JPH10148534A - Device for indicating on-vehicle information - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a driver not feel troublesome about indications, by darkening the indication screen when the driver turns handle to the central side of a vehicle. SOLUTION: In this vehicle information indication device, a means 12 for detecting advancing direction detects the advancing direction of vehicle, and a means 13 for judging change-over of indication screen judges that the indication screen of a screen indirection means 14 is changed into a condition where the visibility is low when the detected direction is directed toward the central side of the vehicle viewed from the driver's seat and that it is changed into a condition where the visibility is high when the directed direction is directed toward the opposite side of the center of the vehicle. Thus, especially when steering the vehicle to the center side of the vehicle, a driver is made not to feel troublesome about the indication screen of too high visibility.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a vehicle information display device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, information displayed by an on-vehicle information display device has been increasing, and in a car navigation system, a television, and other on-vehicle information display devices, the information is displayed at an upper central portion of an instrument panel in front of a driver's seat. A screen is set up to display various information. And in such an in-vehicle information display device, at night, in a tunnel, etc., when the surroundings are dark, it is set in consideration of the bright surroundings like daytime, and it is too bright on a screen with the same brightness as a so-called daytime screen. It looks dazzling and makes the driver feel annoying.

Therefore, conventionally, when the surrounding environment is dark, measures have been taken to perform display control for switching to a night screen, such as reducing the screen illuminance or changing the display color. In order to determine the surrounding brightness for switching between the daytime screen and the nighttime screen, the output value of the illuminance sensor installed in the vehicle, the lighting state of a small lamp, or the small lamp, etc. Based on the switch status information.

FIG. 8 shows the configuration of a conventional on-board information display device. A surrounding illuminance detecting means 1 for detecting the surrounding illuminance is shown.
A display screen control device 2 for switching the display screen between day and night in accordance with the ambient illuminance detected by the ambient illuminance detection means 1 and a screen display device 3 for displaying on-vehicle information
It is composed of The surrounding illuminance detecting means 1 is composed of an illuminance sensor, a lighting state detecting means for lights, or a switch state detecting means for lights as described above.

[0005]

However, such a conventional in-vehicle information display apparatus which merely switches between a day screen and a night screen in accordance with the ambient illuminance has the following problems. Generally, the annoyance caused by the screen display becomes more remarkable as the visibility increases. For example, when the screen position is increased, the visibility is improved, but the trouble is increased accordingly. In a vehicle with a display screen installed in the upper center of the instrument panel for the purpose of improving visibility, when turning toward the center of the vehicle as viewed from the driver, the road surface in the traveling direction is displayed as a display screen as viewed from the driver. Near the front. For example, when viewed from the driver at the time of a left turn or left turn for a right-hand drive vehicle and at the time of right turn or right turn for a left-hand drive vehicle, the display screen will be seen in the direction of the road surface in the traveling direction. As described above, when the road surface in the traveling direction and the display screen are in the same direction, the driver's line of sight is in the direction of the display screen, which is bothersome. This is particularly noticeable at night.

However, the conventional on-board information display device has a function of switching the display screen between a daytime screen and a nighttime screen only in accordance with the surrounding brightness. In order to minimize the annoyance of the display screen that comes into your eyes when turning to the center side of the, it is necessary to reduce the visibility of the screen illuminance and selection of the used color, etc. However, the visibility is suppressed even when the vehicle travels straight ahead or when the driver turns to the opposite side of the center of the vehicle as viewed from the driver, and there is a problem that it is difficult to set the screen illuminance and the colors used.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and detects the turning direction of a vehicle, reduces the visibility of a display screen when turning toward the center of the vehicle, and reduces the visibility of the display screen when the vehicle is traveling straight and when the vehicle is running straight. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-vehicle information display device capable of performing screen display control for increasing the visibility of a display screen when turning to the opposite side of the center of the vehicle.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an on-vehicle information display device, which is provided at an upper front center of a vehicle for displaying various information, and visually recognizes a display screen of the screen display means. Display screen control means for performing control for switching between a high and a low state, a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the vehicle, and a traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling direction detecting means. When the vehicle turns to the center side of the vehicle, the state is switched to the low visibility state, and when the vehicle turns to the opposite side to the center of the vehicle when viewed from the straight ahead direction of the vehicle and the driver's seat, the visibility becomes low. Display screen switching determining means for giving an instruction to switch to the high screen state to the display screen control means.

In the vehicle information display device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the traveling direction of the vehicle is detected by the traveling direction detecting means, and the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling direction detecting means is determined by the driver's seat. When the vehicle turns to the center side of the vehicle when viewed from the side, it is determined that the display screen of the screen display means is switched to a low visibility state. It is determined that the display screen is switched to a state of high visibility when the vehicle turns to the opposite side to the center of the display screen. Then, the display screen control means performs control to switch the display screen of the screen display means between a high visibility state and a low visibility state in accordance with the switching instruction of the display screen switching determination means.

Thus, screen display control is performed to lower the visibility of the display screen when turning the vehicle toward the center thereof and to increase the visibility of the display screen when driving straight and turning the opposite side of the center of the vehicle. In particular, the visibility of the display screen is not so high at the time of steering turning to the center side of the vehicle that the driver feels troublesome.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle information display device according to the first aspect, the display screen switching determination means is in a state where the visibility is low based on the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling direction detection means. From the high visibility state to the low visibility state at the timing of giving the instruction to switch from the high visibility state to the low visibility state, and thereby, when turning a large curve with a constant curvature. As described above, it is possible to prevent hunting in which the screen display is unnecessarily and frequently switched between a high visibility state and a low visibility state when the vehicle continuously travels while being substantially constant at a certain steering angle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle information display device according to the first or second aspect, the apparatus further comprises a vehicle speed detecting means for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle, and the display screen switching determining means detects the vehicle speed by the vehicle speed detecting means. Only when the vehicle speed is higher than a predetermined value, the switching determination between the high visibility state and the low visibility state is performed, whereby the visibility of the display screen of the screen display means while the vehicle is stopped is reduced. Prevent switching.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vehicle information display device according to the first to third aspects, the ambient illuminance detecting means for detecting the brightness around the vehicle and the ambient illuminance detected by the ambient illuminance detecting means are further provided. Illuminance-corresponding screen switching control means for switching the display screen of the screen display means to a daytime screen when bright, and for switching the display screen to a nighttime screen when the ambient illuminance is dark, whereby the screen display means The visibility of the display screen is switched in accordance with the illuminance of the surroundings and also in accordance with the traveling direction of the vehicle, so that the inconvenience received from the display screen when turning toward the center of the vehicle is effectively suppressed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the in-vehicle information display device according to the fourth aspect, the display screen switching determining unit determines the visibility only when the illuminance-corresponding screen switching control unit switches to the night screen. The height switching control is performed, whereby it is possible to effectively suppress the troublesomeness of the display screen when turning toward the center of the vehicle only during night driving, which is particularly dazzling to the driver.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the turning of the vehicle in the traveling direction is detected, and the visibility of the display screen is lowered when turning to the center of the vehicle. When turning to the vehicle, screen display control is performed to increase the visibility of the display screen, so that the visibility of the display screen is not so high especially when steering turning to the center of the vehicle that the driver does not feel troublesome. it can.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent hunting in which the screen display is unnecessarily frequently switched between a high visibility state and a low visibility state when performing an operation of swinging left and right at a certain steering angle position. it can.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the visibility of the display screen of the screen display means from switching while the vehicle is stopped.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the visibility of the display screen of the screen display means is switched according to the surrounding illuminance and also according to the traveling direction of the vehicle, so that the vehicle turns toward the center of the vehicle. This can effectively reduce the troublesomeness received from the display screen.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively reduce the annoyance received from the display screen when the vehicle turns to the center of the vehicle only during night driving, which is particularly dazzling to the driver.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a functional configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention. An in-vehicle information display device according to the first embodiment includes an illuminance sensor for detecting brightness around a vehicle, a headlight of the vehicle, and a small lamp. Ambient illuminance detector 11 that detects the brightness of the surroundings of the vehicle based on the on / off state of lights such as lights or the on / off state of a light switch.
A steering angle sensor for detecting a steering angle of a steering wheel of the vehicle,
A traveling direction detector 12 using a turn signal switch on / off signal sensor, a blinker lamp blinking state detection sensor, a lateral acceleration sensor or a rotational angular velocity sensor;
A screen state switching determination unit 13 for determining whether the visibility of the display screen is to be high or low based on the traveling direction detection signal from the traveling direction detection unit 12, and a screen display device of a CRT or a liquid crystal display 14 and the screen display device 14 based on the determination by the screen state switching determination unit 13.
And a display screen control unit 15 for performing control to switch the display screen between a high visibility state and a low visibility state.

Next, the operation of the vehicle information display device having the above configuration will be described. The ambient illuminance detection unit 11 detects whether it is a night time zone or an early morning-evening time zone based on the ambient illuminance, or determines whether a night time zone or an early morning-evening time zone from a lighting / off state of lights or an ON / OFF state of a light switch. Is determined. For example, when the illuminance is brighter than a predetermined value, it is determined to be in the early morning-evening time zone, and when the illuminance is darker than the predetermined value, it is determined to be in the night time zone, or all lights or their switches are off (off). If only the small lamp or its switch is on (on), it is determined to be in the early morning-evening time zone, and if the headlight is on, it is determined to be in the night time zone. The distinction between the night time zone and the early morning-evening time zone is not limited to this mode, and may be based on a clock.

The traveling direction detecting unit 12 is shown in FIG. 3 for a right-hand drive vehicle (the same applies to the following description; for a left-hand drive vehicle, the left and right are reversed in the following description). When a steering angle greater than 10 ° (−10 °) is detected from neutral 0 ° to the left, it is determined that the vehicle is turning toward the vehicle center, and steering less than 10 ° to the left from neutral 0 ° is performed. When the angle is detected, it is determined that the vehicle is traveling straight or turning from the center of the vehicle to the opposite side.

The visibility determining unit 13 determines whether the visibility of the display screen of the screen display device 14 should be high, medium, or low according to the procedure shown in the flowchart of FIG.
Based on the ambient illuminance determination from the ambient illuminance detection unit 11 (step S1), if it is a night time zone, it is determined to be a night screen (visibility is middle stage), and if it is an early morning-evening time zone, it is a day screen. (Visibility is high) (steps S2, S
3).

Subsequently, based on the traveling direction detection signal from the traveling direction detecting section 12 (steps S4a and S4b), if a detection signal indicating that the vehicle is turning toward the center of the vehicle is input (steps S5a and S5b). ), The previous night screen,
It is determined that the screen illuminance is further lowered by one step for each of the daytime screens (steps S6a and S6b).
Then, if a detection signal indicating that the traveling direction detection signal is a turn in the straight direction or from the center to the opposite side is input (steps S5a and S5b), the determination of the night screen and the day screen is directly instructed. Is determined (steps S6b and S6c).

For example, if the surrounding illuminance is in the early morning-evening time zone, a daytime screen is determined (steps S1 and S1).
2) In step S3, the process branches to the YES side. Then, when turning to the center side is detected as the traveling direction (step S
4b, S5b), branching to the YES side in step S5b,
A middle-level screen illuminance that indicates visibility one step lower than the daytime screen, that is, in this case, a determination result is set to the nighttime screen illuminance (step S6b). However, if it is determined that the traveling direction is straight or turning from the center to the opposite side, the process branches to the NO side in step S5b, and it is determined that the daytime screen illuminance is a normal high visibility daytime screen illuminance. (Step S6c).

If the ambient illuminance is in the night time zone, a night screen is determined (steps S1 and S2), and step S1 is performed.
At 3 the flow branches to the NO side. Then, when turning to the center side is detected as the traveling direction (steps S4a and S5a), the process branches to the YES side in step S5a to reduce the screen illuminance in a low step, which shows visibility one step lower than the night screen. A determination result is issued (step S6a). However, if it is determined that the traveling direction is straight traveling or turning from the center to the opposite side, the flow branches to the NO side in step S5a, and a determination result for normal night screen illuminance is issued (step S6b).

When the visibility determining unit 13 determines whether the illuminance of the display screen is low, medium, or high, the display screen control unit 15 determines the illuminance of the display screen based on the determination result.
Is controlled, and various information is displayed on the screen display device 14 at the designated screen illuminance.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the illuminance of the screen display device 14 is changed to a normal value when the vehicle is turned to the center side in the daytime or the nighttime. By lowering the daytime screen and the nighttime screen by one step, it is possible to avoid the troublesomeness that bright screen light enters the eyes of the driver.

In the first embodiment, when turning toward the center of the vehicle, control is performed to lower the screen illuminance so as to lower the visibility of the display screen of the screen display device 14 by one step than usual. However, the method of reducing the visibility is not limited to switching the screen illuminance, but may be a method of adjusting the saturation and hue of the display color.

In the above-described embodiment, the vehicle is moved to the left by one.
When the steering wheel is turned to 0 °, it is determined that the vehicle is turning to the center side. However, the steering angle used as a criterion is not limited to this. Further, as the traveling direction detecting unit 12, an on / off signal sensor of a blinker switch, a blinking state detecting sensor of a blinker lamp, a lateral acceleration sensor, a rotational angular velocity sensor, or the like can be used instead of the steering angle sensor. In particular, when a lateral acceleration sensor or a rotational angular velocity sensor is used, when the vehicle turns to the center of the vehicle in the same manner as when a steering angle sensor is used, the lateral acceleration or rotation equivalent to the above -10 ° is obtained. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the visibility of the screen is switched when the angular velocity is detected.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The functional configuration of the in-vehicle information display device of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but the first embodiment is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. This embodiment is characterized in that a hysteresis characteristic shown in FIG. 4 is provided instead of FIG. That is, when the steering angle detected by the traveling direction detection unit 12 reaches 15 ° to the left (−15 °), it is determined that the visibility of the display screen of the screen display device 14 is lowered by one level, and the visibility is determined based on the visibility. Is returned when the steering angle returns to 5 ° to the left (−5 °). In particular, in a large curve where the steering angle lasts long at around the reference angle (here, 15 °) at which the screen illuminance is switched. It is possible to avoid a hunting phenomenon in which the illuminance of the display screen is frequently switched when the handle fluctuates.

In order to avoid this hunting phenomenon, instead of providing a hysteresis to the steering angle, a steering reference angle for judging the switching of the screen illuminance is fixed, and the time lapse after the switching of the screen illuminance has elapsed. , The dead time can be set so that the screen illuminance is not switched again until a certain time has elapsed.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the first and second embodiments, the screen illuminance is controlled in three stages of low, medium, and high. Instead, the illuminance is continuously changed according to the steering angle as shown in FIG. It may be a configuration. Also in this case, a lateral acceleration sensor or a rotational angular velocity sensor can be used as the traveling direction detecting unit 12 instead of the steering angle sensor.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The feature of the fourth embodiment is that the vehicle speed detecting unit 16 is additionally provided in the first embodiment shown in FIG.
Is that the signal from the vehicle speed detector 16 is used as the determination condition together with the signal from the surrounding illuminance detector 11 and the signal from the traveling direction detector 12. That is, a determination signal of the current time zone is input from the surroundings detection unit 11, a determination signal of whether the vehicle is turning toward the center of the vehicle is input from the traveling direction detection unit 12, and the vehicle speed detection unit 16 determines whether the vehicle is currently turning. Input a determination signal as to whether the vehicle is traveling on the road, and based on these signals, determine whether the screen illuminance of the screen display device 14 is low, medium, or high according to the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. Is determined.

The screen illuminance determining process of the visibility determining unit 13-1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Based on the ambient illuminance determination from the ambient illuminance detection unit 11 (step S1), if it is a night time zone, it is determined to be a night screen (visibility is middle stage), and if it is an early morning-evening time zone, it is a day screen. (Visibility is high) (steps S2, S
3).

Subsequently, it is determined whether or not the vehicle is stopped based on a signal from the vehicle speed detecting unit 16 (step S1).
a, S10b), if it is stopped, it is determined that the screen is to be displayed as it is with the daytime screen or nighttime screen illuminance determined in step S2 (steps S6b, S6c).

However, if the vehicle is not stopped,
As in the first embodiment, the process proceeds to the next step S4 and subsequent steps, and based on the traveling direction detection signal from the traveling direction detection unit 12 (steps S4a and S4b), the vehicle turns toward the center of the vehicle. If a detection signal is input (steps S5a and S5b), a determination is made that the screen illuminance is further reduced by one step from the determination of each of the night screen and the day screen (steps S6a and S6b). ). Then, if a detection signal indicating that the traveling direction detection signal is a turn in the straight direction or from the center to the opposite side is input (steps S5a and S5b), the determination of the night screen and the day screen is directly instructed. (Step S
6b, S6c).

For example, if the surrounding illuminance is in the early morning-evening time zone, a daytime screen is determined (steps S1 and S1).
2) In step S3, the process branches to the YES side. If it is currently stopped (branch to YES side in step S10b), it is determined to display on the daytime screen, which is the result of the determination in step S2 (step S6c). However, if the vehicle is not stopped (branching to the NO side in step S10b), the turning to the center side is detected as the traveling direction (step S4b,
S5b) Middle-level screen illuminance that branches to the YES side in step S5b and shows visibility one step lower than the daytime screen,
Therefore, in this case, a determination result for night screen illuminance is issued (step S6b). However, if it is determined that the traveling direction is straight or turning from the center to the opposite side,
In step S5b, the process branches to the NO side, and it is determined that the screen illuminance is a high-stage screen illuminance that is a normal daytime screen illuminance with high visibility (step S6c).

If the ambient illuminance is in the night time zone, a night screen is determined (steps S1 and S2), and step S2 is performed.
At 3 the flow branches to the NO side. If it is currently stopped (branch to the YES side in step S10a), step S2
It is determined to display on the night screen, which is the result of the determination (step S6b). However, if not stopped (step S1
When turning to the center side is detected as the traveling direction (step S4a, S5a), the flow branches to the YES side in step S5a, and the night screen is further shifted by one.
A determination result is set to a low-level screen illuminance indicating low visibility (step S6a). However, if it is determined that the traveling direction is straight or turning from the center to the opposite side,
In step S5a, the process branches to the NO side, and a determination result is set for setting the normal night screen illuminance (step S6b).

As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, in both daytime and nighttime, when the vehicle is running and the vehicle is turned to the center thereof, By reducing the illuminance of the screen display device 14 by one step from the ordinary daytime screen and nighttime screen, it is possible to avoid the troublesome light of bright screens from jumping into the eyes of the driver.

The fourth embodiment also has the following advantages. When a steering angle sensor is used as the traveling direction detection unit 12, if the screen switching is controlled only by the signal of the steering angle sensor, even if a certain steering angle is detected, the screen display device 14 determines whether the vehicle is turning or not. Because it is not possible to determine whether the vehicle is in the middle, there is a possibility of performing control to reduce the visibility of the screen illuminance even when the vehicle is stopped with the steering wheel turned to a large extent.However, the vehicle speed detection unit 16 determines whether the vehicle is stopped, When the vehicle is stopped, it is possible to prevent the screen illuminance from being switched even when the steering angle is large. In addition, when a lateral acceleration sensor or a rotational angular velocity sensor is used as the traveling direction detection unit 12, it is not possible to distinguish between turning of the vehicle and stopping on an inclined ground, turning and turning of the vehicle by a turning machine in a mechanical parking lot. Although there is a possibility that erroneous screen switching control may be performed, in the case of the fourth embodiment, since the screen illuminance switching control is not performed when the vehicle is stopped, switching is performed without error even in such a case. Can be controlled.

Incidentally, also in the fourth embodiment, the first embodiment
Modifications shown in the above embodiment can be adopted.
Further, screen switching control as in the second embodiment or the third embodiment can be adopted.

Furthermore, in any of the above-described first to fourth embodiments, the headlight is turned on because the display screen is particularly dazzling and annoying for the driver during night driving. The display screen may be switched between a high visibility state and a low visibility state only at the time (or when the headlight switch is turned on), and may not be switched during the daytime screen.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a visibility determining process of a visibility determining unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing visibility determination operation characteristics with respect to a steering angle of a visibility determination unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing visibility determining operation characteristics with respect to a steering angle of a visibility determining unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing visibility determination operation characteristics with respect to a steering angle of a visibility determination unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a visibility determining process of a visibility determining unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 11 Ambient illuminance detection unit 12 Travel direction detection unit 13 Visibility determination unit 14 Display screen control unit 15 Screen display device 16 Vehicle speed detection unit

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A screen display means installed at the upper front center of a vehicle for displaying various information, and a display screen control for controlling a display screen of the screen display means to switch between a high visibility state and a low visibility state. Means, a traveling direction detecting means for detecting a traveling direction of the vehicle, and the visibility when the traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling direction detecting means turns toward the center of the vehicle when viewed from a driver's seat. Display screen that gives an instruction to the display screen control means to switch to the high visibility state when the vehicle is turning to the opposite side from the center of the vehicle when viewed from the driver's seat and in the straight traveling direction of the vehicle. An in-vehicle information display device comprising a switching determination unit. 2. The display screen switching determination unit includes: a timing for giving an instruction to switch from a low visibility state to a high visibility state based on a traveling direction of the vehicle detected by the traveling direction detection unit; The in-vehicle information display device according to claim 1, wherein a hysteresis characteristic is provided at a timing of giving an instruction to switch from a state to a low state. 3. The on-vehicle information display device according to claim 1, further comprising a vehicle speed detecting unit for detecting a vehicle speed of the vehicle, wherein the display screen switching determining unit determines that the vehicle speed detected by the vehicle speed detecting unit is a predetermined value. An in-vehicle information display device, wherein the switching determination between the high visibility state and the low visibility state is performed only when the visibility is larger than the threshold value. 4. A surrounding illuminance detecting means for detecting the brightness around the vehicle, and when the surrounding illuminance detected by the surrounding illuminance detecting means is bright, the display screen of the screen display means is switched to a daytime screen. The in-vehicle information display device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: an illuminance-corresponding screen switching control unit that switches the display screen to a night screen when dark. 5. The display screen switching determining unit performs the visibility switching control only when the illuminance corresponding screen switching control unit switches to the night screen. In-vehicle information display device.