JP2020117220A - Head-up display, control method, program and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a head-up display which can suitably reduce burden on eyes of an observer without changing virtual image distance.SOLUTION: A head-up display 2 includes a light source unit 4, and a combiner 9. A control part 55 of the light source unit 4 recognizes a position of an attention object Obj on the basis of an image Im or the like acquired from a camera 3 for imaging a front scenery. The control part 55 displays a virtual image Iv so as to form an image at virtual image distance Lv previously set by a driver by the combiner 9. Moreover, the control part 55 displays at least one virtual image Iv at a position in the vicinity of the attention object Obj when the attention object Obj is positioned in a virtual image vicinity range Rn with the virtual image distance Lv as a reference.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

The present invention relates to a display technology for a head-up display.

BACKGROUND ART In a head-up display or a head-mounted display that displays a virtual image by superimposing it on a front scene, a technique for adjusting a virtual image distance, which is a distance from a viewer's viewpoint to a virtual image, has been conventionally known. For example, in Patent Document 1, in order to prevent a virtual image from being embedded and observed in the background when the actual position of the background is closer to the viewpoint than the virtual image position, the distance from the viewpoint to the background A binocular head mounted display for changing a virtual image distance is disclosed based on the above. Further, in Patent Document 2, in order to set a virtual image position at a near focus while the vehicle is stopped and at a far focus having the same distance as a focus during driving while the vehicle is traveling, an optical reflection plate for near focus and a far focus are provided. A head-up display including an optical reflector is disclosed.

JP, 2010-139589, A JP, 2005-247180, A

In the head-up display, when the virtual image distance can be changed according to the distance from the viewpoint to the background as in Patent Document 1, as shown in Patent Document 2, an optical reflection plate for near focus and a far focus are used. It is necessary to provide both the optical reflection plate and the optical reflection plate, and there is a problem that the optical system becomes large.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a head-up display capable of suitably reducing the burden on the eyes of an observer without changing the virtual image distance. The main purpose is that.

The invention according to claim is a head-up display which is mounted on a moving body and which displays a virtual image superimposed on a front scene, wherein the acquisition means acquires a position of an object included in the front scene, and the moving body. Control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver, wherein the control means is within a predetermined distance range including the preset distance from the driver. When the object is located at, the display means displays at least one virtual image at a position near the object.

Further, the invention according to claim is a control method executed by a head-up display, which is mounted on a moving body and displays a virtual image by superimposing it on a forward landscape, wherein the position of an object included in the forward landscape is acquired. An acquisition step and a control step of displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, the control step being preset by the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including the distance, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object.

Further, the invention according to claim is a program executed by a computer which is mounted on a moving body and which controls a head-up display for displaying a virtual image by superimposing it on a front scene, wherein the position of an object included in the front scene. And a control unit for causing the display unit to display the virtual image so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, and the control unit controls the driver. When the target object is located within a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the target object.

1 shows a schematic configuration of a display system. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a navigation device. The schematic structure of a head-up display is shown. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a light source unit. It is an example of a front view visually recognized from a driver's seat when an attention target is not detected. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of an attention target object and a vehicle in case the nearest attention target object exists in the distance from the virtual image vicinity range. The display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 6 is shown. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of an attention target object and a vehicle when the nearest attention target object exists in a virtual image vicinity range. 9 shows a first display example of the combiner in the example of FIG. 8. The 2nd example of a display of the combiner in the example of FIG. 8 is shown. It is a figure which shows the positional relationship of an attention target object and a vehicle when the nearest attention target object exists near the virtual image vicinity range. The 1st example of a display of the combiner in the example of FIG. 11 is shown. The 2nd example of a display of the combiner in the example of FIG. 11 is shown. The modification of the display of the combiner shown in FIG. 10 is shown. The modification of the display of the combiner shown in FIG. 12 is shown.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a head-up display mounted on a moving body and displaying a virtual image by superimposing it on a front scene, an acquisition unit for acquiring a position of an object included in the front scene, and the moving unit. Control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the body, the control means comprising a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from the driver. When the object is located inside, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object.

The head-up display includes an acquisition unit and a control unit. The acquisition means acquires the position of the target object included in the forward scenery. The control means causes the display means to display the virtual image so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body. Further, the control unit causes the display unit to display at least one virtual image at a position near the target when the target is located within a predetermined distance range including a preset distance from the driver. Here, the “proximity position” refers to a position close to such a degree that the driver can visually recognize the object and the virtual image at the same time. In this way, the head-up display causes the driver to visually recognize the virtual image and the object at the same time by displaying the virtual image in the vicinity of the object when the distance from the driver to the object and the virtual image distance are short. .. As a result, the head-up display can suitably reduce the burden on the driver's eyes when visually recognizing the virtual image and the object without changing the virtual image distance.

In one aspect of the head-up display, the control unit moves a display position of at least one virtual image of the virtual images being displayed to a position near the object. According to this aspect, the head-up display can allow the driver to visually recognize the virtual image and the object.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control unit hides at least one virtual image among the virtual images being displayed when the position of the object is closer to the driver than the predetermined distance range. Alternatively, the display position of the virtual image is moved to a position that is not near the object. Generally, when a virtual image and an object at different distances from the driver are viewed at the same time, the burden on the driver's eyes increases. Therefore, according to this aspect, the head-up display can suitably suppress simultaneous visual recognition of the virtual image and the object at different distances from the driver.

In another aspect of the head-up display, when the position of the target object is farther from the driver than the predetermined distance range, the control unit controls the display position of at least one virtual image among the virtual images being displayed, Move to a position near the object. In general, focusing between the far focal points places less burden on the eyes, and thus the head-up display can allow the driver to visually recognize the virtual image and the object appropriately.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control unit causes a virtual image that is not displayed to be displayed at a position near the target when the target is located within the predetermined distance range. According to this aspect as well, the head-up display can appropriately recognize the virtual image and the object without burdening the eyes of the driver.

In another aspect of the head-up display, the control unit determines, for each type of the target object, whether to display a virtual image to be displayed in the vicinity of the target object so as to be superimposed on the target object. According to this aspect, the head-up display displays, for example, a virtual image on an object that is sufficiently visible even when overlapping virtual images, and displays the virtual image on an object whose visibility deteriorates if the virtual images are overlapped. You can

In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the control method carried out by a head-up display mounted on a moving body and displaying a virtual image superimposed on a forward landscape is performed by acquiring the position of an object included in the forward landscape. And a control step of displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, the control step being preset by the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including the distance, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object. By executing this control method, the head-up display can suitably reduce the burden on the eyes of the driver when visually recognizing the virtual image and the object without changing the virtual image distance.

In still another embodiment of the present invention, a program executed by a computer, which is mounted on a moving body and controls a head-up display that displays a virtual image by superimposing it on a front scene, acquires the position of an object included in the front scene. The acquisition means and the control means for causing the display means to display the virtual image so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body, the control means preliminarily from the driver. When the object is located within a predetermined distance range including the set distance, the display means displays at least one virtual image in the vicinity of the object. By executing this program, the head-up display can suitably reduce the burden on the eyes of the driver when visually recognizing the virtual image and the object without changing the virtual image distance. Preferably, the program is stored in a storage medium.

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

[Schematic configuration]
(1) System Configuration FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a display system 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the display system 100 is mounted on a vehicle Ve and includes a navigation device 1, a head-up display 2, and a camera 3. Instead of the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the head-up display 2 may have a function corresponding to that of the navigation device 1.

The navigation device 1 has a function of providing route guidance from a starting point to a destination. The navigation device 1 may be, for example, a stationary navigation device installed in the vehicle Ve, a PND (Portable Navigation Device), or a mobile terminal such as a smartphone.

The head-up display 2 is a device that generates an image (also referred to as a “guidance image”) that displays information for assisting driving and visually recognizes the guidance image as a virtual image from the driver's eye position (eye point). .. The head-up display 2 uses, as the guide image, for example, an arrow indicating the direction of the guide route, information about a guide point such as a right or left turn point, information about traveling of the vehicle Ve such as vehicle speed, information indicating a position of the facility, and a front direction. The information that indicates, and the information about traffic regulations are displayed. The head-up display 2 is supplied from the navigation device 1 with various information necessary for generating a guide image, such as information on a guide route.

The camera 3 is fixed toward the front of the vehicle Ve and generates an image (also referred to as “image Im”) of the front of the vehicle Ve taken at predetermined intervals. The camera 3 supplies the generated image Im to the head-up display 2. As will be described later, the head-up display 2 detects an object (also referred to as “attention object Obj”) included in the forward scenery that the driver should pay attention to, based on the image Im. The attention object Obj is, for example, a vehicle ahead, a traffic light, a traffic sign, a person, and/or a facility. In this embodiment, the head-up display 2 detects a vehicle ahead and a traffic light as the attention object Obj. Preferably, the camera 3 is a stereo camera that captures a forward landscape from different directions. In this case, the head-up display 2 can also serve as a unit that detects the distance between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve based on the image Im.

When the navigation device 1 is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, the navigation device 1 may be held by a cradle or the like. In this case, the navigation device 1 may exchange information with the head-up display 2 via a cradle or the like. Further, the head-up display 2 may receive the image Im via the navigation device 1, instead of directly receiving the image Im from the camera 3. In this case, the camera 3 transmits the image Im to the navigation device 1, and the navigation device 1 transfers the image Im to the head-up display 2.

(2) Configuration of Navigation Device FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the navigation device 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the navigation device 1 includes an autonomous positioning device 10, a GPS receiver 18, a system controller 20, a disk drive 31, a data storage unit 36, a communication interface 37, a communication device 38, an interface 39, and a display unit 40. , Audio output unit 50, and input device 60.

The self-supporting positioning device 10 includes an acceleration sensor 11, an angular velocity sensor 12, and a distance sensor 13. The acceleration sensor 11 includes, for example, a piezoelectric element, detects the acceleration of the vehicle Ve, and outputs acceleration data. The angular velocity sensor 12 is composed of, for example, a vibration gyro, detects the angular velocity of the vehicle Ve at the time of changing the direction of the vehicle Ve, and outputs the angular velocity data and the relative azimuth data. The distance sensor 13 measures a vehicle speed pulse composed of a pulse signal generated as the wheels of the vehicle Ve rotate.

The GPS receiver 18 receives radio waves 19 carrying downlink data including positioning data from a plurality of GPS satellites. The positioning data is used to detect the absolute position (also called “current position”) of the vehicle Ve from latitude and longitude information and the like.

The system controller 20 includes an interface 21, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 22, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 23, and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 24, and controls the entire navigation device 1.

The interface 21 performs an interface operation with the acceleration sensor 11, the angular velocity sensor 12, the distance sensor 13, and the GPS receiver 18. Then, from these, vehicle speed pulses, acceleration data, relative azimuth data, angular velocity data, GPS positioning data, absolute azimuth data, etc. are input to the system controller 20. The CPU 22 controls the entire system controller 20. The ROM 23 has a non-volatile memory (not shown) in which a control program for controlling the system controller 20 is stored. The RAM 24 readably stores various data such as route data preset by the user via the input device 60, and provides a working area to the CPU 22.

The system controller 20, a disk drive 31 such as a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM drive, a data storage unit 36, a communication interface 37, a display unit 40, an audio output unit 50 and an input device 60 are mutually connected via a bus line 30. It is connected to the.

Under the control of the system controller 20, the disc drive 31 reads content data such as music data and video data from a disc 33 such as a CD or a DVD and outputs it. The disc drive 31 may be either a CD-ROM drive or a DVD-ROM drive, or may be a CD and DVD compatible drive.

The data storage unit 36 is a unit configured of, for example, an HDD, and stores various data used for navigation processing such as map data. The map data includes road data represented by links corresponding to roads and nodes corresponding to road connection parts, facility information regarding each facility, and the like.

The communication device 38 is configured by, for example, an FM tuner, a beacon receiver, a mobile terminal, a dedicated communication module, and the like, and traffic congestion and the like delivered from a VICS (registered trademark, Vehicle Information Communication System) center via the communication interface 37. Receive road traffic information such as traffic information and other information. Further, the communication device 38 transmits to the head-up display 2 various information used for navigation processing, such as current position information obtained from the GPS receiver 18, vehicle speed pulse information obtained from the self-contained positioning device 10 and map data. To do.

The display unit 40 displays various display data on a display device such as a display under the control of the system controller 20. Specifically, the system controller 20 reads the map data from the data storage unit 36. The display unit 40 displays the map data read from the data storage unit 36 by the system controller 20 on the display screen. The display unit 40 includes a graphic controller 41 that controls the entire display unit 40 based on control data sent from the CPU 22 via the bus line 30, and a memory such as a VRAM (Video RAM) to display image information that can be immediately displayed. A buffer memory 42 for temporarily storing, a display controller 43 for controlling display of a display 44 such as a liquid crystal, a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) based on image data output from the graphic controller 41, and a display 44. .. The display 44 functions as an image display unit, is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal display device having a diagonal of about 5 to 10 inches, and is mounted near the front panel in the vehicle.

The audio output unit 50, under the control of the system controller 20, performs D/A (Digital to Analog) conversion of audio digital data sent from the CD-ROM drive 31, the DVD-ROM 32, the RAM 24, or the like via the bus line 30. A D/A converter 51 for performing, an amplifier (AMP) 52 for amplifying a voice analog signal output from the D/A converter 51, and a speaker 53 for converting the amplified voice analog signal into voice and outputting the voice. It is equipped with.

The input device 60 includes keys, switches, buttons, a remote controller, a voice input device, etc. for inputting various commands and data. The input device 60 is arranged around the front panel and the display 44 of the main body of the vehicle-mounted electronic system mounted in the vehicle. When the display 44 is a touch panel type, a touch panel provided on the display screen of the display 44 also functions as the input device 60.

(3) Configuration of Head-up Display FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the head-up display 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the head-up display 2 according to the present embodiment is a vehicle Ve that includes a light source unit 4 and a combiner 9, and includes a front window 25, a ceiling portion 27, a hood 28, a dashboard 29, and the like. It is attached.

The light source unit 4 is installed on the ceiling portion 27 in the vehicle interior through the support members 5a and 5b, and emits light forming a guide image indicating information for assisting driving toward the combiner 9 to cause the combiner 9 to exit. The driver visually recognizes the virtual image “Iv” via. Hereinafter, as illustrated, the distance from the eye point Pe to the virtual image Iv is also referred to as “virtual image distance Lv”.

The combiner 9 projects the display image emitted from the light source unit 4 and reflects the display image to the driver's eye point “Pe” to display the display image as the virtual image Iv. The combiner 9 has the support shaft portion 8 installed on the ceiling portion 27, and rotates about the support shaft portion 8 as a spindle. The support shaft portion 8 is installed, for example, near a ceiling portion 27 near the upper end of the front window 25, in other words, near a position where a driver-not-illustrated sun visor is installed. The support shaft portion 8 may be installed in place of the sun visor described above. The combiner 9 is an example of the "display means" in the present invention.

(4) Configuration of Light Source Unit FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the light source unit 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the light source unit 3 includes a light source 54, a control unit 55, and a communication unit 56.

The light source 54 has, for example, red, blue, and green laser light sources, and emits light (also referred to as “display light”) that forms a display image to be irradiated on the combiner 9 under the control of the controller 55. ..

The communication unit 56 receives various types of information used for navigation processing from the navigation device 1 under the control of the control unit 55. For example, the communication unit 56 receives from the navigation device 1 information necessary for generating a guide image such as information on a guide route and information on the current position. The communication unit 56 also receives the image Im from the camera 3 at predetermined intervals.

The control unit 55 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores control programs and data executed by the CPU, a RAM that sequentially reads and writes various data as a work memory when the CPU operates, and the like. Control.

The control unit 55 generates a guide image based on the information transmitted from the navigation device 1, and causes the light source 54 to emit the display light forming the guide image. Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 55 detects one or a plurality of attention objects Obj based on the image Im transmitted from the camera 3. Further, the control unit 55 detects the distance between the detected attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve (strictly, the eye point Pe) based on the image Im or the output of various radars (not shown) (also referred to as “object distance Lo”). Recognize. Then, the control unit 55 appropriately changes the display position on the combiner 9 of the guide image displayed as the virtual image Iv while fixing the virtual image distance Lv. This will be explained in detail in the section "Adjustment of display position".

The control unit 55 functions as a computer that executes the “acquisition unit”, the “control unit”, and the program according to the present invention.

[Adjust display position]
Next, a method of adjusting the display position of the guide image visually recognized as the virtual image Iv on the combiner 9 will be described. Schematically, the control unit 55 determines the display position of the guide image displayed as the virtual image Iv based on the relationship between the object distance Lo of the attention object Obj closest to the eye point Pe and the virtual image distance Lv. As a result, the control unit 55 preferably visually recognizes both the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv without placing a burden on the driver's eyes.

(1) When there is no attention object FIG. 5 is an example of a front view visually recognized from the driver's seat when the attention object Obj is not detected. In FIG. 5, the control unit 55, based on the guide route, the first guidance indicating the direction (here, the right direction) in which the vehicle Ve should travel at the next right/left turn point and the distance (here, 2 km) to the next right/left turn point. The image 81 is displayed as a virtual image Iv at the lower left of the combiner 9. Further, the control unit 55 causes the second guide image 82 indicating the speed of the vehicle Ve (here, 66 km/h) to be displayed at the lower right of the combiner 9. In this way, when the attention object Obj is not detected, the control unit 55 causes one or a plurality (here, two) of guide images displaying specific information to be displayed at predetermined positions.

(2) When the attention object is farther than within the virtual image vicinity range , the attention object Obj is detected next, and the detected closest attention object Obj is close to the virtual image Iv based on the traveling direction of the vehicle Ve. A case will be described in which there is a position farther than the range (also referred to as “virtual image vicinity range Rn”). In this case, the control unit 55 displays a virtual image Iv indicating at least one guide image in the vicinity of the closest attention object Obj in consideration of the fact that focusing of the far focal points places less burden on the eyes.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve when the closest attention object Obj exists farther than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes the traffic light 91, which is the attention object Obj, based on the image Im, and further calculates the object distance Lo. Further, the control unit 55 recognizes the virtual image distance Lv, which is a fixed value, by storing it in a memory or the like in advance. Then, the control unit 55 recognizes, as the virtual image neighborhood range Rn, a range that is a predetermined distance “L1” from the virtual image Iv in the traveling direction of the vehicle Ve based on the virtual image distance Lv. Here, the predetermined distance L1 is predetermined, for example, based on an experiment or the like such that the driver can visually recognize an object in the virtual image vicinity range Rn with the same perspective as the virtual image Iv. Then, since the maximum distance (=Lv+L1) from the eye point Pe in the recognized virtual image proximity range Rn is shorter than the object distance Lo of the traffic signal 91, the control unit 55 causes the traffic signal 91 to be closer than the virtual image proximity range Rn. Recognize that there is a distant place.

FIG. 7 shows a display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81 at a position near the traffic light 91 visually recognized in the combiner 9. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes the area of the traffic light 91 visually recognized on the combiner 9 from the area of the traffic light 91 extracted from the image Im, and displays the first guide image 81 in the vicinity thereof. At this time, the control unit 55 stores, in advance, for example, information indicating a correspondence relationship between the display position in the image Im and the display position on the combiner 9, and by referring to the information, the combiner 9 Recognize the area of the traffic light 91 that is visible above.

In general, focusing between far focuses is less burdensome on the eyes. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 7, the driver can easily visually recognize the traffic light 91 and the first guide image 81, both of which are visually recognized relatively far away, without burdening the eyes.

Further, in the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 55 does not change the display position of the second guidance image 82 indicating the vehicle speed from the case where the attention object Obj does not exist (see FIG. 5). That is, in the example of FIG. 7, the control unit 55 fixes the display position of the second guide image 82 regardless of the positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv, and displays the display position of the first guide image 81. It is changed according to the positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv. In this way, the control unit 55 may determine in advance whether or not to fix the display position of the guide image according to the type of information indicated by the guide image. As an example, an image showing the position of the facility that is displayed in association with the position of the facility existing in the forward landscape viewed from the driver's seat, and the orientation such as which position in the forward landscape corresponds to the east It is not preferable to change the position of the image indicating “” from the original display position. For such types of images, the display position may not be changed from the position that should be originally displayed.

(3) When the Attention Object is in the Virtual Image Near Range Next, a case where the detected closest attention object Obj exists in the virtual image near range Rn will be described. In this case, since the positions of the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv in the front direction of the vehicle Ve are approximately the same, the control unit 55 causes at least one virtual image Iv near the attention object Obj visually recognized on the combiner 9. Is displayed. As a result, the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv that do not need to be focused in the distance are displayed in the vicinity, and the driver can visually recognize them without straining the eyes.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve when the closest attention object Obj exists in the virtual image vicinity range Rn. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes the traffic light 91 and the track 92, which are the attention objects Obj, based on the image Im, and further calculates the object distance Lo thereof. Then, the control unit 55 recognizes that the track 92 is the closest attention object Obj based on the calculated object distance Lo. Then, the control unit 55 determines that the track 92 exists in the virtual image vicinity range Rn because the difference between the object distance Lo corresponding to the track 92 and the virtual image distance Lv is within the predetermined distance L1.

FIG. 9 shows a first display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the first display example shown in FIG. 9, the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81 in the vicinity of the track 92 visually recognized in the combiner 9. Accordingly, the control unit 55 causes the truck 92 and the first guide image 81, which do not need to be focused in the distance, to be displayed in the vicinity, and allows the driver to appropriately visually recognize them without burdening the eyes. .. Further, the control unit 55 fixes the display position of the second guide image 82 indicating the vehicle speed, regardless of the presence or absence of the attention object Obj, as in the example of FIG. 7. Further, similarly to the above description, the display position of the image indicating the position of the facility or the image indicating the direction may not be changed from the position that should be originally displayed.

FIG. 10 shows a second display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the second display example shown in FIG. 10, the control unit 55 recognizes that the truck 92 is the front vehicle by the image recognition using the image Im, and displays the third guide image 83 indicating the distance to the front vehicle. , Is newly displayed at a position near the track 92. As described above, in the display example shown in FIG. 10, when the control unit 55 determines that the track 92, which is the closest attention object Obj, is present within the virtual image vicinity range Rn, the control unit 55 has not displayed the third display. The guide image 83 is displayed near the attention object Obj. Also by this, the control unit 55 can appropriately make the driver visually recognize the virtual image Iv and the attention object Obj without burdening the eyes of the driver.

(4) When the attention object Obj is closer than the virtual image vicinity range Next, the case where the detected closest attention object Obj is present at a position closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn will be described. In this case, the control unit 55 does not display the virtual image Iv in the vicinity of the closest attention object Obj because the closest attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv have different positions in the traveling direction of the vehicle Ve. This prevents the driver from simultaneously observing the attention object Obj and the virtual image Iv that need to be focused in the distance.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between the attention object Obj and the vehicle Ve when the closest attention object Obj exists closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. In this case, the control unit 55 recognizes that the track 92 is the attention object Obj and the object distance Lo to the track 92 based on the image Im. Then, the control unit 55 determines that the track 92 exists near the virtual image vicinity range Rn based on the object distance Lo and the virtual image distance Lv corresponding to the track 92.

FIG. 12 shows a first display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the display example shown in FIG. 12, first, the control unit 55 determines that the display position of the first guide image 81 on the combiner 9 at the normal time, that is, the display position at the lower left of the combiner 9 (see FIG. 5) is the combiner 9 It is determined that it is within a predetermined distance from the area of the track 92 visually recognized above. The above-mentioned predetermined distance is determined based on an experiment or the like, for example, as a distance between the displays where the driver may view two displays on the combiner 9 at the same time. Then, in this case, the control unit 55 determines that the first guidance image 81 is displayed in the vicinity of the truck 92 when the first guidance image 81 is displayed at the normal display position (that is, the lower left of the combiner 9). Therefore, in this case, the control unit 55 causes the first guide image 81 to be displayed at a position separated from the area of the track 92 visually recognized on the combiner 9 by a predetermined distance or more (here, the upper right on the combiner 9).

Generally, when the attention object Obj is closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn, the virtual image Iv and the attention object Obj have different focal positions in the perspective. Therefore, in this case, when the virtual image Iv is displayed in the vicinity of the object of attention Obj, the driver tries to see them all at once, and the eyes are burdened by focusing at the same distance. In consideration of the above, in the example of FIG. 12, it is preferable that the control unit 55 displays the first guide image 81 at a position on the combiner 9 which is separated from the truck 92, thereby placing a burden on the driver's eyes. Can be suppressed.

FIG. 13 shows a second display example of the combiner 9 in the example of FIG. In the display example shown in FIG. 13, when the first guidance image 81 is displayed at the normal position, the control unit 55 determines that the first guidance image 81 is displayed near the track 92, and the first guidance image 81 is displayed. The display is erased. In this way, the control unit 55 erases the display of the first guide image 81 in order to prevent the first guide image 81 from being displayed near the track 92. Also by this, the control unit 55 can prevent the guide image from being displayed in the vicinity of the attention object Obj closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn, and can appropriately suppress the burden on the driver's eyes.

As described above, the head-up display 2 according to this embodiment includes the light source unit 4 and the combiner 9. The control unit 55 of the light source unit 4 recognizes the position of the attention object Obj based on the image Im or the like acquired from the camera 3 that captures the front landscape. Further, the control unit 55 causes the combiner 9 to display the virtual image Iv so as to form an image at a virtual image distance Lv set in advance by the driver. Further, when the attention object Obj is located within the virtual image vicinity range Rn based on the virtual image distance Lv, the control unit 55 displays at least one virtual image Iv at a position near the attention object Obj. Thereby, the head-up display 2 can allow the driver to visually recognize the virtual image Iv and the attention object Obj without changing the virtual image distance Lv.
In the examples of FIGS. 12 and 13, the control unit 55 continues to display the second guide image 82 indicating the vehicle speed without changing the display position. In this way, the control unit 55 continues to display the guide image without changing the display position of the guide image even when the attention object Obj is present at a position closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn according to the type of information indicated by the guide image. Whether or not it may be determined in advance. Regarding the image showing the position of the facility and the image showing the azimuth, it is not preferable to change the position from the original display position. Therefore, when the attention object Obj exists at a position closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn, The display may be erased without changing the position from the display position.

[Modification]
Hereinafter, modified examples suitable for the above embodiment will be described. The following modifications may be applied to the above-described embodiment in any combination.

(Modification 1)
In the display examples of FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 used in the description of the section “(3) When the attention object is within the virtual image vicinity range”, the control unit 55 causes the control unit 55 to display a guide image near the closest attention object Obj. Is displayed, the guide image is displayed at a position that does not overlap the closest attention object Obj. Instead of this, in this case, the control unit 55 may display the guide image at a position overlapping the closest attention object Obj.

FIG. 14 shows a modification of the display of the combiner 9 shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, the control unit 55 displays the third guide image 83 at a position overlapping the track 92. Even in this case, the control unit 55 allows the driver to visually recognize the truck 92 and the third guide image 83 that do not need to be focused in the perspective at the same time, and the presence of the truck 92 and the third guide image 83 can be viewed without straining the eyes. The contents of the third guidance image 83 can be appropriately recognized by the driver. Note that the control unit 55 may also display the guide image at a position overlapping with the closest attention object Obj, even when the closest attention object Obj is farther than the virtual image vicinity range Rn.

Further, preferably, the control unit 55 may determine whether or not to display the guide image in a superimposed manner for each type of the target attention object Obj. For example, the control unit 55 causes the guide image to be displayed in the vicinity of the traffic light without superimposing the guide image when the target is a traffic signal, and the guide image when the target is a forward vehicle. The image may be displayed on the front vehicle in an overlapping manner.

(Modification 2)
When the attention object Obj is closer to the virtual image vicinity range Rn, the control unit 55 changes the display position to a position near the other virtual attention object Obj within the virtual image vicinity range Rn or farther than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. A guide image to be displayed may be displayed.

FIG. 15 shows a modification of the display of the combiner 9 shown in FIG. In FIG. 15, instead of the truck 92, a passenger vehicle 93, which is a forward vehicle, is traveling at a position closer than the virtual image vicinity range Rn. Further, in the example of FIG. 15, since the vehicle height of the passenger car 93 is lower than that of the truck 92, the traffic signal 91 existing farther than the virtual image vicinity range Rn is also visible through the combiner 9.

In this case, the control unit 55 is at a position where the first guide image 81 displayed near the passenger car 93 at the normal display position is not near the passenger car 93 and is far from the virtual image near range Rn. The first guide image 81 is displayed at a position near the traffic light 91, which is the object Obj. By doing so, the control unit 55 prevents the driver from simultaneously recognizing the passenger car 93 and the first guide image 81 that need to be focused in the near and far, and at the same time, the control unit 55 bears the burden of focusing. It is possible to visually recognize the traffic light 91 and the first guide image 81 with a small number of lights at the same time.

(Modification 3)
In FIG. 3, the head-up display 2 has the combiner 9 and makes the driver visually recognize the virtual image Iv based on the emitted light of the light source unit 4 reflected by the combiner 9. However, the configuration to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to this. Instead of this, the head-up display 2 may not have the combiner 9, and the driver may visually recognize the virtual image Iv based on the emitted light of the light source unit 4 reflected by the windshield 25. In this case, the windshield 25 is an example of the “display device” in the present invention.

Further, the position of the light source unit 4 is not limited to the case where it is installed on the ceiling 27. Alternatively, the light source unit 4 may be installed on the dashboard 29 or inside the dashboard 29. When installed on the dashboard 29, the combiner 9 is provided on the dashboard 29 or the windshield 25 reflects light directly from the light source unit 4 so that the driver recognizes the virtual image Iv. When installed in the dashboard, the dashboard 29 is provided with an opening for allowing light to pass through the combiner 9 or the windshield 25.

(Modification 4)
The system controller 20 may execute a part of the processing of the control unit 55. For example, the system controller 20 may generate a guide image to be displayed by the head-up display 2, and the light source unit 4 of the head-up display 2 may receive the guide image.

In another example, the system controller 20 receives the image Im from the camera 3 instead of the head-up display 2 from the communication device 38, and performs the detection processing of the attention object Obj and the measurement processing of the object distance Lo. Good. In this case, the system controller 20 transmits the detection result of the attention object Obj and the measurement result of the object distance Lo to the head-up display 2 via the communication device 38.

In still another example, the system controller 20 performs the attention target Ob based on the measured object distance Lo as in the control unit 55 of the embodiment in addition to the detection processing of the attention object Obj and the measurement processing of the object distance Lo. It is also possible to recognize the positional relationship between the object Obj and the virtual image vicinity range Rn and determine the display position of the guide image according to the positional relationship. In this case, the system controller 20 causes the communication device 38 to transmit information designating the display position of the guide image to the head-up display 2 so that the head-up display 2 displays the guide image at a predetermined position.

In this modification, the system controller 20 functions as a computer that executes the “acquisition unit”, the “control unit”, and the program according to the present invention.

Further, the head-up display 2 may have some or all of the functions of the navigation device 1. In this case, the light source unit 4 may include, for example, a memory that stores map data, sensors such as a GPS receiver, and the like.

1 Navigation device 2 Head-up display 4 Light source unit 9 Combiner 25 Windshield 28 Bonnet 29 Dashboard 100 Display system

Claims (1)

A head-up display that is mounted on a moving body and displays a virtual image superimposed on the front landscape
An acquisition unit for acquiring the position of the target object included in the forward landscape,
Control means for displaying the virtual image on the display means so as to form an image at a preset distance from the driver of the moving body,
The control means, when the object is located within a predetermined distance range near the virtual image with respect to the traveling direction of the moving body, displays at least one virtual image on the display means on the display means. A head-up display characterized by being displayed at a position near an object.

Images