JP7279314B2 - VEHICLE DISPLAY DEVICE, VEHICLE DISPLAY CONTROL METHOD, VEHICLE DISPLAY CONTROL PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a vehicle display device, a vehicle display device control method, and a vehicle display device control program.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in relation to a vehicle display device using a head-up display device, there has been proposed a device for displaying various virtual images in front of a driver. Such a vehicle display device can display various images in the field of view of the driver looking forward through the windshield.

Regarding such vehicle display devices, various configurations have been proposed for providing auxiliary information, which is information for assisting driving, by image display using virtual images. An arrangement is disclosed for providing auxiliary information by

Japanese Patent No. 4907744

By the way, in such a configuration for assisting driving, it is naturally desired that sufficient visibility can be ensured for image display using a virtual image.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and in a configuration that supports driving by displaying a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver who sees the front through the windshield, the image display by the virtual image is sufficient. An object of the present invention is to propose a vehicle display device, a vehicle display device control method, and a vehicle display device control program capable of ensuring good visibility.

In order to solve the problem, the vehicle display device according to the invention of claim 1 includes:
A vehicle display device that provides auxiliary information by displaying an image as a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver,
a viewpoint position acquisition unit that acquires viewpoint position information of the driver;
a forward scenery information acquisition unit that acquires forward scenery information;
a display unit that forms an image to be displayed;
a control unit that controls the display unit based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information;
The control unit
detecting a distance from the own vehicle to an object used for displaying the auxiliary information from the forward scenery information;
According to the detected distance, the auxiliary information is displayed in a bird's-eye view display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a bird's-eye view from the driver's viewpoint and in a vertical display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a vertical plane display,
The detected distance is determined by a determination distance, and for an object related to the bird's-eye display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the object is displayed vertically from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye display area. The display is switched to the plane display to display the auxiliary information.

According to the configuration of claim 1, the display can be switched according to the auxiliary information, thereby sufficiently ensuring visibility.

Further, the vehicle display device according to the invention of claim 2,
In the configuration of claim 1,
The control unit
With respect to the object related to the bird's-eye display area that straddles the point of the judgment distance, the auxiliary information is displayed in the bird's-eye display area by bird's-eye display from the driver's viewpoint.

According to the configuration of claim 2, for example, with respect to lane markings, etc., auxiliary information can be displayed in the bird's-eye view display area from the driver's viewpoint. can be sufficiently ensured.

Further, the vehicle display device according to the invention of claim 3,
In the configuration of claim 1 or claim 2,
The control unit
The display is switched so that perspective is not added, and the auxiliary information is displayed by switching the display from the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye view display area to the vertical plane display.

According to the configuration of claim 3, the relationship with the object can be intuitively grasped, and the visibility of the auxiliary information can be sufficiently ensured.

A vehicle display device according to the invention of claim 4,
In the configuration of any one of claims 1, 2, and 3,
For an object related to the bird's-eye view display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the display position of the auxiliary information is changed to switch the display to the vertical display in the vertical display area.

According to the configuration of claim 4, the usability for the driver can be improved by displaying in the vertical display area.

A display device for a vehicle according to the invention of claim 5,
In any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4,
Further comprising a visibility judgment unit for judging the degree of visibility from the forward scenery information,
The control unit
The judgment distance is changed according to the degree of visibility based on the judgment result of the visibility judging section.

According to the configuration of claim 5, the display can be switched from the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical display according to the degree of visibility. can be secured to

A vehicle display device according to the invention of claim 6,
In the configuration of claim 5,
The control unit
The judgment distance is lowered due to the deterioration of the field of view.

According to the configuration of claim 6, it is possible to prevent deterioration of visibility due to deterioration of visibility.

A display device for a vehicle according to the invention of claim 7,
In the configuration of any one of claims 1, 2, and 3,
Further comprising a visibility judgment unit for judging the degree of visibility from the forward scenery information,
The control unit
changing the determination distance according to the degree of visibility based on the determination result of the visibility determination unit;
The auxiliary information whose display has been switched to the vertical display is displayed in an area on the vertical display area side from a position corresponding to the determination distance including at least the vertical display area.

According to the seventh configuration, it is possible to appropriately set the display position related to the portrait display and sufficiently ensure the visibility.

A display device for a vehicle according to the invention of claim 8,
In the configuration of any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 7,
For an object related to the bird's-eye view display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the display position of the auxiliary information is set based on the position corresponding to the determination distance, and the auxiliary information display.

According to the configuration of claim 8, the usability for the driver can be improved by displaying the auxiliary information with reference to the position corresponding to the judgment distance.

The invention of claim 9 is
In a control method for a vehicle display device that provides auxiliary information by displaying an image as a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver,
a viewpoint position obtaining step for obtaining viewpoint position information of the driver;
a forward scenery information acquisition step for acquiring forward scenery information;
a control step of controlling a display unit that forms an image to be displayed based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information;
The control step includes:
detecting a distance from the own vehicle to an object used for displaying the auxiliary information from the forward scenery information;
According to the detected distance, the auxiliary information is displayed in a bird's-eye view display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a bird's-eye view from the driver's viewpoint and in a vertical display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a vertical plane display,
The detected distance is determined by a determination distance, and for an object related to the bird's-eye display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the object is displayed vertically from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye display area. The display is switched to the plane display to display the auxiliary information.

According to the configuration of claim 9, the display can be switched according to the auxiliary information, thereby ensuring sufficient visibility.

The invention of claim 10 is
In a control program for a vehicle display device that causes a predetermined processing procedure to be executed by execution in an arithmetic processing circuit,
The vehicular display device
A vehicular display device that provides auxiliary information by displaying an image as a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver,
The processing procedure is
a viewpoint position obtaining step for obtaining viewpoint position information of the driver;
a forward scenery information acquisition step for acquiring forward scenery information;
a control step of controlling a display unit that forms an image to be displayed based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information;
The control step includes:
detecting a distance from the own vehicle to an object used for displaying the auxiliary information from the forward scenery information;
According to the detected distance, the auxiliary information is displayed in a bird's-eye view display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a bird's-eye view from the driver's viewpoint and in a vertical display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a vertical plane display,
The detected distance is determined by a determination distance, and for an object related to the bird's-eye display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the object is displayed vertically from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye display area. The display is switched to the plane display to display the auxiliary information.

According to the configuration of claim 10, the display can be switched according to the auxiliary information, thereby ensuring sufficient visibility.

According to the vehicular display device, the control method of the vehicular display device, and the control program for the vehicular display device of the present invention, driving is assisted by displaying a virtual image in the field of view of the driver who sees the front through the windshield. In the configuration, sufficient visibility can be ensured for the image display by this virtual image.

1 is a block diagram showing a vehicle display device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. It is a figure where it uses for description of the display area in the display apparatus for vehicles of FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining display of auxiliary information in the vehicle display device of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure of a control unit; 10 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when an object appears; FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a vehicle display device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; 7 is a diagram for explaining a display area in the vehicle display device of FIG. 6. FIG. It is a figure where it uses for description of judgment distance. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining display of auxiliary information in the vehicle display device of FIG. 6 ; 7 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a control unit in the vehicle display device of FIG. 6;

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a vehicle display device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
This vehicular display device 1 is a vehicular display device based on a head-up display device, and displays various images as virtual images in the field of view of the driver who visually recognizes the front through the windshield. The vehicular display device 1 provides various information to the driver by image display using this virtual image.
Various configurations, such as a head-mounted display device, which can display an image in the field of view of the driver looking forward through the windshield can be widely applied to the vehicle display device 1 .

The vehicle display device 1 assigns auxiliary information, which is information that assists the driver's driving operation, to the information provided by the virtual image, and further assigns vehicle information such as vehicle speed and various warnings.
Here, the auxiliary information is information that indicates the existence of an object that can be visually grasped, for example, information that indicates the existence of a lane marking (lane boundary line, roadway boundary line, roadway center line), stop, direction , information indicating the presence of signs created on the road surface such as lanes, information indicating the presence of signs corresponding to these displays, and information indicating the presence of forward vehicles, pedestrians, and the like.

The vehicle display device 1 includes a display unit 2 , a viewpoint position acquisition unit 4 , a forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 , and a control unit 6 .
The vehicular display device 1 includes a viewpoint position acquiring section 4, a forward scenery information acquiring section 5, and a control section 6 by executing a control program for the vehicular display device in an arithmetic processing circuit.
As a result, the processing procedure for executing this control program includes a viewpoint position acquisition step and a forward scenery information acquisition step for executing corresponding processes corresponding to the viewpoint position acquisition unit 4, the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5, and the control unit 6, respectively. , comprising a control step.

The display unit 2 is a portion for forming an image to be displayed as a virtual image. 2B is formed by an optical system or the like that emits light emitted from the display 2B toward the windshield to form a virtual image.

Various light sources such as a laser light source, a light emitting diode light source, and a mercury lamp light source can be widely applied to the light source 2A.
The display 2B is formed by an image display panel and peripheral circuits of the image display panel. Further, as the image display panel, a DMD (Digital Mirror Device), a liquid crystal display panel, and various other configurations can be widely applied.
Note that the display unit 2 may employ a self-luminous image display panel, such as an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) panel, to integrate the display unit and the light source.

The viewpoint position acquisition unit 4 detects the coordinate information of the driver's viewpoint as the viewpoint position information by imaging the driver's face from the front direction and processing the imaging result.

The forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 captures an image of the front of the vehicle using an imaging device, and outputs the imaged result as forward scenery information. The forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 is configured to be able to detect the distance to an object detected by processing the imaging result by stereo vision.

[Control part]
The control unit 6 controls the display unit 2 based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information.
Specifically, the control unit 6 detects an object to be used for displaying the auxiliary information by processing the imaging result of the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 . Furthermore, the control unit 6 selects auxiliary information corresponding to the detected object, and displays the auxiliary information corresponding to the detected object as seen from the driver. The display position of auxiliary information is controlled based on viewpoint information.
Also, in this process, the control unit 6 detects the distance to the object by image processing of the image pickup result acquired by the front scenery information acquisition unit 5, and appropriately displays the auxiliary information based on the detection result. The position is changed, and the form of auxiliary information to be displayed is changed.
As a result, the vehicle display device 1 displays the auxiliary information as an image of "stop" on the road surface immediately before the stop line as viewed from the driver, for example. Further, when the stop line exists far away, auxiliary information is displayed at a predetermined display position by an image corresponding to the stop sign.
The object and viewpoint can be detected by pattern matching using various templates. Also, the distance to the detected object can be detected by applying a stereoscopic technique.

[Display area setting]
FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining image display under the control of the control unit 6. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, reference numeral EP indicates the driver's viewpoint (eyepoint).
Here, in this embodiment, an upper display area and a lower display area are set by dividing the displayable area of the display unit 2 vertically by an imaginary boundary line extending horizontally as seen from the driver. 2, regions corresponding to the upper display region and the lower display region are formed.
In the vehicular display device 1, the upper area of the virtual image plane P is set as the vertical display area P1, and the lower area is set as the overhead display area P2.

Here, the vertical display area P1 is an area in which auxiliary information is displayed as if an image arranged on a plane facing the driver is viewed from the front. This area displays auxiliary information like road signs. Such display of auxiliary information is hereinafter referred to as vertical display.
The bird's-eye view display area P2 is an area for displaying auxiliary information as if the road surface to which the auxiliary information was pasted is viewed from the driver's eye point EP. Such display of auxiliary information is hereinafter referred to as bird's-eye view display from the driver's viewpoint.

Let L4 and L1 be the road surface distances from the vehicle corresponding to the upper and lower ends of the displayable area of the display unit 2, and L2 be the road surface distance from the vehicle corresponding to the boundary between the vertical surface display area P1 and the overhead display area P2.
In this case, when the distance from the vehicle to the object for which the auxiliary information is to be displayed is in the range of distances L1 to L2, the overhead display area P2 displays the auxiliary information from the driver's point of view. Further, when the distance from the vehicle to the object for which the auxiliary information is displayed is in the range of distances L2 to L4, the vertical display area P1 displays the auxiliary information vertically.
As a result, the vehicular display device 1 can sufficiently ensure the visibility by displaying the auxiliary information so that even the auxiliary information related to the distant object can be reliably visually recognized.

Here, the vertical surface display area P1 and the overhead display area P2 are set so that the road surface distance L2 corresponding to the boundary between these areas P1 and P2 is sufficiently far, but this distance L2 is a fixed value. Further, the distance L2 may be varied according to the vehicle speed or the like.
The vertical display area P1 is formed with a width in the height direction that is sufficient for vertical display of the auxiliary information.
As a result, the vehicle display device 1 is configured to display the auxiliary information in a visibly recognizable manner.

However, when the auxiliary information is displayed by simply setting the vertical display area P1 and the bird's-eye display area P2 in this manner, sufficient visibility may not be ensured depending on the auxiliary information.
Specifically, for example, in the case of displaying auxiliary information in the form of a character display of "stop" just before a stop line formed on the road surface in a bird's-eye view display from the driver's point of view, the display of "stop" can be visually recognized from an obliquely rearward direction. , "Stop" will be displayed with a perspective.
When displaying in this way, if the stop line exists in the distance, the visibility of the display of "STOP" is significantly reduced, making it difficult to ensure sufficient visibility.
However, even when the stop line exists far away, sufficient visibility can be ensured by extending the lane marking extending from the front of the own vehicle to the stop line continuously from the front of the vehicle.

Thus, in this embodiment, the determination distance L3 is set closer to the subject vehicle than the distance L2 corresponding to the boundary between the vertical display area P1 and the bird's-eye view display area P2, and the imaging result of the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 is processed. The distance to the detected display object is determined by the determination distance L3. Also, the display of the corresponding auxiliary information is switched according to the determination result.
As a result, in this embodiment, for the auxiliary information in the bird's-eye display area P2 adjacent to the vertical display area P1, the display is switched from the bird's-eye display from the driver's viewpoint according to the content to be displayed, thereby reducing the visibility of the auxiliary information. To prevent.

Here, the determination distance L3 may be a fixed value based on the own vehicle, a fixed value based on the boundary between the vertical display area P1 and the overhead display area P2, or a fixed value based on the auxiliary information to be displayed. You may make it variable. Alternatively, it may be varied according to weather conditions, visibility, and the like.

More specifically, the control unit 6 determines the distance to the object detected by processing the imaging result of the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5, and if the object exists only on the far side from the judgment distance L3, the object is detected. The display position of the auxiliary information related to the object is set in the vertical display area P1, and the corresponding auxiliary information is provided by the vertical display in the vertical display area P1.
Also, even if the object exists beyond the judgment distance L3, the object that is continuous from the near side so as to straddle the point of the judgment distance L3 is displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2 from the driver's viewpoint. .

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the display of the auxiliary information by the processing of the control unit 6, and is a diagram showing the front of the vehicle from the driver's viewpoint (eyepoint) EP. In FIG. 3, the driver's foreground is shown by the relationship between the virtual image plane formed by the display unit 2 and the distance from the own vehicle.
In the example of FIG. 3, the own vehicle runs in the right lane, lane markings 8 and 9 can be seen on the left and right of the running lane, and a stop line 11 for temporary stop can be seen ahead. A forward vehicle 12 traveling in the left lane can also be seen.

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example in which auxiliary information is not displayed. A displayable area 2C is formed by the display unit 2 so that the front can be viewed through the windshield 7. In this displayable area 2C, , a display 13 indicating the speed limit of the road on which the vehicle is traveling, and a display 14 indicating the vehicle speed, which are vehicle information displays.

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing a case where the auxiliary information is simply displayed by partitioning the vertical display area P1 and the overhead display area P2.
In this case, auxiliary information 15 and 16 in the form of strip-shaped straight lines indicating the existence of the lane markings 8 and 9 are displayed so as to overlap the left and right lane markings 8 and 9, respectively, and furthermore the straight strip-shaped auxiliary information indicating the existence of the stop line 11 is displayed. Auxiliary information 17 is displayed so as to overlap the corresponding stop line 11 . Furthermore, auxiliary information 18 indicating the presence of the forward vehicle 12 traveling in the left lane is displayed so as to partially surround the forward vehicle 12 from behind.
The auxiliary information 15, 16, 17, and 18 are all displayed at the corresponding display positions by bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye view display area P2 because the corresponding display target exists closer than the distance L2. The display of these auxiliary information 15, 16, 17, 18 ensures sufficient visibility to assist the driver in driving.

The auxiliary information 15, 16, 17, and 18 are displayed in this way, and the auxiliary information 19A is displayed just before the stop line 11 by displaying the characters "stop" indicating a temporary stop. In this case, when the stop line 11 is in front of the distance L2, it is displayed with a bird's-eye view, and is displayed with a perspective as if the characters "stop" were displayed on the road surface.
However, the auxiliary information 19A is displayed in a small size with a perspective as if it were arranged on the road surface, resulting in a significant decrease in visibility.

FIG. 3(C) is a diagram for explaining display under the control of the control unit 6 in comparison with FIG. 3(B).
Therefore, in this case, the control section 6 displays the auxiliary information 19B in a vertical display.
By displaying in the vertical plane display in this manner, the visibility can be sufficiently ensured because the perspective is not attached.

Furthermore, the control unit 6 changes the display position of the auxiliary information 19B upward and displays it in the vertical display area P1.
In this way, since the vertical display area P1 is an area for vertical display of the auxiliary information, the vertical display of the auxiliary information 19B can be easily understood by the display position, and the visual recognition is further improved. It is possible to ensure sufficient sexuality.

Furthermore, the control unit 6 switches the display form of this auxiliary information 19B to the form of a stop sign. By switching the display of the auxiliary information 19B, the control unit 6 can intuitively grasp the contents of the auxiliary information 19B in the same manner as in this type of display grasped in the actual scene, thereby further enhancing the auxiliary information. Ensure visibility.

On the other hand, the demarcation lines 8 and 9 are displayed in a bird's-eye display from the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye view display area P2 by straddling the point related to the determination distance L3.

If practically sufficient visibility can be ensured by these, the switching of the display mode may be stopped. By doing so, the configuration of the control unit 6 can be simplified.
Furthermore, the change of the display position to the side of the vertical display area P1 may be stopped, and the auxiliary information may be displayed at the position corresponding to the object. Specifically, by displaying the auxiliary information 19A without perspective, it is possible to switch the display from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical display.
Sufficient visibility can be ensured even if the display is switched from the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint by displaying auxiliary information without perspective. Further, in this case, since the auxiliary information can be displayed in association with the display object, the relationship with the object can be intuitively grasped, and the visibility of the auxiliary information can be sufficiently ensured to improve usability.

The control unit 6 switches the display from the bird's-eye display of the driver's point of view in such a manner that an object straddling the judgment distance L3 from the own vehicle side and an object existing only in the bird's-eye display area P2 beyond the judgment distance L3 are displayed. Execute when mixed.
Accordingly, the vehicle display device 1 is configured to simplify processing.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the processing procedure by the control unit 6 explained with reference to FIG. The control unit 6 executes this processing procedure at regular time intervals. When the control unit 6 starts this processing procedure, the viewpoint position acquisition unit 4 acquires viewpoint position information (SP1-SP2), and the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 acquires forward scenery information (SP3).
In addition, the object of the auxiliary information (in the bird's-eye view display from the driver's viewpoint, it is appropriately called a superimposed object because it is seen as if it is superimposed on the object) is detected by image processing of the forward scenery information. , and further to detect the distance to the detected object.
The control unit 6 determines whether or not a plurality of objects exist between the determination distance L3 and a distance L2 related to the boundary between the vertical display area P1 and the overhead display area P2 (SP4). If it exists (this is the case described with reference to FIG. 3A), an object that is continuous from the side of the distance L1 immediately in front of the host vehicle (an object that straddles the point of the judgment distance L3, and is shown in FIG. 3A) division lines 8 and 9 in FIG. 3A) and an object that is not continuous from the side of the distance L1 immediately in front of the own vehicle (an object that does not straddle the point of the judgment distance L3, and is the stop line 11) is included (SP5). Accordingly, the control unit 6 determines whether or not an object straddling the point of the judgment distance L3 and an object existing only in the bird's-eye view display area P2 beyond the judgment distance L3 are mixed.
Here, when both are included (when they are mixed), the auxiliary information is displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2 by bird's-eye display from the driver's viewpoint with respect to the object continuous from the side of the distance L1 immediately in front of the own vehicle. (SP6), and for objects that are not continuous from the side of the distance L1 immediately in front of the vehicle, the display position is set in the vertical display area P1 and the auxiliary information is displayed in the vertical display. and terminates this processing procedure (SP7-SP8).
On the other hand, if they are not mixed, the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint is displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2, and this processing procedure ends (SP5-SP10-SP8).

On the other hand, if a plurality of objects does not exist between the judgment distance L3 and the distance L2 between the vertical display region P1 and the bird's-eye display region P2, the objects will be separated from the judgment distance L3 by the vertical display region P1. and the distance L2 associated with the boundary of the bird's-eye view display area P2 (SP4-SP9).
Here, if there is only one target object between the judgment distance L3 and the distance L2 related to the boundary, the control unit 6 displays this target object in the bird's-eye view display area P2 from the driver's viewpoint, and performs this process. Terminate the procedure (SP9-SP10-SP8).

If there is no object between the determination distance L3 and the distance L2 between the vertical display area P1 and the bird's eye display area P2, the control unit 6 moves the distance L3 from the distance L1 side (in this case, The distance L2 from the side of distance L1 is set to be displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2 by bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint, and the objects at distances L2 to L4 are set to be displayed in the vertical display area P1. This processing procedure is terminated by setting the portrait display (SP9-SP11-SP12-SP8).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the processing procedure of FIG. 4 is repeated and a superimposed object continuous from the distance L1 side newly appears between the judgment distance L3 and the distance L2.
In this case, the control unit 6 determines whether or not a superimposed object that is discontinuous from the side of the distance L1 exists between the determination distance L3 and the distance L2 from the imaging result of the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5. (SP21-SP22) When such an object does not exist, the object at distance L3 from the side of distance L1 is set to be displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2 from the driver's point of view, and the distance L2- The object of L4 is set to be vertically displayed in the vertical display area P1, and this processing procedure ends (SP22-SP29-SP30-SP27).

On the other hand, if a superimposed object that is not continuous from the distance L1 side exists between the judgment distance L3 and the distance L2, the control unit 6 causes the display I of the auxiliary information related to this object to be displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2. It is temporarily displayed by bird's-eye display of the viewpoint (SP22-SP23).
Next, it is determined whether or not a continuous superimposed object appears from the side of the distance L1 between the judgment distance L3 and the distance L2. The display I by the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye view display area P2 is maintained, and this processing procedure ends (SP24-SP28-SP27).

On the other hand, when the superimposed object that continues from the side of the distance L1 newly appears between the judgment distance L3 and the distance L2, only the object that straddles the point related to the judgment distance L3 and beyond the judgment distance L3 , and the object that exists in the
In this case, the control unit 6 temporarily stops displaying the display I from the driver's viewpoint displayed in the overhead display area P2. In addition, the auxiliary information related to the stopped display is displayed vertically in a different display form. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 3, after temporarily displaying the display I of "Stop" relating to the stop, this display is switched to the vertical display of the stop sign (SP24-SP25).
As a result, the vehicular display device 1 enables the driver to sufficiently confirm the position of the object, thereby ensuring sufficient visibility.
Note that this display switching is to gradually increase the visibility of a new display (content II) with a different form while gradually decreasing the visibility of display I up to that point, for example, due to the effect of cross-fade. Therefore, the display can be switched without giving the driver a sense of discomfort.

When the display is switched in this way, the control unit 6 sets the auxiliary information related to the newly appearing object straddling the determination distance L3 to the bird's-eye view information of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye view display area P2, and then terminates this processing procedure. (SP26-SP27).

According to the above configuration, the auxiliary information is displayed in the bird's-eye view display area and the vertical display area according to the distance from the vehicle to the object, and the distance is determined based on the determination distance. For objects in the bird's-eye display area beyond the judgment distance that does not straddle the point, by switching the display from the bird's-eye view of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical display, the display can be switched according to the auxiliary information, thereby improving visibility. can be sufficiently secured.

In addition, for objects related to the bird's eye display area that straddles the point of the judgment distance, by displaying the bird's eye display from the driver's point of view in the bird's eye display area, the display can be switched according to the content to be displayed to ensure sufficient visibility. be able to.

Alternatively, by switching the display so that the perspective is not attached, and by switching the display from the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical display, the relationship with the object can be intuitively grasped, and the auxiliary information Sufficient visibility can be ensured.

Further, by changing the display position and switching the display to the vertical display in the vertical display area, it is possible to improve usability for the driver.

[Second embodiment]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a vehicle display device 21 according to the second embodiment of the invention. The vehicular display device 21 has the same configuration as the vehicular display device 1 of the first embodiment, except that the configuration of the control unit 26 is different. They are indicated with corresponding reference numerals.

The control unit 26 includes a visibility determination unit 26A.
Here, the field of view determination unit 26A is configured to determine the degree of field of view from the forward scenery information, measures the visibility by image processing the forward scenery information, and judges the deterioration of the field of vision based on the measurement result. It should be noted that various measurement methods can be widely applied to measure the visibility, such as detecting and estimating a decrease in luminance value, contrast, etc. in the imaged result depending on the distance from the vehicle.

The control unit 26 controls the display of the display unit 2 based on the determination result of the visibility determination unit 26A.
FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the control of the control section 26 in comparison with FIG.
The control unit 26 divides the displayable area of the display unit 2 into upper and lower parts, sets a vertical display area P1 and a bird's-eye display area P2 on the virtual image plane P, and displays the auxiliary information by the vertical display and the bird's-eye display from the driver's viewpoint, respectively. indicate.

In this vehicle display device 21, the road surface distance L2 corresponding to the boundary between the vertical surface display area P1 and the bird's eye display area P2 is set so as to be the vanishing point of the forward scenery when the vehicle is held substantially horizontally. . Therefore, FIG. 7 schematically shows the relationship between the virtual image plane P and the road surface distance.
These road surface distances L2 and L4 can be set variously as required.

When the auxiliary information is simply displayed by setting the vertical display area P1 and the bird's eye display area P2 in this way, there is a possibility that the visibility of the auxiliary information cannot be sufficiently ensured due to the deterioration of the field of view.
Specifically, for example, when supplementary information in the form of text “stop” is displayed in a bird’s-eye view display from the driver’s viewpoint immediately before a stop line formed on the road surface, the “stop” related to the distant stop line is displayed due to the reduced visibility. The visibility of the display of is lowered, which makes it difficult to ensure sufficient visibility.

Therefore, similarly to the control unit 6, the control unit 26 sets the determination distance L3 closer to the vehicle than the distance L2 corresponding to the boundary between the vertical display area P1 and the overhead display area P2. The distance to the display object detected by processing the imaging result is determined by the determination distance L3. Also, the display of the corresponding auxiliary information is switched according to the determination result.

More specifically, the display of an object existing in the bird's-eye display area farther than the judgment distance L3 is switched from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical plane display.
Objects straddling the determination distance L3 are displayed in the bird's-eye view display area P2 from the driver's viewpoint.
As a result, in this embodiment, the auxiliary information in the bird's-eye display area P2 adjacent to the vertical display area P1 is switched from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical display according to the content to be displayed. To prevent the deterioration of the visibility of auxiliary information due to the distance from.

In this way, for an object existing in the bird's-eye view display area that is farther than the determination distance L3, the display is switched from the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint to the vertical display, so that the display corresponds to the determination distance L3 that includes at least the vertical display area P1. In the area on the side of the vertical display area P1 from the position of the virtual image plane (in FIG. 3, the area indicated by reference numeral P3), the auxiliary information is displayed in the vertical display that has switched this display.
As in the first embodiment, the display position may be changed upward and displayed in the vertical display area P1, or may be displayed at the original display position. You may do so.
Further, for example, when the lower end of the display of the auxiliary information is positioned at the virtual image plane position corresponding to the judgment distance L3, the lower end of the display of the auxiliary information is positioned at a certain position from the virtual image plane position corresponding to the judgment distance L3. , the virtual image plane position corresponding to the determination distance L3 may be used as a reference.
In this way, the auxiliary information whose display has been switched to the vertical plane display can be uniformly displayed at a specific location, thereby improving usability for the driver.

Furthermore, as indicated by symbol A, the control unit 6 changes the determination distance L3 according to the degree of visibility based on the determination result of the visibility determination unit 26A.
As a result, the vehicle display device 21 prevents deterioration in the visibility of the auxiliary information related to the distant object that changes depending on the field of view by switching the display from the bird's-eye view display to the vertical display from the driver's viewpoint.

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 26 reduces the determination distance L3 due to a decrease in the field of view. To prevent deterioration of visibility of information by switching the display from a bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint to a vertical display.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the control by the control unit 26 in comparison with FIG.
FIG. 9A is a diagram showing a case where the auxiliary information is simply displayed by dividing the vertical display area P1 and the overhead display area P2.
In this case, the auxiliary information 17 in the form of a strip-like straight line indicating the existence of the stop line 11 is displayed so as to overlap the corresponding stop line 11 . Furthermore, auxiliary information 18 indicating the presence of the forward vehicle 12 traveling in the left lane is displayed so as to partially surround the forward vehicle 12 from behind. Further, immediately before the stop line 11, auxiliary information 19A is displayed by displaying characters "stop" indicating a temporary stop.

When the auxiliary information 17, 18 is displayed in this manner and the forward field of view is sufficiently secured, the auxiliary information 17, 18, 19A can assist the driver in driving.

However, when it rains heavily at night, the visibility of the stop line 11 deteriorates due to the deterioration of the forward visibility, and accordingly the visibility of the auxiliary information 19A deteriorates. Furthermore, in this case, the auxiliary information 19A may be viewed without recognizing the stop line 11, which may hinder driving.

FIG. 9(B) is a diagram for explaining the display under the control of the control section 26 in comparison with FIG. 9(A).
Therefore, in this case, the control unit 26 displays the auxiliary information 19B vertically using the judgment distance L3. It is displaced to the bird's-eye view display area P2 side.
Displaying in a vertical plane in this manner can prevent deterioration of visibility due to deterioration of the field of vision, and can ensure the same visibility as when a sufficient field of vision is ensured.
Thereby, the vehicle display device 1 can switch the display according to the auxiliary information and sufficiently ensure the visibility.
As a result, the display of the displayable area 2C in FIG. 9A ensures a sufficient forward field of view, and the determination distance L3 is sufficiently closer to the distance L2 side than in the example of FIG. 9A. This is an example of the case.

Furthermore, the control unit 26 displays the auxiliary information 19B whose display has been switched to the vertical display in an area on the side of the vertical display area P1 from the position corresponding to the determination distance L3 including at least the vertical display area P1. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 9A, the display position is set above the stop line 11 and displayed.
As a result, the display position of the auxiliary information 19B can be appropriately set to a position where the positional relationship with the actual scene whose visibility has deteriorated due to the deterioration of the forward field of view can be grasped. Sufficient visibility can be ensured.

Also in this case, the control unit 26 switches the display form of this auxiliary information 19B to the form of a stop sign so that the content of the auxiliary information 19B can be intuitively grasped, thereby further improving the visibility of the auxiliary information. ensure

In the example of FIG. 9, although the auxiliary information 15 and 16 (see FIG. 3) of the lane markings 8 and 9 are omitted, the auxiliary information of the lane markings 8 and 9 is displayed due to the reduced visibility. may be canceled, or may be displayed according to the setting by the driver, and various settings can be made as necessary.

In this vehicle display device 21 as well, if practically sufficient visibility can be ensured, the switching of the display mode may be stopped, or the auxiliary information 19A may be displayed vertically without perspective. You may

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the control unit 26, and is a flowchart showing the processing for the bird's-eye view display area P2 beyond the judgment distance L3 that does not straddle the position of the judgment distance L3.
The control unit 26 executes this processing procedure at regular time intervals. When the control unit 26 starts this processing procedure, the viewpoint position acquisition unit 4 acquires viewpoint position information (SP31-SP32), and the forward scenery information acquisition unit 5 acquires forward scenery information (SP33).
Further, the visibility determination unit 26A determines whether the visibility is reduced (SP34), and if it is determined that the visibility is decreased, the visibility determination unit 26A detects the degree of poor visibility (SP35), and detects the detected visibility. The determination distance L3 is reduced according to the degree of failure, and the determination position related to this determination distance L3 is changed to the own vehicle side (SP36).

Furthermore, it is determined whether or not there is an object corresponding to the bird's-eye view display area P2 beyond the determination distance L3 that does not straddle the position of the determination distance L3 (SP37). The auxiliary information is set to be vertically displayed in an area on the side of the vertical display area P1 from the position corresponding to the judgment distance L3 including at least the vertical display area P1, and this processing procedure ends (SP37-SP38-SP39). . Also, if such an object does not exist, this processing procedure is terminated (SP37-SP39).

On the other hand, if the field of view has not deteriorated, the control unit 26 holds the determination distance L3 at the initial set value (SP34-SP40), and the determination distance L3 of this processing set value is used to straddle the position of the determination distance L3. It is determined whether there is an object corresponding to the bird's-eye view display area P2 beyond the determination distance L3 (SP40-SP37), and similar processing is executed depending on the presence or absence of such an object (SP37-SP38-SP39, SP37- SP39).

According to the second embodiment, the distance to the object is determined by the determination distance, and the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint is switched to the vertical display, and this determination distance is changed according to the degree of visibility. Therefore, the visibility of the auxiliary information can be sufficiently ensured.
Further, in this case, even when the visibility is reduced due to rainfall or the like at night, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the visibility due to the deterioration of the visibility, thereby sufficiently ensuring the visibility.

Further, in this way, in the area on the side of the vertical display area from the position corresponding to the determination distance including at least the vertical display area, by displaying the auxiliary information whose display is switched to the vertical display, the forward visibility is reduced. The auxiliary information can be appropriately displayed at a position where the positional relationship with the actual scene whose visibility has deteriorated can be grasped, and this also ensures sufficient visibility of the auxiliary information.

Furthermore, by reducing the judgment distance due to the deterioration of the field of view, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the visibility due to the deterioration of the field of view and sufficiently secure the visibility with a more specific configuration.

In addition, for objects related to the bird's eye view display area beyond the judgment distance that does not cross the point of the judgment distance, the display position is set based on the position corresponding to the judgment distance and the auxiliary information is displayed. can be improved.

[Other embodiments]
Although the specific configurations suitable for implementing the present invention have been described in detail above, the present invention may be modified in various ways or combined with the configurations of the above-described embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. can be done.

Specifically, by applying the configuration of the second embodiment to the configuration of the first embodiment, the determination distance L3 is reduced due to the deterioration of the field of view, and the determination reference position related to the determination distance L3 is displaced toward the bird's-eye view display area P2. You may do so.

Reference Signs List 1, 21 vehicle display device 2 display unit 2A display device 2B light source 2C displayable area 4 viewpoint position acquisition unit 5 forward scenery information acquisition unit 6, 26 control unit 7 windshield 8, 9 lane marking 11 stop line 12 forward vehicle 15 , 16, 17, 18, 19A, 19B Auxiliary information

Claims (10)

A vehicle display device that provides auxiliary information by displaying an image as a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver,
a viewpoint position acquisition unit that acquires viewpoint position information of the driver;
a forward scenery information acquisition unit that acquires forward scenery information;
a display unit that forms an image to be displayed;
a control unit that controls the display unit based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information;
The control unit
detecting a distance from the own vehicle to an object used for displaying the auxiliary information from the forward scenery information;
Depending on the detected distance, a bird's-eye view display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a bird's-eye view from the driver's viewpoint, and a vertical display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a vertical display in which the image faces the driver. so as to display the auxiliary information,
The detected distance is determined by a determination distance, and the target object related to the bird's-eye display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance is determined from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye display area. A vehicle display device that displays the auxiliary information by switching the display to a vertical display. The control unit
2. The vehicular display device according to claim 1, wherein, with respect to the object related to the bird's-eye display area that straddles the point of the judgment distance, the auxiliary information is displayed in the bird's-eye display area from a driver's point of view. The control unit
3. The vehicular display according to claim 1, wherein when the visibility of the auxiliary information is low in the bird's-eye view display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye view display area, the display is switched to the vertical plane display to display the auxiliary information. Device. The control unit
For the object related to the bird's-eye view display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the display position of the auxiliary information is changed to switch the display to the vertical display in the vertical display area. 4. The vehicle display device according to claim 1, claim 2, or claim 3. Further comprising a visibility judgment unit for judging the degree of visibility from the forward scenery information,
The control unit
5. The vehicular display device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 4, wherein the judgment distance is changed according to the degree of visibility based on the judgment result of the visibility judging section. The control unit
The vehicular display device according to claim 5, wherein the judgment distance is reduced due to a decrease in visibility. Further comprising a visibility judgment unit for judging the degree of visibility from the forward scenery information,
The control unit
changing the determination distance according to the degree of visibility based on the determination result of the visibility determination unit;
The auxiliary information whose display has been switched to the vertical display is displayed in an area on the side of the vertical display area from a position corresponding to the determination distance including at least the vertical display area. Item 4. The vehicle display device according to any one of items 3. The control unit
With respect to the object related to the bird's-eye view display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the display position of the auxiliary information is set based on the position corresponding to the determination distance, and the auxiliary information is displayed. The vehicle display device according to any one of claims 1, 2, 3, and 7, which displays information. In a control method for a vehicle display device that provides auxiliary information by displaying an image as a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver,
a viewpoint position obtaining step of obtaining viewpoint position information of the driver;
a forward scenery information acquisition step for acquiring forward scenery information;
a control step of controlling a display unit that forms an image to be displayed based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information;
The control step includes:
detecting a distance from the own vehicle to an object used for displaying the auxiliary information from the forward scenery information;
Depending on the detected distance, a bird's-eye view display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a bird's-eye view from the driver's viewpoint, and a vertical display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a vertical display in which the image faces the driver. so as to display the auxiliary information,
The detected distance is determined by a determination distance, and for an object related to the bird's-eye display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the object is displayed vertically from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye display area. A method of controlling a display device for a vehicle, wherein the display is switched to a surface display to display the auxiliary information. In a control program for a vehicle display device that causes a predetermined processing procedure to be executed by execution in an arithmetic processing circuit,
A vehicle display device
A vehicular display device that provides auxiliary information by displaying an image as a virtual image in the space ahead of the driver,
The processing procedure is
a viewpoint position obtaining step of obtaining viewpoint position information of the driver;
a forward scenery information acquisition step for acquiring forward scenery information;
a control step of controlling a display unit that forms an image to be displayed based on the viewpoint position information and the forward scenery information;
The control step includes:
detecting a distance from the own vehicle to an object used for displaying the auxiliary information from the forward scenery information;
Depending on the detected distance, a bird's-eye view display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a bird's-eye view from the driver's viewpoint, and a vertical display area for displaying the auxiliary information in a vertical display in which the image faces the driver. so as to display the auxiliary information,
The detected distance is determined by a determination distance, and for an object related to the bird's-eye display area beyond the determination distance that does not straddle the point of the determination distance, the object is displayed vertically from the bird's-eye display of the driver's viewpoint in the bird's-eye display area. A control program for a vehicle display device that displays the auxiliary information by switching the display to a surface display.

Images