JP5197349B2 - Head-up display device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention has a display source capable of multi-color display, and a display image of display information displayed on the display source is projected from a virtual image of display information projected on a windshield side projection area of the vehicle, and an eye point of the vehicle The present invention relates to a head-up display device that superimposes and visually recognizes the foreground of the vehicle viewed through the windshield.

  In recent years, along with the increase and diversification of information required by the driver during driving, depending on the information content (information with a small amount of information but high urgency), the information is displayed as a virtual image on the windshield of the vehicle. 2. Description of the Related Art A head-up display (HUD) device that superimposes and visually recognizes a vehicle foreground is used in a driver seat of a vehicle such as an automobile or a train.

  In such a HUD device, a display source is arranged inside an instrument panel (instrument panel) of a vehicle, and display light indicating an image of the display source is projected onto a projection area such as a windshield or a combiner by a reflecting member such as an magnifying mirror. The virtual image is projected toward the display area, a virtual image is projected on the display area, and is superimposed and visually recognized with the foreground of the vehicle to be seen through.

The vehicle display device disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a display source capable of multicolor display and a color sensor that senses the background color around the virtual image formed in front of the windshield, and the color of the virtual image is sensed by the color sensor. Display visibility has been improved by controlling the display color of the display source so that it is complementary to the background color.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-425

  In the vehicle display device described above, the display color of the display source is controlled so that the color of the virtual image is a complementary color of the surrounding background color.For example, when the background color is blue-green, the complementary color is red, The display color of the display source has turned red. As a result, if the display color of the display source is changed in accordance with the change of the background color in order to improve the visibility during driving, the virtual image changes to red when the background color changes to blue-green. Become. However, red is a warning color, so if the display color of the virtual image suddenly changes to red, the driver may be surprised, and the virtual image is displayed with a complementary color according to the background color of the virtual image during driving. Was difficult. For this reason, it has been difficult to improve the visibility of the display during driving.

  Therefore, in view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a head-up display device that can improve the visibility of a virtual image displayed during driving.

  The head-up display device according to claim 1, which has been made in accordance with the present invention to solve the above problem, has a display source 2 capable of multicolor display as shown in FIG. 1, and the display displayed on the display source 2. The virtual image S of the display information projected on the windshield side projection area of the vehicle with the information display light L and the foreground of the vehicle viewed through the windshield 101 from the eyepoint of the vehicle are superimposed and visually recognized. In the head-up display device 1, a background color detection unit 4a that detects a background color around the virtual image S, a complementary color detection unit 61a that detects a complementary color of the background color detected by the background color detection unit 4a, and the complementary color detection When the complementary color detected by the means 61a is a warning color, the display information is displayed on the display source 2 in a white system, and when the complementary color is not a warning color, the display information is displayed. Display control means 61b to be displayed on the display source 2 in 該補 color, and having a.

  According to the head-up display device of the present invention described in claim 1, when the background color around the virtual image S visually recognized in front of the windshield is detected by the background color detection means 4a, the complementary color detection means 61a A complementary color of the background color is detected. When the complementary color is a warning color such as red or yellow, the display information is displayed on the display source 2 under the control of the display control means 61b.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, as shown in the basic configuration diagram of FIG. 1, in the head-up display device according to the first aspect, the display control unit 61b cannot detect a complementary color by the complementary color detection unit 61a. Sometimes, the display information is displayed on the display source 2 in a display color in which a luminance difference occurs between the display information and the background color.

  According to the head-up display device of the present invention described in claim 2, when the background color is white such as a snowy road and the complementary color detection means 61a cannot detect the complementary color, the display information is the same as the background color. Display colors that cause a luminance difference between them are displayed on the display source 2 under the control of the display control means 61b. Thereby, the display color of the virtual image and the background color are displayed with a predetermined luminance difference.

  As described above, according to the head-up display device of the first aspect of the present invention, the background color around the virtual image visually recognized in front of the windshield is detected, and the display information is displayed with the complementary color of the background color. When displaying on the source, the display information is displayed in white when the complementary color is a warning color, so even if the display color of the virtual image is changed according to the background color during operation, the virtual image display It is possible to prevent the color from suddenly changing to a warning color. Therefore, since the virtual image can be displayed in the display color according to the background color of the virtual image without surprise the driver during driving, the visibility of the display during driving can be improved, and the commercial value of the head-up display device It can contribute to improvement.

  According to the head-up display device of the present invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1, the luminance between the background color and the display color of the display information when the complementary color of the background color does not exist. Since the difference is displayed, the virtual image can be surely recognized even if the background is a snowy road or the like, so that it is possible to prevent the virtual image from becoming difficult to see. In addition, if the display color of display information when there is no complementary color can be selected, the display information can be displayed in a display color that suits the driver's preference, thereby further improving the visibility of the display during driving. be able to.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a head-up display device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

  In FIG. 2, the head-up display (HUD) device 1 has a configuration other than the imaging means 4 in an instrument panel (hereinafter also referred to as an instrument panel) 102 positioned below a windshield (windshield glass) 101 of a vehicle. Is provided.

  The display light L of the HUD device 1 is viewed from the driver's eye point EP as a virtual image S of display information (vehicle speed, image, etc.) projected on the projection area E of the windshield 101 from the opening 103 of the instrument panel 102. Is done. Then, the HUD device 1 causes the driver to visually recognize the virtual image S and the foreground of the vehicle viewed through the windshield 101 from the eye point EP.

  As is known, the HUD device 1 sets the projection position of the display light L with respect to the projection area E in the vertical direction of the vehicle in order to ensure that the virtual image S can be visually recognized even when the eye point EP moves within the eye range ER. It has a vertical adjustment mechanism to adjust. The vertical adjustment mechanism is not directly related to the present invention, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted, but the reflection angle of the display light L on the reflection member 3 is adjusted. Moreover, although this embodiment demonstrates the case where the projection area E is made into the inner surface of the windshield 101, this invention is not limited to this, Various surfaces, such as making the surface of a well-known combiner etc. into the projection area E, are various. Different embodiments can be provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the background of the virtual image S described above is a background color confirmation region F. The background color confirmation region F is, for example, a predetermined region at the display position of the virtual image S or a position near it. Set to It should be noted that the background color confirmation region F can be variously different embodiments such as being in front of the foreground of the vehicle, that is, the display position of the virtual image S.

  Such a HUD device 1 includes a display source 2, a reflection member 3, a background color detection unit 4, an operation unit 5, and a control unit 6. The reflecting member 3 and the control unit 6 are accommodated in an accommodation case or the like and provided in the instrument panel 102.

  As the display source 2, a self-luminous device (for example, an FE [field emission] display, a fluorescent display tube, an EL [electroluminescence] display, etc.), a liquid crystal display with a backlight, or the like is used. The display source 2 is provided in the instrument panel 102 so as to emit display light L toward the projection area E from a slit-like opening 103 formed in the instrument panel 102 extending in the vehicle width direction. The display source 2 emits the display light L by displaying the display information requested by the control of the control unit 6. In addition, as an example of display information, it has arbitrary data, such as image data, guidance data, index data, and is comprised.

  The reflecting member 3 is a reflecting mirror, a magnifying mirror or the like, and reflects the display light L of display information displayed on the display source 2 toward the projection area E of the windshield 101 of the vehicle. That is, the display source 2 and the reflection member 3 are disposed so as to face each other in the housing case 10. In the best mode, the case where one reflecting member 3 is provided will be described in order to simplify the description. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of reflecting members 3 are provided to provide display light. Various embodiments can be made such that L is reflected a plurality of times, and the display light L is directly projected onto the windshield 101 without using the reflecting member 3.

  The background color detection means 4 is provided on the instrument panel 102 in a state where the focus is on the display position of the virtual image S formed in front of the windshield 101 or in the vicinity thereof. As the background color detecting means 4, any one of various optical sensors such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera, a video camera, a phototransistor, a photo IC, etc., which is suitable for a detection target is used, and the background color around the virtual image S (Chromaticity, image, etc.) are detected. The background color detection unit 4 is electrically connected to the control unit 6, and outputs a background color signal (for example, an RGB signal) corresponding to the detected background color to the control unit 6. The installation location of the background color detection means 4 may be variously different, for example, provided near the ceiling of the vehicle near the windshield 101 or in the vicinity of the room mirror.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the background color signal indicating the background color detected by the background color detection unit 4 is output to the control unit 6 will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the background color The detection means 4 is realized by a CCD camera, and imaging information (images and the like) captured by the CCD camera is output to the control unit 6, and the control unit 6 detects a background color from the imaging information by executing a background color detection program or the like. It can be set as various different embodiments.

  The operation unit 5 is electrically connected to the control unit 6 and has a plurality of operation switches for allowing a driver or the like to input and select various data. The operation unit 5 outputs an operation signal corresponding to the operation on these operation switches to the control unit 6. The operation unit 5 is provided on the front panel of the vehicle so that the driver can operate it. Then, by operating the operation unit 5, the driver or the like is selected whether or not to adjust the display color of the virtual image S.

  The control unit 6 is composed of a microcomputer including a known CPU (Central Processing Unit) 61, ROM (Read Only Memory) 62, and RAM (A Read / Write Memory as needed) 63. The ROM 62 stores various programs for causing the CPU 61 to function as complementary color detection means and display control means. The RAM 63 appropriately stores data necessary for the CPU 61 to execute various processes.

  The ROM 62 also stores a background color recognition program for averaging the ratios of the three primary colors red, green, and blue based on the background color signal input from the background color detection means 4 and recognizing the background color. ing. The ROM 62 stores hue ring information for obtaining a complementary color of the background color. As shown in FIG. 4, the hue ring information includes, for example, ten types of hues of red C1, orange C2, yellow C3, yellow green C4, green C5, blue green C6, blue C7, blue purple C8, purple C9, and red purple C10. Data indicating ring C is included. The hue ring C indicates that the complementary color of red C1 is blue-green C6 and the complementary color of yellow C3 is blue-purple C8. Therefore, the hue ring information is configured as a table, program, or the like for specifying a complementary color of the background color.

  Further, the warning color means red giving warning to the driver, and in this embodiment, the warning color is described with respect to red C1 of the hue ring C, but the present invention is not limited to this, for example, , Red C1 and yellow C3, red C1 and orange C2 and yellow C3 can be arbitrarily set according to product specifications, driver's preference, and the like. The ROM 62 stores warning color information indicating the warning color in advance.

  Next, an example of the display color adjustment process executed by the CPU 61 described above will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. This process is premised on being activated in response to the display start of the display source 2 and forcibly terminated in response to a power-off, termination request, or the like.

  When the display color adjustment processing program in the ROM 62 is executed by the CPU 61, the background color signal is acquired from the background color detection means 4 in step S11, and the ratio of the three primary colors of the background color signal is averaged in step S12. Then, the background color is recognized, and background color information indicating the background color is stored in the RAM 63 in time series, and then the process proceeds to step S13.

  In step S13, it is determined whether or not there is a change in the background color based on a plurality of background color information stored in the RAM 63 in time series over a predetermined time. When it is determined that there is no change in the background color (N in S13), the process returns to step S11 and a series of processes is repeated. On the other hand, if it is determined that the background color has changed (Y in S13), the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S14, a background complementary color after the change is specified based on the hue ring information, and complementary color data indicating the complementary color is stored in the RAM 63. In step S15, the complementary color data and the warning color information in the ROM 62 are stored. Are compared, and based on the comparison result, it is determined whether or not the complementary color is a warning color.

  If it is determined in step S15 that the complementary color is a warning color (Y in S15), the white color data is set in the display color data indicating the display color of the display information in the RAM 63 in step S16, thereby simultaneously operating. The display information to be displayed by the display control process is displayed on the display source 2 in the white system indicated by the display color data, and then the process returns to step S11 to repeat a series of processes. In addition, white type | system | group is not limited to white, It includes gray, beige, etc. which are near white.

  If it is determined in step S15 that the complementary color is not a warning color (N in S15), complementary color data indicating a complementary color is set in the display color data of the RAM 63 in step S17, so that the operation is performed simultaneously. Display information to be displayed by the display control process is displayed on the display source 2 in a complementary color indicated by the display color data, and then the process returns to step S11 to repeat a series of processes.

  As described above, the CPU 61 executes the display color adjustment process shown in FIG. 5 so that the CPU 61 functions as a complementary color detection unit in the claims. Step S14 corresponds to complementary color detection means.

  Further, when the CPU 61 executes the display control process, the CPU 61 functions as the display control means in the claims. Then, the display control process acquires display information to be displayed every predetermined time from a speed sensor or the like (not shown), and causes the display source 2 to display the display information in the display color indicated by the display color data in the RAM 63. Therefore, by changing the setting of the display color data in the RAM 63 as described above, the display color of the display information displayed on the display source 2 is changed. As a result, the virtual image S is displayed with the changed display color. Will be seen by the driver. The display information includes data for displaying a vehicle speed, various indices, a monochrome image, and the like.

  Next, an example of the operation (action) of the HUD device 1 configured as described above will be described below with reference to the drawings such as FIG.

  When the HUD device 1 is activated in response to a request from the driver, the display light is displayed on the display source 2 so that the display light reflected by the reflecting member 3 adjusted to a desired adjustment angle by the driver. L is projected onto the projection area E of the windshield 101. As a result, the driver visually recognizes the virtual image S of the display information and the foreground of the vehicle viewed through the windshield 101 from the eye point EP.

  When driving with the virtual image S displayed, the foreground of the vehicle changes from moment to moment. The HUD device 1 detects the background color of the background that is changed by the background color detection unit 4, and specifies a complementary color of the background color when the background color changes. When the complementary color is a warning color, white display information is displayed by the display source 2. When the complementary color is not a warning color, the complementary color display information is displayed on the display source 2.

  For example, when the HUD device 1 displays the virtual image S in turquoise, when the vehicle color of the front vehicle is green and the display overlaps with the front vehicle, or the vehicle traveling in the city center or the like is grassland, rural For example, the background color of the virtual image S changes to blue-green. Therefore, when the HUD device 1 detects a change in the background color, the HUD device 1 specifies a blue-green complementary color that is the background color based on the hue ring information. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, since the complementary color of blue-green C6 is red C1, the complementary color is identified as red, but since red is a warning color, the HUD device 1 changes the complementary color from red to white. The display information is displayed on the display source 2 in a white system.

  According to the HUD device 1 described above, when the background color around the virtual image S visually recognized in front of the windshield 101 is detected and display information is displayed on the display source 2 with the complementary color of the background color, the complementary color is a warning. Since the display information is displayed in white when it is a color, even if the display color of the virtual image S is changed according to the background color during driving, the display color of the virtual image suddenly changes to a warning color. Can be prevented. Therefore, since the virtual image S can be displayed in a display color according to the background color of the virtual image S without surprised the driver during driving, the visibility of the display during driving can be improved, and the product of the HUD device 1 It can contribute to the improvement of value.

  In the above-described embodiment, when a change in the background color of the virtual image S is detected, the case where the display color of the virtual image S is immediately changed to the complementary color or white color is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Various embodiments such as gradually changing the hue from the current display color displaying the virtual image S to a complementary color or a white color can be obtained. If the background color is multicolored, it can be dealt with by delaying the switching timing of the display color.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the HUD device 1 automatically changes the background color of the virtual image S has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and an adjustment request is received by the operation of the operation unit 5. Only when the display color of the virtual image S is determined by specifying a complementary color from the detected background color, various embodiments can be made.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the description has been made on the assumption that the complementary color exists. However, when the background color is white such as a snowy road and the complementary color does not exist, the HUD device 1 of the present invention uses the display color of the virtual image S and the background. A display color is determined so as to have a predetermined luminance difference from the color, and display information is displayed on the display source 2 with the display color.

  For example, when the background color detection unit 4 detects that the background color is white, the HUD device 1 determines a display color in which a predetermined luminance difference is generated between the background color and the virtual image S, and the display color is Display information is displayed on the display source 2. As an example of the display color of the predetermined brightness difference, for white, it is variously different such as a display color that is gentle to the eyes such as green, or a display color other than the warning color previously selected by the driver or the like. It can be an embodiment. Further, the above-described HUD device 1 is configured to display the display information in a display color that is easy for the driver or the like to view by configuring the operation unit 5 to select the display color of the display information when the complementary color does not exist. Information can also be displayed.

  As described above, the above-described embodiments are merely representative forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the head up display apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of schematic structure of the head-up display apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of the relationship between a virtual image and the background color confirmation area | region of the circumference | surroundings. It is a figure for demonstrating an example of hue ring information. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of display color adjustment processing executed by a CPU in FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Head up display (HUD) apparatus 2 Display source 3 Reflecting member 4 Background color detection means 61a Complementary color detection means (control part)
61b Display control means (control unit)
101 Windshield EP Eye point position ER Eye range F Background color confirmation area L Display light S Virtual image

Claims (2)

A display source capable of multi-color display, and a display image of display information displayed on the display source is projected onto a windshield side projection area of the vehicle, and the windshield from the vehicle eyepoint. In the head-up display device that superimposes and visually recognizes the foreground of the vehicle seen through,
Background color detection means for detecting a background color around the virtual image;
Complementary color detection means for detecting a complementary color of the background color detected by the background color detection means;
When the complementary color detected by the complementary color detection means is a warning color, the display information is displayed on the display source in a white system, and when the complementary color is not a warning color, the display information is displayed on the display source with the complementary color. Display control means for displaying;
A head-up display device comprising:   Means for causing the display source to display the display information in a display color that produces a luminance difference between the display information and the background color when the display control means cannot detect a complementary color by the complementary color detection means. The head-up display device according to claim 1, wherein

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