JP7299031B2 - Vehicle call/guidance system and head-up display device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a vehicle call/guidance system for wirelessly calling a vehicle and guiding the vehicle to a desired location (call/guidance). When a user of a paid vehicle such as a taxi calls the vehicle and makes a call (dispatch request) to move to a desired point, the driver of the vehicle or taxi that rides with the user calls from the user ( The present invention relates to a vehicle call/guidance system that detects a dispatch request) and guides the vehicle according to its position information.

As a technology similar to the vehicle call/guidance system of the present invention, in recent years, due to the spread of mobile terminals such as mobile phones and smartphones, users can use taxis and other toll vehicles on the road. Instead of making a signal to stop and use it, the user can intervene human work such as telephone operation by sending dispatch request information as data from the mobile terminal to the dispatch center of the taxi company, etc. It is now possible to make a dispatch request without having to wait.

As an example, for example, Patent Literature 1 describes: "A vehicle allocation management server receives a vehicle allocation request and current location information from a mobile terminal of a user (user), and stores the received current location information and the Based on the current location information of each in-vehicle terminal installed in taxis of multiple taxi companies in which the mobile terminal (user) is located, the in-vehicle terminal (taxi) with the shortest distance to the mobile terminal (user) is selected. Disclosed is a taxi dispatch system that allocates a taxi with the shortest distance as a dispatch target.

However, the taxi dispatch system described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems. That is, normally, a taxi is running on a road in an empty state, and as soon as a person who wishes to ride is found, the taxi will get on the taxi. Therefore, a situation may occur in which a taxi notified as an object to be dispatched is no longer available on the way to the user. In that case, the user may have to start over from the dispatch request again.

In order to deal with such problems, Patent Literature 2 discloses a vehicle allocation management device having the following features. That is, in Patent Document 2, "a vehicle dispatch management apparatus receives first position information from each of a plurality of in-vehicle terminals, stores the first position information in a storage unit, and receives second position information and a dispatch request from a user terminal. Then, based on the second position information and the first position information of each taxi stored in the storage unit, a plurality of candidate taxis are selected from among the plurality of taxis, and the selected taxis are selected. transmitting first position information of each of a plurality of vehicle allocation candidates to a user terminal; transmitting a request for confirming whether or not a vehicle can be allocated to an in-vehicle terminal of one or more vehicle allocation candidates designated by the user terminal; A taxi to be allocated is determined according to a response to a confirmation request received from an in-vehicle terminal as a candidate for dispatch, and a notification to the effect that the allocation target has been determined is sent to the user terminal, and to the in-vehicle terminal for the determined vehicle allocation. , and transmit the second location information.”.

According to the vehicle allocation management device of Patent Document 2, a user can confirm whether or not a plurality of taxis running in the vicinity of the user can be allocated using the user terminal. can reliably grasp the decision of the taxi to be dispatched. Therefore, it is possible to solve the problem that arises in the taxi dispatch system disclosed in Patent Document 1, that the taxi picks up another user on the way and the dispatch request must be sent again.

In recent years, the vehicle itself has been equipped with a wireless communication function, and if there is some kind of abnormality in the vehicle while it is running, for example, if the sensor detects that the airbag has deployed due to a collision accident between the vehicles, the vehicle will be notified. A technology is known in which the provided wireless communication means replaces the driver and automatically reports sensor detection information, the date and time of the accident, and the position of the own vehicle at the time of the accident (see, for example, Patent Document 3). ). However, the wireless communication means disclosed in Patent Document 3 is intended for reporting abnormal situations such as accidents, and is not compatible with use in a system for dispatching paid vehicles such as taxis.

Furthermore, when looking at recent in-vehicle display systems, instead of conventional image and video (moving image) display systems using liquid crystal monitors, etc., a head-up display (HUD) is used to control the running of the vehicle. Some car models are already equipped with a new in-vehicle display device that displays the status (vehicle speed and engine speed) and information based on the car navigation system as a projected image on the windshield. However, a head-up display (HUD) displays the minimum necessary driving information such as the vehicle speed of the vehicle in motion, the current time, or information indicating right or left turn by arrows, and displays it on the window so as not to hinder driving. It has the function of projecting and displaying in a relatively limited range below the shield.

In addition, in recent years, a head-up display called AR-HUD (Augmented Reality-HUD), which is a type of head-up display, has been proposed that has functions that conventional HUDs do not have. This AR-HUD displays a real image (the scenery in front of the vehicle that actually exists) that the driver observes through the windshield. obstacles are detected based on detection information by camera images, sensors, lidar (LiDAR: Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), etc., a marker with a specific graphic etc. is added to the detected obstacle, and the marker is It has a feature of displaying a virtual image superimposed on a position corresponding to a real image.

Here, AR is an abbreviation for Augmented Reality, and actually, by superimposing a marker that does not exist on a real image, the information about the reality is extended and projected and displayed using a HUD. This name (AR) is given because it has the characteristic of As an example of this, for example, Patent Document 4 describes an example of the display mode of the AR-HUD, in which when the vehicle is too close to the vehicle in front traveling in front of the own vehicle, a warning is displayed so that it overlaps the vehicle in front. It is described that a mark is displayed, and that when a road to turn is approached, a right/left turn guide arrow is displayed so as to overlap the road that is the route (paragraph number 0014, see FIG. 3, etc.).

JP 2006-268229 A Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-204005 JP 2011-239422 A JP 2018-144690 A

According to the present invention, a user calls a vehicle driven by a family member or friend or a paid vehicle such as a taxi using a so-called "dispatch application" (dispatch request) and guides the vehicle to a desired location. When using a vehicle as a fellow passenger or user, a vehicle call/guidance system that is highly convenient and easy to use not only for the passenger or user of the vehicle, but also for the driver of the vehicle. The purpose is to provide a system.

In addition, in the prior art, particularly the prior art described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the following problems still remain when using the taxi dispatch system from the perspective of the taxi driver.

For example, a taxi driver tries to move the taxi quickly to the location of the user based on the location information of the user who sent the dispatch request. For example, it is possible to determine which road can be used to move to the location where the user is most quickly and reliably. I don't know the best route to the location, or the road is very congested depending on the time of the day, and the distance is short, but it takes longer than expected, so I promised the user It may happen that you cannot arrive on time.

If such a situation were to occur, the user would have no choice but to wait for the taxi to arrive after requesting a ride, and in some cases it would have been quicker to use the so-called "floating taxi" than to use the dispatch system. Problems may arise, leading to distrust of taxi drivers, taxi companies, or taxi dispatchers, which may lead to a decrease in the reliability of the taxi dispatch system and, furthermore, a decrease in the utilization rate.

In the present invention, first, an in-vehicle device mounted in a vehicle and a terminal device carried by a user who calls the vehicle and communicating with the in-vehicle device are provided. The in-vehicle device has means for transmitting the call request including the location information of the terminal device, and means for receiving the call request including the location information from the terminal device, and in response to the call request, the in-vehicle device A route information display means for displaying route information for guiding the mounted vehicle to a location based on position information from the terminal device is provided.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a head-up display device for displaying a virtual image based on a video to a driver of a vehicle, the head-up display device having a light source and a display element, video display means for forming the video, and light emitted from the video display means. means for projecting and reflecting the projected image light on the windshield of the vehicle to display the virtual image in front of the vehicle; and calling including position information from a terminal device carried by a user calling the vehicle. and route information display means for displaying, in response to a request, route information for guidance to a location based on position information from the terminal device.

Further, in the present invention, the headlights that illuminate the front of the vehicle or the sidelights that illuminate the side of the vehicle and the light from the headlights or the sidelights are modulated to indicate the arrival of the vehicle to the user. A call request containing position information from a terminal device carried by a user who controls the image light projection means for generating image light, the headlights or the sidelights, and the image light projection means and calls the vehicle. and control means for irradiating forward or sideways of the vehicle with image light for displaying the arrival of the vehicle to the user when the vehicle arrives near the calling position based on the above.

In addition, in the present invention, means for receiving a call request containing location information for a user to call a vehicle; and route information display means for displaying route information for guidance.

According to the present invention, the taxi driver can receive the location information of the user included in the dispatch request data from the user by using the vehicle-mounted transmitter/receiver. is possible, it is possible to transmit that effect to the mobile terminal (so-called smartphone) held by the user via the in-vehicle transceiver, and at the same time, from the current location of the taxi, It is possible to display information about the travel route to the user's current position. Therefore, the taxi driver can move the vehicle to the location of the user by the shortest and fastest route according to the travel route.

In addition, when the taxi approaches the user's vicinity (for example, the user's visible range = about 10 to 20 meters), the taxi driver displays the user's position on the head-up display. Since it is displayed as a marker (AR information), it is possible to quickly and reliably grasp which person is the user who is requesting the dispatch of his or her own taxi.

Furthermore, when the taxi comes within a visible distance, the taxi user will be able to make a taxi dispatch request by projecting specific figures or characters on the road surface near the user from the laser headlights mounted on the taxi. It is possible to easily recognize that the taxi is dispatched by performing the

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a vehicle call/guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a processing flow of a vehicle allocation processing device in a vehicle allocation service center of the vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the data structure of transmission data transmitted from a user terminal in the vehicle call/guidance system; 1 is a diagram showing an example of a system configuration including various devices that constitute a vehicle calling/guidance system; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a more detailed configuration centered on a head-up display (HUD) and a driver monitoring system (DMS) that constitute a vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of vehicle guidance displayed by a HUD in a vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of vehicle guidance information displayed by the HUD in the vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of display information of a user (a user who requested taxi dispatch) in the vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a light control unit in a vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of display by head (side) lights in a vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another system using a mobile terminal device in a vehicle calling/guidance system; 1 is a diagram showing an example of a vehicle guidance display (navigation) in a vehicle call/guidance system; FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a smart phone, which is a high-performance mobile terminal device used in a vehicle call/guidance system; FIG.

An overall configuration of a vehicle call/guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Here, as an example, the vehicle call/guidance system according to the embodiment of the present invention is described as a place where the user is located or desired by paying a predetermined fee according to a call (dispatch request) from the user. An example of application to a dispatch service of a taxi or a hired vehicle, which is a vehicle that moves to a location, picks up a user, and moves the user to a destination, will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Vehicle call/guidance system>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the entire vehicle call/guidance system. In the figure, vehicles A to D are currently toll vehicles equivalent to taxis or hired cars in Japan. These vehicles A to D are wirelessly connected to a dispatch service center 20, as also shown in FIG. It has Vehicles B to D other than vehicle A also have similar components, but FIG. 1 omits components other than the transmitter/receiver. With such a configuration, data signals transmitted or received by the transmitter/receiver 5 are received or transmitted by the transmitter/receiver 21 provided in the vehicle dispatch service center 20 via the wireless link 11 .

On the other hand, the dispatch service center 20 includes a user's mobile terminal (also referred to as a "user terminal") 30 held by a user who wishes to dispatch a paid vehicle such as a taxi (dispatch service user), is provided with a transmitter/receiver 23 for communicating with a so-called smartphone.

Only one user terminal 30 is shown in FIG. can be registered as Therefore, the number of user terminals 30 is the number of users. For example, even if it is limited to a specific area around a certain station, it will range from thousands to tens of thousands in some cases.

Here, the vehicle allocation processing device 22 in the vehicle allocation service center 20 will be described. The vehicle allocation processing device 22 is a device such as a personal computer that performs information processing, for example. It is a device that performs processing, and it would be possible to use, for example, the dispatch management device described in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-204005).

More specifically, one user operates the user terminal 30 to send a request to the taxi dispatch service center 20 to the effect that one taxi will be dispatched to his current location. Suppose you sent to In general, a mobile terminal is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiving device, and the position of the user terminal 30, that is, the current position (whereabouts) of the user can be obtained without any special operation by the user. It is also possible to set it to be sent to the service center 20 .

On the other hand, in the vehicle allocation service center 20, the vehicle allocation processing device 22 retrieves information on the user from the customer database based on the information from the user terminal 30 of the user. Next, based on the user's current position and input information on the destination (destination), taxis registered in the dispatch service center 20 near the user (for example, within 2 kilometers or 5 The user's dispatch request content is transmitted to a taxi running in a range where the user can move to the user's current position within minutes, for example, vehicles A to D in FIG.

Here, as the contents of transmission from the dispatch service center 20 to the vehicles A to D, the user's current position (that is, waiting position) information, destination information, and depending on the case, the user's When and how many taxis are desired to be dispatched, for example, 1 taxi as soon as possible, 3 taxis after 1 hour, etc. are transmitted to each vehicle AD.

For example, it is assumed that the user wishes to have the vehicle dispatched as soon as possible, and that the user wishes to travel to his or her home, which is about 10 kilometers away. At this time, any of the vehicles A to D is in an empty state (no passengers on board) at the time of receiving the dispatch request information, and is within 5 minutes (within 2 kilometers in distance) of the user's current position. It is assumed that the vehicle is traveling where it can be reached. In such a situation, the drivers of the vehicles A to D can transmit to the transmitter/receiver 21 of the dispatch service center 20 via the transmitter/receiver 5 that they can meet the user's request. ing. If, in this state, the fact that only vehicle A can respond to the user's request is transmitted to the transmitter/receiver 21 of the dispatch service center 20 via the transmitter/receiver 5, other vehicles will transmit the information is not transmitted, the distribution processing device 22 issues a dispatch request to the vehicle A to move the vehicle A to the place where the user is present and to have the user board the vehicle. At the same time, the user is informed that the vehicle A will arrive at the user's current location within about five minutes.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart of a series of steps until vehicle A is dispatched in response to such a delivery request from a user. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing, in chronological order, the transmission/reception flow between the user terminal 30, the vehicle dispatch service center 20, and the vehicles A to D. Each step will be described below.

First, in step S<b>21 , the user uses the user terminal 30 to transmit a vehicle allocation request to the vehicle allocation service center 20 . Next, in step S22, the transmitter/receiver 23 at the vehicle allocation service center receives the vehicle allocation request from the user terminal 30. FIG. At this time, the content of the dispatch request from the user terminal 30 includes the location information of the user terminal 30, the destination of the user, and additional information related to the user such as payment method (settlement information), telephone number, and e-mail address. Contains information. In some cases, the vehicle allocation request may be for a plurality of vehicles instead of just one vehicle, and the allocation time and place may be specified instead of immediate vehicle allocation. Here, it is assumed that the user wishes to dispatch a vehicle (one vehicle) as soon as possible.

Subsequently, in step S23, the vehicle allocation processing device 22 detects vehicles running near the user (within 5 minutes in time and within 2 km in distance) based on the location information of the user terminal 30 and the supplementary information. A dispatch request is sent to A to D. Here, although the number of vehicles A to D is limited to four, the dispatch request may be transmitted to all vehicles that satisfy the condition that they are running in the vicinity of the user.

Next, in step S24, each of the vehicles A to D receives the dispatch request. Subsequently, in step S25, it is assumed that only vehicle A is in an empty state among vehicles A to D, and in this case, vehicle A replies that it is possible to respond to the dispatch request (acceptance). . Furthermore, in step S26, the vehicle allocation processing device 22 receives from the vehicle A an acceptance of the vehicle allocation request. Thereafter, in step S27, the vehicle allocation processing device 22 notifies the user terminal 30 that the vehicle A has accepted the vehicle allocation request.

After that, in step S28, the user terminal 30 receives that the vehicle A has accepted the dispatch request made by the user. Finally, in step S29, route information (map) from the current position of the vehicle to the position where the user exists is displayed on the HUD of vehicle A, as shown in FIG. 7, for example. According to steps S21 to S29, the driver of the empty vehicle A can easily move to the user's current position according to the route information based on the user's position information. Alternatively, in particular, in the case of a vehicle equipped with a head-up display (HUD), as shown in FIG. 4, not only map information but also navigation information including an arrow indicating the direction of travel of the vehicle is displayed. It would be preferable to display

In addition, with reference to FIG. 3, an example of the data structure of transmission data transmitted from the user terminal 30 in the vehicle call/guidance system described above will be described.

As shown in FIG. 3(a), data transmitted from the user terminal 30 to the vehicle dispatch service center 20 is TDM (time division multiplexing) in which the time length of one segment is, for example, 1/30 second. =Time Division Multiplexing) structure. In this example, one segment is 1/30th of a second, and the header, transmission time, content of the dispatch request, current position information of the user terminal, and finally error detection and correction are time-multiplexed in one segment. showing.

In addition, the header includes the header number N and terminal information such as the unique ID of the user terminal. Here, the user terminal ID may be associated with payment information such as payment details by the user, such as payment by credit card or payment in cash upon arrival at the destination. Such payment information may be registered in advance by the user in the vehicle allocation control center, or the payment method may be determined each time a vehicle allocation request is made.

The subsequent transmission time information includes, for example, time information (JST, etc.) at the time of transmission. In addition, request content includes requests such as "I want to dispatch one vehicle right now", "I want to dispatch one vehicle in 30 minutes from now", "I want to dispatch three vehicles in one hour from now", etc. Include specific content to do. The final location information includes the GPS information of the user terminal at the time of transmission (information on the current location of the user terminal, latitude, longitude, etc.).

On the other hand, FIG. 3(b) is a diagram showing the data structure of the received data of the user terminal 30. This received data also has 1/30 second as one segment, like the transmitted data. The header, the time of reception, the contents of the acceptance of dispatch by the vehicle, the current position information of the vehicle whose dispatch has been confirmed, and finally error detection and correction are time-axis multiplexed. In addition, the header includes information such as the header number N and the unique ID of the vehicle that accepted the dispatch, here the vehicle 1 .

Next, for the reception time information, for example, time information (JST, etc.) at the time of reception by the user terminal
In addition, as the content of acceptance, according to the content of the dispatch request, "Immediately dispatch a vehicle", "30 minutes from now", "1 hour from now", etc. Include specific content. The final position information includes GPS information (information on the current position of the vehicle 1, latitude, longitude, etc.) at the time when the vehicle 1 accepts the dispatch request.

That is, according to the received contents, the display screen of the user terminal shows, for example, that the vehicle A is traveling toward the user's current position in accordance with the user's delivery request, the estimated time of arrival, the current position of the vehicle A, and so on. etc. is displayed.

In this embodiment, an example in which the vehicle call/guidance system is applied to a taxi or hired vehicle dispatch service has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the functions of the dispatch service center 20 can be easily realized by executing part of the functions in a wireless terminal or the like. That is, according to the vehicle call/guidance system according to the embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle is guided to a desired location by making a call (dispatch request) including the user's location information, It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that this can be easily realized by using a GPS reception function (device) provided in general mobile terminals.

As described above, according to the vehicle call/guidance system according to one embodiment of the present invention, a call (dispatch request) is made and the vehicle is guided to a desired place with a relatively simple configuration, thereby allowing fellow passengers to It is possible to provide a highly convenient system not only for the user and the driver of the vehicle.

<Equipment, etc. for configuring the system>
Next, a device for constructing a vehicle call/guidance system according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is mounted on the vehicle side and displays various kinds of information to the driver as a virtual image through the windshield. , a so-called head-up display device will be described.

<Head-up display (HUD)>
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a simplified configuration around a head-up display (HUD) mounted inside the vehicle 1. In this diagram, when components overlap with those shown in FIG. is attached.

In FIG. 4, the HUD 2, the ECU 3, and the transmitter/receiver 5 are connected to each other via a data bus 7. The ECU 3 further includes a navigation device 4 including a GPS receiver, a memory 6, a headlight, A light control unit 8 for controlling sidelights is connected. It should be noted that the ECU 3 receives, via the transmitter/receiver 5, information regarding the user of the vehicle allocation service transmitted from the vehicle allocation service center 20 (or directly from the user terminal 30). The memory 6 functions as a work memory for the ECU, and is storage means for temporarily or semi-permanently storing the received information or the transmitted information transmitted from the own vehicle, and is a non-volatile semiconductor memory. and a hard disk. The light control unit 8 is also connected to the ECU 3 via the data bus 7, and controls the headlights that illuminate the front of the vehicle at night and the sidelights that illuminate the lower part of the door, including on/off and display contents. Control.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the HUD 2 together with the detailed configuration of a driver monitoring system (DMS) that is often attached to the HUD 2 and used. The DMS is a system that detects the pupil position of the driver by a sensor such as a camera and determines the driver's viewpoint position.

In general, the position of the driver's viewpoint relative to the windshield differs depending on the body type (height) of the driver and the sitting position on the driver's seat. Therefore, when a virtual image is displayed on the windshield by the HUD 2, the position of the virtual image varies depending on changes in the relative positions of the driver and the windshield. The DMS is used to determine the gaze position of the driver and finely adjust the display position of the virtual image displayed by the HUD2.

5, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as in FIG. 4, 40 is the driver of the vehicle 1, 41 is the driver camera, 42 is the driver's gaze position determination unit, and 201 is the front camera. , 202 is an obstacle determination unit, 203 is an image processing unit, 204 is projection means composed of an LED or the like, 205 is a mirror, 26 is a windshield, 27 is a HUD display area, and 28 is a virtual image plane recognized by the driver. . In these components, the driver camera 41 and the point-of-regard determination unit 42 constitute a DMS. Further, the front camera 201, the obstacle determination section 202, the image processing section 203, the projection means 204, and the mirror 205 constitute the HUD 2. FIG.

Next, the function of each component will be described. As already described, auxiliary information such as route information and obstacles related to driving are projected from the projection means 204 as AR information (augmented reality information), more specifically, as virtual images (for example, markers and graphics). , is reflected by the mirror 205 and projected onto the windshield 26 . As a result, the projected virtual image is recognized by the driver 40 as an image superimposed on the external field of view (real image) through the windshield on the virtual image plane 28 .

In the projecting means 204, there is a method using a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) mirror or the like as scanning means, and a method using an aspherical concave mirror or the like as the mirror 205 is available. In terms of form, several techniques for projecting virtual images are known and will not be described in detail.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the operation of each component will be described. First, an image in front of the vehicle 1 is captured by the front camera 201, and the obstacle determination unit 202 determines an obstacle as a pedestrian, a vehicle ahead, or others based on the acquired image. A well-known technique can be used for determination of an obstacle as a technique using an image recognition technique or the like.

On the other hand, from the information received via the transmitter/receiver 5 (see FIG. 4), the location information of the user who uses the vehicle 1, that is, the user who sent the dispatch request is extracted.

According to the configuration of the HUD 2 including the DMS, pedestrians and forward vehicles determined as obstacles, especially when driving the own vehicle, obstacles that should be paid attention to in terms of safety, or for the driver, use of the own vehicle A person who should be recognized as a person is identified as a user based on the user's position information, and markers (graphics) are added near obstacles and users, and as a result, obstacles and users are visually recognized. improve sexuality.

On the other hand, the driver camera 41 captures an image around the driver's face and acquires information necessary for determining the viewpoint position of the driver. It is preferable to use an infrared camera as the driver camera 41 in order to be able to capture an image around the driver's face even at night. As a result, which part of the windshield 26 the driver 40 is gazing at is determined by the gaze position determination unit 42 using the driver's face image acquired by the driver camera 41 . More specifically, it is possible to determine the point of gaze of the driver by obtaining the geometrical positional information of the driver's pupils from the face image using a known technique.

Next, an example of route information including navigation information from the current position of the vehicle 1 to the user's position (waiting position) displayed by the HUD 2 mounted on the vehicle 1 after the processing flow shown in FIG. are as shown in FIG. Further, FIGS. 6 to 8 show an example of display of vehicle guidance and users (customers requesting taxi dispatch) displayed by the HUD 2. FIG. In this case, the user stands at the intersection with traffic light 2 in FIG. is waiting for

On the other hand, it is assumed that vehicle 1 is traveling on road A in the direction of signal 1, accepts the dispatch request from the user, and moves to the location of the user. That is, the vehicle 1 is traveling north on the road A, turns right at the intersection with the road B (the intersection with the signal 1), and is traveling toward the signal 2.

In this state, from the viewpoint of the driver of the vehicle 1, the user is located at the left corner before the intersection of the signal 2. Therefore, as the vehicle 1 approaches the user, the route is sequentially displayed on the HUD 2. Information is presented (see FIGS. 7A and 7B), and in the vicinity of the intersection at signal 2, as shown in FIG. Is displayed. In this way, the position of the user is shown as route information in relation to the vehicle 1 (self-vehicle), so that the driver of the vehicle 1 can reach the position where the user is waiting for the self-vehicle without hesitation. , and it is possible to travel on the shortest route.

Here, the route information is not limited to information indicating the entire route (route) on the map as shown in FIG. It may be a graphic (arrow) or text information indicating "200 meters to the customer", or a speaker (not shown) provided with HUD 2, for example, "There is a customer on the left side before the intersection 200 meters ahead". It may be read-out information (route guidance by voice) or the like.

Furthermore, how the virtual image (AR information) is displayed on the windshield 26 by the HUD 2 at the position of the user will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a display example of a virtual image displayed on the windshield 26 of the vehicle 1 by the HUD 2, that is, AR (Augmented-Reality) information. Here, the HUD 2 is a head-up display (HUD) having a function of displaying AR information such as a marker as a virtual image on the windshield by superimposing it on a real image (the actual scenery the driver is looking at). AR-HUD. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the HUD 2 will be described as having the function of an AR-HUD.

In FIG. 8, the display range of the HUD 2 is divided into 15 regions for convenience. That is, the range in which the markers can be displayed as virtual images is divided into 5 columns in the horizontal direction and 3 columns in the vertical direction. In FIG. 8, the user can visually recognize real images in 2 and 3 of the A row of the HUD display area 27 of the HUD 2, and the HUD 2 displays a marker indicating the user (for example, an orange ring) at the user's feet. ) is displayed as a virtual image. As already described, the information about the current position of the user is included in the transmission signal when the user transmits the distribution request using the user terminal 30, and the transmission signal is sent to the transmitter/receiver of the vehicle 1. 5 (see FIG. 4), it is possible to extract the position information from the received signal. Therefore, the user's position on the map can be displayed as the user's position on the map or route information, as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, FIG. 8 shows the scenery seen from the windshield when the driver of the vehicle 1 approaches a position where the user can be visually recognized. As shown in , it is possible to provide a virtual image of a marker at the user's feet, and superimpose the marker indicating the user on the real image (scenery viewed from the windshield). At this time, the DMS described with reference to FIG. 5 detects the driver's viewpoint position, and based on the detected driver's viewpoint position, the ECU 3 (see FIG. 4) determines which relative position on the windshield. Controls whether markers should be displayed in . As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, a marker of a specific color and figure is displayed as a virtual image at the feet of the user, and the driver of the vehicle 1 can easily identify the user. Note that the color, shape, and display position of the marker are not limited to the example shown in the drawing, and a color or figure that allows the driver to easily recognize the user, or a position relative to the user may be appropriately selected.

As shown in FIG. 8, when there is no one around the user and the driver can clearly see the user, it is possible to identify the user based on the user's location information. . However, there may be cases where a plurality of persons are present in the immediate vicinity of the user and the driver cannot specify which of the plurality of persons is the user. In such a case, based on user's pre-registered face information, known face recognition technology is used to identify a person from among a plurality of persons in an image captured by the camera 201 provided in the vehicle. The image processing unit 203 identifies whether the person is a user, adds a marker (for example, a red square frame, etc.) to the portion corresponding to the face of the identified person (user), and displays it on the HUD. good too. According to this method, even when a plurality of persons exist around the user, the driver can easily recognize the user among the plurality of persons.

<Headlight and sidelight control>
Next, returning to FIG. 4, the function of the light control section 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, the light control unit 8 controls the headlights 9 that illuminate the front of the vehicle 1 and the sidelights 9' that illuminate the lower part of the door. , the head (side) light 9 and the side light 9' are controlled so as to project graphics and character information onto the road near the user of the dispatch service. At this time, the location of the user is known from the location information of the user included in the signal transmitted from the user terminal 30 when requesting the dispatch of the vehicle, as explained in FIG. Therefore, if the distance between the vehicle 1 and the user is sufficiently short, the light control unit 8 will put the following message on the road surface near the user, for example, on the road surface that is easily visible to the user or at the foot of the user. The headlights 9 or sidelights 9' are controlled so as to project character information such as "Thank you for waiting" and "A taxi has arrived" or a specific graphic image. These controls are executed by the ECU 3 .

As described above, the headlights 9 and sidelights 9' are head (side) lights mounted on the vehicle 1, and have the function of projecting character information and graphics onto the road surface using light modulation means such as LCDs. It may be a known head (side) light having a Considering the need for as few as possible, it would be more desirable to have a laser head (side) light that emits laser light.

As described in detail above, according to the vehicle call/guidance system according to the embodiment of the present invention, it is convenient and easy to use for both taxi users and drivers. The driver of the taxi that performed the above will surely be dispatched to his/her current location, where the taxi is currently running, and when the taxi is within a visible distance, the head (side) light will be displayed. With the projected light of , it is possible to know that the taxi has arrived.

On the other hand, for the taxi driver, it is possible to wirelessly transmit the acceptance information to the user who requested to be dispatched, and at the same time to know the payment information. Furthermore, according to the user's dispatch request, the shortest/fastest route to the user's location can be reliably grasped from the display screen of the HUD, and the vicinity of the user (the user's visible range, for example, (within a range of about 30 meters), it is possible to quickly and reliably grasp which person is the user requesting the dispatch of his or her own taxi.

In other words, compared to the conventional technology, it is convenient and easy to use for both the taxi user and the taxi driver, and for the user, the taxi driver who requested the dispatch is surely at his/her current location. On the other hand, for the taxi driver, the shortest and fastest route to the location of the user who wishes to be dispatched can be reliably grasped from the display screen, and the vicinity of the user (visual recognition of the user) Within the possible range (e.g. 10-30 meters range), vehicle call/guidance that allows to quickly and reliably grasp which person is the user requesting the dispatch of his or her taxi. A system will be provided.

Furthermore, as a different issue, it is usually the first time for a taxi driver to meet a user who is waiting for a taxi to be dispatched in response to a request from a user, so places where there are many people are crowded. (For example, in a downtown area with many restaurants and restaurants, etc.), even if the user's position information (for example, address, intersection name) is grasped, there are many locations near the position information. It is very difficult to identify which person among the people is the user of one's taxi.

Conversely, even in places where there are very few people, at night, etc., even if the taxi driver knows the user's location information, the user may be in the shadow of a utility pole, etc. In such a case, it is extremely difficult to quickly determine where the user is while driving, and there is also the problem that the user may be overlooked.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as compared with the conventional technology, convenience and usability are good for both the taxi user and the driver, and for the user, the taxi driver who made the dispatch request is reliable. On the other hand, for the taxi driver, the shortest and fastest route to the location of the user who wishes to be dispatched can be grasped from the display screen, and the user's In the vicinity (range within which the user can be seen, for example, a range of about 10 to 30 meters), it is possible to quickly and reliably grasp which person is the user requesting the dispatch of their own taxi. A vehicle call/guidance system is provided.

In the description of the present embodiment, an example in which a user dispatches a relatively large number of vehicles, such as taxis or hired cars, by the vehicle allocation processing device 22 of the vehicle allocation service center 20 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and various embodiments are possible as described below.

In particular, in this embodiment, the guidance information to the location of the taxi user displayed to the driver of the vehicle who made the call request is pre-installed in the vehicle whose configuration is shown in FIGS. The description has been given assuming that the information is displayed by the navigation function of the head-up display (HUD) 2 provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be realized by using a smart phone, which is a high-performance mobile terminal device equipped with a navigation function, as described below. In particular, it would be convenient for a relatively small number of people, such as family members and friends, to configure the vehicle call/guidance system of the present invention.

<Other systems using mobile terminal devices>
FIG. 11 shows a case where a smart phone 300, which is a high-performance mobile terminal equipped with a navigation function, is used as means for providing navigation information to a head-up display (HUD) in the vehicle call/guidance system of the present invention. shows an example. In this example, unlike the example shown in FIG. 4, the HUD 2' includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 305, a RAM 303 and a ROM 304 having functions as a work memory and information accumulation/storage means, etc. It is composed of various solid-state memories, etc., and has the function of projecting an input image onto the windshield and displaying the virtual image in front of it. That is, this makes it possible to input the display screen from the smartphone 300 via a wired connection terminal or wirelessly such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) or Wifi (registered trademark) and display the virtual image. It's becoming In other words, without using the navigation system mounted on the vehicle, the display screen from the smartphone 300, which is a high-performance mobile terminal device that is an external device, is displayed on the HUD 2' using the projection means 204 and the mirror 205 of the HUD. It is displayed as a virtual image V2 on the top.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a display method of the display screen of the smartphone 300 (for example, guidance display such as map and route information). These figures are schematic views of the windshield 26 as seen from the driver's seat of the vehicle. An example of a right-hand-drive vehicle represented by Japan is shown. As is clear from these figures, an HUD image display region (area) is provided near the left end (or near the right end) of the windshield 26 in front of the steering wheel 43 .

A user (driver) who uses the smart phone 300, which is a high-performance mobile terminal device equipped with a navigation function, as a navigation device usually uses the smart phone 300 as shown in FIG. in the vicinity of the left steering wheel 43 (left or right side: one is indicated by a dashed line). (right side or left side: one is indicated by a dashed line). Although not shown here, as a specific example, it would be preferable to provide a stand or the like for housing the smartphone 300 .

According to such a system, when a head-up display (HUD) does not have a navigation function or when the navigation function is insufficient, a navigation function that is familiar to the driver, easy to use, and convenient can be provided by a high-performance mobile phone. By using the smartphone 300, which is a terminal device, it is possible to easily and simply implement this.

Furthermore, FIG. 13 shows an outline of the smartphone 300, which is the above-mentioned high-performance mobile terminal device, and although not shown here, the device, together with at least the transceiver, controls the HUD 2 also shown in FIG. Like the unit, the control unit consists of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which is an arithmetic processing means, various solid memories such as RAM and ROM which have functions as work memory and information accumulation and storage means, and furthermore, from LCD etc. The display unit 310 and the like are configured. Reference numeral 320 in the figure denotes a push button for starting up the device (portable terminal device).

In the modification shown in FIG. 11, the use of smartphone 300 as means for providing navigation information to a head-up display (HUD) in a vehicle call/guidance system has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Based on the location information of the terminal that is receivable and included in the request, it is possible to display not only map and route information but also navigation information including an arrow indicating the direction of travel of the vehicle. If so, it would be possible to use the smartphone 300 as it is instead of a head-up display (HUD). In this case, the smartphone 300 is positioned near the steering wheel 43 (on the right or left side) indicated by solid or broken lines along with reference numeral 300 in FIGS. It would be preferable to operate while housed in a mounting stand or the like.

In addition, the smart phone 300 that is a mobile terminal device can also be used as the user terminal 30 . In that case, as described above, the functions of the dispatch service center 20 shown in FIG. It could easily be realized by doing a part.

The foregoing has described systems and apparatus in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments describe the entire system in detail in order to explain the present invention in an easy-to-understand manner, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. In addition, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace a part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Vehicle, 2... Head-up display (HUD), 3... ECU, 4... Navigation device, 5, 21, 23... Transceiver, 8... Light control part, 9... Headlight, 9'... Sidelight, 20... Vehicle allocation service center 22 Vehicle allocation processing device 30 User terminal 40 Driver 201 Front camera 202 Obstacle determination unit 203 Image processing unit 204 Projection means 205 Mirror 26 ... windshield, 27 ... HUD display area, 28 ... virtual image plane, 300 ... smartphone.

Claims (6)

an in-vehicle device mounted in a vehicle;
a terminal device carried by a user and communicating with an in-vehicle device of a vehicle in which the user rides,
The in-vehicle device includes means for receiving a call request including location information from the terminal device; and a means for guiding to the location,
The terminal device has means for transmitting the call request including the location information of the user,
means for displaying to the user that the driver of the vehicle has confirmed the presence of the user when the vehicle arrives near the location called from the terminal device ;
means for displaying to the user that the driver of the vehicle has confirmed the presence of the user is a lighting device;
The lighting device has a headlight that illuminates the front of the vehicle or a sidelight that illuminates the side of the vehicle,
image light projection means for modulating the light from the headlights or the sidelights to generate image light for displaying the arrival of the vehicle to a user;
controlling the headlights or the sidelights and the image light projection means, and notifying the user of the arrival of the vehicle when the vehicle arrives near the call position based on the call request including the position information from the terminal device; a control means for irradiating the image light to be displayed forward or sideways of the vehicle;
Vehicle Call/Direction System. A vehicle calling/guidance system according to claim 1 , wherein
The vehicle call/guidance system, wherein the vicinity of the calling position is within a range of 10 to 30 meters from the user where the driver of the vehicle can visually recognize the user. A vehicle call/guidance system according to claim 1 or 2 ,
The in-vehicle device is mounted on each of the plurality of vehicles,
A vehicle allocation processing device that responds to a call request including location information from the terminal device, selects at least one vehicle from the plurality of vehicles, and transmits the call request to the selected vehicle. A vehicle call/induction system comprising: A vehicle call/guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
A vehicle call/guidance system, wherein the means for guiding to a location based on the position information includes a head-up display device for displaying navigation information. A vehicle call/guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The vehicle call/guidance system, wherein the terminal device includes a GPS receiver for detecting location information of the terminal device. A vehicle calling/guidance system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The terminal device is a vehicle call/guidance system including input means for inputting the position information.

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