, trains, etc.) other than vehicles (automobiles), and can be similarly applied to, for example, a visual field area when visually monitoring at a fixed position. In the embodiment, the field of view is limited for the part where the saliency that does not need to be visually recognized exists, but on the contrary, the saliency of the peripheral part of the field of view such as the front window glass can be changed (for example, lighting display of liquid crystal, etc.) The brightness may be increased), and the saliency of the part in the direction in which the line of sight should be guided may be increased. If the detected saliency is confirmed to exist in the distance by a radar or the like and does not need to be watched in particular, it can be regarded as a saliency that is not visually recognized (classified). Kana, a determination that takes into account the distance to saliency). Of course, the object of the present invention is not limited to what is explicitly stated, but also implicitly includes providing what is substantially preferred or expressed as an advantage.

  The present invention is preferable in preventing the situation where the line of sight is guided to an unnecessary object and guiding the line of sight toward the visual target to be watched.

1: Front window glass (field of view)
2: Front pillar 3: Roof 4: Instrument panel 5: Rearview mirror 6: Side mirror 7: Display (field of view)
U: Controller S1: Vehicle speed sensor S2: Rudder angle sensor S3: Navigation device S4: Eye camera S5: Outside camera (for detecting saliency)
S11: Field-of-view restriction region (liquid crystal)
S12: Speaker (for alarm)
D1: Database (stores the saliency that is the object of visual recognition)
D2: Database (stores saliency that is not visible)
HR1: (site where visibility is limited)
HL1: (site where visibility is limited)
HR2: (site where visibility is limited)
HL2: (Part whose visibility is limited)
HB: (Part whose visibility is limited)
HU: (Part whose visibility is limited)

Claims (10)

A visual field control device in which an outer edge of a visual field region is defined by a frame,
Visibility changing means for changing the visibility at a peripheral edge portion that is a portion along the frame body in the visual field area;
Saliency detection means for detecting saliency in the field of view;
A visibility control means for controlling the visibility changing means based on the saliency detected by the saliency detection means;
A visual field control device comprising: In claim 1,
The visual field control device, wherein the visual field changing means limits the visual field. In claim 2,
The field-of-view control device, wherein the field-of-view changing means limits at least the field of view of the left and right edges of the field-of-view area. In claim 2 or claim 3,
The visual field control device, wherein the visual field changing means limits the visual field of at least one of an upper edge portion and a lower edge portion of the visual field region. In any one of Claims 2 thru | or 4,
The visibility control means controls the visibility to be limited only for a specific part where the saliency detected by the saliency detection means is not a visual target, and where the saliency that is not the visual target exists. Visibility control device. In any one of Claims 2 thru | or 5,
The visual field control device, wherein the visual field region is a front window glass in a moving object. In any one of Claims 2 thru | or 5,
The visual field control device, wherein the visual field region is any one of a rearview mirror, a side mirror, and a display that displays a set predetermined direction on a moving object. In claim 6 or claim 7,
The moving object is a vehicle traveling on a road;
The visual field control means, when traveling in an urban area, restricts the visual field of the left and right side lower edges of the visual field area, and controls the visual field area that is not restricted to have a reverse trapezoidal shape. Visibility control device. In claim 6 or claim 7,
The moving object is a vehicle traveling on a road;
The visibility control means, when traveling on a highway, limits the visibility of the left and right side edges of the visibility area over the entire length in the vertical direction, and controls the visibility area that is not restricted to a rectangular shape. A visual field control device characterized by that. In any one of Claims 6 thru | or 9,
The moving object is a vehicle traveling on a road;
The visual field control device according to claim 1, wherein the visual field control means does not perform visual field restriction near an intersection or when changing lanes.

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