JP2020068415A - Virtual driver display device - Google Patents

Abstract

To obtain a virtual driver display device that can prevent a person outside a vehicle compartment from feeling uncomfortable when the person outside a vehicle compartment sees the vehicle while a crew member is not seated in a driver's seat.SOLUTION: In a virtual driver display 10, in a state where no crew member is seated in a driver's seat 18 of a vehicle 12, an image of a virtual driver 30 is projected in a projected space 24 including a portion on the vehicle front side of a seat back 22 of the driver's seat 18 above a seat cushion 20 of the driver's seat 18. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a person outside the vehicle 12 from feeling uncomfortable when the crew member is not seated in the driver's seat 18 of the vehicle 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a virtual driver display device that displays a virtual driver on a vehicle.

  For example, Patent Document 1 below discloses a configuration for suppressing a change from automatic driving to manual driving against the intention of an occupant who mainly operates the vehicle during automatic driving of the vehicle. By the way, in Patent Document 1, an occupant mainly operating the own vehicle is seated in the driver's seat even during automatic driving. However, it is also assumed that an occupant mainly operating the operation is seated on a seat other than the driver's seat during the automatic driving, and no passenger is seated on the driver's seat. As described above, when a passenger outside the vehicle, such as an occupant of another vehicle or a pedestrian, sees the vehicle in a state where no occupant is seated in the driver's seat, the driver may feel uncomfortable.

JP, 2008-16429, A

  In consideration of the above facts, the present invention provides a virtual driver display device capable of suppressing a feeling of discomfort when a person outside the vehicle compartment sees the vehicle while a passenger is not seated in the driver's seat. Is the purpose.

  The virtual driver display device according to claim 1, wherein the projected portion is set in a driver's seat of the vehicle or in a portion near the driver's seat including an interior space of the vehicle, which is visible at least from outside the vehicle. On the other hand, there is provided a projection device capable of projecting a virtual driver by an image when the vehicle is automatically driven in a state where no passenger is seated in the driver's seat.

  In the virtual driver display device according to claim 1, the projection device can project the virtual driver by an image onto the projection target portion during automatic driving of the vehicle in a state where no occupant is seated in the driver's seat of the vehicle. It is said that The projected portion is a driver's seat of the vehicle or a portion near the driver's seat including an interior space of the vehicle, and is visible from the outside of the vehicle. Therefore, when the virtual driver is projected onto the projection target portion by the projection device, the virtual driver appears to be present in the driver's seat from outside the vehicle.

  The virtual driver display device according to claim 1, further comprising a storage device that stores a plurality of different virtual drivers, wherein the projection device is one virtual driver among the plurality of virtual drivers. It may be configured to project the hand.

  In the virtual driver display device having such a configuration, the storage device stores a plurality of different virtual drivers, and one of the plurality of virtual drivers is projected by the projection device. Therefore, from among the plurality of virtual drivers, for example, the virtual driver can be selected according to the preference of the vehicle occupant.

  Furthermore, the storage device may store a plurality of traveling operation patterns of the vehicle, and the plurality of virtual drivers may be set corresponding to each of the plurality of traveling operation patterns.

  According to the virtual driver display device having such a configuration, the traveling operation patterns of a plurality of vehicles are stored in the storage device. Further, the plurality of virtual drivers stored in the storage device are set corresponding to the traveling operation patterns of the plurality of vehicles. Therefore, the occupant of the vehicle can grasp the traveling operation pattern of the vehicle by displaying the virtual driver.

  A control device may be provided that learns the traveling operation pattern based on an environment around the vehicle and an operation of the vehicle by the occupant, and stores the learned traveling operation pattern in the storage device.

  According to the virtual driver display device having such a configuration, the control device learns the traveling operation pattern based on the environment around the vehicle and the operation of the vehicle by the occupant. Further, the traveling operation pattern learned by the control device is stored in the storage device by the control device. Therefore, in the state where the virtual driver is displayed (that is, when the occupant is seated in the driver's seat and is not in the traveling operation of the vehicle), the vehicle travels in a state similar to the traveling operation by the occupant. This prevents the occupant from feeling uncomfortable while the vehicle is in the running state because the running operation that is significantly different from the running operation by the occupant in the running state of the vehicle is not performed.

  Further, the operation pattern corresponding to the present or predicted future environment around the vehicle is selected from the plurality of traveling operation patterns stored in the storage device, and the operation pattern is selected. A control device for projecting the virtual driver to the projection device may be provided.

  According to the virtual driver display device having such a configuration, the drive operation pattern corresponding to the current or predicted future environment around the vehicle is selected from the plurality of drive operation patterns stored in the storage device by the control device. To be selected. Further, when the traveling operation pattern is selected in this manner, the virtual driver corresponding to the selected traveling operation pattern is projected by the projection device. In this way, the traveling operation pattern and the virtual driver are selected by the control device, but the occupant can recognize the traveling operation pattern selected by the control device by visually recognizing the virtual driver.

  The virtual driver display device according to claim 1, wherein the occupant is present in the driver's seat from outside the vehicle by projecting the virtual driver on the driver's seat of the vehicle or in the vicinity of the driver's seat including the interior space of the vehicle. Therefore, even when the occupant, who is the main operator of the operation, is not sitting in the driver's seat when the vehicle is automatically driven, it is possible to suppress a sense of discomfort felt by a person outside the vehicle who sees the vehicle.

It is the side view which looked at the interior of the vehicle to which the virtual driver display concerning a 1st embodiment was applied from the center of the cross direction. FIG. 3 is a schematic control block diagram of the virtual driver display device according to the first embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows roughly the flow of control in the control device of the virtual driver display unit concerning a 1st embodiment at the time of automatic operation. It is a top view of the vehicle to which the virtual driver display concerning a 2nd embodiment was applied. It is the side view which looked at the interior of the vehicle to which the virtual driver display concerning a 2nd embodiment was applied from the center of the cross direction. It is a schematic control block diagram of a virtual driver display device concerning a 2nd embodiment.

  Next, each embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 6. In each figure, the arrow FR indicates the front side (vehicle front side) of the vehicle 12 to which the virtual driver display device 10 is applied, the arrow LH indicates the vehicle width direction left side, and the arrow UP indicates the vehicle upper side. . Further, each of the following embodiments will be described as a so-called "right-hand drive vehicle" in which the driver's seat 18 is installed on the right side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the vehicle width direction center of the vehicle 12. However, the application of the present invention is not limited to a right-hand drive vehicle, and the present invention is applied to a so-called “left-hand drive vehicle” in which the driver's seat 18 is installed on the left side in the vehicle width direction with respect to the vehicle width direction center of the vehicle 12. You can also do it.

  Further, in describing each of the following embodiments, the same reference numerals are given to portions that are basically the same as those in the above-described embodiments, and detailed description thereof will be given. Omit it.

<Configuration of First Embodiment>
As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 12 to which the virtual driver display device 10 according to the first embodiment is applied includes a projector 14 as a projection device. The projector 14 is provided on the vehicle front side of the driver's seat 18 at the vehicle front end of the ceiling portion 16 of the vehicle 12. The space including the vehicle front side of the seat back 22 of the driver's seat 18 above the seat cushion 20 of the driver's seat 18 is a projected space 24 as a projected portion. The projector 14 can project a three-dimensional stereoscopic image such as holography and three-dimensional computer graphic on the projected space 24.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the projector 14 is electrically connected to the control device 26, and the projector 14 projects a three-dimensional stereoscopic image based on the image signal output from the control device 26. The control device 26 is electrically connected to the storage device 28. The storage device 28 stores a plurality of character data. When one of the plurality of character data is read from the storage device 28, the control device 26 outputs an image signal corresponding to the read character data. The character data stored in the storage device 28 is data of the virtual driver 30 (see FIG. 1) seated in the driver's seat 18. As described above, a plurality of character data are set, and different images of the virtual driver 30 are set for each character data.

  Further, the control device 26 is electrically connected to the automatic driving device 32 that constitutes the control device of the present invention together with the control device 26. The automatic driving device 32 includes a control unit and a storage unit (both not shown) that constitutes the storage device according to the present invention together with the storage device 28. The control unit of the automatic driving device 32 is electrically connected to the traveling operation device of the vehicle 12, for example. The travel operation device is, for example, an accelerator device 34, a brake device 36, a steering device 38, or the like (see FIG. 2) of the vehicle 12, and the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 is such a travel operation device of the vehicle 12. Can be controlled.

  The vehicle 12 is brought into an automatic driving state by the traveling operating device being controlled by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. In this automatic driving state, each traveling operation device is operated by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 based on various information such as the road state, road surrounding environment, and weather. Note that examples of the above-mentioned information on the road condition include the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle 12 is traveling, the condition of the road surface of the road, the road width of the road, the forward line of sight, the condition of the curve (curvature radius, etc.), and the like. . As an example of means for obtaining such road condition information, the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 accesses the storage unit of the car navigation device 40, and the road condition stored in advance in the storage unit of the car navigation device 40 is used. The information of can be read.

  In addition, examples of information on the environment around the road include the presence or absence of buildings around the road, curbs on the side of the road, utility poles, and the like. As an example of a means for obtaining such information about the surrounding environment of the road, the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 accesses the storage unit of the car navigation device 40 and is stored in advance in the storage unit of the car navigation device 40. It is possible to read information on the surrounding environment of the road. Further, as another example of the means for obtaining the information on the surrounding environment of the road, an image of the front of the vehicle 12 taken by a camera (not shown) as a vehicle surrounding imaging device mounted on the vehicle 12 or the like is used. An example is analysis by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32.

  On the other hand, the storage unit of the automatic driving device 32 stores a plurality of traveling operation patterns. The traveling operation pattern is defined by the traveling operation device of the vehicle 12 during traveling of the vehicle 12, such as accelerator operation and brake operation such as acceleration and deceleration timing of the vehicle 12, steering operation state when the vehicle 12 travels on a curved road. It is a patternized operation that is converted into electronic data. The types of traveling operation patterns are, for example, a normal traveling operation pattern, a high-speed traveling operation pattern, a careful traveling operation pattern, and the like.

  The normal traveling operation pattern is, for example, a traveling operation pattern of the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 travels on a general road having a relatively wide road width and a few curves. The high-speed traveling operation pattern is, for example, a traveling operation pattern of the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 travels on an ordinary road or a highway where the speed limit is relatively high and the curve of the road is relatively gentle. The careful traveling operation pattern is, for example, a traveling operation of the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 travels on a narrow road such as a residential area, a mountain road with continuous sharp curves, a road with a relatively low speed limit and many temporary stop points. It is a pattern.

  The automatic driving device 32 is electrically connected to the car navigation device 40. For example, the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 can access the control unit of the car navigation device 40, and the control unit of the car navigation device 40. The storage unit of the car navigation device 40 can be accessed via the. The control unit of the automatic driving device 32 can read various information such as the road condition from the current position to the destination and the surrounding environment of the road from the car navigation device 40.

  Further, the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 selects a suitable traveling operation pattern from a plurality of traveling operation patterns based on various information such as the road condition from the current location to the destination and the surrounding environment of the road. . When the traveling operation pattern is selected by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32, the traveling selected by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 from the data of the plurality of traveling operation patterns stored in the storage unit of the automatic driving device 32. The operation pattern data is read by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32.

  The character data stored in the storage device 28 described above is set corresponding to each of the traveling operation patterns stored in the storage unit of the automatic driving device 32. Examples of the character data are, for example, a normal running character, a high speed running character, a careful running character, and the like. When the character data of the normal running character is read by the control device 26, for example, a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of a male in blue clothes is projected on the projection space 24 from the projector 14. This normal running character corresponds to the above-described normal running operation pattern, and when the normal running character is projected on the projection space 24, each running operating device of the vehicle 12 is controlled by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. It is operated based on the normal traveling operation pattern.

  When the character data of the high-speed running character is read by the control device 26, the projector 14 projects a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of a man in green clothes on the projection space 24, for example. This high-speed traveling character corresponds to the above-described high-speed traveling operation pattern, and when the high-speed traveling character is projected on the projected space 24, each traveling operation device of the vehicle 12 is controlled by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. It is operated based on the high-speed traveling operation pattern.

  Furthermore, when the character data of the carefully-running character is read by the control device 26, the projector 14 projects a three-dimensional stereoscopic image of a man in red clothes on the projection space 24, for example. This cautious traveling character corresponds to the cautious traveling operation pattern described above, and when the cautious traveling character is projected on the projected space 24, each traveling operating device of the vehicle 12 is controlled by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. It is operated based on a careful driving operation pattern.

  Further, the control device 26 is electrically connected to the driver seat occupancy sensor 42. As shown in FIG. 1, the driver seat occupancy sensor 42 is provided inside the seat cushion 20 of the driver seat 18, and the load acting on the seat cushion 20 from the vehicle upper side is detected by the driver seat occupancy sensor 42. To be done. Further, the driver seat occupancy sensor 42 outputs a load detection signal corresponding to the load acting on the seat cushion 20 from the upper side of the vehicle. The load detection signal output from the driver seat occupancy sensor 42 is input to the control device 26. When the load detection signal is input to the control device 26, the control device 26 determines whether or not an occupant as the operation subject of the vehicle 12 is seated in the driver's seat 18 based on the input load detection signal.

  Further, the controller 26 is electrically connected to the controller signal receiver 44. The controller signal receiver 44 can receive the radio signal output from the controller 46. An ignition switch 48 is set in the controller 46. When an ignition signal, which is a radio signal when the ignition switch 48 is turned on, is input to the controller signal receiver 44, control by the control device 26 is started and the automatic driving device 32 of the vehicle 12 is started. .

  A cancel switch 50 is set in the controller 46. When a cancel signal, which is a radio signal when the cancel switch 50 is turned on, is input to the controller signal receiver 44, the control device 26 does not read the character data from the storage device 28 and the virtual driver 30 does not read the character data. Is not projected to the projected space 24.

  Further, the control device 26 is electrically connected to the light switch 52. When the light switch 52 is turned on, a head lamp 54 (see FIG. 4) provided at the vehicle front end of the vehicle 12 and a tail lamp (not shown) provided at the vehicle rear end of the vehicle 12 are turned on. It

  When the light switch 52 is turned on, a light switch operation signal is output, and the light switch operation signal output from the light switch 52 is input to the control device 26. Here, in the present embodiment, the lighting switch 52 is turned on as a cancel condition in which the control device 26 does not read the character data from the storage device 28 and does not project the virtual driver 30 into the projected space 24. The case where it is operated is set in the control device 26. Therefore, when the light switch 52 is turned on, the control device 26 does not read the character data from the storage device 28 and does not project the virtual driver 30 onto the projected space 24.

  Further, the control device 26 is electrically connected to the car navigation device 40. The control device 26 can read the current location of the vehicle 12 based on a GPS device (not shown) electrically connected to the car navigation device 40. Further, the control device 26 can access the storage unit of the car navigation device 40 via the control unit of the car navigation device 40. The control device 26 provides the car navigation device with surrounding environment information of the current location, such as the road width of the route to the current location or the destination, the curve state of the road, the signals or intersections in the traveling direction of the vehicle 12 from the current location, the presence or absence of buildings, and the like. It is read from the storage unit of 40.

  Further, the control device 26 is electrically connected to each traveling operation device such as the accelerator device 34, the brake device 36, and the steering device 38. The accelerator device 34 outputs an accelerator operation signal as a traveling operation signal. The accelerator operation signal corresponds to an accelerator operation of the vehicle 12, which is one mode of a traveling operation of the vehicle 12 by an occupant seated in the driver's seat 18. That is, accelerator operation information such as accelerator operation speed and operation timing at the time of starting and accelerating the vehicle 12 by the occupant who is seated in the driver's seat 18 is input to the control device 26 as an accelerator operation signal. It

  On the other hand, the brake device 36 outputs a brake operation signal as a travel operation signal. The brake operation signal corresponds to a brake operation of the vehicle 12, which is one mode of a traveling operation of the vehicle 12 by an occupant seated in the driver's seat 18. That is, brake operation information such as brake operation speed and operation timing when decelerating or stopping the vehicle 12 by the occupant who is seated in the driver's seat 18 is input to the control device 26 as a brake operation signal. It

  Further, a steering operation signal as a traveling operation signal is output from the steering device 38. The steering operation signal corresponds to a steering operation of the vehicle 12, which is one mode of a traveling operation of the vehicle 12 by an occupant seated in the driver's seat 18. That is, the steering operation information such as the speed and operation timing of the steering operation of the vehicle 12 by the occupant who is the main body of the traveling operation seated in the driver's seat 18 is input to the control device 26 as a steering operation signal.

  Further, the control device 26 is electrically connected to the data communication receiver 56. The data communication receiver 56 can receive, for example, data signals such as a current location, a destination, and weather information on a route to the destination sent from a weather information distribution service organization. The weather information of the route to the destination is input to the control device 26.

<Operation and effect of the first embodiment>
Next, the operation and effect of the present embodiment will be described separately for the automatic operation of the vehicle 12 and the manual operation by the occupant seated in the driver's seat 18.

(Action and effect during automatic operation)
First, the automatic driving of the vehicle 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  When the control device 26 starts selecting the virtual driver and controlling the projection in the automatic driving in step 100, in step 102, the control device 26 determines whether or not the ignition switch 48 of the controller 46 is turned on. To be done. For example, when the occupant 60 (see FIG. 1) seated in the rear seat 58 turns on the ignition switch 48 set in the controller 46, and the ignition signal in this case is input to the controller signal receiver 44, the next step At 104, the control device 26 determines whether or not the cancel switch 50 of the controller 46 is turned on. If the occupant 60 determines that the projection of the virtual driver 30 is not necessary, and the cancel switch 50 is turned ON by this, and the projection of the virtual driver is canceled, in step 106, the virtual image during automatic driving by the control device 26. The driver selection and projection control are terminated.

  On the other hand, when the cancel switch 50 is not turned on, it is determined in step 108 whether the current surrounding environment of the vehicle 12 or the operation of the controller 46 by the occupant 60 meets the cancel condition. For example, in the present embodiment, the cancel condition is that the lighting switch 52 of the controller 46 is turned on. Therefore, for example, when the light switch 52 is turned on at night or the like, the control device 26 determines that the cancel condition is satisfied, and thus the process proceeds to step 106.

  On the other hand, when the control device 26 determines that the cancel condition is not satisfied in step 108, it is determined in step 110 whether or not the route search to the destination of the car navigation device 40 has been performed. For example, when the occupant 60 operates the car navigation device 40 to search for a route to the destination, it is determined in step 112 whether the route to the destination has been determined. Next, at step 114, the selection result of the traveling operation pattern in the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 is read.

  That is, when the route to the destination is determined by the route search operation in the car navigation device 40, the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 accesses the storage unit of the car navigation device 40 via the control unit of the car navigation device 40. To do. When the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 accesses the storage unit of the car navigation device 40, the road condition information of the route from the current location to the destination, the road surrounding environment information, and the like are stored in the storage unit of the car navigation device 40. The various information being read is read by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32.

  Further, the data signal output from the data communication receiver 56 is input to the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. In the control unit of the automatic driving device 32, various kinds of information such as the input weather information from the current position to the destination, the road condition of the route from the current position to the destination read from the storage unit of the car navigation device 40, the surrounding environment of the road, etc. Based on the information, the driving operation pattern to the destination is selected.

  For example, basically, when all or most of the route to the destination is a general road having a relatively wide road width and few curves, the normal traveling operation pattern is selected. When all or most of the routes to the destination are roads with relatively high speed limits such as highways, the high-speed traveling operation pattern is selected. Further, when the route to the present location or the destination is a narrow mountain road (pass) or an alley in the city, the careful driving operation pattern is selected.

  Further, the selection result of the traveling operation pattern is corrected based on the road condition from the current position to the destination, the surrounding environment of the road, the weather information and the like. For example, as described above, when all or most of the route to the destination is a road with a relatively high speed limit such as an expressway, basically, the high speed traveling operation pattern is selected. However, when a driving operation pattern that is more careful than the basically selected driving operation pattern is required, for example, when the weather on the route to the destination is rainy, the controller 26 selects the driving operation pattern. The traveling operation pattern to be changed is changed from the high-speed traveling operation pattern to the normal traveling operation pattern.

  In this way, when the traveling operation pattern selected by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 is read by the control device 26, in step 116, character data corresponding to the traveling operation pattern selected by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. Is read from the storage device 28 by the control device 26. Next, in step 118, the projector 14 is operated by the control device 26, and the character of the character data read by the control device 26 is projected onto the projection space 24.

  On the other hand, when it is determined by the control device 26 in step 110 that the occupant 60 does not perform a route search operation to the destination by the car navigation device 40, the occupant 60 is operated by the controller 46 in step 120. It is determined whether or not the character to be projected onto the projection space 24 has been determined. When the character of the virtual driver 30 is determined by the occupant 60, the character data selected in step 116 is read from the storage device 28 by the control device 26, and in step 118, the projector 14 sends the character data to the control device 26. The character is projected onto the projected space 24. In this way, when the character of the virtual driver 30 is determined by the occupant 60, the automatic driving device 32 automatically drives the vehicle 12 in the traveling operation pattern corresponding to the character of the virtual driver 30 selected by the occupant 60. .

  In this way, the three-dimensional stereoscopic image of the virtual driver 30 is projected in the projected space 24 including the vehicle front side of the seat back 22 of the driver seat 18 above the seat cushion 20 of the driver seat 18 of the vehicle 12. It The three-dimensional stereoscopic image of the virtual driver 30 shows a person outside the vehicle 12, for example, a pedestrian walking sideways of the vehicle 12 in the vehicle width direction or a front side of the vehicle 12 while the vehicle 12 is stopped, or a vehicle 12. It can also be visually recognized by an occupant of another vehicle on the front side of the vehicle or on the side in the vehicle width direction and an occupant of an oncoming vehicle of the vehicle 12. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a person outside the vehicle 12 from feeling uncomfortable when the occupant is not seated in the driver's seat 18 of the vehicle 12.

  The virtual driver 30 can also be viewed by an occupant seated in a seat other than the driver seat 18, such as the rear seat 58 of the vehicle 12. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occupant 60 from feeling uncomfortable when the vehicle 12 travels while the occupant is not seated in the driver's seat 18.

  Furthermore, as described above, the color of the clothes of the virtual driver 30 corresponds to the traveling operation pattern selected by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32. Therefore, for example, the occupant 60 seated in a seat other than the driver's seat 18, such as the rear seat 58, sees the color of the clothes of the virtual driver 30 to determine, for example, the controller 46 or a monitor device mounted on the vehicle 12. The traveling operation pattern selected by the control unit of the automatic driving device 32 can be easily recognized without looking at the above.

(Action and effect during manual operation)
Next, an operation and an effect when the vehicle 12 is manually operated by an occupant seated in the driver's seat 18 will be described.

  In the case of such a manual operation, the control device 26 reads various information such as the road condition at the current location and the surrounding environment of the road from the control unit of the car navigation device 40. Further, in the case of manual driving, the control device 26 reads image information such as an image of the front of the vehicle 12 captured by a camera (not shown) as a vehicle peripheral imaging device mounted on the vehicle 12.

  Further, in the case of manual operation, a data signal such as weather information of the current location output from the data communication receiver 56 is input to the control device 26. Further, in the case of manual driving, the accelerator operation signal output from the accelerator device 34, the brake operation signal output from the brake device 36, the steering operation signal output from the steering device 38, and the like are output from the traveling operation device. The traveling operation signal is input to the control device 26.

  In the control device 26, the road condition of the current location read from the control unit of the car navigation device 40, the information of the surrounding environment of the road, the weather information of the current location based on the data signal output from the data communication receiver 56, and the automatic driving device. The plurality of traveling operation patterns stored in the storage unit 32 are compared. Further, based on the comparison result, the control device 26 determines which of the traveling operation patterns the current position of the vehicle 12 corresponds to.

  Further, based on the traveling operation signals from the traveling operation device such as the accelerator operation signal from the accelerator device 34, the brake operation signal from the brake device 36, and the steering operation signal from the steering device 38 at the current location, the control device 26 causes the current location The operation of the vehicle 12 performed by the occupant is determined according to the road conditions, the surrounding environment of the road, and the weather at the current location. This determination result is sent to the storage unit of the automatic driving device 32, and the traveling operation pattern stored in the storage unit of the automatic driving device 32 is updated. That is, in the present embodiment, the operation of the vehicle 12 by the occupant seated in the driver's seat 18 during the manual operation is learned by the control device 26, and the learning result is the traveling operation stored in the storage unit of the automatic operation device 32. Reflected in the pattern.

  By updating the traveling operation pattern in this way, the traveling operation of the vehicle 12 when the vehicle 12 is automatically driven by the automatic driving device 32 becomes an operation similar to the traveling operation of the vehicle 12 by the occupant's manual operation. . As described above, the traveling operation of the vehicle 12 during the automatic operation of the vehicle 12 resembles the traveling operation of the occupant's manual operation, so that the occupant 60 feels strange about the traveling operation of the vehicle 12 during the automatic operation of the vehicle 12. Can be reduced.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, a first projector 72, a second projector 74, and a third projector 76, each as a projection device, are provided above the instrument panel 78 of the vehicle 12. Has been. The first projector 72 can project an image on the glass surface of the windshield glass 80 of the vehicle 12 as the projection target portion. The second projector 74 can project an image on the glass surface of the door glass 82 on the driver's seat 18 side of the vehicle 12 as the projection target portion (see FIG. 5). The third projector 76 can project an image on the glass surface of the door glass 84 on the passenger seat (not shown) side of the vehicle 12 as the projection target portion.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, each of the first to third projectors 72 to 76 is electrically connected to the control device 26, and each of the first to third projectors 72 to 76 is connected. Projects an image, that is, the virtual driver 30, based on the image signal output from the control device 26. Here, in the present embodiment, the virtual driver 30 is not a three-dimensional stereoscopic image but a two-dimensional image projected on the glass surfaces of the windshield glass 80 and the door glasses 82 and 84. Therefore, the image data of the virtual driver 30 can be made smaller than when the virtual driver 30 has a stereoscopic image.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5 as an example, the projection range of the image of the virtual driver 30 is projected on the windshield glass 80 and the glass surface ranges of the door glasses 82 and 84 (the windshield glass 80 and the door glass 84 are projected. The virtual driver 30 is not shown). Therefore, the image data of the virtual driver 30 can be made smaller than in the case where the whole body of the virtual driver 30 is projected.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the passenger seating sensor 86 is electrically connected to the control device 26. The passenger seat occupancy sensor 86 is provided inside the seat cushion of the passenger seat, and the load acting on the passenger seat cushion from the vehicle upper side is detected by the passenger seat occupancy sensor 86. Further, the passenger seat occupancy sensor 86 outputs a load detection signal corresponding to the load applied to the seat cushion from above the vehicle. The load detection signal output from the passenger seating sensor 86 is input to the control device 26. When the load detection signal is input to the control device 26, the control device 26 determines whether or not the passenger is seated in the passenger seat based on the input load detection signal.

  In the present embodiment, when the control device 26 determines that the occupant is seated in the passenger seat, the control device 26 causes the third projector 76 to display the door glass 84 on the passenger seat (not shown) side. Does not project the image. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the light emitted from the third projector 76 from hitting the occupant seated in the passenger seat, so that the passenger in the passenger seat has the annoyance caused by the light emitted from the third projector 76. Can be suppressed.

  In the first embodiment, the projector 14 as the projection device is provided on the vehicle front side of the driver's seat 18 at the vehicle front end of the ceiling portion 16 of the vehicle 12. Further, in the second embodiment, the first to third projectors 72 to 76 as the projection device are provided on the upper part of the instrument panel 78. However, the installation position of the projection device and the number of projection devices are not particularly limited, and the installation position of the projection device and the number of projection devices are appropriately set according to the type and characteristics of the image or video image to be projected. be able to.

  Further, the virtual driver 30 in each of the above embodiments may be a still image, or may be, for example, a moving image in which the virtual driver 30 moves appropriately.

  Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the ON state of the light switch 52 is exemplified as the cancel condition. However, for example, a clock mounted on the vehicle 12 is electrically connected to the control device 26, and a cancellation condition is set between the sunset time and the sunrise time of the next day, and between the sunset time and the sunrise time of the next day. Alternatively, the virtual driver 30 may not be projected. That is, the cancel condition may be a condition in which it is preferable not to project the virtual driver 30, and various modes can be applied.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the clothes of the virtual driver 30 have different colors for each traveling operation pattern. However, for example, the running operation pattern may be identified by the gender, age, hair color, etc. of the virtual driver 30. Further, the image of the virtual driver 30 may be, for example, the owner of the vehicle 12 (the occupant 60 who is the operation subject during manual driving of the vehicle 12) or another person.

  Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the normal traveling operation pattern, the high-speed traveling operation pattern, and the careful traveling operation pattern are shown as examples of the traveling operation pattern. However, the traveling operation pattern is not limited to these modes, and various other traveling operation patterns may be set.

10 Virtual Driver Display Device 12 Vehicle 14 Projector (Projector)
18 Driver's seat 24 Projected space (projected part)
26 Controller 30 Virtual Driver 72 First Projector (Projector)
74 Second Projector (Projector)
76 Third Projector (Projector)
80 Windshield glass (projected part)
82 Door glass (projected part)
84 Door glass (projected part)

Claims (1)

  No occupant is seated in the driver's seat with respect to the projected portion set at least in the driver's seat of the vehicle or in the vicinity of the driver's seat including the interior space of the vehicle, which is visible from the outside of the vehicle. A virtual driver display device including a projection device capable of projecting a virtual driver by an image when the vehicle is automatically driven in a state.