JP2019196082A - Vehicular information display apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an information display apparatus capable of displaying an inter-vehicular distance with a preceding vehicle and a change thereof simply and accurately.SOLUTION: An information display apparatus, for use in a vehicle provided with a travel control device for performing ACC control, includes: a travel lane display zone 35 in which a top and bottom of the display screen are correlated with long and short distances in front of a vehicle itself; a preceding-vehicle indicator 31 displayed in the travel lane display zone; and a correct inter-vehicle distance indicator 33. The preceding-vehicle indicator changes a display position and a display size in the travel lane display zone in accordance with the position of the preceding vehicle, showing smaller in size and higher in position as the distance increases and larger in size and lower in position as the distance decreases. The correct inter-vehicle distance indicator displays the preceding vehicle only when existing within a correct inter-vehicle distance range that includes a set inter-vehicle distance, whereas in a case where a preceding vehicle is undetected or ahead by a given inter-vehicle distance or more, the preceding-vehicle indicator is not shown.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an information display device for a vehicle, and more particularly to an information display device for adaptive cruise control of a vehicle.

  Various travel control devices aimed at reducing driver's burden and assisting safe driving, for example, adaptive cruise that travels at a constant speed when there is no preceding vehicle and keeps the set inter-vehicle distance while following the vehicle. A travel control device that performs control (ACC) has been put into practical use.

  A vehicle equipped with such a travel control device includes a display device for informing the driver that the travel control is in operation. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a display device that includes a host vehicle display and a preceding vehicle display, and changes the preceding vehicle display according to a change in the inter-vehicle distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle.

JP 2013-56597 A

  In the display device of Patent Document 1, in addition to the vehicle display and the preceding vehicle display as described above, the vehicle is running by causing road boundary lines and distance lines adjacent to them to flow according to the vehicle speed. A certain thing is displayed.

  However, it is wasteful to display the own vehicle that is always in a fixed position larger than the preceding vehicle, and when the road boundary line and distance line are flowed together with the preceding vehicle display, these indications are running Therefore, there is a problem that the driver feels troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an information display device capable of simply and accurately displaying the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle and changes thereof.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides:
Preceding vehicle detection means for detecting a preceding vehicle traveling in the own vehicle traveling lane;
A travel control device that performs ACC control to travel at a constant speed according to a set vehicle speed when there is no preceding vehicle, and to follow and travel while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance when there is the preceding vehicle;
A vehicle information display device comprising:
A driving lane display area in which the top and bottom of the display screen correspond to the distance in front of the vehicle,
A preceding vehicle indicator displayed in the travel lane display area;
An appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator displayed in the travel lane display area;
With
The display position and display size in the travel lane display area change according to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the preceding vehicle detection means, and the preceding vehicle indicator is smaller at the far side and smaller at the near position. Configured to display large,
The appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator is configured to be displayed only when the preceding vehicle is within an appropriate inter-vehicle distance range including a set inter-vehicle distance,
The preceding vehicle indicator is not displayed when the preceding vehicle is not detected or is separated by a predetermined distance or more.

  According to the vehicle information display device of the present invention, the display position and the display size of the preceding vehicle indicator change according to the position of the preceding vehicle, and the far position is smaller on the upper side and the closer position is displayed on the lower side. In addition to being able to display the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle and its change in a relatively small display space, it is possible to display the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator only when the preceding vehicle is within the appropriate inter-vehicle distance range. Is displayed, and when the preceding vehicle is not detected or is more than the predetermined inter-vehicle distance, the preceding vehicle indicator is not displayed, so that only necessary information is displayed in a concise manner, and the burden on the driver is bothered. Can be reduced.

It is a block diagram which shows the ACC control system of a vehicle. It is the schematic which shows the information display part and operation part of an ACC control system, and the instrument panel vicinity of the vehicle by which they are arrange | positioned. A graph showing the relationship between the actual inter-vehicle distance with the preceding vehicle and the display position / display size of the preceding vehicle indicator, and a display example of the preceding vehicle indicator at the close distance (30a), the short distance (30b), and the long distance (30c) FIG. It is the schematic which shows each example of a display of the information display part according to the position of a preceding vehicle. It is a flowchart which shows display control of a preceding vehicle indicator and a suitable inter-vehicle distance indicator. It is a flowchart which shows the display control of an acceleration / deceleration indicator.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
In FIG. 1, the ACC control system is a vehicle that is acquired through an ACC operation unit 10 composed of a switch group for setting operation of the system, an external sensor 21 for detecting a host vehicle lane and a preceding vehicle, and an internal sensor group. From the information 22, the ACC control unit 20 that performs speed control and inter-vehicle distance control based on them, the ESP controller 23 for deceleration control, the engine controller 24 for acceleration / deceleration control, the display controller 25, and the information display unit 30 It is mainly composed.

  The external sensor 21 includes a sensor for detecting the own vehicle traveling lane and the preceding vehicle, for example, a radar (millimeter wave radar), a camera (stereo camera, monocular camera), and the like. A traveling lane and a preceding vehicle are detected by a camera, and an inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle is acquired by a radar or a stereo camera. The vehicle information 22 is a physical quantity representing the motion state of the vehicle acquired by an inner world sensor group such as a vehicle speed sensor, a yaw rate sensor, and an acceleration sensor.

  The ESP controller 23 constitutes a stability control system (vehicle behavior stabilization control system) including ABS (anti-lock brake system). The ESP controller 23 receives the deceleration command from the ACC control unit 20 and controls the vehicle speed by controlling the braking force of the brake.

  The engine controller 24 receives the acceleration / deceleration command from the ACC control unit 20, and controls the driving force of the engine by controlling the throttle opening to control the vehicle speed.

  The ACC control unit 20 issues a deceleration command to the ESP controller 23 and an acceleration / deceleration command to the engine controller 24 based on the setting of the ACC operation unit 10, the detection information of the external sensor 21 and the vehicle information 22, and the ACC function, that is, the preceding vehicle If there is not, run at a constant speed with the set speed (cruise control set speed) as the target vehicle speed, and if it catches up with the preceding car (when the preceding car speed is less than the set speed), it matches the speed of the preceding car, A computer for executing the above function, ie, a program, for performing control to follow the preceding vehicle while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance corresponding to a set time gap (inter-vehicle time = inter-vehicle distance / own vehicle speed) ROM that stores data, CPU that performs arithmetic processing, the program and data are read out, and dynamic data and arithmetic processing are read out. RAM for storing the results, and is constituted by a input-output interface.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the ACC operation unit 10 is disposed in the spoke portion of the steering wheel 41, and is used for adjusting the main switch 11 for activating the ACC system and the set speed (cruise control set speed). The vehicle speed adjustment switch 12, an inter-vehicle distance setting switch 13, a cancel switch 14, and the like are included.

  The information display unit 30 is an information display device for displaying the control information of the ACC system and the detection information of the preceding vehicle. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the information display unit 30 is disposed in the meter cluster 42 of the instrument panel 40. Preferably, a display screen using a dot matrix such as an LCD or an OLED is used, and a display image reflecting a setting value or state value in the ACC control unit 20 is generated by the display controller 25 and displayed on the information display unit 30.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the display screen of the information display unit 30 is a substantially trapezoidal driving lane display that takes into account the perspective method (perspective method) in which the upper and lower sides correspond to the perspective in front of the vehicle from the center to the left side of the screen. In the area 35, a preceding vehicle indicator 31, an appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33, and an acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 are displayed according to the situation, and an inter-vehicle distance setting indicator 32 is displayed on the right side of the screen. Although omitted in the figure, a numerical value display of the set speed and an ACC operation display are made in the margin on the right side of the screen.

  The preceding vehicle indicator 31 is an image (icon display) imitating the preceding vehicle (passenger vehicle) viewed from the rear, and the traveling lane according to the position (inter-vehicle distance) of the preceding vehicle detected by the external sensor 21 (millimeter wave radar). The display position and the display size in the display area 35 change, and basically, the display image is adjusted so that the farther the preceding vehicle is, the smaller the upper side is displayed, and the closer the nearer the position, the larger the lower side is displayed. The Further, when the preceding vehicle is not detected or is separated by a predetermined distance or more, the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is not displayed.

  The inter-vehicle distance setting indicator 32 displays three stages of inter-vehicle distances (time gaps) set by the inter-vehicle distance setting switch 13 of the ACC operation unit 10 as three bars: “short”, “medium”, and “long”. For example, when the set inter-vehicle distance is “short”, only the bottom bar is displayed, when “medium” is displayed, the bottom and center bars are displayed, and when “long” is set, three bars are displayed. By displaying all the bars, the driver can sensibly recognize the set inter-vehicle distance. For example, when the vehicle speed is 80 km / h, the set inter-vehicle distance is 35 m for “short”, 45 m for “medium”, and 65 m for “long”. In addition, the inter-vehicle distance setting indicator 32 can also be set to dot display or area display instead of bar display.

  The appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 displays a position corresponding to the set inter-vehicle distance set by the inter-vehicle distance setting switch 13 on a portion corresponding to the road surface of the travel lane display area 35. In the illustrated example, the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is a bar. It is displayed. By displaying the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 together with the preceding vehicle indicator 31, the driver can easily grasp the position of the preceding vehicle with respect to the set inter-vehicle distance.

  The “appropriate inter-vehicle distance” referred to here is a range in which a predetermined distance is added before and after the control inter-vehicle distance 32a in consideration of the stability of control, as indicated by reference numeral 33a in FIG. The appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is displayed only when the preceding vehicle is within the range of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a, and is not displayed when the preceding vehicle is out of this range. When the display position of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 and the display position of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 overlap, the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is displayed on the forefront.

  The acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 accelerates in the direction in which the preceding vehicle leaves with respect to the set inter-vehicle distance 32a, and the ACC control unit 20 issues an acceleration command equal to or greater than a threshold value to the engine controller 24 in order to maintain the set inter-vehicle distance. Alternatively, when the vehicle decelerates in the direction in which the preceding vehicle approaches, and the ACC control unit 20 issues a deceleration command equal to or greater than the threshold value to the engine controller 24, an upward arrow (△, acceleration indicator) or below the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 or Display a downward arrow (▽, deceleration indicator).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 (e) and 4 (f), the deceleration indicator 34 (（, FIG. 4 (e)) displayed on the short distance side of the traveling lane display area 35 is It is preferable that the acceleration indicator 34 ′ (Δ, FIG. 4 (f)) displayed on the far side is displayed with a relatively small size. In addition to being able to display a sense of incongruity according to perspective, such an advantage is emphasized that the approach of a preceding vehicle with high importance as information to be grasped by the driver is highlighted. There is also.

(Relationship between the actual inter-vehicle distance and the display position / display size of the preceding vehicle indicator)
Next, the relationship between the actual inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle and the display position / display size of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 3 is a display example for convenience, and numerical values and display sizes do not necessarily correspond to actual dimensions.

  Basically, in the graph of FIG. 3, the display position of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is displayed above the display screen as the distance between the preceding vehicle and the preceding vehicle increases, as indicated by the solid line (P1). On the other hand, the display size of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is reduced as the actual inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle increases, as indicated by broken lines (S1, S2).

  In FIG. 3, in the case of a long distance (actual vehicle distance of 75 m), as shown in the display screen 30c, a display size of about 35% with respect to the maximum size is displayed at a display position 75% above the traveling lane display area 35. A preceding vehicle indicator 31c reduced in size is displayed, and an appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is displayed on the lower side (front side).

  In the case of a short distance (actual vehicle distance 25 m) with respect to the display screen 30c, as shown in the display screen 30b, the display position of the lower 30% of the lane display area 35 is about the maximum size. 60%, the preceding vehicle indicator 31b enlarged about 1.7 times is displayed for the above-mentioned long-distance position, and in this case, since it is below the set inter-vehicle distance (45 m), the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator Is hidden by the preceding vehicle indicator 31b and is not displayed.

  In the display screen 30b, the preceding vehicle indicator 31b has almost reached the lower end of the display screen 30b, and as shown by the solid line P2 in the graph, the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is moved downward at an actual inter-vehicle distance of 20 m (distance Dx) or less. I can't let you.

  Therefore, at a close distance of 20 m or less between the actual vehicles, as shown in the display screen 30a (actual vehicle distance 4 m), the preceding vehicle indicator 31a is expanded to the maximum size while remaining at the lower end position of the lower 20%. At the same time, the approach of the preceding vehicle is displayed by cutting the lower part. With such a display form, the display range of the inter-vehicle distance can be expanded by utilizing a limited display range.

(Display example of the information display unit according to the position of the preceding vehicle)
Next, based on the above embodiment, a display example of the information display unit 30 according to the position of the preceding vehicle will be described with reference to FIG.

  The schematic plan view on the left side of FIG. 4A shows that there is no preceding vehicle in the detection range of the external sensor 21 (millimeter wave radar) in front of the traveling lane 5 of the host vehicle 1, and the vehicle is traveling while maintaining the set vehicle speed. Shows the case. In this state, the information display unit 30 displays only the inter-vehicle distance setting indicator 32, and neither the preceding vehicle indicator 31 nor the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is displayed.

  In FIG. 4B, the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is displayed on the information display unit 30 according to the distance between the vehicles because the preceding vehicle 3 is detected in the detection range of the external sensor 21 in front of the traveling lane 5 of the host vehicle 1. Although it is displayed in a small display size at the upper display position, since it is ahead of the range of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a, the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 remains undisplayed.

  In FIG.4 (c), when the preceding vehicle 3 approached within the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a, the preceding vehicle indicator 31 moves downward and is displayed slightly enlarged on the information display unit 30, and the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is displayed. Is displayed. Accordingly, the driver can confirm that the own vehicle 1 has caught up with the preceding vehicle 3.

  In FIG. 4 (d), the preceding vehicle 3 is located at the set inter-vehicle distance 32a, and the information display unit 30 includes a preceding vehicle indicator 31 that has been moved to the substantially vertical center and further enlarged, and an appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator. 33 is displayed in an overlapping manner. As a result, the driver can confirm that the distance between the vehicle 1 and the preceding vehicle 3 follows the set distance 32a.

  FIG. 4 (e) shows a case in which the preceding vehicle 3 that has been following decelerates and moves to the deceleration control by the deceleration command from the ACC control unit 20 because the vehicle approaches within the set inter-vehicle distance 32a. On the display unit 30, an acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 (deceleration indicator) with a downward arrow (▽) is displayed below the preceding vehicle indicator 31 that has further moved downward and expanded. As a result, the driver can confirm the deceleration of the preceding vehicle 3 and the deceleration control of the host vehicle 1.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4 (f) shows a case where the preceding vehicle 3 that has been following has accelerated and has moved away from the set inter-vehicle distance 32 a, and thus has shifted to acceleration control by an acceleration command from the ACC control unit 20. The information display unit 30 displays a preceding vehicle indicator 31 that has moved upward and reduced, and an acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 ′ (acceleration indicator) indicated by an upward arrow (Δ) below the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33. Is displayed. Thereby, the driver can confirm acceleration of the preceding vehicle 3 and acceleration control of the own vehicle 1.

(Display control of preceding vehicle indicator and appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator)
Next, display control of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 and the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the driver operates the main switch 11, the ACC system is activated through a system check, and when the ACC system is set (step 100), it is displayed on the information display unit 30 that ACC is running, and the set speed ( Cruise control set speed) is displayed.

  The vehicle information 22 is acquired by the ACC control unit 20 and acceleration / deceleration control is started with the set speed (cruise control set speed) as the target vehicle speed. The external sensor 21 detects the preceding vehicle in the own vehicle travel lane and the inter-vehicle distance. Measurement is started (step 101).

  When the preceding vehicle is detected by the external sensor 21 (step 102), the display position of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 corresponding to the inter-vehicle distance is read (step 103), and the vehicle speed at this time is the display switching speed (in this example, 40 km). It is checked whether or not this is the case (step 104).

  When the current vehicle speed is equal to or higher than the display switching speed (40 km), the high speed indicator display size is read (step 105). When the current vehicle speed is less than the display switching speed (40 km), the low speed indicator display size is read (step). 106) The preceding vehicle indicator 31 having a display size and a display position corresponding to the vehicle speed and the inter-vehicle distance is displayed on the information display unit 30 (step 107).

  Here, the high speed indicator display size is a display size corresponding to a straight line graph S1 whose size changes at a constant ratio up to a distance Dx (actual vehicle distance 20 m) or less in the graph of FIG. The size is a display size corresponding to a line graph S2 in which a negative inclination becomes large at a distance Dx (actual vehicle distance 20 m) or less (the enlargement ratio of the display size increases as the speed decreases).

  Next, the inter-vehicle distance setting (set inter-vehicle distance 32a, FIG. 4) is read (step 110), the set inter-vehicle distance indicator 32 is displayed, and the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a (FIG. 4) is displayed based on the current vehicle speed of the host vehicle. Is calculated (step 111). The appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a is a maximum value and a minimum value (range between them) centered on the set inter-vehicle distance 32a.

  When a preceding vehicle is detected within the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a (step 112), the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is displayed at a position corresponding to the set inter-vehicle distance 32a in the travel lane display area 35 (step 113). The display position of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is appropriately changed depending on the vehicle speed (step 114).

  On the other hand, when the preceding vehicle is out of the range of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a, the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is not displayed (step 115).

  Further, when the preceding vehicle is no longer detected within the detection range of the external sensor 21, the preceding vehicle indicator 31 is displayed absent (not displayed) (step 108), and the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 is also maintained hidden (step 109).

(Acceleration / deceleration indicator display control)
Next, display control of the acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the ACC system is in the set state and the preceding vehicle is within the range of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a (step 200), an acceleration command equal to or greater than the threshold value is issued from the ACC control unit 20 to the engine controller 24, that is, the engine controller 24 Is the positive direction (step 201), the acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 displays an acceleration indicator 34 '(Δ, FIG. 4 (f)) (step 202).

  On the other hand, when a deceleration command equal to or greater than the threshold value is issued from the ACC control unit 20 to the engine controller 24, that is, when the required torque of the engine controller 24 is negative (step 203), the acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 includes a deceleration indicator 34 ( 4 (e)) is displayed (step 204).

  Since the acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 is displayed only when the preceding vehicle is within the range of the appropriate inter-vehicle distance 33a, the acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 may be implemented as a child process of step 114 in the flowchart of FIG.

  The display control of the preceding vehicle indicator 31 and the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator 33 and the display control of the acceleration / deceleration indicator 34 as described above are executed at a predetermined time rate in the display controller 25, whereby the set value in the ACC control unit 20 is set. And a display image reflecting the state value is generated and displayed on the information display unit 30.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made based on the technical idea of the present invention. I will add.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Own vehicle 3 Other vehicle 5 Travel lane 10 ACC operation part 11 Main switch 12 Vehicle speed adjustment switch 13 Inter-vehicle distance setting switch 14 Cancel switch 20 ACC control unit 21 External sensor 22 Vehicle information 23 ESP controller 24 Engine controller 25 Display controller 30 Information display Part 30a, 30b, 30c Display screen 31, 31a, 31b, 31c Leading vehicle indicator 32 Inter-vehicle distance setting indicator 32a Set inter-vehicle distance 33 Proper inter-vehicle distance indicator 33a Proper inter-vehicle distance 34 Acceleration / deceleration indicator (deceleration indicator)
34 'Acceleration / deceleration indicator (acceleration indicator)
35 Driving lane display area 40 Instrument panel 41 Steering wheel 42 Meter cluster

Claims (6)

Preceding vehicle detection means for detecting a preceding vehicle traveling in the own vehicle traveling lane;
A travel control device that performs ACC control to travel at a constant speed according to a set vehicle speed when there is no preceding vehicle, and to follow and travel while maintaining a set inter-vehicle distance when there is the preceding vehicle;
A vehicle information display device comprising:
A driving lane display area in which the top and bottom of the display screen correspond to the distance in front of the vehicle,
A preceding vehicle indicator displayed in the travel lane display area;
An appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator displayed in the travel lane display area;
With
The display position and display size in the travel lane display area change according to the position of the preceding vehicle detected by the preceding vehicle detection means, and the preceding vehicle indicator is smaller at the far side and smaller at the near position. Configured to display large,
The appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator is configured to be displayed only when the preceding vehicle is within an appropriate inter-vehicle distance range including a set inter-vehicle distance,
The vehicle information display device is configured such that the preceding vehicle indicator is not displayed when the preceding vehicle is not detected or is separated by a predetermined distance or more.   The rate of change in the display size of the preceding vehicle indicator differs between the high speed side where the vehicle speed of the host vehicle is equal to or higher than the predetermined display switching speed and the low speed side which is lower than the display switching speed when the preceding vehicle is less than or equal to the predetermined inter-vehicle distance. 2. The vehicle information display device according to claim 1, wherein characteristics are applied and the enlargement ratio increases as the inter-vehicle distance from the preceding vehicle decreases on the low speed side.   The said preceding vehicle indicator is comprised so that a display position may be fixed to the lower end of a display range, when the said preceding vehicle exists in the short distance below the predetermined inter-vehicle distance. The vehicle information display device described.   The appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator is displayed in a bar shape extending in a direction crossing the travel lane display area at a position corresponding to the set inter-vehicle distance in the travel lane display area, and the preceding vehicle indicator and the display position overlap. 4. The vehicle information display device according to claim 1, wherein the preceding vehicle indicator is displayed.   When the preceding vehicle is within or close to the appropriate inter-vehicle distance range including the set inter-vehicle distance and an acceleration command or deceleration command exceeding the threshold is issued, an acceleration / deceleration indicator is indicated by an upward or downward arrow or triangle. The vehicle information display device according to claim 4, wherein: is displayed.   6. The vehicle information display device according to claim 5, wherein the acceleration / deceleration indicator is displayed on a lower side when the appropriate inter-vehicle distance indicator is displayed.

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