JP4534079B2 - Vehicle display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device that displays a running road shape on a display means.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a head-up display device that displays a virtual image by projecting light emitted from a display unit (display unit) onto a vehicle windshield (projection member) as a display image is known as a vehicle display device (for example, See Patent Document 1 below). The display unit is, for example, a housing in which a display made of a liquid crystal display or the like and a reflecting mirror that reflects the display image emitted from the display are housed in a dashboard of a vehicle. Is. The display image projected by the display unit is reflected from the windshield to the viewpoint of the driver, and the virtual image is displayed. According to this configuration, it is possible to display various information such as vehicle information such as vehicle speed and engine speed and navigation information on the windshield as the virtual image.
JP 11-310055 A

Further, in the above-described display device for a vehicle, there is known a device that displays a forward running road shape viewed from the viewpoint of a vehicle driver (for example, see Patent Document 2 below). According to such a display device for a vehicle, the driver can display the runway shape displayed even when it is difficult to visually check the runway shape due to the influence of weather conditions, a curve of the runway, surrounding vehicles, buildings, and the like. From this, the actual shape of the runway can be grasped.
JP 2000-211142 A

However, in the display device for a vehicle described in Patent Document 2, although it is possible to effectively express a road shape such as a curve curve or a road width, it is difficult to express the road shape as a display image in three dimensions. In particular, there is a problem that the driver cannot easily determine whether the runway is uphill or downhill, and how much the slope is.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to address the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle display device that can easily recognize the gradient of a running road.

The present invention relates to a display means for displaying a runway shape based on map information consisting of three-dimensional information stored in a map information storage means, a position detection means for detecting the current position of a vehicle, and detected by the position detection means. Control means for causing the display means to display the shape of the road on the front side of the vehicle based on the current position data of the vehicle and the map information, and the control means includes the control means, The height difference of the runway shape displayed on the display means is displayed by a plurality of indicator portions extending linearly from the shoulder line of the runway shape, and in the longitudinal direction of the runway shape according to the height difference of the runway shape The indicator portions having different inclination angles are displayed .

  Moreover, the present invention is characterized in that the control means displays the indicator portions having different heights according to the height difference of the running road shape.

  In the invention, it is preferable that the indicator portion is a pole.

  In the invention, it is preferable that the display unit includes a head-up display that projects and displays a display image on a windshield of the vehicle or a combiner provided between the windshield and the driver.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the initial purpose can be achieved and the display apparatus for vehicles which can recognize the gradient of a runway easily can be provided.

  Hereinafter, an example in which the vehicle display device of the present invention is applied to a vehicle head-up display device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a display unit, which is disposed in the dashboard of the vehicle A. The display image L projected by the display unit 1 is reflected in the direction of the viewpoint D of the driver by the windshield W that has been subjected to the combiner process, and is displayed as a virtual image V. The driver can observe the virtual image V superimposed on the landscape.

  Reference numeral 2 denotes a display (display means), and the display 2 comprises a TFT type liquid crystal display element and a backlight means. Reference numeral 3 denotes a circuit board, and the display 2 is mounted on the circuit board 3. Reference numeral 4 denotes a reflecting mirror. The reflecting mirror 4 reflects the display image L emitted from the display 2 toward the windshield W. The reflecting surface 4a of the reflecting mirror 4 is concave, and the display image L from the display 2 can be enlarged and projected onto the windshield W. Reference numeral 5 denotes a holding member that holds the reflecting mirror 4, and the reflecting mirror 4 is bonded to the holding member 5 with a double-sided adhesive tape or the like. The display 2 is not limited to the configuration including the liquid crystal display element, and may be configured to include an organic EL panel that is a self-luminous display element, for example.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a housing made of a light-shielding synthetic resin formed in a substantially box shape, for example, and the display 2, the circuit board 3, the reflecting mirror 4 and the like are accommodated in the housing 6. Further, the housing 6 is provided with an opening 6a that opens an upper portion (front glass W side) of the position where the reflecting mirror 4 is disposed. The housing 6 is provided with a translucent cover 7 made of a translucent synthetic resin material (for example, acrylic resin) so as to close the opening 6a. The light-transmitting cover 7 is formed in a generally curved shape, and passes the display image L on the windshield W side. In FIG. 1, 6 b is a light shielding wall extending toward the cavity of the housing 6, and this light shielding wall 6 b is a phenomenon in which external light such as sunlight is incident on the display 2 and the virtual image V becomes difficult to see ( It has a function to prevent washout).

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the vehicle head-up display device. The vehicle head-up display device is mounted on a vehicle A, and includes a speed sensor (vehicle speed detection means) 10, a GPS (Global Positioning System) device 11, a gyro sensor 12, a storage medium (map information storage means) 13, The operation unit 14, the control unit 15, the display drive circuit 16, and the display 2 are mainly configured.

  The speed sensor 10 is for detecting the traveling speed of the vehicle A, and outputs a signal corresponding to the vehicle speed to the control means 15.

  The GPS device 11 is a device for obtaining the latitude and longitude of the vehicle position (the current position of the vehicle A), and includes GPS reception antennas and amplification circuits, and is position information from an artificial satellite received by the reception antenna. A signal obtained by amplifying the transmission radio wave as a high frequency signal is output to the control means 15.

  The gyro sensor 12 is for detecting the vehicle body direction (traveling direction) of the vehicle A, and outputs a signal corresponding to the direction change of the vehicle A to the control means 15.

  The storage medium 13 is configured by a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, hard disk, or the like, and stores digital map data (map information) composed of map data and three-dimensional coordinate information (three-dimensional information) for indicating the shape of the runway. The digital map data is used when a drawing process (to be described later) by the control means 15 is performed. The digital map data includes a road shape data indicating the shape of the road, height data indicating the height, inclination data indicating a right and left (width direction) inclination of the road, and a front and rear (longitudinal direction) inclination of the road. Gradient data indicating (gradient), curvature data indicating the curvature of the road, and the like are provided for each predetermined position (predetermined longitude / latitude) of the road.

  The operation means 14 has a plurality of operation units such as a selection switch and a determination switch, and displays a display form or a display setting of a road shape image to be described later (one obtained by drawing each three-dimensional coordinate information of the road). It is for switching. In addition, as the display setting, the driver can select display or non-display of the road shape image, or display each setting value when the road shape image is displayed by operating the operation unit 14. The contents displayed by the device 2 can be arbitrarily set.

  The control means 15 can be a microcomputer, and includes a ROM that stores a processing operation program, a RAM that temporarily stores calculation values, an EEPROM that stores various preset values, and executes the programs. It is mainly composed of a CPU and an input / output interface circuit. The input / output interface circuit is a circuit for establishing an electrical connection relationship with the speed sensor 10, the GPS device 11, the gyro sensor 12, the storage medium 13, the operation means 14, and the display drive circuit 16 described later. . The control means 15 outputs a control signal to the display drive circuit 16 to be described later based on the input from each mechanism (speed sensor 10, GPS device 11, gyro sensor 12, storage medium 13, operation means 14) and the program. The display 2 is prompted for a desired display.

  The display driving circuit 16 is a circuit for supplying a display signal to the display device 2 and is configured by an IC or an LSI. The display driving circuit 16 drives and controls the display 2 so as to perform a predetermined display based on a signal from the control means 15.

  The display 2 includes a TFT liquid crystal display element and backlight means, and is driven and controlled by the display drive circuit 16 so as to emit a display image L. The display device 2 projects a desired display form such as the runway shape image as a display image L onto the windshield W by the display drive circuit 16.

  With the above configuration, the control unit 15 calculates the vehicle position coordinates and the vehicle direction based on the signal from the position detection unit 17 including the speed sensor 10, the GPS device 11, and the gyro sensor 12, and the front of the vehicle The running path shape corresponding to the side (traveling direction side) can be displayed on the display 2 via the display drive circuit 16 based on the digital map data stored in the storage medium 13.

  Next, drawing of the display image L by the control means 15 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 shows processing by the control means 15. FIG. 5 shows an example of a display screen that is projected and displayed on the surface of the windshield W by the display unit 1 with the traveling road shape on the front side (traveling direction side) of the vehicle A as a display image L.

  The control means 15 calculates the vehicle position coordinates and the traveling direction of the vehicle A based on the signal from the position detection means 17 (step S1). In this case, the control means 15 calculates vehicle position coordinates by the speed sensor 10, the GPS device 11, and the gyro sensor 12. For example, the control means 15 can calculate the vehicle position coordinates of the vehicle A by mapping the position data of the vehicle A that changes with time and the map data using the GPS device 11. Further, the control means 15 determines the traveling direction (movement width) of the vehicle A and the inclination direction of the vehicle body based on signals from the speed sensor 10 and the gyro sensor 12.

  Next, the control means 15 sets viewpoint coordinates according to the vehicle position coordinates, and sets the display direction based on the traveling direction of the vehicle A (step S2). In this case, the viewpoint coordinates are set to a position 15 meters higher than the vehicle position coordinates, and the display direction is set to the same direction as the traveling direction of the vehicle A.

  Next, in the digital map data stored in the storage medium 13, the control unit 15 performs a drawing process on the road shape by calculating three-dimensional coordinate information selected based on the viewpoint coordinates and the display direction ( Step S3). In this case, three-dimensional coordinate information within 500 meters on the display direction side from the viewpoint coordinates is calculated, and drawing processing is performed so that the display image L is displayed.

  Further, the control means 15 outputs to the display drive circuit 16 a signal that prompts the display device 2 to display the drawn road shape as a road shape image (step S4).

  By repeating the above-described processing, the running road shape based on the viewpoint coordinates and the three-dimensional coordinate information updated each time the vehicle A travels can be projected on the windshield W as the display image L. For example, a runway shape R as shown in FIG. 5 can be projected onto the windshield W.

  Here, the control means 15 can display the runway shape R in the display color set according to the grade of the gradient when performing the drawing process in step S3. For example, in the runway shape R, the downward slope portion R1 is displayed in red, and the greater the slope, the darker red is displayed. The upward slope portion R2 is displayed in blue, and the darker blue is displayed as the slope is larger. In this case, the control means 15 passes through a predetermined position (predetermined longitude / latitude) of the digital map data and is not related to the contour (shoulder line) R3 of the road shape R (in the width direction of the road shape R in FIG. 5). Line) is displayed as the auxiliary line R4. The control unit 15 extracts gradient data for each road surface R5 between the auxiliary lines R4, and draws a road shape R formed by coloring a display color corresponding to the degree of the gradient for each road surface R5. Further, in this case, the control means 15 draws the running road shape R by coloring the running road surface R5 portion having almost no gradient in white, and causes the display 2 to project and display it.

  Therefore, the driver can determine whether the runway is an uphill or a downhill, or the degree of the gradient, by visually recognizing the display color of the runway shape R and the degree of shading thereof.

  In addition, when performing the drawing process in step S3, the control means 15 determines the center of both ends of each runway surface R5 (each runway surface R5) according to the grade of the runway surface R5 for each runway surface R5 as shown in FIG. A drawing process is performed so that an indicator portion K formed of a pair of substantially cylindrical poles protruding upward from the center of the road shoulder line R3 is displayed together with the track shape R.

  Specifically, for example, the gradient of the road surface R51 between the auxiliary lines R4 on the viewpoint coordinate (vehicle position coordinates) side (between the auxiliary lines R4 positioned below the display image L in FIG. 5) is relative to the horizontal plane. When the slope is 10 degrees, an indicator portion K1 composed of a pair of poles set at, for example, a height of 3 centimeters is displayed at the center of both ends of the road surface R51, and the indicator portion K1 of the road surface R51 is displayed. Is used as a reference, and each indicator portion K composed of a pair of poles whose height changes in accordance with the gradient of the road surface R5 is displayed for each road surface R5 in the traveling direction of the vehicle A. In this case, as the gradient of the traveling road surface R5, which is the traveling direction, increases by 1 degree with respect to the gradient of the traveling road surface R51 (the inclination becomes steep), the height of the indicator portion K is increased to the height of the indicator portion K1. It is set to display 2 mm higher than the above. In other words, as the gradient of the road surface R5 becomes steep, the height of the indicator portion K is set to be higher. For example, when the gradient of the road surface R5 that is the traveling direction is 30 degrees, the display is displayed on the road surface R5. The height of the pair of indicator portions K is 7 centimeters each, and when the slope of the road surface R5 is 5 degrees, the height of the pair of indicator portions K displayed on the road surface R5 is 2 centimeters each. It becomes. The extension line of the pole is set so as to pass through the center of the earth.

  Therefore, the driver visually recognizes the height of the indicator portion K that changes according to the gradient of each traveling road surface R5 as the traveling direction together with the traveling road shape R, so that the traveling road as the traveling direction is an uphill. It is possible to easily determine whether it is a downhill or the grade of the runway.

  Such a vehicle head-up display device includes a display 2 that projects and displays a runway shape R based on digital map data including three-dimensional coordinate information stored in a storage medium 13, and a position for detecting the current position of the vehicle A. Detection means 17 and control means 15 for projecting and displaying the road shape R on the front side of the vehicle A on the display 2 based on the current position data of the vehicle A detected by the position detection means 17 and the digital map data. The control means 15 displays a pole K whose height changes according to the gradient of the road surface R5 for each road surface R5 of the road shape R projected and displayed on the display 2.

  Therefore, the driver can grasp the height difference of the entire runway shape R from the change in the height of the pole K displayed on each runway surface R5 by viewing the entire display image L projected by the display device 2. Therefore, even if it is difficult to determine the gradient of the runway from the surrounding scenery, it can be instantly recognized based on the height of each pole K whether the runway is uphill or downhill. . In addition, since the above-described vehicle head-up display device allows the driver to instantly recognize which part has a certain gradient with respect to the running path shape of the vehicle A, It is possible to easily grasp the road shape to be noted on the front side of A.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The same or corresponding parts as those in the first embodiment described above will be denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be given. Description is omitted. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the height of a pair of poles (index portions) K displayed for each track surface R5 is set to the same height (for example, 5 centimeters). At the same time, the pole K is displayed in a tilted manner along the longitudinal direction of the road shape R (the traveling direction of the vehicle A) according to the gradient of each road surface R5.

  Specifically, for example, when the gradient of the road surface R51 between the auxiliary line R4 on the viewpoint coordinate side is a downward gradient of 10 degrees with respect to the horizontal plane, the center of both ends is centered on both ends of the road surface R51. And a pair of poles K1 inclined to the depth direction side of the runway shape R by 10 degrees with respect to the reference line F passing through the center of the earth, and the traveling direction of the vehicle A with reference to the index part K1 of the runway surface R51 For each running road surface R5, a pair of poles K whose inclination (inclination angle) changes according to the gradient of the running road surface R5 is displayed. In this case, the gradient of the pole K with respect to the reference line F is set to the depth direction as the gradient of the traveling road surface R5 serving as the traveling direction becomes 1 degree larger than the gradient of the traveling road surface R51 (the inclination becomes steep). It is set to tilt once. In other words, as the slope of the road surface R5 becomes steep, the pole K is set to incline toward the depth direction. For example, when the slope of the road surface R5 that is the traveling direction is 30 degrees, The inclination of the displayed pair of poles K is inclined by 30 degrees toward the depth direction with respect to the reference line F.

  Also in the second embodiment, the driver visually recognizes the entire display image L projected by the display device 2, thereby changing the height difference of the entire runway shape R due to the change in the inclination of the pole K displayed on each runway surface R5. Because it is possible to grasp, even if it is difficult to judge the slope of the runway from the surrounding scenery, it is instantly recognized based on the slope of each pole K whether the runway is uphill or downhill can do.

  In the second embodiment, the example in which the inclination of the pole K having a constant height with respect to the reference line F is different according to the inclination of each road surface R5 has been described. For example, in addition to the inclination of the pole K, the first embodiment is described. The height of the pole K may be changed at the same time as in the configuration adopted in FIG. By simultaneously changing the height and the inclination of the pole K in accordance with the gradient of each road surface R5 as in this configuration, the driver can determine whether the road in the traveling direction is an uphill or a downhill, or The grade of the runway gradient can be determined more reliably.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the case where the index portion K is formed of a substantially cylindrical pole has been described. However, the shape of the index portion K is arbitrary as long as it extends linearly so as to protrude above the shoulder line R3. A shape can be adopted, and the indicator portion K may be displayed in a cylindrical shape, a polygonal column shape, a conical shape, a polygonal pyramid shape or the like.

  In each of the above embodiments, the height of the pole K or the inclination of the pole K with respect to the reference line F is changed according to the slope of each road surface R5. For example, according to the slope of each road surface R5. Even if the pole K having a certain height is displayed at the approximate center of each shoulder line R3 on each road surface R5 without changing the height and inclination of the pole K, the runway shape R is shown to the driver through the pole K. There is an advantage of making it easy to grasp the degree of the gradient.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, an example in which a pair of poles K is displayed at the center of both ends of the shoulder line R3 on each road surface R5 has been described. However, any position on the shoulder line R3 as long as it is on the shoulder line R3. Each pole K can be displayed, for example, the pole K is displayed at the center of the shoulder line R3 on the left shoulder line on each road surface R5, and the pole K is displayed on the right shoulder line on each road surface R5. It is also possible to display at a position other than the central portion.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the display image L from the display device 2 is projected onto the windshield W, but the projection member in the present invention is not limited to this. You may project the display image from a display device on the combiner arrange | positioned on the glass surface or the dashboard of a vehicle.

  Further, instead of the above-described head-up display system, a display unit made of, for example, an organic EL panel or a liquid crystal panel may be adopted, and the driver may directly view the display on the display unit.

  Note that instead of the storage medium 13 of each of the embodiments described above, for example, a server provided outside the vehicle as a storage medium may be applied, and digital map data stored in the server may be downloaded as appropriate by wireless communication.

It is sectional drawing of the display unit of the head-up display apparatus for vehicles by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is the schematic of the head-up display apparatus for vehicles by the embodiment. It is a block diagram of the head up display device for vehicles by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the process sequence of the head-up display apparatus for vehicles by the same embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display image of the head-up display apparatus for vehicles by the embodiment. It is a figure which shows the display image of the head-up display apparatus for vehicles by 2nd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Display (display means)
13 Storage medium (map information storage means)
15 Control means 17 Position detection means A Vehicle F Reference line K, K1 Indicator part (pole)
L Display image R Track shape R3 Road shoulder (contour)
R4 auxiliary line R5, R51 Runway surface

Claims (4)

Display means for displaying the road shape based on the map information consisting of the three-dimensional information stored in the map information storage means, position detection means for detecting the current position of the vehicle, and the vehicle detected by the position detection means. Control means for displaying on the display means the shape of the road ahead of the vehicle based on current position data and the map information, and a vehicle display device comprising:
The control means displays the height difference of the running road shape displayed on the display means by a plurality of indicator portions extending linearly from the shoulder line of the running road shape, and according to the height difference of the running road shape, A vehicle display device that displays the indicator portions having different inclination angles along the longitudinal direction of the runway shape . The vehicle display device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays the indicator portions having different heights according to a difference in height of the running road shape. The index portion, the display device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the consist pole. The vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes a head-up display that projects and displays a display image on a windshield of the vehicle or a combiner provided between the windshield and a driver. Display device.

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