JPH0518211Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Field of Application] This invention relates to a visibility assisting device for a vehicle that expands the field of view in front of the vehicle.

[Prior Art] The vertical field of view in front of the vehicle in a general vehicle is about 40° to 50°, and the field of view above the horizon from the driver's viewpoint is about 30°, up to the front edge of the roof. It is about °. In vehicles with such a visibility area, the front edge of the roof will obstruct visual objects located above the upper edge of the front windshield panel, such as traffic lights and traffic signs, so be sure to check these objects. In order to do so, the driver has to take an unnatural posture such as bending over, which is troublesome for the driver.

For this reason, conventionally, a lens for expanding the field of vision, which is approximately half a concave lens and whose thickness gradually increases toward the upper edge, is provided at the upper edge of the front windshield panel, thereby reducing the blind spot caused by the front edge of the roof. (See Utility Model Application Publication No. 58-185821).

[Problem that the invention aims to solve] However, with the above method, when sunlight shines from the front of the vehicle, when the sun visor is lowered to block the sunlight, the sun visor is attached to the upper edge of the front window shield panel to expand the visibility. There was a problem in that the lens was covered up and the field of view expansion effect was lost.

Furthermore, even if the effect of expanding the field of view can be obtained, the act of looking upward is generally cumbersome, and the reality is that no particular improvements have been made to this problem.

This device was devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and allows objects that cannot be seen directly due to the sun visor blocking sunlight to be seen without bending over. To provide a visibility auxiliary device for a vehicle that eliminates the need for troublesome operations such as raising one's head even when the vehicle is in a vehicle.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, this invention includes a display means that is provided within the driver's forward field of vision and displays an image, and a front window shield panel that is provided from the driver's viewpoint. A transmitting means for transmitting an image of an object existing above an extension line connecting the upper edge to the display means, and selecting only light of a specific wavelength from among the light included in the image transmitted by the transmitting means. and control means for controlling the transmission.

Further, the transmission means is composed of a reflecting mirror that reflects and transmits an image of an object, and the control means is composed of a filter that transmits only light of a specific wavelength.

[Operation] When light emitted from an object located above the extension line connecting the driver's viewpoint and the upper edge of the front window shield panel reaches the transmission means, the transmission means transmits the image to the display means. At this time, the control means selects and transmits only light of a specific wavelength from among the light included in the image transmitted by the transmission means, and only the image of this particular wavelength is displayed and projected on the display means. The driver confirms the visual object by looking directly at the projected image.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of this invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the area around a front window shield panel 1 of a vehicle, and an irradiation device 7 as a visibility aid device for the vehicle is provided on an instrument 5 in a vehicle interior 3. As shown in FIG. The irradiation device 7 has a three-layer structure consisting of a light shielding plate 9 made of, for example, a liquid crystal display whose light transmittance is variable from the upper side, a filter 11, and a reflector 13. The front window shield panel is constructed by reflecting the light emitted by a visual object, for example, a traffic light 21, which is an object present in the driver's blind spot above the extension line 19 connecting the upper edge 1a of the panel, with the reflecting mirror 13. The light is irradiated onto the lower inner surface 1b serving as the display means of No. 1 and projected. As shown in FIG. 2, the filter 11 is connected to the red, blue, and
This is a three-wavelength bandpass filter that effectively transmits only light of specific wavelengths around the three yellow colors. Reflector 1
3 constitutes a transmitting means that transmits an image of a specific wavelength transmitted through the filter 11 to the lower inner surface 1b, and the filter 11 transmits only light of a specific wavelength among the light included in the image transmitted by the transmitting means. It constitutes a control means for controlling the transmission.

The light shielding plate 9 is connected to a control circuit 23 that changes the light transmittance of the light shielding plate 9 as shown in FIG. For example, the light transmittance of the light shielding plate 9 is increased when the speed is lower than the speed just before stopping, about 5 km/h. This is especially true when the vehicle is stopped in front of the traffic light 21 and the traffic light 21 is often hidden behind the front edge 17 of the roof. High, front windshield panel 1
To make the image of the traffic light 21 projected on the inside clear. Furthermore, even if sunlight enters the front window shield panel while the vehicle is stopped and the front window shield panel is illuminated with three specific colors, if the traffic light is, for example, red, red will be reflected most strongly among the three colors, so it can be identified.

In addition, the reference numeral 27 in FIG. 1 is the front pillar, 2
9 is a handle, and 31 is an instrument hood.

Next, the operation of the vehicle visibility assisting device configured as above will be explained. Traffic light 21 in front of the vehicle while driving
Assume that the light turns red and the vehicle stops, and the traffic light 21 comes above the extension line 19 connecting the driver's viewpoint 15 and the upper edge 1a of the front window shield panel, as shown in FIG. The light emitted from the traffic light 21 in this position is the front window shield panel 1.
The light reaches the irradiation device 7 through the light shielding plate 9 and the filter 11, is reflected by the reflecting mirror 13, and is irradiated and projected onto the lower inner surface 1b of the front window shield panel 1. At this time, the filter 11
transmits only light of specific wavelengths near the three colors of red, blue, and yellow of the traffic light 21, so that light other than these specific wavelengths does not reach the reflecting mirror 13. Therefore, the front window shield panel 1 Strong light such as sunlight is not projected on the lower inner surface 1b of the vehicle, and basically only the traffic light 21 is projected, ensuring that the traffic light 21, which is a necessary visual object for the driver, is visually recognized. be able to. The driver confirms the traffic light 21 by visually observing the projected image slightly below the front in a very natural posture without bending over. Therefore, even if the sun visor is lowered to block sunlight, the traffic light 21 can be checked. At this time, the vehicle speed sensor 25 detects that the vehicle speed is below a predetermined value, and therefore the control circuit 23 improves the light transmittance of the light shielding plate 9. The projected image of the traffic light 21 is clear.

FIG. 4 shows an enlarged field of view on the upper side by providing the irradiation device 7. That is, the diagonally shaded area above the extension line 19 connecting the driver's viewpoint 15 and the upper edge portion 1a of the front window shield panel becomes the visibility expansion area.

In this embodiment, an irradiation device is installed in the instrument to irradiate only the blue, yellow, and red light of the signal light onto the lower inner surface of the front windshield panel, but the location of the irradiation device is not limited to this embodiment. It is not limited to the lower inner surface either.

[Effects of the invention] As described above, according to this invention, the vehicle visibility assisting device can identify a specific visual object above the extension line connecting the driver's viewpoint and the upper edge of the front windshield panel. Since only the wavelength of light is projected on the display means, it is possible to see objects located in the blind area of the sun visor used to block sunlight in a natural posture without bending over. There is an advantage that the driver can check only the necessary visual objects above the extension line by visually viewing the front without requiring the troublesome action of looking up.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The attached drawings relate to one embodiment of this invention, and show the first embodiment.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the operation, Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the light transmission characteristics of the filter, Fig. 3 is a block diagram of the device for changing the light transmittance of the light shielding plate, and Fig. 4 shows the field of view expansion area. It is an explanatory diagram. 1...Front window shield panel, 1
a... Upper edge, 1b... Lower inner surface (display means),
11...Filter (control means), 13...Reflector (transmission means), 15...Viewpoint, 19...Extension line, 2
1... Traffic light (object).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] (1) A display means that is provided within the driver's forward field of vision and displays an image, and above the extension line connecting the driver's viewpoint and the upper edge of the front window shield panel. A transmission means for transmitting an image of an object existing in the display means to the display means, and a control means for controlling to transmit only light of a specific wavelength among the light included in the image transmitted by the transmission means. Visibility aid device for vehicles. (2) The utility model registration request is characterized in that the transmission means is composed of a reflecting mirror that reflects and transmits an image of an object, and the control means is composed of a filter that transmits only light of a specific wavelength. A vehicle visibility aid device according to scope 1.