JP6638595B2 - Display device for vehicles - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a vehicle display device that displays a state of a vehicle using a display unit in a vehicle that has an automatic driving function that can substitute at least a part of a driving operation by a driver.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a vehicle having an automatic driving function, a vehicle display device for displaying a state of the vehicle is known. The device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a pointer movably provided at a designated position, and an index for displaying a state of the vehicle when instructed by the pointer.

  Further, the switching unit switches the display mode between a first state in which the driver independently performs the driving operation and a second state in which the range in which the vehicle substitutes the driving operation is wider than the first state. have. Specifically, when the ACC (adaptive cruise control) is operating as the second state, an image indicating the ACC operating range is displayed overlapping the index. In the second state, when the automatic driving system is activated, for example, an image indicating that the automatic driving system is operating normally is projected on the ceiling surface of the vehicle.

  With such a configuration, more information can be displayed simultaneously.

JP-A-2006-53622

  However, in the device described in Patent Document 1, in the second state, the display mode using the pointer and the index is not switched from the first state. Therefore, for example, in the second state in which the need for the driver or the like to grasp the state of the vehicle in detail is reduced, more information is simultaneously displayed than in the first state because of the addition of the above-described image. Since the display is performed, the visibility of the display is rather deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to simplify a display using a pointer and an indicator, thereby enhancing visibility when an automatic driving function is activated. Is to provide.

The present invention is a vehicle display device for displaying a vehicle state using a display unit (10) in a vehicle (1) having an automatic driving function capable of acting for a driver in at least a part of a driving operation. hand,
A pointer (40) provided to be able to move the indicated position as an image displayed by the display unit or as an entity;
An index (50) which is provided as an image or as an entity and is indicated by a pointer to indicate the state of the vehicle,
A display switching unit that switches a display mode using a pointer and an index between a first state in which the driver independently performs a driving operation and a second state in which a range in which the vehicle substitutes for the driving operation is wider than the first state. (24)
In the display mode of the second state, the index is displayed in a neighboring area (ND) of the display unit set to include the position indicated by the pointer, and the index is displayed in an area other than the neighboring area of the display unit. And a display restricting unit (28) for restricting the relative to the vicinity area .
Display restricting portion is a display in the form of a second state, it shall be the hide index at regions other than the region near.

  According to such an invention, in the second state in which the range in which the vehicle substitutes for the driving operation is wider than the first state, the indicator is displayed in the vicinity of the image display unit including the position indicated by the pointer. At the same time, the display of the index is relatively restricted in the area other than the neighboring area in the image display unit than in the neighboring area. Therefore, in the second state in which the driver is less required to grasp the state of the vehicle in detail than in the first state, the first state and the second state are displayed so that the display with the hands and the indicators is simplified. And the display mode is switched between. In the display in the second state, it is possible to recognize the state of the vehicle from the relationship between the position indicated by the pointer and the index in the vicinity area, but erroneously gazes at a position where the index is less necessary. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the visibility of the display is increased in the second state when the automatic driving function is operating.

  In addition, the code | symbol in a parenthesis is only what illustrated the corresponding structure in embodiment mentioned later in order to make an understanding of description content easy, and does not intend limiting the content of invention.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a vehicle display device and the like according to an embodiment. It is a front view of the display for vehicles in one embodiment, and shows a display for manual operation. It is a front view of the display for vehicles in one embodiment, and shows display when other vehicles are approaching the left side of vehicles. It is a front view of the display for vehicles in one embodiment, and shows display when other vehicles are approaching the right side of vehicles. It is a front view of the display for vehicles in one embodiment, and has shown the display for automatic driving. It is a front view of the display for vehicles in one embodiment, and shows an emergency display. It is a flowchart by the display apparatus for vehicles of one Embodiment. FIG. 16 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 5 in a modification 6;

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The vehicle display device 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the vehicle 1 and is installed on an instrument panel facing a seat on which an occupant sits. The vehicle display device 100 displays an image toward the viewing side using the image display unit 10. Thereby, the occupant located on the viewing side with respect to the vehicle display device 100 can perceive the displayed information. The information to be displayed includes the state of the vehicle 1 such as the speed of the vehicle 1, the engine speed, the remaining fuel, the remaining fuel, the remaining battery, the temperature of the engine cooling water, the shift range, and the like, road information, and visual assistance information. And various kinds of information such as electronic mail.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 1 on which the vehicle display device 100 is mounted has an automatic driving function in which at least a part of the driving operation can be performed by a driver as an occupant. More specifically, an automatic driving function is realized by the automatic driving device 3 mounted on the vehicle 1. The automatic driving device 3 is mainly configured by an electronic circuit in which at least one processor, a memory, an input / output interface, and the like are mounted on a board. The processor can execute various processes by executing, for example, a computer program stored in a memory. In addition, the automatic driving device 3 monitors an area around the vehicle 1 through an input / output interface and detects a relative position information of another vehicle traveling around the vehicle 1. It can communicate with the setting switch 7 to which the setting is input, the vehicle display device 100, and the like.

  The automatic driving device 3 includes a proxy range setting unit 3a and an automatic driving control unit 3b as functional blocks constructed by such an electronic circuit.

  The proxy range setting unit 3a is a functional block that sets a proxy range in which the automatic driving device 3 performs a driving operation on behalf of the driver of the vehicle 1. More specifically, the proxy range setting unit 3a performs the above-described processing based on, for example, the position information of the other vehicle acquired from the surrounding monitoring device 5, information on the road shape around the vehicle 1, an input signal from the setting switch 7, and the like. Set the proxy range for driving operation.

  In particular, the surrogate range setting section 3a of the present embodiment switches between a manual operation mode as the first state and an automatic operation mode as the second state having a wider surrogate range than the first state. In the manual driving mode, the authority of most of the driving operations of the vehicle 1 is transferred to the driver, and the driver independently performs the driving operation. On the other hand, in the automatic driving mode, the authority of most of the driving operations of the vehicle 1 is transferred to the automatic driving control unit 3b, and the automatic driving control unit 3b mainly performs the driving operation.

  Here, when the manual operation mode is set by the setting switch 7, the proxy range setting unit 3a sets the proxy range to a range corresponding to the manual operation mode. On the other hand, when the automatic operation mode is set by the setting switch 7, the surrogate range setting unit 3a basically sets the surrogate range to a range corresponding to the automatic operation mode. In some situations it is difficult or impossible. Under such circumstances, the proxy range setting unit 3a exceptionally sets the proxy range to a range corresponding to the manual operation mode.

  Therefore, in the automatic driving mode, the driver does not need to grasp the state of the vehicle 1 in more detail than in the manual driving mode, but the automatic driving by the automatic driving control unit 3b suddenly becomes impossible. It is necessary to wait for the above situation.

  The automatic operation control unit 3b is a functional block that implements an automatic operation function. More specifically, the automatic driving control unit 3b optimizes the proxy range set by the proxy range setting unit 3a among the driving operations based on the relative position information of the other vehicle, the road shape information, and the like. It derives a simple driving operation and controls the behavior of the vehicle 1 by cooperating with a vehicle behavior control device mounted on the vehicle 1. Thus, the vehicle 1 can perform the driving operation on behalf of the vehicle.

  The vehicle display device 100 can perform display in cooperation with the automatic driving device 3. The vehicle display device 100 includes an image display unit 10 and an image control unit 20.

  The image display unit 10 of the present embodiment has a liquid crystal panel 12 and a backlight 14. As the liquid crystal panel 12, a transmission type liquid crystal panel 12 using a thin film transistor (TFT), and an active matrix type liquid crystal panel formed by a plurality of liquid crystal pixels arranged in a two-dimensional direction is employed. Have been. The transmittance of light emitted from the backlight 14 and incident on the liquid crystal panel 12 from the back side is controlled through the image control unit 20 for each liquid crystal pixel, so that the liquid crystal panel 12 is displayed on the display surface 12a toward the viewer side. Can be displayed. Note that an organic EL display or the like may be employed as the image display unit 10.

  The image control unit 20 controls an image displayed on the liquid crystal panel 12 of the image display unit 10. More specifically, the image control unit 20 mainly includes an electronic circuit in which at least one processor, a memory, an input / output interface, and the like are mounted on a substrate. The processor can execute various processes by executing, for example, a computer program stored in a memory.

  The image control unit 20 has an automatic driving determination unit 22, a display switching unit 24, an approach display control unit 26, a display control unit 28, and an emergency display control unit 30 as functional blocks constructed by such electronic circuits. are doing.

  The automatic driving determination unit 22 is a functional block for determining which mode the automatic driving function is currently in. More specifically, the automatic driving determination unit 22 determines the mode by acquiring from the automatic driving device 3 whether the current mode is the manual driving mode or the automatic driving mode.

  The display switching unit 24 switches the display mode of the image displayed by the image display unit 10 according to the mode determined by the automatic driving determination unit 22.

  Here, a display mode of an image displayed by the image display unit 10 will be specifically described. First, in the manual operation mode, as shown in FIG. 2, as images, a left meter image ILM arranged on the left side of the display surface 12a, a right meter image IRM arranged on the right side of the display surface 12a, and both meter images ILM, Information images II and the like arranged between the IRMs are displayed.

  The left meter image ILM displays the speed of the vehicle 1 as the state of the vehicle 1. In detail, the left meter image ILM includes an image pointer 40 and an image index 50. The image pointer 40 is an image that indicates the image index 50, and is provided so that the indicated position can be moved. The image index 50 is an image that displays the speed of the vehicle 1 when instructed by the image pointer 40.

  The image index 50 includes a plurality of image main indexes 52 and a plurality of image sub-indexes 54. The image main indices 52 are arranged at a predetermined interval from each other. Each image main index 52 includes an image main scale 52a and an image character index 52b, and is configured by forming a pair of the image main scale 52a and the image character index 52b. The image character index 52b represents the speed of the vehicle 1 by a number as a character, and is a number different by 20 km / h for each image main index 52. The image sub-index 54 is disposed between the adjacent image main indices 52 and includes an image sub-scale 54a that complements the image main scale 52a.

  A digital display image Id for digitally displaying the speed of the vehicle is arranged on the inner periphery of the left meter image ILM.

  The right meter image IRM displays the engine speed as the state of the vehicle 1. Specifically, the right meter image IRM includes the same image pointer 40 and image index 50 as the right meter image IRM. However, the image character index 52b in the right meter image IRM indicates the engine speed by a number as a character, and is different from the image main index 52 by 1 × 1000 r / min. A digital display image Id for digitally displaying the state of the shift range is arranged on the inner peripheral portion of the right meter image IRM.

  The information image II includes a navigation image II1 and a plate image II2. The navigation image II1 is arranged at the center of the display surface 12a and displays a recommended route for the vehicle 1 to reach the destination. The plate image II2 is disposed above the navigation image II1, and displays the place name, weather, temperature, and current time of the place where the vehicle 1 is currently traveling.

  In addition, an odometer, a remaining fuel amount, and the like are displayed as images below the information image II.

  In the manual driving mode, when it is determined that the other vehicle is approaching the vehicle 1 based on the position information of the other vehicle acquired from the periphery monitoring device 5, as shown in FIGS. Reference numeral 26 changes the display of the inner periphery of the information image II and the meter images ILM and IRM.

  Specifically, the approach display control unit 26 changes the navigation image II1 of the information image II to the vehicle overhead image II3. The vehicle bird's-eye view image II3 is an image displaying the vehicle 1 as viewed from above and from behind, and the vehicle 1 is currently traveling around the vehicle 1 and other vehicles traveling on the road. Are displayed at the same time.

  When there is another vehicle in the lane on the left of the lane in which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling, the approach display control unit 26 converts the image in the inner peripheral portion of the left meter image ILM into an electronic mirror image. Change to Iem (see FIG. 3). The electronic mirror image Iem is an image corresponding to a conventional rear-view mirror, and is an image in which another vehicle on the left lane is displayed from the front. Similarly, when there is another vehicle in the lane on the right of the lane in which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling, the approach display control unit 26 converts the image in the inner peripheral portion of the right meter image IRM into an electronic mirror. Change to image Iem (see FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, even in the automatic driving mode, as shown in FIG. 5, a left meter image ILM arranged on the left side of the display surface 12a and a right side image on the right side of the display surface 12a are displayed as images in the image displayed by the image display unit 10. A right meter image IRM, an information image II disposed between the two meter images ILM and IRM, and the like are displayed. However, in the display mode of the automatic operation mode, the display restricting unit 28 restricts the display of the image index in both the meter images ILM and IRM. Since the regulation in both meter images ILM and IRM is performed in the same manner, the left meter image ILM will be representatively described below.

  Specifically, the display restricting unit 28 displays the image index in the vicinity area ND set to include the position indicated by the image pointer 40 on the display surface 12a of the image display unit 10. On the other hand, the display control unit 28 controls the display of the image index in the area other than the neighboring area ND of the image display unit 10 relatively than the neighboring area ND. In particular, in the present embodiment, the display control unit 28 does not display the image index 50 in an area other than the vicinity area ND.

  In the left meter image ILM, the indicated position of the image pointer 40 moves according to a change in the speed of the vehicle 1 as in the case of the manual operation mode. Therefore, the vicinity area ND changes according to the movement of the designated position.

  The neighboring area ND is set as an area including at least two image main indices 52 sandwiching the designated position and an image sub-index 54 between the two image main indices 52. This is because if the two image character indices 52b included in the image main index 52 are not displayed so as to sandwich the indicated position, it becomes difficult for the occupant to grasp the display value indicated by the image index 50 at the indicated position. When the designated position overlaps the position of the image main index 52, the neighboring area ND includes at least the overlapping image main index 52 and two image main indexes 52 sandwiching the overlapping image main index 52. Preferably, it is set as a region that includes.

  Note that the neighborhood area ND in the left meter image ILM is set as an area including 3 to 4 image main indices 52, and the neighborhood area ND in the right meter image IRM is set as an area including 2 to 3 image main indices 52. Have been.

  In addition, “AUTO DRIVE” indicating that the automatic operation is being performed is displayed on the plate image II2. On the inner periphery of both meter images ILM and IRM, instead of the digital display image Id, an image II4 indicating the communication state and an image II5 indicating the operation state of the audio device are displayed.

  During the automatic driving mode, if there is an obstacle in front of the lane in which the vehicle 1 is currently traveling, or the other vehicle may collide with the vehicle 1 due to the position information of the other vehicle acquired from the surrounding monitoring device 5. If it is determined that there is a condition, the surrogate range setting unit 3a releases the automatic operation mode and shifts to the manual operation mode as a situation where the automatic operation by the automatic operation control unit 3b is difficult or impossible. At the same time as the cancellation of the automatic operation mode, the emergency display control unit 30 changes the display mode.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the emergency display control unit 30 releases the display restriction of the display of the image index 50 by the display restriction unit 28. At the same time, the emergency display control unit 30 displays the emergency display image Ir between the two meter images ILM and IRM. The emergency display image Ir is an image in which, for example, characters of “BREAK” are displayed on a red background. When the emergency display image Ir is displayed, the emergency display control unit 30 notifies the driver that the automatic driving has been suddenly canceled. In FIG. 6, the portion displayed in red is indicated by dot hatching. Further, it is more preferable to notify the driver that the automatic driving has been canceled by using both the emergency display and the voice.

  The processing executed by such an image control unit will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. The series of processing in FIG. 7 is executed at every predetermined opportunity.

  In step S10, the automatic operation determination unit 22 determines whether or not the current mode is the automatic operation mode. If the mode is not the automatic operation mode (that is, if the mode is the manual operation mode), the process proceeds to step S20. If the mode is the automatic operation mode, the process proceeds to step S30.

  In step S20 when the mode is not the automatic driving mode, the approach display control unit 26 determines whether or not another vehicle is approaching the vehicle 1. If a negative determination is made in step S20, the process proceeds to step S21. When an affirmative determination is made in step S20, the process proceeds to step S22.

  In step S21, the display switching unit 24 switches the display mode to the manual operation display as shown in FIG. A series of processes ends with step S21.

  In step S22, the display switching unit 24 switches the display mode to the approach display as shown in FIGS. A series of processes ends with step S22.

  In step S30 when the mode is the automatic operation mode, the display switching unit 24 switches the display mode to the automatic operation display as shown in FIG. In the automatic driving display, the display restricting unit 28 restricts the display of the index as described above. After that, it moves to step S31.

  In step S31, the emergency display control unit 30 determines whether or not the vehicle 1 is in a state where the vehicle 1 cannot be automatically driven. When a negative determination is made in step S31, the process proceeds to step S32. When an affirmative determination is made in step S31, the process proceeds to step S33.

  In step S32, the display for automatic driving is continued as it is. A series of processes ends at step S32.

  In step S32, the emergency display control unit 30 performs an emergency display as shown in FIG. 6 simultaneously with the release of the automatic operation mode of the proxy range setting unit 3a. A series of processes ends with step S33.

(Effects)
The operation and effect of the embodiment described above will be described below.

  According to the present embodiment, in the second state in which the range in which the vehicle 1 substitutes for the driving operation is wider than the first state, the image indicator 50 as the indicator is the image pointer as the indicator in the image display unit 10 as the display unit. It is displayed in the vicinity area ND including the 40 designated positions. At the same time, the display of the image index 50 is relatively restricted in areas other than the neighboring area ND in the image display unit 10 than in the neighboring area ND. Therefore, in the second state in which the driver does not need to grasp the state of the vehicle 1 in more detail than in the first state, the first display is simplified by the image pointer 40 and the image index 50. The display mode is switched between the state and the second state. In such a display in the second state, it is possible to recognize the state of the vehicle from the relationship between the position indicated by the image pointer 40 and the image index 50 in the vicinity area ND, but at the same time, a portion of the image index 50 that is less necessary. Can be prevented from being watched by mistake. Therefore, the visibility of the display is improved in the second state when the automatic driving function is operating.

  According to the present embodiment, in the display mode in the second state, the image index 50 is not displayed in an area other than the vicinity area ND. This substantially eliminates the possibility of erroneously gazing at a position of low necessity in the image index 50, and thus enhances the visibility of the display in the second state when the automatic driving function is operating. .

  Further, according to the present embodiment, since the neighboring area ND changes in accordance with the movement of the designated position, the image index 50 is reliably displayed in the neighboring area ND even if the designated position moves. Therefore, the state of the vehicle 1 can be reliably recognized even in the second state.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the neighboring area ND is set so as to include at least two image main indices 52 sandwiching the designated position and an image sub-index 54 between the two image main indices 52. I have. That is, since the position indicated by the image pointer 40 is located between the two image main indices 52 displayed, the state of the vehicle 1 is erroneously recognized even if the display of an area other than the vicinity area ND is restricted. Is suppressed. Therefore, the visibility of the display is improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the image main index 52 includes the image character index 52b that indicates the state of the vehicle 1 by characters. Since the position indicated by the image pointer 40 is located between these two image character indices 52b, even if the display of an area other than the vicinity area ND is restricted, the state of the vehicle 1 can be recognized by reading the character. This makes it extremely easy. Therefore, the visibility of the display is improved.

(Other embodiments)
As described above, one embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the embodiment, and may be applied to various embodiments without departing from the gist of the present invention. it can.

  Specifically, as a first modification, the pointer is not limited to the image pointer 40, and may be provided as an entity.

  As a second modification, the index is not limited to the image index 50, and may be provided as an entity. Specifically, instead of the image display unit 10, a configuration in which a display unit having a display plate on which a plurality of indices are formed and a backlight may be provided. The display plate is also generally referred to as a dial, for example, on a surface of a plate made of a synthetic resin having a light-transmitting property, a plate-like shape having a light-transmitting print layer or a light-shielding print layer formed thereon. I have. For example, an index including a plurality of main indices and a plurality of sub-indicators is provided by forming a scale or a character at a portion where the light-transmitting printing layer is provided. Then, the backlight can individually turn on or off a plurality of indices by illuminating the indices from the back side. The indicator illuminated by the backlight is in a display state, and the index not illuminated is in a non-display state. The display restricting unit 28 can restrict the display of the index relatively than the neighboring area ND by setting the index in a non-display state in an area other than the neighboring area ND.

  As a third modification, in the display mode in the second state, if the display restricting unit 28 relatively restricts the display of the index in the area other than the neighboring area ND than the neighboring area ND, The display of the index is not limited to the non-display in the area other than the ND. As an example, the display control unit 28 may reduce the luminance of the index in the area other than the neighboring area ND than in the neighboring area ND. In addition, the display control unit 28 may reduce the contrast of the index with respect to the background color in an area other than the neighboring area ND than in the neighboring area ND.

  The modification 4 is not limited to the configuration in which the display restricting unit 28 performs the process of setting the neighboring area ND as needed according to the position indicated by the pointer. For example, an image in which the image index 50 is partially displayed may be prepared in advance, and may be replaced according to the designated position, so that the near area ND is substantially set.

  As a fifth modification, the second state may be such that the driver partially performs the driving operation as long as the substitution range is wider than the first state. For example, in the second state, one of the steering wheel operation and the acceleration / deceleration operation may be performed by the driver, and the other may be performed by the automatic driving control unit 3b.

  As a sixth modification, the display switching unit 24 displays the state of the vehicle on the analog display as shown in FIG. 2 in the first state, and displays the state of the vehicle on the digital display as shown in FIG. 8 in the second state. The display mode may be switched as described above. As shown in FIG. 8, in the second state, the two meter images ILM and IRM are not displayed in the first place, and instead, the speed of the vehicle 1 is displayed by the number of the image. At the same time, the vehicle overhead image II3 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is displayed occupying more than half of the area of the display surface 12a.

  Further, in the vehicle bird's-eye view image II3, intersection lines Lc intersecting with the lanes are displayed at predetermined intervals. The intersection line Lc allows the driver to easily recognize the distance to another vehicle, and also indicates that the vehicle 1 is normally automatically driven. Further, when the vehicle 1 changes lanes by the automatic driving function, a voice guidance saying "lane change for overtaking" is issued to the driver.

  Thus, in the automatic operation mode as the second state, the display switching unit 24 switches the display mode to the minimum necessary and easy-to-understand display mode without any extra display.

  REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 vehicle display device, 1 vehicle, 24 display switching unit, 28 display control unit, 40 image pointer (pointer), 50 image index (index), 52 image main index (main index), 52b image character index (character index) , 54 Image sub-index (sub-index), ND neighborhood area

Claims (4)

A vehicle display device for displaying a state of the vehicle using a display unit (10) in a vehicle (1) having an automatic driving function capable of acting for a driver in at least a part of a range of a driving operation,
A pointer (40) provided movably at a designated position as an image displayed by the display unit or as an entity;
An index (50) that is provided as the image or as an entity and is indicated by the pointer to display the state of the vehicle;
Between the driver is a first state in which the initiative in the driving operation, the wide second state than the range is the first state in which the vehicle to act for the driving operation, display of the pointer and the index A display switching unit (24) for switching the form of
In the display mode of the second state, the index is displayed in a vicinity area (ND) of the display unit set to include the position indicated by the pointer, and the display area of the display unit other than the vicinity area A display restricting unit (28) for restricting the display of the index in the area relative to the neighboring area .
The display restriction unit is in the display form of the second state, hidden and display device for a vehicle you the index in the region other than the region near. The display device for a vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the vicinity area changes according to movement of the designated position. The index includes: a plurality of main indices (52) arranged at predetermined intervals; and a sub-index (54) arranged between the plurality of main indices and supplementing the main index.
The neighboring region is at least two of the main index sandwiching the indicated position for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2 is set as an area including said sub index between the two main indicators Display device. The vehicle display device according to claim 3 , wherein each of the main indices includes a character index (52b) representing a state of the vehicle by a character.

Images